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Looking to swap cams in my 07 ls2 . I have a 6 speed manual , car has 97000 miles on it , runs great. Was also going to put a CAI and Zo6 exhaust "have it". don't have $ for headers. I think I've narrowed it down to theses 3 choices . Also anyone run the pre-programed ECU From Michigan MOTORSPORTS. They have them ready to swap for the cam etc. on the car , just give them the info. Tell me what y'all think.
Thanks,
Vince
1. Specs: 214/225 .600"/.600" 108LSA, 3 Bolt Pattern Michigan MotorsportsThis High Lift version of our popular Lumberjack camshaft is an excellent choice for LS swapped hot rods and street cruisers. It is also a great choice for truck owners looking for a 10-15hp gain over the standard Lumberjack while keeping the same broad powerband and drivability of the low lift version. This camshaft will have a considerable chop at idle, yet still works well with the factory torque converter in 5.3L-6.2L powered vehicles and is a great choice for manual transmission street car applications. A 2800rpm+ stall is recommended for 4.8L combinations.
Developed and ground in-house using state of the art BTR designed lobes, the new LS1 Stage 2 V2 cam is the latest offering in the LS1/LS2 line up. We went back to the drawing board to find even more power and torque. This camshaft has a moderate idle for use in daily driving, yet makes significantly more midrange and top end power over Stage 1, with an over 16% horsepower gain at peak over the factory LS2 camshaft.
3.BTR RED HOT CAMSHAFT
221/24X, .619/.617, 113 LSA
INTAKE LOBE LIFT @ TDC: 0.04730
BTR is proud to introduce our newest camshaft offering for 5.7, 6.0, and 6.2 LS engines. Affectionately dubbed The Red Hot Cam, we have put this camshaft in a wide variety of engine combos, and it was spicy enough to make excellent power in both boosted and N/A applications.
Things really heated up once it was installed and running on the engine dyno. It showed excellent power gains over our existing Stage 2 PDS and LS3 Centrifugal cam profiles even with less intake duration. Using BTR lobes designed in house, this cam had just the right amount of kick that combined both great stability and durability during Spintron testing. Scoring a 1.5m SHU (Think Carolina Reaper and Pepper Spray) on the Scoville Scale, this cam is sure to add some heat to your build!
I would run the Cam Motion LS 1/2 Titan 4 227*/232* 113*+3* .621"/.608"
Easy to tune, excellent driving manners with a good tune, and worth 50 RWHP over stock.
Chop will come from the tune with a slow ~650 rpm idle speed.
I like the idea of the OE Z06 exhaust, that was my plan in CA with my
LMB 07 also lol.
Other cams listed have to much ex duration and or overlap in my non-expert opinion
and will be a pain in CA traffic especially if DD.
I would run the Cam Motion LS 1/2 Titan 4 227*/232* 113*+3* .621"/.608"
Easy to tune, excellent driving manners with a good tune, and worth 50 RWHP over stock.
Chop will come from the tune with a slow ~650 rpm idle speed.
I like the idea of the OE Z06 exhaust, that was my plan in CA with my
LMB 07 also lol.
Other cams listed have to much ex duration and or overlap in my non-expert opinion
and will be a pain in CA traffic especially if DD.
Just my .02 and worth what you paid for it
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I only drive it when I want to play. not a daily so not to concerned with that . Think I'll go with spicy BTR cam. read on other forms how much people like it and the extra HP you get .
Thanks everyone
Vince
Johnsons are my go to, but Morel makes some good stuff as well. Johnsons are the cost effective option. Side bar: I see your in Cali... Your going to have alot of issue getting the car to pass smog with any cam and a tune, just something to be cognizant of.
Johnsons are my go to, but Morel makes some good stuff as well. Johnsons are the cost effective option. Side bar: I see your in Cali... Your going to have alot of issue getting the car to pass smog with any cam and a tune, just something to be cognizant of.
I got a guy , lol . I will look into the lifters and thank you.
What do you want out of your cam swap? Max effort? Manners and efficiency matter? Mean or stealth idle?
As far as a mail order tune...if the cam is anything more than very mild, I'd get an "in person" tune.
I wouldn't run any of the cams you mentioned without new lifters.
What lifters are you running ? My mechanic put new GM LS7 lifters in my LS3 when he did my Cam Motion cam swap, he said he's never had any issues from customers using GM LS7 lifters and he's done hundreds of LS builds.
