Greasepunk

Opinions and/or advice wanted...

Need opinions/advice on my next planned purchase(s)... It's my daily driver, I may take it to the strip in the future but not immediately...I plan on getting a cam, heads, intake, and ram air box, and/or suspension stuff (sfc's lcr's phb etc); currently I have a p/p tb (about as much as possible without rubbing through the walls), hooker super comp lt's, ory pipe, !cat, !egr, slp lid, msd wires, 3.08(?) gears, 3000 stall (not sure make), melling oil pump (not sure high velocity/capacity), and I think that's all (recently bought the car).

Down to the question at hand, these are options I'm leaning towards:

This cam (on a 112 LSA maybe)-

http://texas-speed.com/p-1149-texas-...-camshaft.aspx

Or this one (maybe 112 LSA also)-

http://texas-speed.com/p-1150-texas-...-camshaft.aspx

In this package-

http://texas-speed.com/p-1159-precis...m-package.aspx

Combined with this air filter/box (which fits the sc hood I have)-

http://suncoastcreations.com/28004k-...-kit-prod.html


And either an LS6 or F.A.S.T. intake manifold. (Still up-in-the-air about which.)

I don't mind the loudness, don't have emissions test, and only drive 20 miles to work round-trip . Any thoughts, opinions, help, or additions to my list are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys.

Marc 85Z28

None of your links work. You need to learn how to copy and paste

Greasepunk

fixed, hopefully ;P

Marc 85Z28

First, a 3000rpm stall torque converter is too tight even for stock. Those cams you listed will want a minimum of 3600, with 3800-4000 being near ideal. Heads are as good as you'll find for a budget head. The quality is decent and they make good power. You can certainly find better, but then you're looking at another $500-$1000 and no longer in the budget performance stuff. The Torquer (regardless of version) never impressed me. You would think with the given name that they would focus cam timing to promote torque, but they don't, like all TSP cams. ALL TSP cams are weak in the torque department, but they carry well so horsepower doesn't suffer. HOWEVER, if you run a decent converter that won't matter

I've got the Suncoast hood as well. No way I'd spend $350 for that ram air kit I use a combination of a raised WS6 radiator support and an SSRA.

Figure out what gear you've got in the rear. You'll want at least a 3.23. 3.42 or 3.73 will keep the converter from working too hard and make the car quicker.

Greasepunk

Thanks for the input Marc

Greasepunk

BTW, what would be the "better" heads?


I'm an LT guy so LS is still kinda foriegn to me =/

Marc 85Z28

Any aftermarket casting with the exception of Dart or Edelbrock. Both need work to keep up with ported stock castings.

johnny6

I have the heads and cam package you posted with a 233/239 cam. With an upgraded intake & fuel system and other minor mods i dynoed at 460ish/rwhp & 430ish/Tq on a mild tune (it's been a while and i forgot where my dyno sheet is) as you can see in my sig i'm keeping it safe for now The car is very mellow and i can cruise around all day.

EDIT: I still get decent mpg too, 17/23 not too bad for a street rod. Just make sure you get the correct pushrods and don't cheap out on lifters (i used CTS-V lifters) and you can use stock rockers. Also if you're not planning to go all out, you can keep the stock intake, injectors, fuel pump and still put down some decent power.

DANOZ28

I would be careful on going too big with the cam if this is a daily driver. i have tsp stage 1 heads that are fine, get better springs! (i have ls6 stockers, wish i had upgraded). me i'd go 224/228 dur, 585 max lift. how high r u willing to rev the rpm's? i always factor in if i had to sell the car will the mod be undesirable? (too big cam). just my 2 cents

NightTrain66

I am guessing it is a Vette since you mention 3.08 gears. If it is a F body it should have 2.73 or 3.23 gears stock

3.08 gears are gonna want a mild cam to work well. if sticking with 3.08 gears, a low to mid 220 duration cam is all you want for a true daily driver (sitting in traffic, etc).

A 219/223 .607/.610 112 LSA or 223/227 .610/.614 112 LSA would be the largest duration I would use unless stepping up to a better gear.

More gear and a good stall will allow the use of a larger cam (227/231 .614/.617 112 LSA), the larger you go, the less low end power it makes and trades off for extra top end power.

If using a well ported set of LS1 heads, you really do not need as much cam duration to pull to 6500-6700 RPM up top. The milder the duration cam you can get away with, the more low/mid range TQ it will make so the car feels faster under everyday driving and not just at the track wher you are focusing on pulling to 6500 RPM, shift and RPM falls to 5500 RPM then pulls back the 6500 RPM, etc.

Good "track" cams just focus on powwer from 5500-6500, 5800-6800, etc, and are pretty week under daily driving situations. Just be careful and do not get too large of a cam chasing RWHP #'s if your main goal is tio drive it daily. A cam that adds 10 RWHP at 6800 RPM can also lose 15-20 RWTQ below 2500 RPM for the trade off.

It really depends on how often the car is lugged at low RPM on the highway with converter locked, how much time you spend in the 5500-6500 RPM range (to see the gain in power with larger cam over milder cam) and how much you are willing to sacrifice one for the other.

As far as converter, I would use a Yank or Vigilante converter. These are head and shoulders above the others and will drive around like a milder converter at low throttle pressure. Once you nail it . . . BAM . . . like you just got rear ended by a dump truck.

A less expensive converter will slip more and feel looser (like it is low on trans fluid) during every day driving, dyno lower and run slower at the track also. DEFINITELY get a Yank or Vigilante 3600 stall converter.

LS6 intake is fine for this set up. Unless you plan on a future stroker build and wanna buy 1 inatke for now and future builds, i would just get the LS6 intake and call it good.

Some heads are priced out with cheep LS6 springs and stock valves to show a low price and after you actually get a set of heads with larger valves and a set of springs that will actually work with a nice cam, the price is $200-400 higher than the "listed" price that caught your eye.

Based on your info in this thread, I would use a set of my LE2 heads and a cam based on what we decide after a phone conversation about gear, stall, driving style, shift RPM, etc, etc.

$1350 for LE2 heads (2.02/1.60 valves and Patriot Gold springs) and a custom cam for your needs.

this is based on starting with your heads and getting same heads back after the work is completed. If you need me to supply a set to start with, add $100 to the cost.

Lloyd Elliott
972-617-5671
Elliottsportworks.com