I have a few questions about the LT4 hot cam kit. What will need to be done to the LT1 computer after the LT4 conversion? Is a LT4 conversion a pretty good bang for the buck? I already have hi flow cat back and headers as well as k&n fipk ported maf and 58mm throttle body. Is there anything that I need to watch out for when doing this conversion? I am going to purchase the hot cam conversion kit fom Year-one this week. It comes with the rockers, cam heads and intake manifold. What are the pros and cons of this kit. Please I need help. I live in a small town and I have nobody to consult about hi performance LT1s. Can you guys point me in the right direction?

 

If you are going bang for the buck..the LT4 conversion with the LT4 hotcam is not the way to go..in my view. I would say to port the LT1 heads and use the LT4 hotcam if you want. Some other driveable cams you could use would be the xe224/230 or the cc305. I would go with the xe224/230 in my opinion. That is what I am going to use for mine.

 

After driving on the 306 with stock tune for a week now... I would say the 305 would be pretty easy to live with (just knowing that is a smaller, more friendly cam)... I agree the lt4 stuff costs more than other combos and takes a little more money to get big results. Just depends on what your after.

 

Thanks for the reply. Is there anything that needs to be modified when swapping to the HOT CAM and getting the ported heads? How much porting needs to be done, so the LT1 heads flow as good as the lt4 heads that are included in the hotcam kit? What type a gas mileage could I expect from a LT4 conversion (with hot cam). I am deciding what I want to do as far as LT4 conversion kit or buying the hot kit and getting my LT1 heads ported, I will do one of the 2 but is still need as much info as I can get

 

You can get you LT1 heads ported at AI http://www.advancedinduction.com/..they have good kits and good stuff. They will help you alot. As far as the cams...if you go with the LT4 hotcam kit...the kit come with everything you need..just install it. You can get a computer tune by going to PCMforless.com. They will send you a new computer with all the tuning done...all you do is give them the spec of youfr car. And from then on out, every upgrade is free. They will send you the program to install on you OBD1 and then you install it after every mod, therefore all of it is takin care of. I would still take it to a dyno to get it all checked out and tuned just a little because the computer guys are just making educated guesses compared to other engines with the exact same mods. They are very good and you could drive around with those and get all your tuning done. The dyno would be just for a check and maybe tune out a few things...which you prolly wont need to do.

 

The LT1 heads flow less...stock for stock..however it is cheaper to take your stock heads and get them ported to flow better than the LT4 heads. Don't know the cost since I am running on stock heads for a while.
The LT4 shouldnt be much worse on gas mileage than the LT1 stock... maybe low 20s? Maybe someone with that setup can post their info in here for you.

 

I plan on spending a big chunck of money on this conversion but I want astrong relieable LT4. I will swap out for LTs,computer program and I am thinking about trying this in my garage. I am not engine illiterate and niether are my dad and his buddies but I just dont want to do anything wrong. I dont want to be running around looking for parts while my car is on the operating table. Heads, cam kit, timing chain, oil pump, and computer program... I think I can do it myself. I am going to rebuild it too. What other tools will I need? I already have the basic tools

 

Aaron: If GM didn't tag this came as an "LT4 HOT CAM" would you even be considering it? This cam is not the cam for an everyday street car. Low end torque is not good and it also takes away a ton of vacuum. I installed this in my LT1 thinking it must be good because GM said is was an LT4 HOT CAM!

My suggestion is to call Comp Cams, Crane or some other cam maker and ask them for recommendations. I called Comp Cams after I installed the LT4 HOT CAM and the first thing the techie said was that the duration was wrong for our everyday engines. So, what I did was go back to the stock cam - because I already had it, and performance was improved immediately.

If I had to do it over again I'd have bought the 304 or 305 Comp Cam and had the LT1 heads ported. This seems to add 60+ HP and doesn't cost a lot of dough.

You must get your PCM tuned (Bryan Herter at www.pcmforless.com does a great job for not much money) if you change cams or make other internal mods. Otherwise everything may not work "together" to give you what you are looking for.

 

wow in all my years of reading this board this is the first time I saw someone say the LT4 HotCam wasn't streetable. I thought the entire setup (cam rockers etc) added about 40hp and 20-30 more when you tuned it...

 

WEll my goal is to have a LT1 is very fuel efficient and makes lots of power with minimal miles per gallon lost. With that said does anybody already did the "trial and error part"? I want a cam package(1.6rr, ect..)? I alreay have most of the basic ignition, intake and exhaust bolt-ons I'm after, and a suspension that is almost "built to the gills" but I want some guts now. whisch cam package will be the most efficient for my daily driver?

 

WTF are you smoking man?

I've had the HOT CAM in my car for 11,000 miles with ABSOLUTELY NO DRIVEABILITY issues. I can let off the clutch at an 850 RPM idle and take off in first gear. This cam is every bit as streetable as the stock cam, is a great value, and has awesome midrange and good top end power. As a general rule of thumb, any cam with 230° @ .050 duration or less should be perfectly streetable. Even without a tune and LT-4 KM the cam worked great! For power there are definately better cams out there(custom, GM 847, etc....), but if you want everyday driveability, more power, NO decrease in gas mileage, and a nice package deal, then the HOT CAM is a GREAT choice IMO.

 

Aaron: Go to www.impalassforum.com and click on engine performance. At the top of the list on his section is an ongoing discussion and a TON of information on LT1 cam options and a TON of opinions. I know this is an Impala forum I am referring you to, but - same engine with different heads. These guys have done extensive mods and really know their stuff. Give'm a shot for your educational process on cams and other things.