Greenslade11

08 base ls3 m6, Wondering which cam i should go with, car is a weekend car only, planning on doing a NA build, ported tb and intake, along with E-85. Trying to decide between BTR stage 4, LG g6x3, or vengeance racing kaotic cam, thanks

Brandon619

Is this a max effort build? Are you planning to add heads later? Is this car a daily driver, does your wife drive the car? You don't have to go with that big of a cam like mentioned above to get good power from a cam. I've been down this road, I was just going to do a cam. Then I added heads after the cam swap, I would think of your overall budget and desired driving manners when choosing a cam. Trust me when you hear people say there is no bucking or surge with certain cams they are not telling the whole truth, meaning they can tolerate more than other people can or have spent alot of hours tuning the cam for proper driving manners. I would also consider raising your compression with a thinner head gasket if not doing heads to optimize the E85.

Greenslade11

yea I see what your saying, I've never driven a cammed car I guess so I dont know what to expect for driving manners, I wouldn't mind sacrificing some, it's just a weekend car and I'm after a good amount of hp, wasnt gonna do heads yet bc of cost, from what I've read the bucking and surging depends alot on the tuner, from my understanding all 3 of these cams will get me close to 500hp correct?

Brandon619

if you have full bolt ons and add a cam with a ported intake, TB and E85 it might net you 430-475 rwhp depending on dyno.

Got uid0

487 RWHP
LG G6x3, dual valve springs, c5-r timing chain, 180 stat, 3200 precision industries stall, pfadt tri-y headers, halltech mf103

12-15mpg city 25 highway

Not on e85

Has a slight shake at a light but not horrible. No surging or problems like that.

might sell it

Greenslade11

why you thinking about selling it?

old motorhead

I'm going to politely disagree with that statement. On an M6 LS3 powered Vette, 475 at the wheels is very doable with a much milder cam than what the OP is considering. I did it with a 226/234 114+2 and a 232/234 112+2. That's done on 93 octane....no E85. The first cam was much easier to get along with. Pretty sure the LG cam has hit 500 with just bolt ons. None of those cams mentioned would be my idea of tame. Greatest tuner in the world isn't going to tune any of those to perfect manners. Just ain't happnin'.

Greenslade11

thank you for the reply, i was thinking the same thing hp wise and i understand drivabilty is gonna suffer some but how bad really is it? is it that bad that i should get a milder cam?

Last 1

old motorhead

To me, the extra few ponies you get on the top end just isn't worth the less than good manners. If it really matters to you how fast you get from pt A to pt B, maybe go the big cam route. Been there, done it, won't do it again. Shake, surge, lope, and crappy gas mileage is certainly cool at first. Just got old to me real quick. I don't spend much time over 6000 rpm anyway. A 3200# Vette is a really fun ride with 475 wheel hp and good manners. Some will argue that it's even more fun with 500. I'm not willing to sacrifice near perfect manners for that little bit of HP on the top end. Different strokes for different folks though.

Greenslade11

I totally agree with you, and now I'm starting to rethink what I should do, I just had those cams in mind bc they seem to be the most popular, especially the btr stage 4, I've seen so many cars with that cam, nobody talks about the drivability I guess

old motorhead

Nothing "wrong" with those cams. Lots of guys totally love 'em. Just not how I want my Vette to drive.

Brandon619

Hello, it is your right to disagree. My comment was based upon my experience with a certain dyno in REAL WORLD conditions. I wasn't low balling my guessimation just an opinion base on my experience.

hungryhippo

All those cams are aggressive and will get you close to 500rwhp. Of those 3, I would pick the lg cam because I've seen plenty of dyno graphs, all of them around 500hp and with a nice powerband. All of them are too much for me personally though.

GS_DAN

I've had the BTR Stage IV in my car for about 2 years now with full bolt ons made 491 RWHP. There is some bucking and surging taking off from a stop but its not THAT bad and can usually "drive" it out. I love the top end power but if i had to do it again might have gone with the Stage 3. The car is not a daily driver.

Got uid0

I have 2 vettes and not finding myself driving it often.

1/4 tank to get to work vs c5 stock mpg. Mine is an auto so perhaps it is more tame with the stall conv

0Daniel@Vengeance

FWIW our KAOTIK Camshaft is by no means a MAX EFFORT camshaft. That being said we have done hundreds of LS3 equipped vehicles with this camshaft. Depending on the weather we typically see between 40hp to 60hp increase with a camshaft on a manual vette with pump gas. It offers an aggressive lope at idle but still has excellent street ability and road manners. Feel free to give myself or Robert a call or shoot us an email and we will be more than happy to discuss your build goals with you and help make a recommendation. Our number is 678-513-7105 or Sales@Vengeanceracing.net . We look forward to hearing from you. I have attached several videos of our KAOTIK camshaft for your review.

cv67

Know anyone in the regional section that can let you drive thiers?

Are you open to changing the rpm range you drive? And most of all regearing it. Many put a rumpity cam in, dont gear it then complain it has bad manners, bucks, lack of tq etc. Der....

old motorhead

Agree with that. I've had 5 different cams in LS3's. Many more if you count LS2's and 5.3L LS engines. I'm 100% sure that I know what is too big, too small, and just right....for me. Hopefully, the OP can get around some cammed Vettes and decide what he likes. Remember, if you go too big, you end up not enyoying your Vette. If you go too small, you may regret your decision, but you still enjoy driving your Vette.

Pete2k_Z28