I'm thinking of spicing up my 93 a little bit in a month or two so I'd like to install a cam. No heads for this one.
Of course, one always tends to go bigger, but the question here is, what would be best as far as reliability?
The engine is a 94 with an unknown, however estimated 60-70K miles (advertised as 25K miles... ). I pulled the valve covers when I got it and it looked very clean, but still, I don't want to put a lot of stress on it. It will be my new daily driver.

I'd definetely like to go a little bigger than a hotcam though.. so what is your advice on this?

Does a 224/230 sound ok?

I'm tempted to try a cmotorsports package...
Should I replace the lifters too?

This car won't see more engine mods other than hooker lts.

Thanks.

 

If you're looking for a pick-me-up and for the car to still be manageable on the street, that is one reason why the Hotcam is so popular. Cheap, works well with stock heads and tune, and comes with everything you need. 224/230 wouldnt be too bad either and a CMotorsports kit would be a good buy too and I'd go that route even though I suggested the Hotcam for ya.

Also since you know little about the engine and was misled on mileage, yeah replace the lifters. You're in there already and they should come out when you replace the cam so you dont drop one if you opted to leave them in while you quickly swap cams. Seems logical to change them for some Comp Rs or Cranes. Combo has lifters for a good deal too.

So those are a couple of options and if you go with the cam you're thinking of, all of which you need can just be purchased from Combo. I'd speak with Seth or someone else over there to discuss your cam too.

PS: I'll probably talk to you in a couple of months about some computer adjustments when I put my car away. Until then good luck.

 

Yea, tuning is the last of my worries. I've tuned a lot of different cams, including the 224/230...
Thanks a lot for the advice though, I'll give Seth a call.

 

Sounds perfect.....you may want to do a cmotorsports package that includes the 1.6 RR and spring kit. If emmisions is no consern you could even go alittle bigger and still have good drivablity with propper tuning.

 

230/236 is a strong runner too without being overly aggressive. You can get the lower lift version which would be easier on components.

 

If your concerned with reliability then maybe your should consider the CC502 on a 110 or 111 lsa. You'll may make a few less peak hp than with the bigger cams like the 306 and 847 but do it all below 6k rpms. You may also make a few more hp than with the larger XE grinds. I don't know why everyone ignores comps and knowledgeable board members like Bret and RichK's suggestions.

224/230
218/224

You can see we have nearly identical mod lists. Mine peaks 3 hp more, 3k rpms lower. Try a 110 lsa it might make even more power.

 

For reliability go with the hot cam kit, its made by GM. With stock heads and lifters and for the most reliability, the hot cam kit gets my vote. AFAIK, its still the most bang for your buck as well.
For performance, a CMotorsports package with an XE grind. You can use stock lifters (I did) but there gonna work pretty hard if you beat on it, maybe too hard in the long run. And then there is the flow limitations of the stock heads which brings into question how big of an XE grind?
You might enjoy more of the low end torque that a smaller cam (ie. hotcam) would provide over the higher peak h.p. from an XE grind.
my .02

 

Ion,
Just having a little fun here, but woundn't it have been easier to put the cam in before you put it in the car?
If I were you I'd take 94formulabz's advice. Or call Bret, I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

You can always port you heads by yourself with DREMLEN and get a CC306

 

The only thing that would deter most people from getting a huge cam would be the driveabiity, idle, etc. With your tuning skills, Id go cc306. I believe with alot of time to fine tune the program, you could go huge and not sacrifice anything.

The program you did for me worked out great, better than my previous dyno program.

 

low durration, high lift, strong valvetrain

 

Thanks for the input guys. I was thinking of doing the 847, particularly because this is an automatic, and I like the 306 better with 6 speeds, but the 847 has quite a bit of lift (which I normally preffer) and I'm not sure if I'll be OK in this particular situation. I still have some time to think though.


Z-RATED94,
yes, it would have been much easier, but I was on a tight schedule and I wasn't 100% that the engine was OK either. (it has been sitting for a couple of years prior to the purchase)

 

Trey, I dont understand your high lift fetish you have for stock heads have you eve seen a set flowed on a bench, the turbulence above .500 is insane.

I like the crane 210/224 it dosent have a lot of peak duration, but that is not what a cam is all about but it advertised #'s are excelent for a head that flows better at low lift. As for why am i doing a hotcam instead of the crane, well i got it cheap

Ps there are also a few guys runing this cam and are well into the 11's with stock heads and "cough" an auto
JMHO
Eric

 

I recommend the CC 502.Then I am biased.

 

I'll throw my vote in for the 224/230. Good fun!