running mostly stock with CAI and straight piped to dual flowmasters. i want to get some more hp and i keep hearing cams. so whats involved in putting just a mild cam and whats the cost? i obviously will not be doin this myself could it be done for 700$? i keep hearing stuff about springs and duration and heads. i know im stupid on this but please a little explaination. i just cant find a thread on it
vortec cam?
- Thread starter aggieman
- Start date
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am92
Fightin' Texas Aggie
On Vortec heads, the max valve lift you can get is around .470 on stock heads. If you can find a cam you want with lift less than that you'll be ok but it won't get you as much power as one with more lift. To get more lift, the best way is to run beehive springs (ls6 springs are the cheapest) and comp 787 retainers. That will raise your max lift to around .525. I'm not sure how much install would cost you, but springs + retainers + cam will be around 500. Not required but recommended is changing your lifters, pushrods, and timing chain
You can run the cam that's in the ht383 crate engine without any valve train mods. That's about as big as you can go without changing springs or machine work.
Comp probably has a few grinds that will work with stock springs too. You can't get to lumpy with the idle either or the knock sensors will hear it an retard the timing....
Comp probably has a few grinds that will work with stock springs too. You can't get to lumpy with the idle either or the knock sensors will hear it an retard the timing....
you could do it for that or less if you're doing the work yourself, but the labor is what will get you, a cam swap requires a decent amount of work and time getting to the internals of the engine, so removing the intake manifold/distributor/wiring/TB/everything else associated with that, valve covers, rockers, pushrods, lifters and retainer assembly, lowering the oil pan some, removing the timing cover and timing set, and finally the cam itself...then at the VERY least you still have to re-assemble everything, reset the timing, then you've got tuning and other things that will require immediate attention, so labor charge will be the majority of the cost on that.
personally I wouldn't run anything other than a stock cam on the stock valvesprings/retainers, even if it is under the lift limit. its VERY worth it to upgrade them while you're already in the engine that far anyways.
if you're just pretty much stock and looking for a little extra power but not wanting to deal with everything that is required for a cam swap, I'd probably say a custom tune from a reputable tuner would be your best bet, that'd run around $200-300 or so. then i'd say use the rest for a REALLY thorough tune up, I'm talking cap/rotor/plugs/wires/off engine TB cleaning/oil/all filters/coolant/braided brake lines/brake fluid/rotors/pads/shoes/high quality detailing/PCV/gear oil changes/tires/steak dinner....or as much of that kind of stuff that is due...if you already really keep up on your maintenance items, than I'd save the extra for the future cam swap, or supercharger or something that will really be a significant increase.
personally I wouldn't run anything other than a stock cam on the stock valvesprings/retainers, even if it is under the lift limit. its VERY worth it to upgrade them while you're already in the engine that far anyways.
if you're just pretty much stock and looking for a little extra power but not wanting to deal with everything that is required for a cam swap, I'd probably say a custom tune from a reputable tuner would be your best bet, that'd run around $200-300 or so. then i'd say use the rest for a REALLY thorough tune up, I'm talking cap/rotor/plugs/wires/off engine TB cleaning/oil/all filters/coolant/braided brake lines/brake fluid/rotors/pads/shoes/high quality detailing/PCV/gear oil changes/tires/steak dinner....or as much of that kind of stuff that is due...if you already really keep up on your maintenance items, than I'd save the extra for the future cam swap, or supercharger or something that will really be a significant increase.
yeah, with $900 and a tune already in the works, personally I'd save for something significant rather than using it on a bunch of small bolt-ons that will only be a negligible benefit at most....and you'll want to decide the lift or performance route first, because whichever direction you go with, you'll have different needs, a lift (presumably with larger wheels) will usually require regearing which can be a significant cost on top of all the lift cost...
I'll add my question to this thread. I've been told I need a computer controlled cam and I've found a few but I was just wondering what the most common cam people are running. I'm rebuilding a 5.7 bored .040 over and figured I'd stick a cam in it while it's out of the truck.
VorTecxas
American Nightmare
Most common I have researched (I looked into camming my L31 before settling on my L29 swap) are the LT1, LT4, LT4 HotCam, and HT383. As far as I could tell the LT1 is pretty close to stock, so probably just want to skip over that one. The LT4 HotCam seemed to be favored by the fellas that had done just bolt-on mods.
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