A high stall converter is a good thing on a daily driver with a stock cam. It isn't 1980 anymore torque converters have come a LONG ways.

The HOT kit contains springs that are OK for the LT4's lighter valves but are not really appropriate with the heavier LT1 valves, so the "kit" isn't such a great buy and the rockers it comes with stop you from using a real cam later.

 

thanks Jeremy, i was thinking about lt4 springs along with the lt4 HOT and 1.6's. this cam will get me right where i need/want to be if the averages are what they say to be and everything works as should here...lots of "if's" lol

LT4 HOT cam and 1.6 RRs
that'll stick me right in the 400hp zone

Cam:what did you run in to that makes you so strongly resent the HOT's?

i got to this URL:

COMP Cams: Camshafts

"Modern, aggressive roller profiles" is under key benefits.. now as far as i know that is what 96 Caprice was talking about with aggressive cams.

Also, i have an M6, so i shouldnt need to worry about any stall converters, right? like i said, somewhat noob, so that term isnt yet in my vocab so to speak

96: What would you say to the set-up i have stated earlier in this comment? you seem to know your way around cams due to the multiple threads you have commented on..lol

 

As I said the LT4 springs are not a great match to the HOT cam when combined with heavier LT1 valves.
You realize those are flywheel numbers in the link you posted right? The rest of us talk about rear wheel HP numbers. There is a BIG difference I wouldn't expect anything more than about 330rwhp from the HOT.

Don't try and do "research" on Comp's site. They have some good products but rpm ranges and such are wrong so you are not getting good info from their site.

I don't feel like rereading the thread so maybe it was covered but with the M6 I would do 4.10s especially with a car you intend to put a larger cam in. The .50 OD keeps rpms down nicely.

 

Something u need to learn before a cam swap is learn how to adjust the vlvs/lifters. After the cam swap is not the time to learn this - i have read too many horror stories of cam swaps where the owner ruined the cam because he took it for granted he understood how to adj the lifters and realized his misconception the hard way.
The critical skill here is learning how to see zero lash. Many think they know this but again find out the hard way they don't. I believe there is <0.010" adjustment before the hydraulic lifter bottoms out and then your running a solid camshaft. Bent pushrods anyone.

Best way to learn is with the engine running. U may also want to try swapping a set of 1.6 rocker arms before diving onto the cam swap.

Just something u need to be aware of as it reads like u are new to cam changes,
cardo

 

I never measured but I would say your estimate .01" lash at the plunger is off by a decimal point. More like .1"

 

Okay i need to look it up as my google search says more like 0.2" travel. BFD i recall the wrong number. U were off by a factor of 2 also. Now how many bad points do u get for correcting my bad number with your bad number. But the point i'm trying to help with is adjusting the vlvs correctly. Do u want to argue that too??

Good night.

 

Here we go again. Knock it off, or there will be consequences. You have been warned before.

 

First off - you need to read read read. Lot to learn still. But that said:

If you want no real loss in driveability but want to make as much power as possible under 6500RPM's - go with a CC503.

I debated between custom and CC503 and ended up going custom to match mild heads a little better and I wanted a tighter LSA.

My cam is about as big as you can go before they start to lose driveability:

224/230 .600/.600 108LSA.

Dont waste ****ing time with the Hot Cam springs. They are marginal for even the Hot Cam.

Second, dont do a cam and use stock rockers. For what your doing, your going to want 1.6 rockers. Stock are 1.5 to 1. You "should" upgrade to larger diameter rocker arm studs. You want Non Self Aligning rockers and pushrod guide plates.

Stock Lifters are OK for most cams.

When you change valve springs, you will hate life if the heads are on the car. Likewise, if you change them and dont change to 10* locks and retainers - you are an idiot.

And lastly, degree it. Buy a degree wheel kit and learn how to use it (and a piston stop if it is going to be installed and degreed in-car.

And if you dont want to loose any low end torque, stay away from the CC306 and similarly sized camshafts. Anything on a LSA tighter than say 110-112ish is tight and as such, produces a lot of overlap. This will make the car lope quite a bit at idle and in general - lose low end power. But the tradeoff, you gain a few up top with a tighter LSA. Most off the shelf cams have too large of an LSA and as such, are more compromised.

You have a LOT of reading to do. Learn what you can and be happy the people on here are always very helpful.

Good luck bro.

 

Thanks for sharing HARDCORE as it is very difficult to find many running a tight 108 LSA in their LT1. I have been trying to convince myself to use a 108 LSA cam but with using less than 50* overlap - which puts me in the 260-265 full duration range. I wonder if the computer would choke on this as it moves the intake closing point quite a bit - maybe too much compression pressure? I guess i fear this because its soo hard to find a vendor cam on the shelf with <112 LSA - but then most are also of much longer duration (>270* full duration).
What do think of a short cam with a tight LSA on a stock computer? Would i need a computer tune also.
Right now my 4L60E has a 2400 stall and spins a 3.23 rear gear set. I'm hoping not to change shift points or tune the computer.

