At the moment I am running ( on a 87' 350 Iroc), TFS heads, edelbrock intake,runners and headers, 52mm t/body and a AFPR. Bad news is the stock cam is still lurking in there. Have being looking at cams and in particular these three.

ZZ4, TPIS ZZ-9 and Comp cams xtreme energy 269HR.
Anyone had any experience with any of these on that setup?.
Would I have to get a chip burnt with the comp cam?.
Would clearance be an issue on any of those?.
Not to worried about the cost of the cam, but would like to get the best from the heads.
All opinions very welcome.Thanks.

 

I haven't had any experience with your particular setup, however I'll vouch for the xtreme energy cam. They are great cams if you wanna make a good amount of power in a streetable motor. I'm using the xtreme energy 274 in my '87.

- Justin

 

You did not mention the rest of your exhaust system besides the headers. I assume you have a single cat. You need 2 1/2 inch pipes to a good aftermarket "Y" pipe. Then 3" to your cat. Cat is 3" of course. Than 3" to a good high flow muffler. Use mandrel bent pipe.

I'm using a ZZ9 style cam. It is custom ground but the specs are almost Identical. I also have the TrickFlow heads, Edelbrock TPI manifold extruded honed with SLP runners and a ported plenum. Using a 52MM throttle body.

I had it dyno'd recently and I have 354HP at the flywheel. Couple of weeks ago I ran a 13.30 and 103.59MPH at the track. Fuel air ratio way off. I'm currently modifying my plenum and SLP runners some more. I expect to be in the high 12's and the 105-106MPH range next time out.

Yes you need a custom eprom. You are not getting all the HP out of your current set up without one. The bigger the cam the more rpm's you have to spin your motor to take advantage. The ZZ9 cam is good for a custom TPI. I'm also using 1.6 roller rockers.

You already have good heads and that is the big part. Make sure your exhaust is first class all the way back to the tail pipe as I outlined above. Make sure you have a good intake system. Take a look at some of the mods done to the Camaro intake. I have descreened my MAF and it has been that way for years. Make sure you have done the mods to the plenum especially with your 52MM throttle body. Other wise it will do no good. Make sure you have port matched the plenum, runners and manifold.

You can make good power with the ZZ4 cam and with a few more revs a little more power with the ZZ9 cam and still maintain a good idle. If you want to rev higher(remember TPI) you can go to the 269HR. Hope this helps. Allen

 

Thanks for the help Allen.

I have a complete Edelbrock system on the car and no cat. Also I am using 1.5 ratio roller rockers. I have also descreened the MAF but have done no port work. At the moment I have a Hypertech chip in it but I am thinking of putting the stock GM one back in for now.

Were there any clearance problems with the cam you are using?. I am using stock length chromeoly push rods now, is it possible to use those with the ZZ-9 cam?.

Good numbers by the way. Do you run on street tyres?. What 60 ft times are you getting?. Mine are shameful . ( driver not car)

Thanks again.

 

I'm using the stock factory pushrods. No clearance problems and using the factory valve covers. I'm using the Mickey Thompson ET street radial tires. It's useless to use street tires on my car. I just sit there and spin. My 60ft times run between 1.9 and 2.1 seconds. Still trying to better my driving skills. By the way I estimate my total car weight is around 3800 pounds with me weighing 250 pounds. Allen