I have the same exact car. Last winter I did a BTR redhot cam, fast 102, speed engineering headers and Z06 mufflers. I’m real happy with the choice, it pulls smooth from 1500 rpm and comes on hard above 3000. I was real concerned about losing bottom end since we cruise a lot of the time, couldn’t be happier with it! You can’t run it at 1200 rpm in 6th gear but never really did that anyway.
I have the same exact car. Last winter I did a BTR redhot cam, fast 102, speed engineering headers and Z06 mufflers. I’m real happy with the choice, it pulls smooth from 1500 rpm and comes on hard above 3000. I was real concerned about losing bottom end since we cruise a lot of the time, couldn’t be happier with it! You can’t run it at 1200 rpm in 6th gear but never really did that anyway.
perfect!!
Thank you. Reading up and the #'s on the cam looks like its just spicy enough
What lifters are you running ? My mechanic put new GM LS7 lifters in my LS3 when he did my Cam Motion cam swap, he said he's never had any issues from customers using GM LS7 lifters and he's done hundreds of LS builds.
GM LS7 lifters are notorious for collapsing, and coming apart under increased spring pressure. I've personally lost 3 motors to them in the last 12 years. Johnson short travel's are quickly becoming the standard most people run. I don't recall which guest it was recently on Cooper Bogetti's podcast (I want to say maybe Doug from Motion Raceworks? I may be wrong on that) Had a discussion about LS7 lifters. Basically at one point in time Johnson made the LS7 lifters for GM but due to penny pinching and a need for a cheaper manufacturing process GM opted to go with an overseas supplier and Johnson bowed out as they knew what GM wanted them to make would be junk. Thats when they went into the aftermarket and started producing their own lifter. Morel also makes some very high quality GM style lifters. Alot of the alledged LS7 lifters on the market right now aren't even up to par with the ones GM sells. Ebay is flooded with knockoffs and there's really no good way to tell. 10 years ago we didn't have much in the way of options so LS7 lifters were just what you used... but now with all these great aftermarket options its hard to justify the few dollars saved for the potential catastrophic failure a cheap GM lifter can cause.
Sidebar: I have a friend who has a Thompson Motorsports 427 LSX that was built around 2013ish.. back then LS7 lifter's were about the only option so this motor ended up with them. The car set in the shop for quite a few years until about 2022 when he finally got it in a car and got it running. Within a year one of those said LS7 lifters decided to leave the chat and pretty much ruined the 427 around it.
You don't need a ton of lift on a cam and keeping the lift below .600 will help with reliability. Also, many people go too big on a cam and then hate the drivability of it.
As for lifters, never a bad idea to upgrade. Johnsons are the best and is what I am running. The next best upgrade would be the Chevy race (caddy) lifters. Make sure to replace the lifter trays with OEM new trays even if you don't change out the lifters. Ideally, if you can swing it, the Johnson link bars would be the thing to get.
My setup in my 2011 GS is an Edelbrock E-force. I am running a GM LS9 cam with Jonson 2110R lifters, Cam Motion .625 lift beehive springs, Cam Motion pushrods, and the BTR shaft rocker system with the stock GM rocker arms. I went with the LS9 cam as I wanted a mild cam upgrade that would be rock solid reliable and it goes good with my supercharger.
Last edited by Spaceme1117; Aug 14, 2024 at 08:44 AM.
You don't need a ton of lift on a cam and keeping the lift lower will help with reliability. Also, many people go to big on a cam and then hate the drivability of it.
As for lifters, never a bad idea to upgrade. Johnsons are the best and is what I am running. The next best upgrade would be the Chevy race (caddy) lifters. Make sure to replace the lifter trays with OEM new trays even if you don't change out the lifters.
So I went with the Caddy lifters, thats what im currently running... I haven't had any major issues out of them but they are terribly noisy and now I can't say I trust them because of that. I feel like their only marginally better than the LS7s but by how much I'm leary. Going to a Johnson this winter just for peace of mind.
What lifters are you running ? My mechanic put new GM LS7 lifters in my LS3 when he did my Cam Motion cam swap, he said he's never had any issues from customers using GM LS7 lifters and he's done hundreds of LS builds.
I'm using the Caddy lifters. I have over 50k miles on the build now. I'm using stock rocker arms and BTR platinum duals along with a .620 lift custom Cam Motion cam. I did change the valve springs and rocker arms at the 30K mile mark with more of the same. Very pleased. If I had to do it over, I wouldn't change a thing.
what cam
