Ok, I have searched and read up on some of the cams that are out there, but dont know what would be best for my setup. I have a thirdgen Trans Am. I have a 3000 stall and shift kit with 1le driveshaft and 3.45 posi rear. I will probably be picking up a LT1 out of a Impalla in the next couple of days. I have a good motor in the car so there is no hurry, but I want to put the LT1 in it. It has the Iron heads which from what I have read are supposed to flow something like 230 cfm on the intake an 160 on the exhaust. I would be doing some porting to the heads. I have considered the LT4 hotcam because it seems like a good value.
What do you guys think would be a good cam for this setup? I am not scared of a large cam and have a decent stall, but I also dont want the hp to be out of reach. I have thought about the XE cams also, but it was mentioned that I would need aftermarket lifters if I go that route. How much lift can the heads handle? I will be changing the springs and stuff like that obviously. What kind of power potential do you think I could have and what kind of quarter times. I already have hooker long tubes and dual exhaust on the car so the exhaust is taken care of also.

Thanks

Ben

 

You should prolly do a search. Im getting my lt4 hotcam installed in a week If you have more money, then people say go with the comp cams cc305...supposed to have a lil more power. the LT4 is very streetable and is a great price for what you get. CC305 is also just as streetable, just more $$$

 

I already did a search and read a ton of posts. I am more wondering what would match my drivetrain. I know that the hotcam is a good cam. I also have seen the cc305, cc306 and the range of xtreem series cams mentioned a lot. I know that a lot of people think that the cc306 is to large for stock applications(I tend to agree) but mine is not stock. I have exhaust, will have ported heads and intake, and have a 3000 stall all of which I mentioned in my post. The lt4 hotcam is streetable, and I may end up going with that, but what is steetable varries from driver to driver and also depending on what stall/gears the person has along with all of the other variables in the engine. I myself would probably like something a bit bigger than what is generally called streetable. I am not to worried about the sleeper idea. I want people to know I have put work into my car.

So maybe a better question would be how many rpms can a stock bottom end on the LT1 take. I want the cam to be about as big as it can without putting my power out of reach and allowing me to get along well with my 3000 stall converter. I may even consider redoing the bottom end to handle more revs but right now I think I am looking for something that will work witht he stock bottom end pretty well.

Also, how much lift can the LT1 heads take without machine work. Do the valve guide bosses get in the way like on the vortec heads and how high lift of springs can I use with the stock spring pockets.

Thanks

Ben

 

xe 230/236

w/ comp 987 springs

rev to 6250 on stock bottom end!

 

Ok, thats a good start. Are you saying that you do reve to 6250 on the stock bottom or that that is a point I shouldnt pass? Is it true that I will need aftermarket lifters if I go with a xtreem energy cam? If so what kind would you suggest.

Thanks

Ben

 

I looked at comp cams web site and the largest xtreem cams they list for the LT1's is like 224 230 I think. On the other xtreem roller cams it has one that big but it only shows the poweband going to 5800 and it says except for LT1 and LT4. I would have thought that the powerband would be higher with that large of a cam. Am I looking at the right thing. Could you give me a link to it on summit or jegs or something?

Thanks

Ben

 

The closest I could find on summit was 230 244 and .510 .540. It was labled xtreem rpm, but it sounds like the specs that everyone refers to for the cc306. What exactly is it?

Ben

 

Yup, thats the 306. Go to thunderracing.com....they have specs on the XE grinds.

Compcams and Summitracing websites suck ***. They dont have any of the good grinds listed......or at least thats what I found.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Ben

 

Damn they are having specials on them too. $224.95 on all the CC grinds.

 

the xe 230/236 is a custom ground cam. you need to find out the specs from a vendor such as thunder racing or tbyrne. i belive the lift is .544/.555 but don't hold me to that. good luck and if you have any other questions let me know. 6250 is where i plan on shifting with this cam anyday now when my car is put back together. good luck

thomas

 

So do the xtreem cams require aftermarket roller lifters or can you use the stock ones?

Ben

 

I would definitely put new lifters in. Especially with the steep ramps on the XE. I've heard they can be rough on the valvetrain b/c of that. I would go with Comp R lifters but good luck getting them......they're on backorder.

 

What are the comp R lifters and how much do they cost. I looked at the ones that were reccomended for use with the xtreem cams on comps site and they said high energy. What is the difference, and what is the difference in price.

Ben

 

I looked at it and it looks pretty good. Do you know what the rpm ranges for that cam are. I figure it goes above 5800 because that is what the one under it goes to.

Ben