I see alot of people changing the cam in a C6. Is the installation that easy? Also, doesnt the cam make the car less driveable and ruff? This is my 1st corvette thats why im asking. I use to have a 5.0 mustang and when changing the cam in that it idle'ed ruff and didnt drive as nice. Whats the gain in hp from a cam?
Thanks

 

Why not?
A proper cam choice/cam swap and tune can result in some amazing power gains/track results. Some cams can be somewhat unstreetable/choppy/rough but again the right cam/header/gear/tune combo can be driven daily as well.

 

I went with a 'mid-range' cam in my LPE 403 package. Yes, you could say the car idles rough (very 'muscle carish') but it's very drivable and very fast. I don't experience any of the 'roughness' once I'm underway.

 

It all depends on how far you want to go. The stock cam is a 204/211 .525 / .525 at 116. Looking at flow numbers, the stock LS6 heads are basically maxed out at 270 at .500 + lift, flow-wise, so getting a cam with .590 lift will not help that much. More duration helps, of course, so a 220/230 cam will help while remaining smog legal. But to really get the benefit of higher lift or a more aggressive lift cam (XER grind), you will need to invest in high flowing heads. Flow bench numbers are widely circulated and there is a lot of BS out there (as with headers), but bench flow figures do not necessarily correlate to good HP / TQ, because they fail to account for port velocity. Velocity is everything for torque, and smaller ports do that better. AFR205 heads feature a small intake at 205cc (stock LS6 / LS2 is 210cc), but they have good port work and deliver excellent velocity numbers (=more torque) while staying together on the top end. The champs according to the numbers are the ETP 215s which have a moderate port size but have awesome flow numbers. We're talking about 300 at .500 lift. That 300 is important to remember because no head on the LS2 will flow much better than 300 intake because that is the best the manifold / MAF / filter will do. If your choice is a head that flows 320 at .600 vs a head that flows 300 at .500 but only 312 at .600, the latter will make more power.

Another thing to remember: you can have a great-flowing head, but if you have a restrictive exhaust behind it, you are wasting your money. The lesson here is that to get a truly effective H&C package, you need to do cam, heads, and headers together.

 

yes, no.

yes, it's pretty straight forward and not overly complicated, however, you basically need to remove everything from the top of the engine as well as just about everything in front of it.

you will need to remove the valve covers, which includes coil packs, etc.

you will need to drain and remove the radiator, a/c condensor (that's the one that sits in front of the rad.), intake ducting etc.

the cam is a long solid rod, it is as long as the engine itself, so you will need that much space out front to remove it, etc. it doesn't lift up-and-out but, rather, it is removed by pulling/sliding it out-the-front of the block.

over-head-cam (ohc) engines are a snap to replace, in-the-block cams are a bit more work but more reliable.

yes, the cam is the 'heart' of the engine and real power can either be gained or lost by swapping it out.

as ttrotary said, everything needs to be considered and matched in order to get the most gains.

each part relies on the part before it and will either supplement or hamper the part after it.

 

Bang for the Buck, no other mod for the $$ will net 40-70rwhp gains

 

To answer the question you asked; you change the cam to improve performance. the cam is the heart of the motor. It coordinates the valve events controling the amount of fuel and air into the chambers and the movement of spent gases out of the chambers. But as others have stated above a cam only is not worth the money. Even if you don't change the heads, to get the most from your cam you do need long tube headers, maybe an aftermarket air filter, A cooler thermostat (160 vs the stock 186), cat back (optional), and tunning. A good daily driver cam is the 224/228/581/588/114LSA's, With speed density tunning it idles very well with a slight lope. I used this cam, and before I put the FAST 90 manifold and the 215 ET heads on I made 410 rwhp.
This cam works well, and with the addition of the FAST, and the ET heads the hp jumped to 461rwhp/435rwtq. Still using the somewhat mild cam.Anyway research before you choose. Decide what kind of power you want to make and what kind of drivability you can live with.
MY car is a daily driver and I have no issues at all. 43,000 miles

 

Well that's not entirely true...no other naturally aspirated, full time mod for the $ maybe but NOTHING beats nitrous in the arena of bang for the buck.

