Cam Decisions...

[SSkat]

Originally Posted by Athletics101

I have the TSP stage 2 NA cam, but I can’t post the video. PM me and I can get you a video. My car sounds knarley.

I have the same cam as well. Very mean with my borla atak.

[wasthatacop?]

I wouldn't put sound as top priority in cam selection. Performance is top priority. I'd go with option one by Comp Cams.

[Marknbacon]

Originally Posted by wasthatacop?

I wouldn't put sound as top priority in cam selection. Performance is top priority. I'd go with option one by Comp Cams.

It’s not.

Performance is priority but what I have found is what I’m actually trying to avoid sound wise is pretty easy to tune out of it by adjust air fuel ratio and idle speed.

I think I have decided on the GPI SS2. But I still might change my mind.

And for the record, it’s a manual trans with LS3.


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[TuneAFish]

This will be long winded, but hopefully worth the time investment. I've done A LOT more reading about cams for the 2015 LS3 than I want to admit, so I can at least offer a well read opinion.

If this car is NOT your daily driver or you only drive short distances, I'd recommend the GPI SS3; I literally just installed it last week. You can daily this cam, but I think the lack of low end torque would get old driving in regular stop and go traffic. Now if you live within ten minutes of work...I'd strongly consider it.

There's the video of mine doing a cold start on the following thread, which would be very similar to the components you're considering installing.

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580658


Do yourself a favor and listen to the video with good headphones. Hearing realistic bass frequencies adds an entirely new dimension to how bad ass this sounds.

In that clip it only has headers, high flow cats, and the stock tune. I have a funny story about that: it rocks so hard when idling that at a stop light, it thinks the traction control/stabilization system is failing and throws the warning lights on until the car starts rolling again. Maybe it's the vibration from the very loud exhaust, but either way, it's

As you know, the valve springs are required but come with the kit. Whichever cam you choose, buy that valve spring compressor tool I listed, it made the job MUCH easier.

I chose to not upgrade the trunnions. Here's an actual manufacturer of bushing style setups confirming that, while the stock GM rockers have made some news for failure under normal loads, they're typically good for 7,400 RPM. This cam peaks at 6,900 (and the SS2 even lower), so you wouldn't (shouldn't) be shifting much higher than 7,200 regardless.

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/need...-the-chevy-ls/

The bushing style are definitely safer, and the only real downside to them that I have found is that they wear out faster because bushings aren't designed for off-axis loads so much uses like an alternator which see on-axis duty (I said duty). This means you will have to replace them more often, but it's probably a lot less often than you'll be replacing back tires.

So in the long run it's probably cheap insurance if you're going to be beating on the engine. I actually baby mine most of the time, so it was a very low risk choice for me. Still, I'll likely upgrade mine once I have the $400 burning a hole in my pocket with nothing else to spend it on.

Regarding headers, I chose Texas Speed and am very happy with them as you'll see in the post. I've never owned Kooks headers, and I understand they are very high quality, but I would buy the TSP headers without a second thought if I had to do it again. And they were significantly cheaper than other options; I only paid around $650 for mine including the O2 sensor extensions.

If you are interested, I made a spreadsheet based on logic online for primary tube diameter calculation and have attached a screenshot below for quick reference. The peak torque for the SS3 is around 5300 rpm with stock heads, making 2" primaries the right choice. Before someone blasts me for saying that, I know MANY people on here run 1-7/8" headers and are making significantly more power than my engine. I'm just sharing the math I used for my decision. And honestly, the price was the same, the difference in power likely isn't noticeable, and those 2" tubes look really nice under the hood.

If you're curious, I've also zipped the actual spreadsheet and attached it to this post so you can plug in your own values depending on what cam you choose.

The heads, intake, and throttle body are still stock on mine (they've never even been off the car). I'm telling you that because I don't think that's an issue if you can't afford to do it all right now. Even with all those other stock components, there's a noticeable difference in how easily it revs; these engines simply LOVE to breath.

Yes, I'm pushing lower horsepower than most of the people posting on this forum, but I didn't upgrade the cam specifically for max performance. I wanted something that would run better than stock, be reliable, and turn heads at car shows because it sounded bad ass. This build accomplished all that and gave me the option to generate massive power if I add upgrades down the road.

And installing the parts myself, I did the entire project for just about $3,000 as noted below:

Cam Kit: $775
Tuner & 2 Credits: 400
Wideband AFR: $230
Misc gaskets and shop supplies: $100
Headers: $650
(2) 3" cats and weld in bungs: $120
(2) Knockoff Flowmaster Super 10s: $50
Custom bent 3" cat-back pipes: $300 (not yet done, but shop quoted me that)
Tune by GPI: $425

That, my friends, is a small price to pay for the entirely new personality my car received

Good luck with your build, read more than you think is necessary, and enjoy the process.

