Yeah those are both more duration than I run and my setup sees 69-7000.

You want torque and modest rpms I would look at the Lingenfelter 211/219, it is a solid performer and very mild for normal driving.

 

Lol... lots of overcomplication in this thread. Cam is not all that hard once you define the goals of the project. Some simple questions need to be answered and you can go from there.

Easiest thing to do, but not quite the cheapest is to talk to a cam grinder who is experienced in these areas and discuss exactly what you want the car to do and for 300-400 bucks give or take a few, you'll get a custom cam designed to do what you wanted.

Cheaper would be to find a used cam that fits your goals but to do that you need to know what you want the car to do...so the questions remain......

--What is the purpose of this car? You say street/daily driver? This to me would mean not too much higher of a power band than stock but you want to make alittle more power. As said stock powerband is higher than 5000 rpm but it does make good power between 3000-5000. If you'd like to maximize that range, thats one area to look at and tell your cam guy, or look for cam results for sub 6000 rpm setups to find a used cam that fits those goals. IMO, this is something like a LT4 hotcam which is the cheapest cam you'll get that will make ok power on stock heads that wont extend the powerband tooo high and give a good boost in the mid to high range. Its a milder lobe which is great for daily drivers and wont wear your springs out like some aggresive grinds. Beehive can control it but I like small diameter double springs like Patriot Gold and extreme golds...and the many various brands comparable springs. Crane 227 cam is also well known for a strong torquey motor on stock heads while giving decent hp boost all over.

--Stock heads can make decent power, enough to get into the low 12s but usually takes abit bigger cam to do so..... so with that in mind, did you ever intend to track the car and have a HP/ET/MPH goal? If so, what supporting mods will you have on the car? Cam will be designed/picked around this.

*Stock Head Cam/Cam Swap Guide* - LS1LT1 Forum : LT1, LS1, Camaro, Firebird, Trans Am, Engine Tech Forums

Theres some good beginner information on cams with Lt1 cars on stock heads and such. Some of its good information for starters. Could be of some help but if you search around, alot of the popular smaller shelf cams can be found for cheap that will deliver good performance on the dollar.


Now if you start getting into aftermarket or ported stock heads, it may be easier to just have the cam/head guy recommend a grind but you may spend more for their advise. For more money you can make same power with ported heads/smaller cam, all the while being more streetable than a stock headed bigger cammed car. This is NICE for a daily driver but again...you need to clearly describe/define what you want the car to do.

 

i'll have to take a look at that later.. isnt that about what the HotCam is? so I'll find the variables between the two


89rocz: the proper cam choice should be complicated.. i mean, if engines weren't complicated, aggrivating and expensive, then why would we be here?

the goal is to have a faster daily driver.. perhaps im abusing that word. one day, way down the road, i will race, but im a little too busy for that.. so i need a cam that can give me that potential without too much lift or duration. eventually ill get around to buying headers, i just have to find a set that's cheap but durable. i still dont know how the exhaust is going to be routed.i'd like to do straight pipes, but yet another thing to look into.

a 12 second Z sounds nice, but i'd have to check some of the drag guys, or men with experience, hence why im here. i need to know what youve done, whats been tested, what to stay away from, what brands are good etc..

like i said, any help would be awesome, and you guys have been awesome. so thanks

 

It can be a very complicated process to pick something for a specific application but what you are describing it can be accomplished with a dozen different shelf cams and all be within 10 hp of each other Which you wouldnt feel on the street but it MAY show at the track in a few minor mph points or hundreths of ET.

I'd do exhaust first before you do any cam or else get a custom grind designed with stock manifolds in mind..problem is it be a waste to do since you will leave so much power on the table with stock manifolds and once you swap headers it wouldnt be optimized again. Also get your transmission setup for what you plan to run...if an auto it will want a higher stall to run best but alot of cams can be tuned on stock converters, just wont be optimal. Bottom end will be a touch soggey and wont run as good at the drag strip but its all ok for street driving. It doesnt take much power to get a car moving from a stop sign....

I can tolerate a more aggressive setup for a daily driver... I summer daily'd my low/mid 11 sec 383 car. 10's on spray. It was loud, mean, ran on premium, fast but very streetable for what it was. 3600 stall in that. I have 3200 stall in my bolt on LS1 car that I have been daily driving for 2 years now and wish i went bigger. My twin turbo car is gonna be a monster. Most guys freak about larger stalls but it aint bad. Same with heads/cam setups.

