OsirisY2K

Hello this is my first V8 and first cammed car. I've owned previous performance cars but all were German and Japanese. I'm wondering what I got myself into, some things I should know about or keep an eye on.

​​​​​Theres a few things the dealer told me but just want to confirm.

1. Cammed cars typically run a little richer than normal T/F?

The car when I'm driving at highway speeds or even slower speed at low RPM tends to buck they said this was also normal.

When I turn the car off and turn it back on after a little while it'll struggle to start but after letting it sit for a long time it'll start right up.

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated thanks!

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PMPerformance

Cam has nothing to do with running rich or lean. The car should be tuned already if it’s cammed. If it’s not, I would do it.

The only thing to know about cammed cars is really the low rpm bucking and idle/startup that can be problematic.

OsirisY2K

That's interesting, the dealership I bought it from said it was extensively tuned and that bucking while driving at low RPM highway speed was normal I'll have it looked at. Any idea on what that could be it's an automatic not manual.

Gdow

It’s considered normal but doesn’t have to be. My car had a lot of surging and bucking when I bought it. I spent a lot of time working on the tune and just about have it all gone now.

PMPerformance

bucking is normal. I thought I said that. I just said cams don’t just mean the car runs rich.
Bucking can be adjusted by the tune a bit. But less agressive cams buck less

Noblebro175

I've heard having long tubes can cause some starting issues as you've described. Are they wrapped? I believe aftermarket offers a heat shield to protect your starter.

Running rich IMO sounds like tuning. Not sure if your cats or the lack of would cause the smell of richness? Ask the dealer to provide tuner contact information.

Extensively tuned doesn't sound as good as hearing it was tuned. I mean, you mentioned a cammed car not a full race build . Knowing who has tuned it would be very beneficial. GL!

old motorhead

It may smell like it's running "rich", but the tune may be fine. Big cam plus low engine speed equals unburned fuel. Cats will help if you have them. No cats and it's going to smell rich no matter how good the tune is. Long tubes shouldn't have anything to do with your starting issue.

PMPerformance

Dealers will tell you whatever you want to hear, or whatever the prior owner made up to trade the car to them.
IE: the dealer won’t know ****.

schizcat

Even if they were causing the starter to have issues with heat?

OP - you should take the car to a reputable tuner and pay to have it checked\redone. Honestly you dont know where the previous tune came from. It could have been a dining room table tune. Do you have any paperwork on the specs for the cam?

old motorhead

Maybe I read it wrong. I didn't think the starting issue had to do with a slow cranking speed. I've had three C6's. All with long tubes. None had any kind of heat shielding or any kind of coating on the headers. No slow crank or other starter issues. No starters replaced. Probably 120K miles between the three. That was in a hot/humid climate too. Maybe I was just lucky?

AIR_RAM

There are several different "Stage-III" cam grinds. Do you know what brand cam it is?

Either way, if its a stage 3 cam, bucking is to be expected with RPMs below 1500 rpms... A good tuner can help smooth the bucking... but the more aggressive the cam the more RPM it needs to stay happy.

SPEED SAFE, NICK

Kevin Mason

That goes double when it comes to modded cars.

Dimewise

You need a good tune and fuel.

Also surging/bucking in an auto is likely from still running a stock stall

The hot start issue is from the starter getting too hot. Neet to wrap the starter and headers and it will fix it

StayinStock

Bucking isn't normal, a properly tuned car wont. But like dimewise just said, if they put too big of a cam in it without doing an aftermarket convertor (with a higher stall speed) you cant tune it out. You should try to verify what cam and if a convertor was done.

MikeFloyd

That's exactly what I would do. Post your location and ask for a recommendation for a good performance shop to have it checked out.