CamaroZ2894

Will the stock LS3 cam work in the LS1 if so what all is needed to make this work?

I know that this has been asked a few times before and all the responses are why would u go tho the trouble? the reason being i was given a stock LS3 cam with the cam gear and the springs all parts have 5k on them so basically new so i am just wondering what i would need to make this cam work? thanks for the help/info

rod442

Someone correct me if Im wrong.....

The Gen 4 and Gen 3 cams are not interchangeable, due to cam sensor pickup differences. And maybe one being 3 bolts (ls1?) and Ls3's being one bolt and the cam gear and wheel issues.

Cant remember which has what, but it wont work.

If it does work, its probably not worth the work/time....

Specs are 204/211 .551/.525 117 for an ls3

vs

202/210 .496/.496 116 for an 98-00 ls1. easier to change to 1.8 rockers for the amout of gain (brings lift to about .525). Not that I'd suggest that either as an only mod.

Kraest

No.

Greed4Speed

No. And you wouldn't want to if you could. The LS3 has completely different heads and requires a different grind than cathedral ported heads. If you're going to put the $ and time out to do a cam change then get a cam spec'd for your engine.

bandite

I see a lot of questions on this matter and know one seems to know the truth and a lot of guys answer With goofy answers .but I have an ls1 on an engine stand and have tried many of these different ls based cams and they work fine I've used ls7 cams ls3 cams and ls2 cams in my try it engine and you know what they all work just fine main thing is when using an ls3 to an ls7 cam is you must use and ls2 cam gear from say a gto or trail blazer ss aka 24X and the timing cover with the correct cam sensor extension since the sensor on the ls3 cams are in the front .also the cams from the ls7 motors use 1.8 rockers and the ls6 ls2 ls3 and ls1 motors use a 1.7 rocker so all the numbers will be less keep that in mind. I bolted some 799 heads from an ls3 on my ls1 from,the wrecking yard it came from a Z28 for all these tests and never changed the valve springs and all seemed to work fine but keep this in mind for it to work correctly you must have your engine tuned.remeber guys these guys aren't asking for opinions they are asking if a set up will work or not .they are not asking weather it's worth it or not.normally I mind my own business but I had to join and chim in.some times if you don't know don't answer a persons question oh ya and I used ls1 push rods .hope this helps use caution when doing any of this stuff valve spring replacment is always recommended I just didn't do it since I was just after the truth in this matter .

bandite

here is some more helpfull info for ls3 guys in this matter Here is a common question among LS engine enthusiasts: My buddy, Joe, just bought a new cam for his 6.0L and wants to get rid of his factory LQ9 cam. Is that a good cam for the 5.3L in my truck, for my 240SX drift car, or the LS engine I am swapping into my second-gen Camaro? In this ultimate LS cam comparo, we've answered that question, and others like: How much is an LS1 cam worth over the 5.3L? Ditto for the LS2, LS3, LS6, LS7, and LS9. Is there any difference between the LR4, early LQ4, and LM7? Heck, we even threw in the L33 (aka H.O. 5.3L), LSA, and LQ9 cam just for good measure. We wrestled with valvesprings, cams sensors, and differing bolt patterns to get all these cams into the engine and on the pump. The result is a guide that will help you select the best OE GM cam for your 5.3L build. Why stock cams? These cams can be had for pennies on the dollar and benefit from millions of dollars spent on the research and development of idle quality, longevity, and fuel mileage. Why the 5.3L? It's the most common LS engine ever made.

The 5.3L used for testing was bone stock, which required at least a valvespring upgrade for the high-lift LS9 and LS7 cams. Even the LS2, LS3, and LS6 cams offered more lift than the factory 5.3L (LM7) springs could support, to say nothing of limiting rpm potential. The spring issue was easily cured using a beehive upgrade. Next issue on the list was the fact that the LS3 and LSA cams were single-bolt that required a front cover equipped to accept a front cam sensor. The LS2 also required a front cam sensor (no provision on the cam for rear sensor), but the LS1 and all other (early) three-bolt cams required a rear sensor. The three distinct cam families also required different timing (cam) gears and a management system that allowed such hybrid mixing of crank and cam sensors. Credit the Holley Dominator EFI system for the ability to accept and tune all of the different cam profiles.

While we were on factory cams, we decided that in addition to the peak power gains, it would be interesting to document things like idle vacuum, cranking compression, and average power and torque gains lower in the rev range. In addition to running the stock cams, we also decided to run a handful of aftermarket Crane cams. With its new offerings, we were excited about both the Direct-Fit line of cams that require no spring changes and a few of the smaller performance cams with similar duration to the factory options. We wanted to know how an aftermarket cam of equal (or near-equal) duration compared with the stock stuff. With that in mind, we ventured off to the dyno. Check out the results to see how your favorite cam compared with the factory LM7.

Baseline: 5.3L LM7 Cam
Being such a diminutive factory cam, it is not surprising that power fell off so rapidly past 5,500 rpm. Run on the high-mileage 5.3L, the stock 5.3L cam produced peak numbers of 353 hp at 5,200 rpm and 384 lb-ft of torque at 4,300 rpm. It is interesting to note that the same cam was used on the smaller LR4 4.8L, and that combination (same heads, cam, and intake) makes peak power 300 rpm higher. Obviously tuned for low-speed power, torque production with the stock cam exceeded 350 lb-ft from 2,700 rpm to 5,300 rpm. We tested the LR4 and LQ4 cams, but these produced identical power to the LM7.






Read more: LS Cam Test Comparison - Car Craft Magazine