 

edit: no other mod for the $$ excluding anything activated by a switch will net big gains

 

The 'roughness' is really up to you. Also, if you do a cam swap and it's a high-lift they'll know at the chebby dealersh!t and probably tell you to walk. I've got a LG Motorsports G5X3 cam in my coupe and it's got a nice rumble to it at idle. At speed you don't even know it's there!

Changing the cam is really EASY

You take it here

Then they give it back for exchange of check (that's cashable) and then it does this...

 

Josh!!!

Nice work buddy!!!



Now to your question on the cam swap. There are a lot of different choices on cam's that you can go with in a C6 and depending on what you want for power and drivability which one you should choose.

I would be more than happy to work with you on selecting a camshaft for your car and your application. We can also install and tune the car here, if you are out of town I can suggest a shop local to you or guide you through an install.

 

I gotta back the LG boys... I've been a fan for a long time!

You can go with a mild cam and make nice power that isn't too noticeable at idle.

 

You have really bought into the theory of mod interdependance. If you put in a cam you get a gain, even without heads or headers. Calling it a waste is silly. You get 80% of the gain it would have with heads/headers. That isnt a waste.

.590 will most certainly will help since the lobe lift at peak has to be ramped up to that point and it increases the lift also at all the points along the lobe at any number of degrees increasing flow. Recently cams with .590 lift and stock heads have shown massive gains. Cartek's 3x, texas speed's TQ'er 2 with 435rwhp, the 224/230 comp cams xer grind (427rwhp). Yes great heads are a great gain but saying high lift cams wont help much..... By this theory then why do cams over .500 lift benefit the LS series motors especially those with 240cfm LS1 heads? Regardless of head flow: the bigger the cam, the more power it puts down regardless of head flow. Only an idiot would limit the size of a cam he chooses based on the heads he is running. If you dont have money for heads, and .600 lift cam in the 232-234 xer lobe range will run just fine in the LS2-LS6-LS1. Been proven everyday with stock heads. You just dont get as big a gain. You get a smaller cam because of your stock heads and you have a slower car.

Quote me:Just because a head doesnt have awesome flow at .650 lift doesnt mean it has no flow there.

I dont know why such absolutes are placed on head flow vs. lobe dynamics. If you take a 224 xe cam and compare it to a 224 xer lobed cam; both with stock heads the XER will blow it out of the water by a mile. The stock LS2/6 heads will benefit by any size cam or increase in lift. The XER lobes benefit any head including the LS1 stockers by snapping a valve open faster and keeping it open longer during a set amount of duration. While it is true peak lift isnt helping as much on a lackluster head, it still shows an improvement although not the max it can be since the peak lift is a by product of the XER lobe. Take any two exact cams and increase the lift on one of them and you get a free tq increase regardless of the head used.

Now remember, I didnt say it was the optimum match. I said if you get a valve open faster, higher, and hold it open longer on a set duration, even with only 240cfm flow, more gets through. You cant increase peak lift without increasing the lift adjacent to the locations on the lobe next to it. It must ramp up to the peak. If you increase the peak lift then the lobe is open faster along the way to it....ramp rate. You can use the stock ls2/6 heads with an LSK lobed cam and that will blow a XER cam away....the difference?...an lsk lobed 224 will have near .640 lift. Its all been done before. Guys on this board have gotten 425rwhp with stock heads and a 224 xer (myself included)....437rwhp with an LSK 224. Add AFR heads and its 470+. Try that with a low lift 224 cam like a comp cams 224 xe. You cant have the power without the lift. The lift is a byproduct.

