Cams/Heads Where to start?

[brrndon]

Just got an '11 SS and am trying to figure out where to start. My ultimate goal is 500 RWHP all motor, however far fetched that may be. Anyways, I do not know anything about the numbers involved with heads/cams and was looking for a little advice. I understand that heads/cams will not get me to where I want to be, but figure they are the best place to start, and was wondering if yall had some suggestions on which head/cam I should be looking into. Thanks.

[GEEo]

[2010 2SS RS]

Originally Posted by brrndon

Just got an '11 SS and am trying to figure out where to start. My ultimate goal is 500 RWHP all motor, however far fetched that may be. Anyways, I do not know anything about the numbers involved with heads/cams and was looking for a little advice. I understand that heads/cams will not get me to where I want to be, but figure they are the best place to start, and was wondering if yall had some suggestions on which head/cam I should be looking into. Thanks.

This thing gonna be a everyday driver or a weekend dragstrip battle machine... lol
First ? you should ask yourself, the answer should dictate how aggressive your cams going to be and so on and so forth ....

[2010 2SS RS]

Originally Posted by GEEo

LOL ... responses will start pouring in soon im sure ...

[brrndon]

maybe we misunderstood each other. i can't tell the difference between an aggressive cam and a weak one...i dont understand the numbers. itll be a daily driver, but itll go to the strip a few times a month

[klatterblast]

You can get very close to that with a good cold air intake like a ADM or a CAI, 2" primary long tube headers with 3" exhaust. get your heads ported but not totally necessary and a healthy stage 2 cam kit w/springs & pushrods. i would also get an ATI harmonic balancer to protect your valvetrain, get a oil catch can. and get a good dyno tune. but you will probably have to upgrade your clutch and axels to handle the torque.

[brrndon]

thank you klatter, thats some good info.

[MileMAN402]

Texas Speed has some good cam/head packages that will put you at 480ish rwhp with the supporting mods stated before (LT's, CAI, catback, tune)

LG also has some nice products. I just got their full exhaust and I'll be getting their G6X3 cam soon. A local shop will be porting my heads, TB and intake manifold. Hopefully I'll be right around 500rwhp, but remember a dyno is only a tuning tool and you should be happy with anything around 500. My car is a DD too.

[UNRIVALED SS]

I`m running the Magnacharger 2300, with the Stage 1 camshaft from MTI racing, American Racing Headers and 3 inch exhaust through morroso spiral flow mufflers and that got me 533 hp to the tires on the L99 motor. It`s very drivable and I`ve had no maitenance issues so far. It makes a lot of torque and is really a fun to drive combo.

I have a question also. I`m looking for some real numbers from you all on what the potential gains would be for porting the heads on this motor or even some of the aftermarket stuff out there from companies like Mast Motorsports or the ported heads from GM performance. I`m sure some of you are running some of those items and I`m just trying to make a decision what the power versus cost would be on that upgrade. I appreciate the advice , it`s always been to notch on here in the past.

[JUISSD]

You can get to 500whp n/a but you're not going to like the drivability it offers with the aggressiveness of the cam you'll need. You can safely make in the mid-upper 400's and still keep decent drivability with the right combo. Several vendors on here offer packages that'll suit your needs.

[steeleshark2]

TSP 231/236 cam with decent heads, headers, catback, cai, underdrive pulley and tune will put you right at 490-510RWHP with good drivability.

[Smoky10]

Originally Posted by steeleshark2

TSP 231/236 cam with decent heads, headers, catback, cai, underdrive pulley and tune will put you right at 490-510RWHP with good drivability.

I'm looking for the exact same thing and this is also the package that I've pretty much decided on.

[Jason 98 TA]

We are working to finish up the PRC LS3 aftermarket casting heads which will give us some extra hp over a stock ported head, but we're still atleast 4-6 weeks out on them. Right now the ported stock castings are the best options. The good news is porting your stock head is only about $800 so it's cheaper than buying a entire new head setup!

[danhr]

either get the tsp 231/236 heads/cam combo

or just get the g6x3 cam

I garuntee that at least 90% of the people on here that complain about "driveability" have not even drove a decently cammed car. A little bit of googling will net you the actual specs of LG's g6x3 cam, which is arguably the biggest cam you can fit in a stock ls3 without worrying about PTV clearance, and it isn't even that big.