Cam recommendations

[Mr. Brett]

Long story short, I have a heads/cam 95 Z28 that I picked up last fall. Spent the past few months rebuilding the rear end, trans, dealing with some ignition issues, etc. It's solid now, but I hate, HATE the cam (CC306) the guy put in it. I have a mail order tune (Madtuner) so it runs, but it's terrible down low. It bucks like crazy below 3k and is miserable to drive around town, parking lots, etc. The heads are ported stock aluminum LT1 with bigger valves, 1.6 rr's, 30lb SVO injectors, Spec 2 clutch, 4.10 gears. I'd like something that makes good power under the curve, not a high revving peaky cam like the 306. I don't care about dyno numbers, I just want something that makes good power and revs smoothly. A lumpy idle is great, as long as it doesn't surge like crazy off idle. My LS1 WS6 build was centered around a TSP 228R, that cam was perfect. Great power off idle and a really flat curve. I know the LT1 is a different animal, but I'm looking for something similar. Bottom end is a fresh stock rebuild, nothing fancy, so I don't want something I have to rev to 6500 to make any power. The car is not daily driven, just nice summer days and the occasional cruise. One cam I've been looking at is the XE230/236, but I'm thinking I might want something a little milder. I know I should probably have something spec'ed by LE or something, but I'm hoping I can get something off the shelf that will work for me. Any input is welcome.

[Mr. Brett]

GM846 and CC503 are also options I've looked at, what kind of power do they make down low and how is the driveability with a 6 speed and 4.10's?

[meissen]

Personally I'd go with a cam from AI. Tell them what you want and have them custom grind you a cam.

[HellTeeOne]

When I was "cam only" I ran the XE224/236 on a 112 LSA. Made great power and torque from right off idle, had a very nice midrange and peaked at about 6k. The suspension under my car is almost entirely stock so in cool weather it would easily blow street tires away from a 40-50mph roll just stomping on the throttle. It was done by 6300 or so. It would pull 6th gear from 1500 rpm or so without complaint with my stock 3.42s. With stock untouched heads, shorty headers and full catback, and stock mechanical water pump the dyno numbers were 352/364 SAE. With a good set of ported heads I'd expect 50 or so more.

With a decent tune the driveability was good. It would buck and surge a bit under 1500 rpm when it was cold, but almost any cam is going to do that. You don't put a cam in a LT1 car and expect it to drive like it's completely stock.

Whatever you do, if you're still close to stock compression, I'd keep the intake duration no more than mid 220s and the LSA 112 or tighter. Intake durations of 230 or more tend to be lazy under the curve on these cars unless compression is well into the 11s. That's likely the problem you have now. My new setup is ~11.2 or so and I'm now running a cam with 228 degrees of intake duration.

[Sapper]

First thing to find out is how much work work was done to the heads or at least try and get some head flow data. Then you can contact a shop to grind you a cam. My suggestion is Cam Motion. They are the grinders for the majority of big shops anyway. Might as well look into their oil pump drive gear too.

[HellTeeOne]

Or you could keep the cam you have, and take the car to a good tuner and get it tuned on the dyno and the street. That could very well make a big difference in the car's running characteristics and manners and alleviate a lot of your gripes about it.

[Mr. Brett]

I'll be trying that first. Ordered Tunercat, a friend and I will be spending some time to see if we can dial it in a bit. Lots of experience with HPTuners on LS1's, I'm hoping we can figure this thing out. If we can't, it'll get replaced. I love the sound of that XE224/236, that's #1 on my list for replacement. Sounds like exactly what I want. Thanks.

[Madman337]

was wondering about something along the same lines but for just a cam only car with 323s and a 6 speed.

[Mystery Bird]

I would for sure get a semi custom ground cam from someone like Lloyd Elliot. It costs the same as an off the shelf one but a bit more tailored to you and your car.

[HellTeeOne]

I'll be trying that first. Ordered Tunercat, a friend and I will be spending some time to see if we can dial it in a bit. Lots of experience with HPTuners on LS1's, I'm hoping we can figure this thing out. If we can't, it'll get replaced. I love the sound of that XE224/236, that's #1 on my list for replacement. Sounds like exactly what I want. Thanks.

I still have the cam and springs boxed up around here somewhere. Got it from the now-defunct Combination Motorsports back in 2004. Stuff was only run about 5-6k miles before I pulled it out to make way for my current Ai setup. Looks almost new. If you're interested let me know.