I know its been asked. I might be in the hunt for a cam. I have a C6-06 with the 6.0 LS2. I have heard a lot of good sounds, I know there are HP differences. So, how does one determine what is the right cam. I know you may say its a personal preference. I just don't know what I'm looking for. Can anyone point me in the right direction or should I say what should I be asking myself. I need to figure cost as well. Any help with be thankful.


TIM$VETT

 

You are looking at a couple of different things when looking for a cam.

The questions that you should be asking yourself are...

What is this cars purpose? (Are you driving at the drag strip or the track or is it a get around town car that is brought to shows)

What do you want this car to sound like?

Do you have a power number in mind?

Depending on what the answer to your first question is we will be able to determine where you should be making power and what the characteristics of the cam should be.

When we design a cam its based on those basic questions and then we can fine tune from there. A general answer would be something like you are looking for a little bit more power but you really want a good old school sound from the car and all you are doing is driving around town but occasionally taking it to the drag strip.

All cam installs that happen at our shop are custom designed by us, it gives us the opportunity to really get a feel for what our customer is looking for and to make them happy.

Hope this helps you figure out what your looking for or at very least gives you a starting point.

***Edit***

Also think about other future modifications you might be thinking of. This can also tie into the decision.

 

is it something we can PM me you, the answers to those questions and you can help us choose a cam?

 

We would be more than happy to help you pick a cam. Shoot us a PM or email us and we would be happy to help you out.

 

Run, a search, there are literally hundreds of threads about this exact same thing. They will help you narrow down your search based on intended use, power, and drieability.

Spend a few hours upfront to avoid years of regret down the road...

 

Always contact a subject matter expert such as Comp Cams, Crane Cams, or Ed Curtis @ Flowtech when looking the best grind to meet your needs.

 

This is great advice!

Ed Curtis does great work but I am not sure I would use Comp Cams or Crane Cams for LS cam suggestions. We have done a lot of cams that have proven to make great power and we offer our expertise to those that are looking for help. Like most other cam designers we do not give out cam specs until the cam has been purchased but can give you a good idea of the power the cam will make and what it should sound like.

 

Generally speaking, the more angry-sounding the name like: Gozilla's *******, Incredible Hulk's right calf, Chris Brown's Rhianna smacker, or Voldemort's broomstick, the more popular.

 

Now that's funny right thar......

 

I just chose a custom designed cam with the ephasis being a decent power increase, a fairly aggressive sound, and streetability in my A6. This is an LS3 also getting 1 7/8 headers, CAI, and the required tune.
The goal is to also maintain my stock torque converter. This will be done in two weeks.

Here are the specs:

229/236, .615/.629, on a 114 LSA

A supercharger may be installed within the next year or two. Do any of you have a cam similar to this?

 

Which manufacturer did you go with?
I have a similar car and contacted Comp Cams on their recommendations. They asked for some more info and I should hear back soon. Just curious.

 

Cincy Speed is doing the work and designed the cam. Comp Cams does their grinds.

 

I would totally buy one of those...

 

Thanks.

Do you know if that cam requires the pistons to be fly-cut?

 

Step 1: Decide goals

Step 2: Talk to some places where you are thinking of buying the cam or having it installed and get their recommendations based on your goals

Step 3: Purchase a cam one size/step larger than what you determined in steps 1-2

It's funny to say think of a cam, then add one size to what you think you want to get, but this trick works.

 

No fly cutting the pistons on this cam.

 

Here is a quick video of this exact cam installed in an LS3 Camaro.

http://www.facebook.com/Cincyspeedra...type=2&theater

I had two goals for this cam other than streetability and a nice sound. I wanted it to make good power in my N/A motor but also be the right cam for when I supercharge the the car in a year or two. Essentially, this could be labeled as a blower cam.

 

Selecting the right cam for "you" can be very complicated and confusing for most people. There are so many things to take into consideration. What we typically prefer to do is to interview the client briefly about the uses and goals of the vehicle in a very qualitative approach. Questions like:

- "how would you like your car to sound?"
- "is this a street car, a street / strip car, or race car primarily?"
- "how critical is stock like driveability to you?
- "where in the rpm do you utilize the car the most?"
- etc.

These are all qualitative items that a good cam designer can take into consideration and develop the perfect cam specs for that individual. Although we utilize a number of proven combinations and lobes that we know will make power, we typically tailor the cam specs specifically to the owner and the car.

One of the things that you need to be careful about is the fact that you have the LS2 powerplant. Don't look at LS3 cam specifications of other C6 cars and expect your cathedral port head to achieve similar results to something within a rectangular port engine. The LS2 has to be tailored a bit differently than anything being put into a late model rectangular port head. The main reason for this is the vast difference in intake flow vs. exhaust flow ratio, which has dramatic effects on the efficiency and effect of scavenging and overall pumping and combustion efficiency.

Other major factors to include into your decision is budget, and let me explain why. There is a major misunderstanding in the industry that describes the quality and effectiveness of a valve spring simply by it's lift capacity. This is a major mistake and too often do I see very aggressive cam lobe profiles being used with an inferior spring rate valve spring. We are more than happy to use a good quality .650 dual spring in an application that has a 380#/in rate, but there are lobe profiles that are immediately taken off the table. We have springs that have much higher spring rates that do a superior job in controlling valvetrain at high rpm with aggressive ramp rates and still being kind to your factory lifters. These components come at a cost though, so keep that in mind. Not all .650 lift springs are created equal...

Beyond that, valve events are far more important than any given combination of random durations and LSA numbers. Magic can be done with maximum driveability with the proper combination of durations, LSA and advance.

All of these are best left to a professional that has done this a time or two before. There really isn't anything wrong with picking a cam off the shelf as long as proper research has been done, but there is no reason to not consult with an entity like ourselves at modern muscle to achieve every one of your goals. The process here for cam selection is completely transparent. We don't withhold completely accurate specifications of the cam to protect some kind of silly propriety with picking a cam. We ultimately want a completely satisfied customer.

 

I was under the impression that Comp Cams was one of the premier cam companies?

 

I'll be honest with my experiences from my cam purchases...
the big companies tend to stay somewhat on the conservative side
i have yet to have one, especially comp cams truly understand my needs and desires
also make sure if you are getting a cam to get it blue printed or thoroughtly checked out
most places are off the shelf batch jobs, or a quick cut out the door it goes
worst thing you want to do in the middle of an install is to find out its out of specs when degreeing, ok this may be a minute point, but in some cases it's lost power (again could be negligible for a typical street car, yet i've known people to double check and find em way out, of course big companies will warranty it, after their inspection process)

to me one of the best guys to deal with was Larry at Lazer cams, but he has passed on, he has been the only one who understood my wants in a cam (i do have some pretty good knowledge and understanding of cam technology)
Harold at Bullet is also great to talk to, and there are many others as well

just be cautious when dealing with the bigger cam companies, and again ask about their blueprinting ability, a few $$'s spent can be a wise investment

i have spent some big $$ and gone threw 3 "custom" cams on CC's recommendations, and still not happy, all they seemed to keep doing is putting me on their conservative side and i just feel like they are matching me up with some charts, ohhh yeah and ever so happy to sell you an XE line of cam and seem to discourage from anything else

there are pros and cons to designing/buying a cam, so keep that in mind
as stated you need to decide on things:
what's your goals
driveability, small power increase, other changes like gears, convertor, intake, rockers, heads, etc
all play a part and also understand cam specs and what their ramifications are


youtube has some awesome videos for sounds as well as drivebys, look there too