Add mild cam to low boost stock motor or leave stock cam in while replacing lifters?
 

Setup is: Stock LT1 with 44K miles, 1.6 RR's, Powerdyne at 7.5 PSI, Hooker LT's, 42# injectors with dyno tune and FMU deleted, stock intank pump with Powerdyne inline booster pump. Unfortunately it appears I have a collapsed lifter....we'll know for sure in a day or two here but pretty much all of the other variables have been considered. I am thinking of throwing a mild cam in (something like the CC 218/230/114 but even milder via custom grind .....more like 215/224/112+5 per someone else's suggestion, I know it sounds odd but the effective CR would be nice with those or similar cam specs). Basically all I'm asking you all is whether or not simply throwing in a mild cam like this would be a good thing, a bad thing, or neutral effect on ring land wear. It would be dyno tuned to the new cam with safe tuning (~ 25 timing at WOT and 12.0:1) so I'm thinking it would be a neutral effect. Since the cam will assist breathing it should lower the boost reading which is good for the pistons, however the extra RPM and cyllinder pressure (power) is not. Offsetting effects or should I just not tamper with a cam until I have forged pistons? Only reason I'm considering it is the labor would be less than usual since it's already going to be halfway apart for a cam install just to replace the bad lifter(s). I would leave stock heads in place as my wallet isn't all that thick right now. Is my fuel system sufficient or do I need to eliminate the inline pump in favor of a really good intanker. If I have to do that then that's enough to deter me 'cause I don't want to spend too too much on this at this venture.

Hows it going Charlie, long time no talk... I'm in the process of putting my top end right now (minus heads). Lifters, valve springs, rr's, 227/239 115lsa, etc. etc. I'd say the only thing that would increase ringland wear would be the extra power with the cam and possibly if you are revvin higher. I think our stock bottom can rev to 6500 fairly safely unless you have really high miles or something which you don't. Other than that the effects are positive. I'm going to run my T-rex inline w/stock intank for a little while but I have a Walbro 340 sitting on my desk right infront of me. I just haven't got around to the install. I'm pretty sure that fuel system will do it (without the walbro). I am running alcohol injection in addition to my 38#, and t-rex so I think it will be okay for now. If not I have that Walbro. I say try it out, see how it goes, if not get a fuel pump. Alan Kennedy (Injector Dude on AIM) will give you a really good deal on a fuel pump. Otherwise I could make you an alcohol kit if you want which would help with more than just extra fuel (cool air, high octane, etc.).


Ttyl.

Hi Charlie, I don't think that cam would do much, boost pressure will be down a bit. I think if your getting it for a good price and installing it yourself then it's ok but don't spend big bucks on the cam and install as the effective $$/HP is low. Save the $$ and start a stroker account:)

Yeah, after tuning and install the cam swap would be an extra $1,500 or so and that's without replacing the things I should be replacing while at it (water pump, opti, timing set, etc) so I've hung up the idea. Thanks for listening to my thoughts though. Just going to get it fixed and go on :rolleyes: not enough money for fun stuff at this time anyway.

Do you all think Comp R's are the best lifter-bang for the buck or should I be looking into something else (just hate to do it twice ....arggh!)

For that kind of money you can purchase the internals of a stroker motor that will handle 800Hp.

A cam will not help or promote ringland wear. The lands usually don't wear they break from detonation.

Hows the car running?

The car runs great. If not for the Scanmater and an attentive ear I would have never known the difference. A buddy and I drove the hell out of it when it first started to display the KR on the scanner. We could be cruising along at a steady pace in vacuum and all of a sudden 6.0 degrees KR would pop up on the Scanmaster. I just wrote it off as false KR at the time and told him to drive it hard anyway as we were on one of the most fun windy/hilly roads you could imagine and don't get out to have fun very often. It was driven hard for probably 30 miles after the problem first appeared and the performance never changed....runs smooth and you'd never know something's wrong with the car without a scanner. You can just barely hear a ticking sound if you are at a stop at idle and rev the motor .....listen closely and you hear a light ticking sound as the motor slows to near idle (1,200 RPM or so). That's about the only time you hear anything. The car pulls hard and runs strong/smooth .....and KR increases linearly with throttle position (that might be a bad sign though). Also, the MV readings are about 100 lower than normal....I guess a failing lifter could cause the A/F to be reading lean...don't know.