cam suggestions

["97z]

i have a fully forged 383lt-1 w/patriot performance 195cc heads 11.0-1 compression. any ideas?

[Wooshie]

Custom grind.

[Z28pr0jekt]

Custom grind would definitely be best, but you can save some money and buy my cc306 and it will perform well :-D haha

[JAKEJR]

I just installed a CompCams custom HR grind and it was the same price as off the shelf cams. $303

Jake

West Point ROCKS!

[My95Z]

Whatever you get you can go pretty big, you have decent compression, extra cubes, and a forged bottom end that should be good to at least 7k.

[JAKEJR]

Also, it's critical for you decide on your expectations; what you're intended goals are and how the car will be used. A track only car will call for different specs than a daily driver, etc. Also, it's important not to over-cam your engine, as so many do.

List the characteristics you want out of the cam install and choose the cam that meets those.

I would be better if your engine specs and your expectations so we can better recommend. You'll probably get differing views, but that's all part of the game.

Jake

West Point ROCKS!

["97z]

Also, it's critical for you decide on your expectations; what you're intended goals are and how the car will be used. A track only car will call for different specs than a daily driver, etc. Also, it's important not to over-cam your engine, as so many do.

List the characteristics you want out of the cam install and choose the cam that meets those.

I would be better if your engine specs and your expectations so we can better recommend. You'll probably get differing views, but that's all part of the game.

Jake

West Point ROCKS!
thats kinda the response i was waiting for. its going to be a daily driver persay "not every day but" and i stuffed 4:10's out back, hooker ceramic super comps, msd opti, double roller t-chain also. if you need any more info let me know as im not sure what you need exactly. just not happy with the 466xfi comp cam that comp suggested. i told them what i had and was going to throw at it for juice and wanted the 306 lope and it was nowhere near the 306 lope it sounded more like a misfire than anything lol

[LS14breakfast]

did that cam the 466xfi that’s the 218/224 .57 on 113lsa... you said it didn’t sound close to the cc306 but did it sound good if you were not expecting it to compare to the 306? my car is getting it installed at the shop right now (i cant do it because I’m on a shutdown) anyway I’ve been looking every were for peoples opinions and have found some good some bad... so did still lope but just not as hard as the 306 because i want my car to perform good but i also want it to sound good... i want you to be able to tell I’ve got a cam because i love the sound! but i know its not gona sound close to the 306 but i still want it to lope... and I’m going to be running it through a open cut out... sorry for the long post, and sorry for it being off topic

[JAKEJR]

Here's my take: I built a 388 LT1 for my 96 Vette as a daily driver, so I was a bit conservative in my cam selection. However I didn't want to leave too much on the table because I had to shut-up my nephew with his 06 LS2 GTO.

I went with the XFI 467 which is 230/236 on 113 LSA. It meets what I was looking for well, but, I suspected it won't meet what you want; being a tad too mild.

Interestingly, the 467 was used by GM HIGH TECH PERFORMANCE in a recent LT1 cylinder head shoot-out and the winner from memory, (AFR), made 516 HP - all the results are posted on the GMHTP website - good reading.

I wanted mild to barely noticable idle which is what the 467 gave me, but since you want lope, you need to step it up - duration wise OR tighten the LSA. Doing that closes you in on what I consider the cross-over point. Going too high in duration or too tight in LSA effects vacuum, so proper power brake operation becomes an issue.

CompCams generally sizes their cams in 6 degree increments, so the next one UP in duration from the 230/236 would be 236/242, then 242/248.

Perhaps someone with personal experience can chime in, but I believe the 242/248 will cause the vacuum issues I referenced. Assuming that's correct, a step down to XFI 236/246 is in order but to tweak the idle lope a bit - not being sure those specs cam will give you the lope you want on 113s - you could special order it (same price) on 111s or even 110s. I wouldn't go below 110 though, my thinking is that'll become too hard to tune.

Just for your info: Comp's cam guru, Godbold, said in an interview that the XFI lobes are the best lobes Comp's done.

Here's what I did a couple of weeks ago; My son is 22 and wanted lope too and his 96 LT1 is still a 350. I knew I had to keep the duration down, since his is a daily driver with a stock converter and 3.07 gears. So I went shorter on the duration (214/214 custom CompCams CRC lobes, HR) BUT I tightened the LSA to 109. I went with 1.7/1.65 Scorpions to kick up the valve lift.

BINGO! Tons of low end throttle response but a lope that makes guys stop and listen. Not raggedy and uneven but sharp and talking. He's running Corsas. Because the duration was kept short, I could go with 109s. I consider it the best of both worlds.

As you probably already know, you'll definitely need a PCM tune. So I highly recommend that before ordering the new cam, choose a well-respected tuner (I use Bryan Herter at PCMFORLESS) and run it by him. Tell him what you're considering and follow his feed-back. Some cam specs are a lot harder to tune properly than others. Tight LSA (Lobe Seperation Angle) cams are harder; it's the over-lap which is what gives you the lope.

