Best cam for a cam only bolt on car...

**ldurham** · 01-25-2012, 09:13 PM

Would like you guys thoughts and experience. I have a 00 z28 m6 with a ls6 intake, stock 853 heads, air lid, smooth bellow, ported throttle body, long tubes w/ tsp 3" true duals dumped, free ram air mod, basically all bolt ons, the owner before me put a ls6 cam in it and it has been dyno tuned but idk the numbers, I can't decide if I want to spend the money on a bigger cam to hopefully get me into the 390 to 400 whp range. So what would be a good cam for a stock bolt on ls1? Im not comfortable with taking my engine past 6,000 rpm and I have stock 3.42 gears, and I also love really choppy idles...and would I need to add any supporting mods like new valve springs or pushrods or lifters? And to actually install the cam would pulling the whole front clip be necessary or would just pulling the radiator and condenser be enough room to slide it out?Sorry for all the questions just trying to decide if doing a cam only would be worth it not...thanks for the help

**0rion** · 01-25-2012, 09:23 PM

I personally would address those gears first but that's just me. As far as a cam you'll probably get answers all over the place. It'd probably be pretty hard to hit 400 at the wheels without spinning the engine up there. Most cams are gonna want more than 6k rpm's to make 400 really. I didn't like the idea of spinning mine high either so I went with a 228r on a 114 to make for good street manners and still run decent at the track. I've been happy with it but I did end up moving my shifts up to 6500.

**ldurham** · 01-25-2012, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by 0rion

I personally would address those gears first but that's just me. As far as a cam you'll probably get answers all over the place. It'd probably be pretty hard to hit 400 at the wheels without spinning the engine up there. Most cams are gonna want more than 6k rpm's to make 400 really. I didn't like the idea of spinning mine high either so I went with a 228r on a 114 to make for good street manners and still run decent at the track. I've been happy with it but I did end up moving my shifts up to 6500.

Why didn't you go with a 112 lsa? And since taking your engine to 6,500 you haven't had any problems with it?Did you install your cam yourself?

**0rion** · 01-25-2012, 09:44 PM

I wanted better idle quality and better low end so I went with the 114. I haven't had any problems shifting at 6500. Been shifting there for probably 3 years now. Mine is a 98 so I have the first round of rod bolts which were even worse than the later years. I probably wouldn't want to shift at 7000 on a regular basis but I'm sure there's people out there that do. You could easily shift it at 6300-6400 all day long without issue as long as you upgrade the valve train which I'm assuming you will. Get those stock springs, retainers, and pushrods out of there.

**ldurham** · 01-25-2012, 10:25 PM

Ok I see, thanks for the help, did you upgrade to a ported ls6 oil pump and ls2 timing chain while you were at it? I'm curios as to what kinda numbers my car is putting down right now with my ls6 cam

**0rion** · 01-25-2012, 10:28 PM

yeah....I did the oil pump and chain all at the same time as the heads/cam. I'm not sure what you're putting to the wheels......if I had to guess ( and it's a complete guess) I'd say 360-370 to the wheels?

**ldurham** · 01-25-2012, 10:54 PM

I see I see, yea that's what I was thinking, I just found a respectable shop that will let me do 3 dyno pulls for 75 bucks so I'm gunna do that soon and get back on here with my numbers.

**Mike0202** · 01-30-2012, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by ldurham

Would like you guys thoughts and experience. I have a 00 z28 m6 with a ls6 intake, stock 853 heads, air lid, smooth bellow, ported throttle body, long tubes w/ tsp 3" true duals dumped, free ram air mod, basically all bolt ons, the owner before me put a ls6 cam in it and it has been dyno tuned but idk the numbers, I can't decide if I want to spend the money on a bigger cam to hopefully get me into the 390 to 400 whp range. So what would be a good cam for a stock bolt on ls1? Im not comfortable with taking my engine past 6,000 rpm and I have stock 3.42 gears, and I also love really choppy idles...and would I need to add any supporting mods like new valve springs or pushrods or lifters? And to actually install the cam would pulling the whole front clip be necessary or would just pulling the radiator and condenser be enough room to slide it out?Sorry for all the questions just trying to decide if doing a cam only would be worth it not...thanks for the help

I would go with the TV2 Cam. Thats what im doing soon and I have pretty much the same mods as you.

