Best Daily Drive Cam for Trans am

**RedTransamWS6** · 04-09-2014, 07:04 PM

Hello

I am new here and was wondering what the best cam is for my 1999 Trans am it is automatic and I have gmmg exhaust. Does the cam make you're car sound louder at idle and give you more power? I am really looking for the exhaust to be louder at idle. Also what other things can I do to add more power. I have a stock WS6 hood with a Stock ram air box but it is just a Trans am.

Thank you

**98TransAmWs-6** · 04-10-2014, 06:53 AM

There really is no "best" DD cam. What I mean is what is a good DD cam for you may be different for someone else. Generally speaking anything from the 224 to the mid 230 duration should be doable. You might find that you are fine with a bigger cam though. A few things to ask first are what are you doing with the car besides it being a DD? Are you going to track it at all or is it just going to be a street warrior? With the cam you are going to at least want to get a 3600+ stall for your automatic transmission. In addition you are going to want to get long tube headers and a either catted y pipe or an off road y pipe. All of these things add power but to get the most out of it you want to make sure your mods match and support each other. Heads are another area that add more power if you get either aftermarket, better flowing stock heads (like ls6 243 heads), or ported stock castings. Also you are going to want to get an aftermarket airbox lid which adds about 10 hp pretty cheaply. Also.since you have a 99 TA it doesn't have the ls6 intake manifold that is another thing to get and it is a cheap mod that bumps up the hp a good amount.

The cam will change the sound but more importantly it will give a significant power increase over stock. Long tube headers and a bigger y pipe will increase both hp and make the exhaust louder and sound much more aggressive.

**RedTransamWS6** · 04-10-2014, 09:06 AM

Thank you for replying. It would be a street warrior. I will probably replace the air box. My goal is maybe to get around 450 to 500 hp. I know I would probably take away some mpg but that's ok as long as its not drastic.

**98TransAmWs-6** · 04-10-2014, 12:07 PM

To get in the 500rwhp range on the stock cubed engine would be pretty radical and be naturally aspirated would most likely be a pain to DD. It is doable but everything will have to be just perfectly matched together to result in that kind of power but you still may not see that on the dyno since you are an automatic and it eats more hp than a manual does. Personally I wouldn't get too wrapped up in hp numbers, all that really matters is how fast the car actually goes. You should be able to get in the 400-450 range pretty easily. If you want that I would suggest a 230+ duration cam, 1 7/8" long with a 3" y pipe tube headers, aftermarket lid, LS6 intake manifold, and either TFS 215 heads or some AI 232 cc ls6 243s. That should give you some nice power. Don't forget to upgrade your suspension, transmission, and rear end otherwise you will not be able to put the power to the ground and will break your rear and transmission if you don't take it easy and launch hard. Also, you are going to want to upgrade your fuel pump and injectors so that your fuel system can handle that power.

I would contact either Tick Performance, Texas-Speed, EPS, and or Advanced Induction and tell them your goals and they will get you set up as far as making sure everything matches up to get the most power out of your setup.

**SMWS6TA** · 04-10-2014, 12:53 PM

Not really, it's the means on which you want to get to the magic 500 HP #.

By this I mean a decent cam and heads with a LS6 or better FAST 102 intake PLUS a good shoot of nitrous will put him up there. The con side of this is if you want the internals to last then forged rods & pistons are needed as well.

Your suggestion is the better of the two

**98TransAmWs-6** · 04-10-2014, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by SMWS6TA

Not really, it's the means on which you want to get to the magic 500 HP #.

By this I mean a decent cam and heads with a LS6 or better FAST 102 intake PLUS a good shoot of nitrous will put him up there. The con side of this is if you want the internals to last then forged rods & pistons are needed as well.

Your suggestion is the better of the two

I was assuming he doesn't want to go crazy lol. If it were me I would get to 500 rwhp with a 346 but my setup would be pretty radical for most to DD it. I wasn't saying you can't get there as you sure can it just takes some planning especially if you want to do it NA without nitrous or FI.

**RedTransamWS6** · 04-10-2014, 01:00 PM

Thank you for the feedback. I was wondering do they still make new ls6 intakes or would I have to get lucky and find one used somewhere? Wish I could afford a newer engine but that will probably wait till I really have to replace mine.

Originally Posted by 98TransAmWs-6

To get in the 500rwhp range on the stock cubed engine would be pretty radical and be naturally aspirated would most likely be a pain to DD. It is doable but everything will have to be just perfectly matched together to result in that kind of power but you still may not see that on the dyno since you are an automatic and it eats more hp than a manual does. Personally I wouldn't get too wrapped up in hp numbers, all that really matters is how fast the car actually goes. You should be able to get in the 400-450 range pretty easily. If you want that I would suggest a 230+ duration cam, 1 7/8" long with a 3" y pipe tube headers, aftermarket lid, LS6 intake manifold, and either TFS 215 heads or some AI 232 cc ls6 243s. That should give you some nice power. Don't forget to upgrade your suspension, transmission, and rear end otherwise you will not be able to put the power to the ground and will break your rear and transmission if you don't take it easy and launch hard. Also, you are going to want to upgrade your fuel pump and injectors so that your fuel system can handle that power.

I would contact either Tick Performance, Texas-Speed, EPS, and or Advanced Induction and tell them your goals and they will get you set up as far as making sure everything matches up to get the most power out of your setup.

**98TransAmWs-6** · 04-10-2014, 01:06 PM

The LS6 made by gm is no longer available new but you can find them all day long on ebay for around $300 to $400. You will have to delete your EGR system if you want that intake though or buy the SLP version which comes with the provision for the EGR. I personally would buy the GM one and delete the EGR system. I did that on my FAST 102.