Goody_Seven

Can I install a LT4 hot cam into a '94 Z28 without a computer tune and still have the car run well?

ram57ta

It will run "OK". You might pick up a slight bit of power and you will definitely notice the cam lope, but to really bring it alive you will want a retune. With the stock cam I went 14.01 at 98. With a LT4 Hot Cam and 1.6 Roller rockers I went 13.7 at 103. When I dyno tuned the ECM and ran again I went 13.10 at 106..spinning off the line. The throttle became a LOT more responsive.

96capricemgr

You could get your car tuned for $50, that is money better spent than the cam. Think of it this way camming a FI motor and not retuning is exactly like camming an old hotrod but not rejetting or retiming it, does that make it sound like a bad idea? Reprogramming is worthwhile on a stock car and should be considered manditory for a modified one.

Randomsoleil

i am running the hotcam now and it is ok but i know there are a few more ponies under the hood with a tune....however i wouldnt trust a tune for 50 i would take it to a shop that does tuning..of course it all depends on wether or not you have odb1 or II it wont make too much of a difference just not that many tuners can tune odbII
www.carolinaautomasters.com

96capricemgr

Are you kidding, the two most respected and used tuner here(madz28 and pcmforless) offer OBD1 packages for around that price, and a Hotcam tune is basic enough for either to pretty well nail the first try. You are plain wrong, nobody knowledgable here will support your claims.

Randomsoleil

mail order tunes are one thing but IMO they are really good for very mild tunes and can not be what your car really needs. and no offense i am not stating right or wrong so who in the hell made you tuning god

96capricemgr

More than a couple guys have had mailorder and then dyno tunes from these two and EW and come up with single digit power gains. The HOT cam is VERY well known, dollars per HP mailorder over dyno will win with a mild well known combo like this, take the couple hundred saved and mod the car a little further and pay the extra $25 for lifetime updates. If running a modified motor on a stock tune you are running it on the wrong tuning spark and fuel mapping need to be changed this is ot just about every little bit of HP but about drivability as well. A quick look through even current threads will reveal yet another very satisfied mailorder tuning customer, granted some things are better done in person(power adders for one) but most are easily handled by email.

aaron_depue

I also have a 94 Z. I am currently thinking about installing a lt4 hot cam package in my daily driver. I have 58mm tb and intake manifold along with K&N's FIPK and a ported MAF, and then the full exhaust( catback and headers). My question is: Other than the computer, what modifications would complment the lt4 hot cam kit? Are there any neccessities that must be done when changing cams? I want to do the job right and I know that most of you guys know what you are talking about. Your thoughts????

QUASARBLUEZ28

Being a 94, you already have hardend pushrods so thats a plus. Maybe replace lifters and a new timing chain plus the KModule with the LT4 one. Good time to replace with a new opti, if its been on there awhile and plugs/wires.
Without a re-program, the car will run but it will be on the rich side. Dyno tune to get things all working together after the cam swap.

96capricemgr

Again dyno tuning is good but with a mild/common combo like this is usually money wasted, a mailorder tune will most often have the car very well dialed in. It is not even arguable that $50 for a mailorder is much better than running a cam on the stock tune. Also a ported MAF is just sending bad info to the computer it can cause a TEMPORARY power gain but the pcm will learn it out, and a 58mm TB with a A4 and no retune is certain transmission death. Mailorder tuning is a good mod on even a bone stock car, look at the MANY thread raving about the results from Bryan and Ion as proof.

aaron_depue

What all individual car information can they put in a ammail order tune

96capricemgr

Anything that needs to be there. You fill out a questionaire to give them the specs, if you tell them it is a blown 383 they can deal with that granted for something like that they will setup a mailorder tune rich and want to get it on a dyno after that but they can send you a perfectly usable tune for even something wild like that.
Wether a mailorder or a dyno yune you answer a bunch of questions and they guy takes a educated guess at what the car needs, on the dyno they just make un check the results and play with the tuning a little and basically it is trial and error till they start losing power instead of gaining which could be immediately, some guys only find single digits more power other find 50hp depends on how well the guy was able to guess the tuning needs. Common packages like a HOT cam and stock or even most ported heads is going to well enough known for a tuner to guess well at right off the bat. With the mailorder they send you a tune, you load it and if you think it needs more work you can email them a datalog and to some degree they can work off of that. You may be leaving so power unfound but the $50 a mailorder costs is a whole lot closer to ideal than the stock every car is the same tune and a whole lot less than the hundreds of dollars dyno time and tuning will cost. If a combo is odd, extreme, or you want to get every last HP out then dyno is the way to go but for most of us mailorder works well. You have to admit that a performance minded professionals mailoder tune is going to be better than the one full of compromises GM put in there.

dmoor88

going with a 52mm TB instead of a 58mm TB to start out. that and an LT4 KM isn't necessary since the timing can be tuned in or out.

FastZinTennessee

I would recommend a mail order tune to go with the HOTcam. I did a set of ported heads for my car, and a HOTcam(I had all the bolt ons as well) and on the stock tune it went 8.5 in the 1/8. With no other mods than the mail order tune the car went 8.1 the next time at the track.

On the stock tune it ran so rich that when I rolled into the throttle it would backfire before finally taking off

aaron_depue

Thanks for the replies. I will probably purchase a mail order tune soon. How do I go about doing it. I have never did it before. Who do I need to talk to? Also how much power would you estimate that I would make with the mods above + a hot cam kit and a mail order tune? I am getting really anxious