about to go in for a new cam setup and have some questions

[GJG]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

now do after market cams put more stress on a engine ?

non expert here..... but i'll bet..... any added stress is directly proportional to the effect the new cam has on the pleasure sensors in your brain which are then transferred thru your right foot......

[Huggerorange73]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

now do after market cams put more stress on a engine ?

The biggest stress will be on the pushrods and valvesprings, which any good shop is going to upgrade for you in the swap.

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by GJG

non expert here..... but i'll bet..... any added stress is directly proportional to the effect the new cam has on the pleasure sensors in your brain which are then transferred thru your right foot......

lol well said

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by Huggerorange73

The biggest stress will be on the pushrods and valvesprings, which any good shop is going to upgrade for you in the swap.

ok ya the cam kit will include all of that

[IndeedSS1]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

now do after market cams put more stress on a engine ?

Yes but how much depends on the cam. As mentioned other parts should be upgraded. Not sure on the LSx how this effects things like timing chain, or the next weak point in the system? All things you will cover with the builder.

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by IndeedSS1

Yes but how much depends on the cam. As mentioned other parts should be upgraded. Not sure on the LSx how this effects things like timing chain, or the next weak point in the system? All things you will cover with the builder.

ok so if you upgrade everything that needs to be upgraded then you wont put more stress on the motor, correct ?

[boat rx]

mike i am getting a stroker kit so i will need a larger cam.look up sound clips on this forum,nice but not nuts.

[IndeedSS1]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

ok so if you upgrade everything that needs to be upgraded then you wont put more stress on the motor, correct ?

Ideally. I'm sure it depends on how aggressive the cam is. At some point your stock transmission will become the week link.

When I traded in my car for the Camaro it had 96k miles and probably 70k was with an aftermarket cam. My transmission was built at one point early in the game. The car was still in great shape when I let her go. Just have to mod smartly. Good luck and enjoy.

[rally yellow ss rs]

From what your exspressing, you are not using the Camaro as a daily driver but dont want to sacrifice its smooth drivibility...Like indeedss1 had said, just have to mod smartly. If you upgrade transmission, suspension, gears before the cam build...then you will have the overall car you want. You dont want to sacrifice reliabilty, comfort, and driveability for another 48 hp over time. You can always do the cam build, upgrade tranny if/when it goes, gears if/when they go, but I would upgrade the suspension to stiffen it up some to help you maintain control.

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by rally yellow ss rs

From what your exspressing, you are not using the Camaro as a daily driver but dont want to sacrifice its smooth drivibility...Like indeedss1 had said, just have to mod smartly. If you upgrade transmission, suspension, gears before the cam build...then you will have the overall car you want. You dont want to sacrifice reliabilty, comfort, and driveability for another 48 hp over time. You can always do the cam build, upgrade tranny if/when it goes, gears if/when they go, but I would upgrade the suspension to stiffen it up some to help you maintain control.

ya, thats right on! i was thinking maybe going a different route before the cam... know i need some info on some good transmission upgrades and suspension upgrades, and new gearing

[danhr]

A little cam 101... most of this is just a "rule of thumb"

There are three things that are generally listed when you look at cam specs

Cam Duration @ .050 lift
Lift
LSA

The ones you want to pay more attention to is the duration numbers and LSA..... lift is pretty much negligable.

First is the duration. This should be the first number you look at. It is generally going to tell you how "big" the camshaft is. IMO something with a 224 intake duration is extremely mild... 228 duration is mild.... 231 is getting there.... 236 is balls out. Generally speaking, the bigger those numbers are, the more power it's going to make. Also the higher those numbers go up, usually the powerband goes higher..... meaning your 224 cam is going to make peak power at 5800 rpms... while your 231 camshaft is going to make it at 6500 rpms. This is of course, all just a rule of thumb.... each individual grind spec for a cam is different and there are plenty of cams that contradict what I just said, but for the most part, that's how it is.

Lots of people look at lift numbers and judge how big a cam is by that...... I have played with low duration/high lift cams before, and I can tell you, that should be the last thing you look at.

next is your LSA or Lobe Seperation Angle. This plays a huge factor in driving characteristics, idling, powerband. You have your "narrow" lsa's (110-112 LSA) and your wider LSA's (114-116). The benefit of your narrow LSA is that it gives you that nasty "drag car" rumble, it gives a smaller (but generally speaking higher) powerband, and are more prone to "cam surge" (bucking in lower (<1500 rpms)). A wider LSA will give you just the opposite. N/A cars tend to like narrow LSA's more, and forced induction cars tend to like wider LSA's... nitrous cars, it depends on how much is being sprayed.

Now a lot of people are going to tell you xxxx cam is not streetable... xxxx cam drives like crap... xxxx cam doesnt make enough power. The bad thing is, you can NOT measure on of the main factors in selecting a cam for a car you drive on the road... and that's DRIVEABILITY. What one person considers driveable, another person considers horrible. For instance, I had the texas speed 231/236 cam on a 112 LSA in my car, and I thought it drove damn near stock, and was a little too tame for my tastes.... and there are a few people on this board that claim that it is in now way driveable on the street.

Your best bet is to get a general idea of what you want, and see if anyone around you has something similiar, and see if they would be nice enough to give you a test drive/take you for a ride. That way you can figure out what your tastes are, and you can pick the right camshaft the first time

[boat rx]

mike with the set you are looking for,tranny upgrades normally not needed.on a m6 car a rear gear swap to373 or 410 will usually help drivability.now if you read a certain thread here where the cam is blamed for tearing up clutch and other parts,you can do all of that with a stock motor.just use your common sense.it is not a race car.

[mikeSS]

Originally Posted by boat rx

mike with the set you are looking for,tranny upgrades normally not needed.on a m6 car a rear gear swap to373 or 410 will usually help drivability.now if you read a certain thread here where the cam is blamed for tearing up clutch and other parts,you can do all of that with a stock motor.just use your common sense.it is not a race car.

ya i have really mixed feelings right now ... going to talk to kirk about this see what his thoughts are

[rally yellow ss rs]

Originally Posted by mikeSS

ya i have really mixed feelings right now ... going to talk to kirk about this see what his thoughts are

Lots of people will see they could make an extra 50 hp for a decent price, but are the majority of those people going to be peticular about how their car reacts, handles, and performes under all circumstances. If your like me, this is my baby...and I want to do a lot to her, but only what will work right. I am saving up so the day she is payed off, I will build the motor up, supercharge, gears, tranny, suspension, but until then...bolt ons. I rather do it once than be hating life.