Performance cam and highway driving/mail in pcm update

[swifty]

I have been away from the forums for a very long time but I still have my 60,000 mile '00 Z28 and I am the original owner. I have recently retired and am seriously thinking about installing a performance cam. I have done most of the external bolt ons (including LS6 intake not listed in signature) myself but never an internal thing like a cam so, while I am mechanically handy, I am somewhat nervous about this job.

I know that when goofing around with hotter cams, the engine idle is altered to be lopier and/or rougher. I am probably going to do a duration 224 or 228 cam on lsa 112 which I think will make the idle distinctive, which is good. My question:does the new cam engine idle roughness cause rough acceleration and does it impact the smoothness of the engine at highway speeds. This car has been and will continue to be a long roadtrip car as well as a dd. Never the drag strip.

Also, I think that I will need a computer tune after the cam install and I am wondering what people think about these mail order pcm updates like TSP has where you mail them your pcm and a list of your mods and they "tune" it and send it back. Is this anywhere near as good as placing the car on a dyno and tuning it?

Over the years I have gotten wonderful information from you guys which I really appreciate. This is a great forum. Thank you very much...Carl

[Knight]

A cam shouldn't cause any roughness of acceleration or driving at highway speeds. Depending on the design of the cam, you change the "powerband" of the engine. Some will produce power near idle to top rpm, others only within certain rpm ranges. Deciding where you want the power at in the rpm range will help determine which cam to go with. To make full use of the added power a cam can create, heads are usually done at the same time. This allows for better flow through the engine, also increasing power. Plus it gives the opportunity to upgrade the springs and rockers and such. You can simply upgrade the springs and such in the stock heads, which will increase durability, if budget doesn't allow for new heads.

As for a mail order tune, Frost - site sponser, click his banner at the top - is highly recommended. Many members on here have used his services, and I have yet to hear any complaints. That being said, a dyno tune by a reputable shop is the best way to go, especially after doing internal mods on an engine. Price is usually the biggest factor, but will yeild the best results as adjustments can be made based on realtime readings. Frost has a great database of tunes, and will get you very close though.

[swifty]

Thanks for the information and thoughts, Knight. Appreciate it!

[chris1974]

Looks like you're on the right path, Swifty. The engine will respond well to a better cam, considering the current mods you already have installed. Are you planning on doing heads? And +1 on the Frost tune. I haven't gotten mine (yet) but I have done TONS of research. People are consistantly impressed with his tunes.

[Redrokit8]

Looks like you're on the right path, Swifty. The engine will respond well to a better cam, considering the current mods you already have installed. Are you planning on doing heads? And +1 on the Frost tune. I haven't gotten mine (yet) but I have done TONS of research. People are consistantly impressed with his tunes.

I can second that. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical about sending my PCM to Frost, but I'm now a true believer !
Not only great results but also super fast turn around. Can't go wrong on that one.

[35th-ANV-SS]

If your car is an A4, I highly suggest complimenting that cam with a stall. If it's a M6, I'd look at lower gears.