the miles are getting up there on my lt1, but i have been considering getting the hotcam kit for it. my only question is, how much longer will this engine go, and how will the hotcam affect the engine over the rest of its life. not sure if any of you have high mileage cammed motors, but if anyone has any experience on this but any input would be appreciated

 

Seems to me that quite a few people have spun bearings in higher mileage engines following the cam swap. I would say that your engine is in the higher mileage zone. I don't think I would do it. But do it as part of an overhaul and then you should be fine. IMO of course.

 

What oil / weight do you run and whats your at idle and upper rpm oil pressure look like? That will give a pretty good breakdown of the internal engine condition

 

10w30 full sythetic, idle about 1100, the pressure on the stock gaugegets about 3/4 high

 

Yeah I know quite a few people who have spun a cam bearing after an install on a high mileage motor. It doesnt happen to every person, but its seems more common than not. But as far as these engines reliabilty stock, mine has over 160k and runs great. There are others with way more than that and few issues.

 

New power + wear patterns on old parts is never a good idea, but most of the spun bearings I'm sure were the result of an oil issue, or the increased RPMs that most people turn when they do a cam.

 

lol, i meant oil pressure @ idle. If it gets 20+ psi when fully warmed at idle, i wouldnt hesistate to install a cam.

 

I just got my cam put it with 110k miles. I've put mobile 1 5w/30 in it for it's entire life. The shop said this is the first LT1 they have done that they didn't recommend changing the cam bearings. Made me a believer in Mobile1 more than ever. I'm sure most full synthetics are great too.

 

yes, it gets 20+ at idle, synthetic its whole life, and right now i am not sure if this car can break, still on original optispark *knocking on wood, metal, my front door, the cabinet, everything in the area*

 

i had a lifter fail and had to replace the cam around 138k miles in my LT1, im at 143k now and doing fine.

 

I installed mine at 115,ooo and has been going strong with 100 shot at 124,000. I run synthetic blend. The cam is a great place to start and will be complimented with your mods. Just do it!!

 

It's a close call to make. I opted for the entire "rebuild", which has turned into a build-up. When I pulled my intake while the motor was in the car I was very worried that the built up gunk around it had fallen into the motor. Not to mention the cam install would be very easy to do with the motor out of the car. Not that pulling the motor out is easy at all. Either way now my motor has been machined and vatted and I feel much better knowing everything will be new.

 

I have 118,000 on my car and I'm doing all this this winter:

CC306
EX-612 springs
Titanium retainers
CC 1.6 RR's
Stock hardened pushrod
Stock replacment lifter
Timing Chain set
Cam swap gasket kit

Can ya'll think of anything else I need to do while in there?

 

well my car has 117k miles and just finished the cam swap. everything feels good and is running strong. I hope it will hold up with 100 shot.

 

143K on mine w/ Hotcam kit and other boltons. Still runs amazingly.