So, to wrap this up, considering the info you posted and your engine and gear, etc., I'd go XFI (468?) 236/242 on 111s. 750 RPMs at idle will let the cam talk.

The duration will feed your 383 and the 111s, coupled with the duration, will give you the lope yet remain tuneable. We're talking THREE sizes UP from where you are now with the 218/224. That's right on the edge of maxxing out though for a car seeing some daily driver duty. If you want to be a tad more conservative and improve your daily driver experience, take a step lower to the 230/236 but still on 111s. Have either one ground with four degrees of Advance.

These are just my views; I'm sure there will be others; hope it helps.

Jake

West Point ROCKS!

[JAKEJR]

did that cam the 466xfi that’s the 218/224 .57 on 113lsa... you said it didn’t sound close to the cc306 but did it sound good if you were not expecting it to compare to the 306? my car is getting it installed at the shop right now (i cant do it because I’m on a shutdown) anyway I’ve been looking every were for peoples opinions and have found some good some bad... so did still lope but just not as hard as the 306 because i want my car to perform good but i also want it to sound good... i want you to be able to tell I’ve got a cam because i love the sound! but i know its not gona sound close to the 306 but i still want it to lope... and I’m going to be running it through a open cut out... sorry for the long post, and sorry for it being off topic

It's the LSA. As you tighten it you increase overlap which creates the lope. Computer controlled engines are sensitive to over-lap and the more over-lap there is in a cam the harder it becomes to tune.

If you check the catalogs, you'll generally find that cam offerings for computer controlled engines have wider LSA. CompCams came out with a new series of lobes specifically designed to give the lope that so many seem to want now-a-days. I've read mixed reviews on them though.

I did read one article of dyno tests done on a XFI 113 LSA cam and a torque drop in a certain RPM range (for maybe 500/700 rpms) was attributable to the wide LSA. It was commented that a tighter LSA would probably have eliminated it. No tests were run to verify that theory though.

Hope this helps.

Jake

West Point ROCKS!

[LS14breakfast]

Everything helps thank you! I’ve been doing ALOT off research on this cam and have heard allot off good and some bad... but i haven’t been able to find anyone who has actually used the cam that can tell me if the sound is good...

[Fastbird]

Stock ported heads = get something with a BIG intake to exhaust split. Like CC306/GM847. The cubes will eat up the extra cam.

Me personally, I'd try something like in the 234/244-248 range, go mid to upper .500's on the lift (I'd take a guess and go .580/.600 if providing clearance is there), and stick it on a 110* LSA/110* ICL. Should make good power across the board with the cubes and compression.

["97z]

Everything helps thank you! I’ve been doing ALOT off research on this cam and have heard allot off good and some bad... but i haven’t been able to find anyone who has actually used the cam that can tell me if the sound is good...
i ran the motor with the 466 before i had to remove the engine becase of a pinhole in the #4 cylinder wall "machinists" error and it sounded sweet with open headers! but as soon as i recieved my magnaflow cat-back and attached it the cam sounded more like a 383 with a misfire rather than a nice lope to it. i was more or less dissapointed in the sound. but if your looking for a weak to mild lope with good performance this would be a good choice as it has alot of lift compared to the other choices like the 300's they have to offer.

["97z]

Stock ported heads = get something with a BIG intake to exhaust split. Like CC306/GM847. The cubes will eat up the extra cam.

Me personally, I'd try something like in the 234/244-248 range, go mid to upper .500's on the lift (I'd take a guess and go .580/.600 if providing clearance is there), and stick it on a 110* LSA/110* ICL. Should make good power across the board with the cubes and compression.
i dont have stock ported heads. i have the patriot 195's with thier gold springs good to .650 2.02 1.60 stainless valves and titanium retainers that flow in the 280's

[LS14breakfast]

well im going to be running it with very little exhaust (close to none) so as long it sounds good like that i think ill like it... and if i don’t when i rebuild my motor hear in the near future i will change cam, but when i do that it will be a custom AI setup... this is just to hold me over till then... but thanks for the help

[duh]

I'd go XFI (468?) 236/242 on 111s. 750 RPMs at idle will let the cam talk.

It's kinda funny cause I was going to say look into the GM 847, nice rowdy idle, big split and right about the same duration and LSA you're talking about, and it's made by comp.

234/242 on 112. So it's shy 2* on the intake and 1 more on the LSA. But having decent heads will more than make up for the few degrees difference. Personally I'd slap some 1.7/1.65 rockers on it just to help and have a nice big cam, that'll want to rev, and still make tons down low.

[Fastbird]

i dont have stock ported heads. i have the patriot 195's with thier gold springs good to .650 2.02 1.60 stainless valves and titanium retainers that flow in the 280's

Patriot doesn't make their own castings. What company castings are they using?? AFAIK Patriot is still using stock LT1 castings.