If it was me, I'd go CC503 shelf grind. For someone who may be abit timid, come down 6-8 deg of duration. Lift in the .500-.525's area or so. There are alot of popular available cams you may even find used for good deals and do this on a budget that will push a LT1 car with supporting mods into the 12's and be a great daily driver with manners and easy to tune. All great features. Heck full bolt ons will go 12's in the right car and right conditions. Most cams with tuning will be 20-30whp gain and get you further into the 12's.

 

What i tried to say is that each cam grinder has his on specifications for lobe deign - ramps, lift and etc. But some thing to consider is you can usually special order a cam for your lobe spearation angle (and amount of overlap) for almost no extra charge. This should much less than a custom grind. What i'm saying is u could find something on the self with the duration numbers u like and have it ground on the LSA u chose - for almost no extra charges. This should make selecting a cam much simpler also.

Something to consider,
cardo

 

Honestly where things get too complicated is when guys talk about custom cams. People seem to think all this minute detail is needed to get the exact cam for THEM. Well there are thousands upon thousands of us running cammed LT1s and even those of us with "custom" cams are not all that custom. There are probably at least 100 other folks running the same exact cam as I am.

This stuff is not that hard. Custom cams are mostly to get away from the "shelf cam" compromises like wide LSA to compensate for guys choosing too much duration, sometimes they do use proprietary lobes and such as well but still it is not like a cam spec'd with all the head flow numbers and such is going to make an extra 50hp, more like 10-15hp and maybe a broader powerband which is certainly worth the extra $100 for many of us but it is also not the rocket science some think it is.
This is not a new engine, there is little R&D being done, basically anything any of us wants to do has already been done so we just need to look around and see what works and maybe more importantly what "works better than it should".

You have expressed a will to keep the powerband at low rpm and seems you want a budget setup, the Lingenfelter fits the bill pretty well as would something like the Crane 227.

The HOT is 218/228 .492/.492 112 BUT that is not the whole story. As I said before I think f-body targeted stuff was lowend torque compromised. IMO you can have more torque and HP with an aftermarket grind.
The HOT is popular because the kit is cheap BUT the rockers are not up to the task of modern grinds later on because GM wanted the slot shorted limiting lift capacity and the springs are marginal for the heavier LT1 valves. So you have springs that are not great and rockers that won't grow with you when you want to change things later, so it is NOT such a good deal.

 

I would never buy the hotcam kit new.... I would only buy the cam used itself for dirt cheap and use proper springs and rockers. Just wanted to clarify that. Agree with the above!

 

Great man, thanks sorry its been a few days since I was able to get on, lifes catchin' up!

Dwayne: great advice, I was under the impression that custom was better, just like the saying "bigger is better" which isn't always true. You've brought up a lot of great points guys, I really appreciate it! Good luck with your toys

 

.. i guess my real question should be:
What are you running, and how well is it working for you?

i've been on the forums researching for a while before i figured i should make a new thread and just have experienced performance guys "brag" about what they run, and what they get out of it.

i.e. what type of exhaust should i go with? if you could do it all over again, would you go true duals for your caprice, or sidepipes for your 89?

I havent had much luck, and even though im not going to get a cam for a little while I'd rather do the research while i have time, and then get the cam when i have the money.

It seems like you either have the money for mods but no time to spend on it, or the time to put in, but no money for parts, and never both..

 

GM Performance LT1/LT4 Hot Cam Kit - JEGS

Thats the cam I have in my 96 Z.

 

my opinion Is the hot cam is a waste of money Been there done that and it was a waste they dont make much power at all... if you deciede on a a cam thats not to big the ls1 beehive springs would be a cheap up grade!! but dont for get you need to have your car tuned also...... So what not go with a cam that will make power the first time and not waste $$$$$$$ like a lot of us did.... Just my opinion

 

also I favor CompCams!!! they have always been good to me + you can put your info in and they pick a cam best for your app COMP Cams - Performance Camshafts, Lifters, Valve Springs, Rocker Arms click on cam quest hope this helps you out

 

That CamQuest software is a HUGE joke.

Comp has quality products BUT their rpm ranges in particular are wildly inaccurate. You will need to spin 700rpm+ higher than they list for most of their cams.

Their tech line and cam choosing software are terrible on a good day.

 

I wouldn't say the hot cam is a huge waist of money, in comparison the kit is a pretty good bang for the buck. If you match it with complimenting parts you can have a dependable DD that can runs low to mid 12's on a budget.

 

hey everyone has there opinions Dude so look at all the info here and decide on your own!! dont forget if you go to big and running a 4l60e you need to get a higher stall coverter....