Should I Replace My Cam Due to Wear? Pictures Inside

[MLC_LSA]

Hello Guys,

I have a 2013 ZL1 that I purchased modded in August 2019. The car was built by East Coast Supercharging, it has their Big Blower cam, fully ported blower, full exhaust, meth, pullies, etc. and dyno'd at 720hp when built. The car has 28,000 miles, 20k of which have had these mods.
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I pulled the heads a few weeks ago for porting and a lifter upgrade and I noticed that some of the cam lobes have what looks like abnormal wear on the center of the ramps and noses. On the other hand, some lobes look normal. The stock lifter rollers all look perfectly fine with practically no wear. Below are some pictures of the normal looking lobes followed by progressively worse looking lobes.
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The cam core was made by Comp Cams and made in the early 2015 range. Specs are seemingly kept secret by ECS and are advertised as "durations in the mid 230s and lifts in the .600 range with a 125 LSA". I am trying to determine if I need to rip the front half of the engine bay apart to replace this cam on top of spending another $400 on a Brian Tooley spec'd LSA blower cam. Would you guys replace this cam or does it look like acceptable wear?

[Ashen 6.2]

Based on what I can see in the last 3 pics and since its already apart, it were mine I would change the lifters and cam.

[zz430camaro]

YES! That cam lobe material is beginning to fail and will only get worse. Try to get a 8620 cam core if you can so you dont have to deal with this in the future.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Agreed, those cam lobes look pretty bad and it will only make matters worse for ya if you put it back together. As long as you are that far, I would change it out AND the lifters, otherwise down the road, you will be doing it again. Just insurance on your part.

[MLC_LSA]

Guys, thank you for all your responses, it sounds like I'm going to be ordering a cam. I planned to run Johnson 2110s so a nice cam with an 8620 core will complement the new lifters nicely.

Does anyone know why this happened? Was it a crappy cam core to begin with? Or do you think the BTR dual .660 springs were starting to have their way with the lobes?

[1JEWLDSSRS]

I wouldn't think the BTR's would have anything to do with it, but a bad cam core from Comp would. I have heard on here that in the past Comp has had some issues with their cams and that's why when we did my build 3 years ago I went with TSP per my builder/tuners recomendations. Good luck and as mentioned 8620 core, I believe it is a harder compound metal used. At 20k you should only be having to replace the springs, not the cam. lol. Good luck sir!!

[MLC_LSA]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

I wouldn't think the BTR's would have anything to do with it, but a bad cam core from Comp would. I have heard on here that in the past Comp has had some issues with their cams and that's why when we did my build 3 years ago I went with TSP per my builder/tuners recomendations. Good luck and as mentioned 8620 core, I believe it is a harder compound metal used. At 20k you should only be having to replace the springs, not the cam. lol. Good luck sir!!

Thanks Jewel'd, I am in agreement with you....I should only be replacing the springs, not the entire setup. And I did hear about the bad cam cores from Comp. This cam was put in around 2015, which is right around the time I saw threads about bad comp quality control and cam failures. This could have been bad...glad I saved it and also glad I checked with you guys on here.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Yes sir, you are welcome,and glad it worked out THIS way and not the way most folks found out about it when it was too late. You dodged a bullet on this one for sure. Cheers and stay well and have fun!!

[olblue75]

I think Comp Cams got their issues worked out an have some of the best cams now. I’m installing a 228/242 113+1 LSA in my LS3 soon with Johnson 2110’s and GPI ported heads.

[Ashen L99]

That’s some pretty good wear. Did you have LS7s in there before? Time to replace.

Go for the BTR stage 3 blower cam like you said, my best buds Cadillac has that and a Kong 2650 and runs like a raped ape. Very well mannered as well and makes great power for an off the shelf cam! I have the 2110s and they’re very quiet. The Cadillac as mentioned has 2110Rs, very solid lifters.

[zz430camaro]

Like the others said, there was a bunch of bad 5150 cams from Comp Cams going around and it looks like you got one. I used a 8620 cam core from Texas Speed and have not had any issues to date, I also use oil with high ZDDP in it too (high zinc). Even though its a roller cam I believe it needs the high zinc oil because of all the added spring force and aggressive lobes of an aftermarket high performance cam.

https://cammotion.com/camshaft-cores/

https://www.royalpurple.com/product/...eet-motor-oil/

[MLC_LSA]

Originally Posted by Ashen L99

That’s some pretty good wear. Did you have LS7s in there before? Time to replace.

Go for the BTR stage 3 blower cam like you said, my best buds Cadillac has that and a Kong 2650 and runs like a raped ape. Very well mannered as well and makes great power for an off the shelf cam! I have the 2110s and they’re very quiet. The Cadillac as mentioned has 2110Rs, very solid lifters.

The car had the stock lifters in there, so I suppose those are the LS7's? They are going away in favor of Johnson 2110s.

zz430 - I agree, I think I'll use some oil with zinc in it. I was running Amsoil.

Do you guys think I'll need to do a cam again in 20k if I go with another aggressive grind? I power but I also want reliability, I don't want to open this motor up again after this build is done. I know those are famous last words, but I want to do it once and do it right.

[Badbubba]

Originally Posted by MLC_LSA

Thanks Jewel'd, I am in agreement with you....I should only be replacing the springs, not the entire setup. And I did hear about the bad cam cores from Comp. This cam was put in around 2015, which is right around the time I saw threads about bad comp quality control and cam failures. This could have been bad...glad I saved it and also glad I checked with you guys on here.

There were issues from the get go with aftermarket cams after the Gen 5 came out. Followed the issues closely with the LS3 Camaros and Corvettes. I remember Kip from Cam Motion being the 1st person to identify the issue was with heat treating. As well as the core material. There were also issues with cams from a major cam manufacturer that were not polished correctly. They would whine like a super charger. It wasn't until a few years later that people accepted the fact that the cams were at fault. Break in procedures, oil, zddp content, spring pressures, push rod lengths and lifters were some of the suspected causes. Those items, if wrong, may have contributed to the issue, but the core was the problem. I've held off from getting a cam because of the failures. If I was to get a cam, it would most likely be from Cam Motion.

[Badbubba]

Originally Posted by MLC_LSA

The car had the stock lifters in there, so I suppose those are the LS7's? They are going away in favor of Johnson 2110s.

zz430 - I agree, I think I'll use some oil with zinc in it. I was running Amsoil.

Do you guys think I'll need to do a cam again in 20k if I go with another aggressive grind? I power but I also want reliability, I don't want to open this motor up again after this build is done. I know those are famous last words, but I want to do it once and do it right.

No. Provided the proper install procedures, maintenance, quality components and good driving habits were utilized. Probably a good idea to replace the springs after 20k.