The exhaust statement is also a bit overdone. If you take a stock motor and put in a 224 to 228 xer you will have 380-400rwhp without headers. Instead of a 55-65rwhp cam gain it will be 40.....that is a waste??? If you gain 80rwhp with heads and a cam without headers that is a waste of money? The stock exhaust on this car without headers can still gain 100rwhp with them in place. Optimization isnt the way to judge mods. For the record headers are a great gain with any cam and any set of mods. Saying unless you have heads and headers a cam swap is a waste is wrong. Just because you can have more doesnt diminish the fact that a cam gives a gain...a bigger cam gives a bigger gain up to the biggest that fits without flycutting and the proper DCR. Just because you dont gain as much with the next 'required' mod doesnt make the gain any less meaningfull. Thunder racing has proven all this wrong years ago by trying all sorts of cams in car with and without headers and with and without heads.

Now if you want to talk about a waste....a guy that drops 1200 on mufflers for noise....

 

Spin, a little grumpy today ??

wouldn't it be correct to say that when making mods. you need to not only consider the part you have selected but also the parts both before and after the mod.

what good would a high lift cam with super flow heads do if the intake wasn't opened up to support them ? yes, you will see some gains without matching your combination but they WILL NOT be as great as they could be if all things are considered.

 

But he is right. Cam only with mods for me. I'm was only looking between 410-425hp anyway, that's enough. I don't care about the extra $1500 or more for the heads. I believe cam only would put me in the high 11's.

 

As usual, SpinMonster is right on the money. I used to think differently about high lift cams and stock heads (and I'm talking about the earlier LS1 heads, not the much better LS2/LS6 heads), until I spent some time with my friendly local tuner on the dyno. It was an eye opener. That's also when I learned, that up to a point, a bigger cam results in power gains across the power band, not just at higher RPMs.

No doubt that an optimized package of mods will yield optimal gains. Ideally, the intake, exhaust, camshaft, compression ratio, and gearing should all complement each other. However, budget constraints, local emissions laws, and personal preferences all enter into the equation.

Bottom line is that there is no perfect combo --- there are always certain compromises that must be made. Every NASCAR racer doesn't run the same cam, and they run different cams for different tracks. Ditto for the NHRA pros. GM tweaks their cam specs almost every year. There are lots of guys enjoying good power gains from cam-only swaps, so consult your friendly vendor and/or tuner, make your pick, enjoy.

 

I didnt then nor do I see anything now in the post I did. It was a bit sterile but never got derogatory or nasty. I certainly didnt mean to come across that way.

I just know any cam gives a gain, so no it doesnt matter what it will be used with so go ahead and regardless of the other mod choices (or lack thereof) a .590 lift cam will give a massive gain with all other stock parts....more head flow is a bigger gain but doesnt negate that the vast majority of a cam's power gain will be there sitting with a stock set of a heads and exhaust manifolds. If that sounds grumpy...

I'll try to sugar coat: Dear sir, I must take sides against your belief that a cam swap that only yeilds 40rwhp isnt a waste. Please note that I am stating this reservation with great kindness and politeness...

And for an edit: WHAT GOOD WOULD A HIGH LIFT CAM AND SUPERFLOW HEADS GAIN WITHOUT OPENING UP AN INTAKE????????

It would gain a 100 rwhp and the intake being ported will gain only up to another 12. That a waste too? So now you need to do an intake port job in order to justify a H/C swap? That is a sillier statement than the first. Oh crap, Im being grumpy. There is always another mod that adds more in any combination but you have to stop when the money runs out or the wife's permission isnt granted.

 

there we go... i didn' mean anything by my comment. i simply read your reponse to ttrotary as a counter to his post. i concluded from ttrotary's post that in order get the most gains from a mod. all pieces in the system must be considered and work to compliment each other.

your response appeared to be counter to this. yes, i ageree gains will be had by simply replacing a part (cam, etc.) but the full potential of those gains will not be obtained until all supporting pieces are considered.

 

...but that isnt what they said here is it? They said without the optimizing parts it is a waste. Cam without heads....waste.

Heads and cam without opening up an intake: What is the point.

Sorry I couldnt disagree more...politely though.

 

i was referring to the intake ducting, not simply the intake port/runners.

if the heads can breath but they are sucking through a 'swizzle stick' instead of a 'mc donalds soda straw' the increase in flow by the heads doesn't do much good.