Asking this because i know how others are running short cams <260* full duration on a tight LSA and love it - but these are on carburated cars.
Regardless of the circumstances i have to say this thread is very helpful to me also.
cardo0

 

its been helpful to me too. although i got a roadblock, i wont be doing any cam work anytime soon, but i suppose thats good as many say i need to study up a bit..


while im here, i got an Underdrive, and a SLP box lid. figured id do a couple little quick/semi-cheap mods.

for the slp, i have to tilt the top of the radiator back so it fits under my stock hood.. or so i was told.. what would be your suggestions as to how to approach this?

i want to get in and out over the weekend, i may need it this upcoming week..still my DD

also, while im there, ill be removing the MAF screens, thatll boost air low. however, i was brought upo the point that the sensor compensates for the CAI bends??

should i remove those screens? cant i remove just the rear so the air remains constant before it passes through the sensor? or can i just get them both out while im dinking around there?

thanks for any input, ill be on asap

 

It's been discussed and (mostly) agreed upon that descreening the MAF is not a worthwhile modification.

However, in my naive days 12 years ago I descreened mine and am STILL on the same MAF, sans screen.

 

Plus the LT1 MAF only has one screen in front, none in the back. It's nothing like the old Bosch MAF sensors used in the 3rd Gens. Best thing you can do is leave it alone. You have a lot more research to do before you start hacking things up.

Ditto with your pulleys, if that is what you mean by "an Underdrive". U/D pulleys work great on a car with a belt driven water pump, but your LT1 has a gear driven water pump, so gains are minimal. In my earlier ignorance after buying my Formula new in 1994, one of the first things I did was buy a set of ASP pulleys, including their integrated damper/pulley (not a sandwich style that adds weight). All I ended up with was no noticeable power gains, and a dash volt meter that dipped into the red when sitting at a light at idle with the lights and A/C on.

Here's dyno of an U/D pulley.... it gained 0.7 peak HP.... yes, that's 7/10ths of one HP.

Most of us learned from our mistakes... and wasted money on the way. You can avoid repeating our mistakes by doing your homework BEFORE you buy.

 

well, im trying to move to a slp as opposed to the CAI, so i bought the box and filter for 50 bucks, and the U/D for another 50. I figured this would be a good mod, but maybe i was wrong?

 

The screen has nothing to do with compensating for the intake tract bends. The screen is there to evenly distribute air over the MAF sensor element. As the others have mentioned, leave it alone.

I personally prefer a CAI that pulls air from the fender area(that's why I have a K&N system..Moroso and certain others do the same thing...). It's sectioned off to where heat will not get to that area easily.

There are those who have said a straight shot to the intake, like an LS1 setup, is worth a few HP....but I have not seen any dyno numbers for comparison. However I think the gain would be 5-10 hp at most...if that. I certainly would not go cutting up my engine bay to have an LS1 setup.

You also have to consider that modding the intake tract changes the MAF calibration. The gains they saw may have been the result of the system running a little more lean(due to the calibration being off) rather than the air intake tract causing the HP gains.

 

Are LT1 maf's voltage based? Changing intake tract should not change MAF calibration IMO if its voltage based. I know the older cars MAF's have the heated element that senses air mass and based on the amount of air flowing, theres a corresponding voltage to that flow.

If you change the intake tract and motor breathes more air, it just moves to a new voltage. It was pretty easy to max out a MAF sensor in the late 80's TPI cars.

Not to familiar with tuning the frequency based stuff. As a post above states the LT sensors are not like the old TPI sensors so I guess they are abit different.

Just wondering....


I dont have an LT1 but an EFI sbc that had AFR 195 heads with stealth ram intake which has been used on some LT1 cars before after its modded to fit. behavior of the cams wouldnt change no matter what its in. If the old ecms can handle it, I'm willing to bet the more modern stuff should beable to as well. I had a 383 with a big custom grind. Thats all I generally run since my builds are not typical and need custom stuff to fit the application best. Mine was sorta like a CC306 on steroids. 230/245 at .050 but 109 lsa and over .600" lift with 1.6 rockers. Tuned easily and drove exceptionally well. Sounded like a disturbed hornets nest but drove incredibley docile. It did everything I asked it to do.

Also ran a 360" motor with stealth ram and old AFR 190's which are close to L98 aluminum heads. 280xfi cam, 230/236 on a 113 lsa, .576/.570. Good cam, but mostly top end power for that small cubes and hard to control valves. Needs much stiffer springs than what was used and stiff than what COMP recommends for those cams. Go figure Idle was rough and lopey but stable enough to daily drive in the summer and Houston traffic. 800 rpm idle or so.


Local guy ran the AI 226/234 in his 96 LT1 and it ran very well. Lower 12's at almost 116mph. Thought it was a stock head car but the car was alittle lightened. it may have been mildly ported too, hard to say but the performance seems more like a 370's whp + car which would have needed head mods.
My buddy ran a cc306 in his 95 with stock heads and ran low 12's too but it wasnt trapping more than 110-112 I dont think.

Bigger cams do not have the bottom end and require gear/converter/compression to run right.
From what you described, you definately dont want to go over 503 shelf grind. Like I said, thats what i'd run with a good tune or the GM 846/crane cam since I like alittle bigger cam in my drivers, but by no means are they THAT big to make it an undriveable cam.

Now alittle less duration and tighter LSA can also work. LT1 short runner intakes seem to like tighter LSA's. ECM should beable to handle it in closed loop but nothing wrong with an open loop tune if you have to run them.