Okay; Here's the deal... I have been searching, reading, asking questions, and I am still unsure about the cam that is right from me. I want a cam that is going to make good amount of power and drive decently well.

Here is what I am asking for... What cam do you have and what are your supporting mods... just brief, headers and Fast? Headers only, stock intake? AND what are your dyno #s!?

So, if you could...
What Cam? Specs if you can... or spec range..
What Bolt ons? FAST, Headers, etc.
How much power?
How is the drivability? DD?
If done again, would you go with something different? Smaller, Bigger, etc.

Let me know! I have talked with a number of different places and have gotten a number of different responses about certain cams. Thanks!

 

 

08 LS3 6spd

Vararam Intake
Kooks 1 7/8" Coated Headers
Kooks Catless X
B&B Rt. 66 exhaust
160t-stat
Vengeance Cam vrx6 - 23X/24X .61X/62X 115LSA
ASP UD Pulley
Stock Intake Mani/TB
477whp/437wtq

Perfect size cam for me. Wouldn't change a thing

 

Those are great numbers! Especially on stock intake. Even for an LS3. Is it a Daily Driver? Thanks 1.8!

 

I know you didn't ask for stock numbers but just for comparison, my 2008 LS3 Z51 6 spd which is totally stock except for a 160 degree tstat and a tune, dyno'ed at 414 rwhp/417 rwtq. Without the tune, it dyno'ed 390 rwhp/395 rwtq.

I don't know how to attach a jpeg or I'd attach the dyno graph.

Pat

 

There is no perfect answer. All cams are trade-offs, including stockers. Everyone has a different tolerence for different cam behaviors. So, upshot is, you're not going to really know until you dive in and try one.

That said, what really matters for driveability is intake duration and overlap. And the TUNE of course.

So first, I wouldn't consider any cam that doesn't have published specs. There is no magic in camshafts! Every cam maker says their cam does so and so, but unless you know the specs the claims are meaningless.

Consider that an LS2 is basically an enlarged LS6. A cam that behaves a certain way in an LS6 is going to be pretty much the same in an LS2. There is a TON of experience with LS6 cams over on the C5 sections of the board, and I'd encourage you to spend time reading over there.

The general consensus with LS6 cams is that the perfect street cam (good power, excellent manners, a little lope but very civilized) is something with an intake duration around 228. The LS2 is a little larger, so you could go out to no more than about a 230 or 232. But, the problem with pushing out the duration (with all else held equal) is four-fold: it opens the intake valve sooner, and this reduces piston-to-valve clearance, it increases overlap, which impacts low-speed driveability and fuel economy, it reduces dynamic compression, which impacts power, fuel economy, and throttle response, and it pushes the intake valve closing event (IVC) later, and that raises the peak power RPM. You can play with LSA and advance to mitigate some of these, but making one better tends to make another worse, so it's a little like squeezing a balloon.

The classic, no-brainer, guaranteed-you-will-like it cam for a situation like yours is a 228/232 on Comp XER lobes with 114 LSA and 110 ICL (or "+4"). Usually written as 228/232 .588/.595 114+4. The LG Motorsports G5X1 is such a cam. This will have a broad powerband, excellent peak power, good idle (not stock), peak power at about 6500, and be very easy to tune. You can't go wrong with this cam. Once you try something like this you can then play Goldilocks.

If you want more lope and a slightly lower peak power RPM, order the same thing on a 112 ICL. If you want more lope and the same or slightly higher peak power RPM go up a step to a G5X2: 232/240 .595/.608 114+4. Again, order on a 112 for even more lope and lower peak power RPM. OTOH, if you want something that will be almost as civilized as a stocker go down a step to a 224/228 or 224/230.

You're in Texas. There are a number of excellent shops in Texas. One of the best things you could do is work directly with one of them: tell them what you want, in detail, and let them pick your cam. They've done it dozens or hundreds of times and have plenty of feedback to know what cams lead to which results. But again, I would insist on knowing the specs. No magic parts.

Good luck!

 

LS2 C6 A6

Kooks 1 3/4 headers,kooks 3` x-pipe and high flow cats
Vararam
B&B Rt.66 catback
160 t-stat
Cartek 3X cam(mid 230`s/230`s 116 lsa)
Comp 921 spring kit
Harden pushrods
Ported throttle body
Ported Fast 90 intake
3200 Vigilante stall convertor
ASP underdrive pulley

441 rwhp,386rwftlbs SAE 1.02 correction.

Best times so far in the 1/4 mile are 11.33,11.33,11.37 and 11.44 with trap speeds from 120-122.91 mph. Can`t wait to see what she does in good air.

Here is the graph.


Here is video of my idle.


I wouldn`t change a thing.

 

2007 LS2

Vararam CAI
American Racing 1 3/4 LT's
3x3 Cats
B&B Bullets
VRX5 Cam (236/238,601/605,113+2
Ported FAST 92mm
Ported throttle body
180 t-stat
U/D Pulley
Vengeance Racing Tuned

451 RWHP/ 428 RWTQ

Car drives great! Has a rough idle. Still gets 23+ mpg on the freeway. Wouldn't change a thing

 

2005 ls2

K&N intake
B&B Bullets
dynatek long tube headers
160 stat
under drive pulley
ported tb and intake
228/232 .598 .608 114lsa cam

425 rwhp

Has a great idle. Idle's at 950 and has a good lope to it.