[olblue75]

Watch this guy there’s a lot to cam selection, apparently heads is a very important factor as well. https://youtu.be/JPAeepqrY-0

[FasNuf]

".....I chose to not upgrade the trunnions. Here's an actual manufacturer of bushing style setups confirming that, while the stock GM rockers have made some news for failure under normal loads, they're typically good for 7,400 RPM. This cam peaks at 6,900 (and the SS2 even lower), so you wouldn't (shouldn't) be shifting much higher than 7,200 regardless......"

It's cheap insurance so why not?
A high lift cam will complicate the OE trunnion failure issue

[TuneAFish]

Originally Posted by FasNuf

".....I chose to not upgrade the trunnions. Here's an actual manufacturer of bushing style setups confirming that, while the stock GM rockers have made some news for failure under normal loads, they're typically good for 7,400 RPM. This cam peaks at 6,900 (and the SS2 even lower), so you wouldn't (shouldn't) be shifting much higher than 7,200 regardless......"

It's cheap insurance so why not?
A high lift cam will complicate the OE trunnion failure issue

The biggest reasons I chose not to:
99.99% of my driving is below 5k, and I will never shift this setup above 7200 rpm. Since the stocks are in most cases good to 7400, it just didn't make sense.

If I was constantly pushing this engine, I'd have done them.

You bring up an interesting point though: I had not considered that a high lift lobe would be more taxing than the stock lift at the same rpm. And frankly, I'm not sure why that would be other than it's traveling a further distance and generating more heat. I'd definitely like to understand that better and will read up on it. If you've got any resources handy about the topic, please share. Because if there is notably increased risk at the same rpm, that would probably change my opinion. And then I'd have to wait on the 391 gears...which would suck...

Thanks for bringing that up!

[Marknbacon]

Originally Posted by TuneAFish

This will be long winded, but hopefully worth the time investment. I've done A LOT more reading about cams for the 2015 LS3 than I want to admit, so I can at least offer a well read opinion.

If this car is NOT your daily driver or you only drive short distances, I'd recommend the GPI SS3; I literally just installed it last week. You can daily this cam, but I think the lack of low end torque would get old driving in regular stop and go traffic. Now if you live within ten minutes of work...I'd strongly consider it.

There's the video of mine doing a cold start on the following thread, which would be very similar to the components you're considering installing.

https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580658

Do yourself a favor and listen to the video with good headphones. Hearing realistic bass frequencies adds an entirely new dimension to how bad ass this sounds.

In that clip it only has headers, high flow cats, and the stock tune. I have a funny story about that: it rocks so hard when idling that at a stop light, it thinks the traction control/stabilization system is failing and throws the warning lights on until the car starts rolling again. Maybe it's the vibration from the very loud exhaust, but either way, it's

As you know, the valve springs are required but come with the kit. Whichever cam you choose, buy that valve spring compressor tool I listed, it made the job MUCH easier.

I chose to not upgrade the trunnions. Here's an actual manufacturer of bushing style setups confirming that, while the stock GM rockers have made some news for failure under normal loads, they're typically good for 7,400 RPM. This cam peaks at 6,900 (and the SS2 even lower), so you wouldn't (shouldn't) be shifting much higher than 7,200 regardless.

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/need...-the-chevy-ls/

The bushing style are definitely safer, and the only real downside to them that I have found is that they wear out faster because bushings aren't designed for off-axis loads so much uses like an alternator which see on-axis duty (I said duty). This means you will have to replace them more often, but it's probably a lot less often than you'll be replacing back tires.

So in the long run it's probably cheap insurance if you're going to be beating on the engine. I actually baby mine most of the time, so it was a very low risk choice for me. Still, I'll likely upgrade mine once I have the $400 burning a hole in my pocket with nothing else to spend it on.

Regarding headers, I chose Texas Speed and am very happy with them as you'll see in the post. I've never owned Kooks headers, and I understand they are very high quality, but I would buy the TSP headers without a second thought if I had to do it again. And they were significantly cheaper than other options; I only paid around $650 for mine including the O2 sensor extensions.

If you are interested, I made a spreadsheet based on logic online for primary tube diameter calculation and have attached a screenshot below for quick reference. The peak torque for the SS3 is around 5300 rpm with stock heads, making 2" primaries the right choice. Before someone blasts me for saying that, I know MANY people on here run 1-7/8" headers and are making significantly more power than my engine. I'm just sharing the math I used for my decision. And honestly, the price was the same, the difference in power likely isn't noticeable, and those 2" tubes look really nice under the hood.

If you're curious, I've also zipped the actual spreadsheet and attached it to this post so you can plug in your own values depending on what cam you choose.