**mark21742** · 01-31-2012, 03:40 AM

I don't recomend it very often, but you might want to look at upgrading your valvesprings and going with s 1.85:1 rocker

**redbird555** · 01-31-2012, 05:48 AM

Originally Posted by ldurham

Would like you guys thoughts and experience. I have a 00 z28 m6 with a ls6 intake, stock 853 heads, air lid, smooth bellow, ported throttle body, long tubes w/ tsp 3" true duals dumped, free ram air mod, basically all bolt ons, the owner before me put a ls6 cam in it and it has been dyno tuned but idk the numbers, I can't decide if I want to spend the money on a bigger cam to hopefully get me into the 390 to 400 whp range. So what would be a good cam for a stock bolt on ls1? Im not comfortable with taking my engine past 6,000 rpm and I have stock 3.42 gears, and I also love really choppy idles...and would I need to add any supporting mods like new valve springs or pushrods or lifters? And to actually install the cam would pulling the whole front clip be necessary or would just pulling the radiator and condenser be enough room to slide it out?Sorry for all the questions just trying to decide if doing a cam only would be worth it not...thanks for the help

Cam only is def worth it either way you look at it. For what you want I would recommend something in the range of a 228/232 on a 112lsa. The lower lsa will help bring in the power a little earlier which is good for your gears and your rev goals. Either way you look at it though the motor will love gears stock or with a cam and with any cam your probably going to have to spin it to 6500. With a good oil pump and valve springs you should have no problem going to 6500. However 98-00 rod bolts aren't as strong as the 01-02 bolts and so therefore I wouldn't really venture over 6500. I'd shift at 64-6500 and have the fuel cutoff around 6600. If you really wanted to play it safe you could add a set of katech rod bolts but as long as you stay under 6600 you should really have no problems.

**ldurham** · 01-31-2012, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by redbird555

Cam only is def worth it either way you look at it. For what you want I would recommend something in the range of a 228/232 on a 112lsa. The lower lsa will help bring in the power a little earlier which is good for your gears and your rev goals. Either way you look at it though the motor will love gears stock or with a cam and with any cam your probably going to have to spin it to 6500. With a good oil pump and valve springs you should have no problem going to 6500. However 98-00 rod bolts aren't as strong as the 01-02 bolts and so therefore I wouldn't really venture over 6500. I'd shift at 64-6500 and have the fuel cutoff around 6600. If you really wanted to play it safe you could add a set of katech rod bolts but as long as you stay under 6600 you should really have no problems.

Thanks for the info! Very informative, I can't wait to do my cam now. What kind of valve springs would you recommend?

**redbird555** · 01-31-2012, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by ldurham

Thanks for the info! Very informative, I can't wait to do my cam now. What kind of valve springs would you recommend?

The spring choice is very dependent on your cam if your going to keep it mild <232 @.050 and <.600 lift the I would recommend a good single beehive spring. My personal choice would be the PSI 1511 (used by gm performance parts fro their build) or pac 1518's these springs are both nitrided for added strength and longevity. The compp 918 is also a popular choice but a couple years back they had a lot of spring failures an I would just rather be safe than sorry. Your best bet is to pick out the cam you like and when you order it speak with the vendor on if they recommend a double or single spring. The lift and duration are good indicators of what spring you will need but the lobe type the cam is ground on will also affect the choice being made. After that get a set of 4.10's out back, pray the 10 bolt holds and go tear it up lol