 

'05 Z51 6MN
Vararam intake w/ spacer
Ported FAST
1-3/4 Kooks, hi-flow cats, 3" X & mids, NPP
230/232 - 114LSA, 598/603
u/d pulley
160 stat
Tune
452rwhp/418rwtq

Note: a couple of those posts are LS3s & one had noticeably larger cam. With the NPPs closed, you can barely tell my car's been modded, open is another story. The cam choice is very important as once it's in you car is forever changed (so to speak) so be very specific as to your driveabilty goals. A 230/232 -112 600/608 will have dramatically different manners in idle, lope, surge, etc. Also remember at 450hp your at the limit or past it on any street tire. More power w/o traction does you no good unless your out for bragging rights. The other thing noone seems to mention is once you hit this HP your clutch will become suspect in no time & count on laying out a grand at least to upgrade.

 

I have to agree with mike. Disregard any LS3 numbers you see. You will need a good set of heads to see those numbers!

In my earlier post I forgot to mention that street manners is all in the eye of the beholder. You really need to speak with a tuner and tell them what your goals are and what you are looking for. Let them put a combo together for you that they are familiar with and have tuned several times. You don't want to be a test car!

My cam is on the larger side, but I have taken it on a 500 mile round trip through the TN mountains with no problem. Upper 90's and the air running all day. My wife can hop in the car and go to the store without any issues. Everyone told me that the VRX5 was going to be too large for a street car and it would not have any torque. You can see for the dyno graph that it didn't loose any torque down low and it made a ton up top. Good luck it isn't an easy choice to make.

 

Another thing to help you out is a manual will always dyno higher than a auto. So make sure your comparing apples to apples when it comes to dyno numbers.

Also, don`t get to wrapped up in the dyno numbers,the numbers i am concerned with is et and mph at the tracks. Good luck with your cam choice.

 

I'm running a Vengeance cam as well. 05 A4 with headers, honker, 3.42 diff, ud pully, 3200 stall. Right at 400 at the wheels with track times of 11.5. Well mannered for my daily driver but will frickin' light up the tires on demand!!

 

Thanks guys for all the comments! Some good numbers out there. Yeah, I wanted the dyno #s mainly for comparison sake of the kind of power that certain cams make. As far as drivability, I just want some general opinions on how the driver likes it. I wouldn't buy a cam without finding out all the info about that specific one.

Keep them coming!

 

I know there are more cam only cars out there.... speak up!

 

08 MN6 with LG headers and executive cam kit. Very mild cam and mildly ported TB. Drives like stock with NPP until you get into it and it really comes alive. 460 rwhp and 441 rear wheel torque. Idle video below with flaps open and closed..

 

Excellent advice. I have the following mods..

Kooks 1 3/4 headers
Hi flo cats, x-pipe & B&B route 66
Vortex ram air
4.10 gears
160 deg stat
228-232 575/588 113 LSA comp cam
Comp pushrods, Titanium retainers, dual Afr springs
Fast 90 slightly ported and new tune (by spinmonster)
417rwhp/395rwtq corrected.

Ask anyone that knows my car they will tell you that my combo is pretty effective, I have schooled much higher HP set ups..

As "Gannet" so factually stated simple variations of the 228-232 cam is IMHO the best cam for the street in overall performance such as, reliability and drivibility. 4.10's with this cam combo have been deadly for many ahhh foe It is stock C6Z performance from 0-120mph after that they pull 2 car lenghts..

The 4.10 combo is just wicked . How bad is my combo. Here is a vid of my performance at this enclosed airport runway. At 1:30 5 of us line up I am the Mag red c6 second car closer to the screen. Second car top of screen is a 557rwhp cammed 06 C6Z, I got them all to 120 mph, after that the C6z went by me by 5 lenghts to 160mph.

The LMB c6 is 375rwhp A6, and he was behind by 4 lenghts to 160mph..

And yes at 55 seconds I lined up with the black 525rwhp C6 Z by lingenfelter , I missed 3rd at 6,900rpm with the stock shifter and let off. If you look closely you will see that (417rwhp versus 525rwhp,) I was slightly ahead in 2nd till I missed third.. Power of the right combo..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOL6XMzsAKk

 

sweet video! Yeah, I am looking to do the cam first; but, I plan on doing the 4.10s down the road as well! I'll prob actually do the cam then gears and then heads... at least, that is what I am thinking right now. Thanks again!

 

I can't believe you spelled "Corvettes" incorrectly.

 

This isnt scientific by any means, but if you look at how close our mods are, it would appear the difference is in the intake yours has ported tb & ported stock intake, mine ported FAST showin about 27hp increase & by porting my throttle body I'ld pick up a few more. Giving it a no head to head comparison the data has its flaws but gives a good idea for all those asking the diff btwn a ported stock & ported FAST, Very telling actually.