I might be buying a cam tommorrow for my 98 SS. The motor is completely stock. A friend of mine has a cam that was in his car for about 3000 miles he will sell me for $200. I have heard, over camming a stock motor is the way to go. Is this true from all of you guys experience?

Cam specs 237/239 603/612 112

When I put that in I am gonna go with a new valve springs, retainers, and push rods. Which are the best I should go with?

Also, should I save up the money to get my computer reprogrammed? I was thinking about going ahead and doing that just so I don't have any problems.

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

 

with that cam you should use Crane or Comp dual LS1 springs and titanium retainers and spring seat for the dual springs. you will also probably want to get tuning, one trick to help with idle is to drill the TB blade out a little maybe up to 3/16. that is a large cam and is going to thump pretty good.

 

That is an awful lot of cam. With a stock motor you might turn slower et's.

 

That is a huge cam for a stock motor. I can understand why your friend took it out of his car. You will need very high quality dual valve springs with that much lift. I doubt if your stock retainers will fit the dual springs so figure on a set of titanium retainers also. You will definitly need some hardened pushrods if your car has a manual transmission. Aftermarket tuning will be an absolute necessity to get it to idle and drive properly. Personally I don't think you will be happy with the cam. I would suggest finding a milder cam that you can just bolt in, add a set of Comp 918 springs, use stock retainers and pushrods and not need expensive tuning.

 

after hearing Gold Z's cam and that one looks bigger..... there is no way you will be happy driving that around everyday and without proper exhaust (headers, ORYP, a real catback or cutout) and ls6 intake, lid your gonna sufficate your engine.

do all bolt-ons and then look for a nice cam

 

That is a great price for that Cam...but my god that thing is huge. I would not recommend getting that cam untill you get other things in it..like what red91tsiawd said. Or just buy it and don't install it for a while. But that thing will be pretty lumpy

 

While that cam may not be working to its full capacity without doing head work and improving the intake & exhaust, it's still more cam than factory, and more cam = more cam. The only reason the car would run slower ET's is if it got less traction due to more power. I'd like to see a dyno comparison before I believe that statement.

Adam, how did your friend like the cam in his car? Is he selling it to you because he didn't like it, or because he's doing more work to his motor? Chances are you should get the computer reprogrammed to take the most advantage of that, but IMO it's gonna be a horny sounding LS1 .

 

You can over cam an engine and slow down. If you move that torque band too high which this cam might do, with too restrictive intake and exhaust and not enough rpm, too tight a stall, not enough gear, you will go slower.

Just because it's more cam doesn't mean you will get better et's!

 

After a lot of thinking, I have decided not to go ahead with this cam, for now. My friend loved the cam. Granted his motor was a 383 stroker. If I bought it, or still do, I am not putting it in for a while. Just getting it and holding onto it.

My clutch was going, and after some racing, it is now gone. So I have had to order a clutch and don't have the money for the cam. Funny how things work. I have decided to evaluate my goals for the car. Since I don't really have money right now, that works out well. I am gonna keep doing my research and figure out what path I want to take. When I figure all of that out, then I will buy up my parts. Because in all honesty, buying that cam would be a bad idea for me right now. Turbo/supercharge/all motor/nitrous. I honestly don't know what set up I want. All I do know, is that when I do it, I am gonna do it right.

Thanks for the input. I am sure I will have many more questions in the future.