**ldurham** · 01-31-2012, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by redbird555

The spring choice is very dependent on your cam if your going to keep it mild <232 @.050 and <.600 lift the I would recommend a good single beehive spring. My personal choice would be the PSI 1511 (used by gm performance parts fro their build) or pac 1518's these springs are both nitrided for added strength and longevity. The compp 918 is also a popular choice but a couple years back they had a lot of spring failures an I would just rather be safe than sorry. Your best bet is to pick out the cam you like and when you order it speak with the vendor on if they recommend a double or single spring. The lift and duration are good indicators of what spring you will need but the lobe type the cam is ground on will also affect the choice being made. After that get a set of 4.10's out back, pray the 10 bolt holds and go tear it up lol

Ok thanks alot! Why is everyone stressing I need to run taller gears in the rear when I do my cam? I have nothing against 3.73's or 4.10's or whatever but am perfectly happy with my stock setup right now so why change them when I do my cam?

**0rion** · 01-31-2012, 02:34 PM

did you edit the original thread and change the gears? I could've swore you said you had 2.73's.

**ldurham** · 01-31-2012, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by 0rion

did you edit the original thread and change the gears? I could've swore you said you had 2.73's.

Lol I had a typo I think I put 2.42 instead of 3.42...

**reaper ws6** · 01-31-2012, 03:29 PM

go to texas-speed they have a good 228 cam package for like 600 bucks, comes with push-roads and valve springs all you need to do a cam, then buy a ported ls6 oil pump and ls2 timing chain and gears

**0rion** · 01-31-2012, 04:04 PM

you could get away with the 3.42's.......4.10's would work much nicer though. I wouldn't do a gear swap on a stock rear though....right those 342's out until you can afford to swap out the whole rear.

**ldurham** · 01-31-2012, 04:25 PM

Yea I've been looking on tsp, I like how they make it into a package, and yea Orion that's exactly what I was planning on doing, just taking care of the rear end I have till I can get a bigger one.

**redbird555** · 01-31-2012, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by ldurham

Yea I've been looking on tsp, I like how they make it into a package, and yea Orion that's exactly what I was planning on doing, just taking care of the rear end I have till I can get a bigger one.

As already said theres nothing really wrong with your current 3.42's but any ls1 stock or cammed will love the 3.90's or 4.10's out back. if you can find a rear with those gears already in it then I'd say buy it cheap and swap it in. If it blows atleast you have another if not... well then enjoy the gears lol

Tsp cam kits are a great option imo. I just seem to think the 228r is a little played out, ddont get me wrong its a great cam but I like to see a little variety lol. Looking at the tsp kits I would look at the TV2 cam its a proven performer and will usually knock down 400whp on an m6 with a great flat torque curve. Also the F13 cam by futral is probably my favorite. This cam never ceases to amaze me everytime I hear someone who has it talk about it boasts how well it drives and how well it brings the power on early an keeps it there this would be one of my top choices. One other thing EPS or engine power systems is a new lobe design for the ls engines and their main advantage is the lobes have a less aggressive ramp rate than those used by tsp or really any other camp grinder. This allows a smoother transition in power along with a much quieter and longer lasting valvetrain. These cams have to be special ordered through their site only, if you give the owner Geoff a call he will be more than happy to help you pick an eps cam for your goals. Also it should be noted that many of the other speed shops like futral and eps will also put together a kit for around 600. The cam specs for the above cams are as follows.

TSP: Torquer V2 232/234 .595 .598 112LSA
FUTRAL: F13 230/232 .588 .588 112 lsa
EPS: 230/234 .598 .600 113LSA (my personal favorite eps grind but this can always be changed)

F13

TV2

EPS 230/234

**ldurham** · 01-31-2012, 07:03 PM

Wow thanks for all the info redbird. Man I love this site, a question never goes un answered on here haha man I can't wait to do my cam now, how much hp & tq you cam only guys puttin down? And what all mods do you have done?