High Lift Cams

[Darkshadow188]

I've been reading on LS1 for some time now and can say that there are a lot of people on here that know their stuff. I presently own a V6 and saw a guy that made 400hp on his V6 which gave me a goal for what I want from a car. Im working on making the transition to an SS Camaro or even keeping my V6 for a DD and building a Drag Car. My goal is 660hp from an LS1 or similar engine. I learned quite a bit about the v6 engine and now am learning about the V8 engines. My question is this: What is the maximum lift I can run before I have clearance isues?

[Mr. Luos]

Depends on what you are willing to do.
Also which motor you want to run the lift on. LS1 right?

With my pistons I can run a huge amount of lift....but they are not stock. You can add to the amount you can run with stock pistons by flycutting the stockers as well.
How high are you looking to run?

[nhraformula]

.600 lift is about max.
anything past that youll have to fly cut pistons and such.

[ninobrn99]

your heads and gaskets along with the lsa the cam is on play a roll in the equation.

[Darkshadow188]

I was looking for somewhere in the range of .603/.603. Theres no way Im going to pull 660 out of a NA Ls1 or LS6 block though. If I ran a blower .603 lift would more than likely not work(someone told me not to run high lift with a blower). I just was wondering how much lift has ever been done and about what point would it be useless(the ammt of lift becomes useless for flow at a certian point right?)

[ninobrn99]

solid roller cams can run up to .7xx + what are your mods and intentions with the car?? as long as your springs are up to the task,then .603 shouldnt be an issue at all.

[Hi-Po]

If you go super chargered you do not want a big cam..... keep that intake valve open to long and youll blow the motor like john force did a while back.

[Darkshadow188]

.7xx ... At what point do the valves make contactr with the piston. Im trying to find out how big I can go without blowing the motor. The last thing I want to do is clean piston chunks out of my oil pan(Horror Story)

[Mr. Luos]

.7xx ... At what point do the valves make contactr with the piston.
Not that high.
It depends on ramp rates and duration as well. I believe the stock LS1 pistons will hit much above .620" Not sure of the exact number.

[Darkshadow188]

Thanks for the info on the lifts, it's much appreciated. Just out of curiocity does anyone know the technical terms for LS and LT engines. A guy at a local meet was trying to tell me it meand Luxury Sport(Made no sense to me) I could see the trim model of a car LS standing for that but not an engine. Any ideas?

[Mr. Luos]

They are just engine codes. As far as I know they don't stand for anything.

[hammertime]

Your clearance will vary widely depending on what pistons you run (dished for low compression with forced induction, for example) and how much camshaft you are using. High lift with shorter duration and dished pistons will likely give you no problems. Stretch out your duration and run any kind of dome and you had better check your clearances with clay.

Hammer