Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com
 
Roto-Fab
Go Back   Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com > Other Generations > 4th Generation Camaros


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-12-2013, 12:09 PM   #1
paddypilot
 
Drives: '99 Z28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Cam Question

So I just bought a '99 Z28 in almost spotless condition for a lot less than it was worth, but the catch was that the previous owner put a new (used) mild cam in it without knowing the specs on the cam. He didn't have it tuned and it idles low and will stall on start without some throttle and will sometimes stall at a stop. My knowledge on tuning is limited so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, he said that pcmforless would listen to my exhaust and tune accordingly, is this a good option?
paddypilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 01:22 PM   #2
Bhobbs


 
Bhobbs's Avatar
 
Drives: 2015 SS 1LE Red Hot, 1970 Chevelle
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Chino, CA
Posts: 6,987
I think it would be smarter to pull the came and determine the specs or replace it. Who knows what else may need to be changed to run that cam.
Bhobbs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 01:34 PM   #3
paddypilot
 
Drives: '99 Z28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
that's what i was thinking, but he insists it was small enough that nothing needs replaced.
paddypilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 02:23 PM   #4
Bhobbs


 
Bhobbs's Avatar
 
Drives: 2015 SS 1LE Red Hot, 1970 Chevelle
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Chino, CA
Posts: 6,987
Quote:
Originally Posted by paddypilot View Post
that's what i was thinking, but he insists it was small enough that nothing needs replaced.
Are you willing to bet your motor on that?
Bhobbs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 02:37 PM   #5
376LS3
Eh, that'll happen
 
376LS3's Avatar
 
Drives: 2010 2SS
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Mesa, Arizona
Posts: 1,841
Pull it and put what you want in there. That way you know all parts can work together. Better safe than sorry. If you wanna stay relatively small, looking into the TSP 228r. I had that in my 98z and loved it. If you wanna go big, look MS4.
__________________
2010 Camaro SS LS3 - No Modz
376LS3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 02:42 PM   #6
paddypilot
 
Drives: '99 Z28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
No definitely not, I'm trying to pry some info out of him right now, but are there any obvious indicators that something is amiss? I'm going to read the pcm* soon when I get my scanner, is there anything I should look for? If I kept the non-stock cam as opposed to putting the stock back in, would I need to get new headers, torque converter, intake, etc to avoid damaging the motor?

Last edited by paddypilot; 06-12-2013 at 02:56 PM.
paddypilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2013, 02:43 PM   #7
paddypilot
 
Drives: '99 Z28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Quote:
Originally Posted by 376LS3 View Post
Pull it and put what you want in there. That way you know all parts can work together. Better safe than sorry. If you wanna stay relatively small, looking into the TSP 228r. I had that in my 98z and loved it. If you wanna go big, look MS4.
I've never done a cam swap before, what all would I need to change alongside the 228r?
paddypilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2013, 07:07 PM   #8
Bhobbs


 
Bhobbs's Avatar
 
Drives: 2015 SS 1LE Red Hot, 1970 Chevelle
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Chino, CA
Posts: 6,987
Quote:
Originally Posted by paddypilot View Post
I've never done a cam swap before, what all would I need to change alongside the 228r?
Push rods and possibly valve springs.
Bhobbs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2013, 08:07 PM   #9
paddypilot
 
Drives: '99 Z28
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 5
Well my situation is that some people seem to think that with a mild cam, you don't need anything replaced to include springs, headers, rods, blah. If I decided to get this thing tuned with the mild cam that's apparently in it, what would I gain? (hp? mpg? smoothness?) Or if I put the original back in, would it be likely that I would even notice the difference (other than in mpg) since nothing else was added?
paddypilot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2013, 08:28 PM   #10
insidethreat07


 
insidethreat07's Avatar
 
Drives: 2001 Camaro 3.8
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Continental Ohio
Posts: 11,108
ls1tech.com will be your best friend
__________________
2001 Camaro V6
2016 Camaro 2SS
insidethreat07 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2013, 12:15 PM   #11
speedmon
 
Drives: C6 Z06
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Orange, CA
Posts: 572
Tuners don't have to know what's in your engine to tune it....its great to know and have a baseline to start from but not necessary. They do it based on the computer readings while the car is running.

You can take your car to a dyno tuner and they will tune it without knowing the specs.....or do a mail order tune PROCESSS through tampa tuning or janetty (both use different devices)....But its a process....you data log, they configure, you data log, they configure.....several iterations....tuning.

Stay away from "tell me your specs" and send me your PCM (computer).....thats just a guess and seldom right.
speedmon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2013, 08:18 AM   #12
Cam02ss
 
Cam02ss's Avatar
 
Drives: 2002 Camaro SS
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Mclean VA
Posts: 32
Be smart about this, pull the cam, find out exactly what you have- and go from there.
Cam02ss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2013, 12:36 PM   #13
xXSilencerXx
Butter Bar!
 
xXSilencerXx's Avatar
 
Drives: 2011 SS, 1998 Trans Am
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Patrick AFB, FL
Posts: 1,364
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam02ss View Post
Be smart about this, pull the cam, find out exactly what you have- and go from there.


+1, if he didn't change the valve springs it's only only a matter of time before a failure.
__________________
2011 Camaro SS, White/Orange, LSR Short Throw, CAI
1998 Trans Am, Red, H/C/I, 3200 CircleD Stall, full suspension
2004 GSXR 1k, Matt Mladin Edition
xXSilencerXx is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.