The heads, intake, and throttle body are still stock on mine (they've never even been off the car). I'm telling you that because I don't think that's an issue if you can't afford to do it all right now. Even with all those other stock components, there's a noticeable difference in how easily it revs; these engines simply LOVE to breath.

Yes, I'm pushing lower horsepower than most of the people posting on this forum, but I didn't upgrade the cam specifically for max performance. I wanted something that would run better than stock, be reliable, and turn heads at car shows because it sounded bad ass. This build accomplished all that and gave me the option to generate massive power if I add upgrades down the road.

And installing the parts myself, I did the entire project for just about $3,000 as noted below:

Cam Kit: $775
Tuner & 2 Credits: 400
Wideband AFR: $230
Misc gaskets and shop supplies: $100
Headers: $650
(2) 3" cats and weld in bungs: $120
(2) Knockoff Flowmaster Super 10s: $50
Custom bent 3" cat-back pipes: $300 (not yet done, but shop quoted me that)
Tune by GPI: $425

That, my friends, is a small price to pay for the entirely new personality my car received

Good luck with your build, read more than you think is necessary, and enjoy the process.

Interesting write up. I live a solid 30 minutes from my work place, and this will have to remain my daily driver so I’m definitely concerned about drivability. That being said, I don’t mind a little bit of struggle as *most* of the driving is primary road or highway, and I don’t see much traffic in the morning (not very busy around 5 am where I am.)

As for headers I’ve been pretty dead-set on the kook’s but I try to stay pretty open minded about it. They aren’t cheap but I’ll want to keep cats on them so I don’t get hassled about it too much if I get pulled over for any reason. I’m pretty sure most of the main manufacturers have a catted option so i may be looking more into it.

I also decided that I will be changing the lifters after a recommendation from a couple of mechanic friends, which with new head studs, gaskets, trays and the lifters themselves I am effectively doubling the cost of this aspect of the build, but that is a small price to pay for reliability insurance. Since I don’t plan on running past 6700 rpm I’ll be using the GM lifters with part number 12499225, which it’s my understanding these are essentially stock, which I feel will be adequate.

If anyone has others they would recommend that are similarly priced please speak up. I can get a set of these for around $200, and I’ll be ordering parts on Friday the 28th.

I’ll probably be installing around or just after Christmas time. I’m hoping to do headers at the same time as I’ll be pulling the headers off anyway when I pull the heads (might as well save myself some time and labor)

I am also pretty dead set on a trunnion upgrade. I considered the comp cam ones but I read quite a bit about failures after only 15-20k miles, while the CHE’s seem to last quite a while, plus no needles to potentially get loose and float around the motor. Of course I am open to advice on this as well so if you have had other experiences with either product please let me know. I’ve also looked at the BTR v2 trunnion upgrade as well. Has anyone used them and had negative or positive experiences with those?

Also, I posted a new thread in the tuning forum here about what do I need to adjust for a cam swap and headers, so if anyone has any knowledge/experience in that please feel free to share. I’ll try to grab the link to the thread and edit this post soon.

Thanks again all!

*edit* here’s link: https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=580779

[TuneAFish]

Originally Posted by Marknbacon

Interesting write up. I live a solid 30 minutes from my work place, and this will have to remain my daily driver so I’m definitely concerned about drivability. That being said, I don’t mind a little bit of struggle as *most* of the driving is primary road or highway, and I don’t see much traffic in the morning (not very busy around 5 am where I am.)

You'd probably be fine. I literally finished the install, test drove it around the block, checked for leaks, and then drove it 30 miles home from my parents garage where I did the install (with the stock tune still), and had no issues other than the folks staring because it sounded so sick when I stopped at the gas station

If you want the Kooks and you've got the money, then I'd buy what you want. If you can't get the ones you want, consider the TSP.

Good luck!

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

CHE is back ordered and nobody has them. I went with the Straub trunion kit as its darn close the CHE and has no bad reviews that I am aware of.

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

The CHE is back in stock for those wondering.

[Roader]

I’ve been DDing my ss4 cam and I have no street/drivability issues other than horrible gas mileage with 3.91s and the converter I run.

[Marknbacon]

Originally Posted by Roader

I’ve been DDing my ss4 cam and I have no street/drivability issues other than horrible gas mileage with 3.91s and the converter I run.

Lol just out of curiosity how horrible are you talking?


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[taz1727]

Originally Posted by Marknbacon

Lol just out of curiosity how horrible are you talking?


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With my SS3 im averaging about 15mpg its also my DD. I for sure encounter more stop and go traffic living in miami and the driveability isn't bad at all. Its all in the tune. You've done your research and setting up your valvetrain properly, the SS3 will rock your socks.