cam ? search not specific enough

[97 black bullet]

alright i finally have enough money to get a cam and new valvetrain for my car can anyone suggest a good setup that will be compatable with my mods and item numbers would help alot and also will i have to change my exhaust to 3" thanx

[pgriffith]

This topic has been beaten to death latley, I closed one just a few days ago similiar to yours. I really would like to see more people use the search tool. I typed "3.8 Cam" in the search tool and a million different posts came up.

And you didnt mention but im assuming its for your 97 camaro with 3.8.

When picking a cam you have to ask your self a few questions. Do you have to pass a state emissions test? A cam will effect emissions. And another is drivability. Like myself i had a large 3.8 cam and a very rough and choppy idle. I liked it, others seem to not. When upgrading a cam it definatly effects drivability so how big of an issue is this to you? Next is how much money you got to spend? Theres alot of good cams you can use with keeping your originial valvetrain and stock heads. Others require upgrading valvtrain and may work better on a set of ported heads.

Another thing we need to know is what your going to do with the car. Is it going to be NA power? Maybe you plan on using a turbo or supercharger? Maybe Nitrous? Whats your plans with the car? NA/turbo/supercharger/nitrous cams are all diferent.

So its hard for me to recommend a cam because you havent given us enough information about the car and what you plan on doing with it.

[97 black bullet]

ok its a 3.8 all i have is intake 2.5" magnaflow exhaust i want a mild cam that is going to give me noticable power gain ime not planning on getting nitrous of turbo/supercharger i have $900 to spend

[pgriffith]

OK, Then i would recommend the ZZP GT Cam.

http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/pro...ion_gt_cam.htm

[97 black bullet]

it says that they reccomend upgrading lifters and pushrods should i also do that or can the stock ones handle it

[pgriffith]

I would recommend upgrading them. I think the stock lifters are fine but upgrade the springs, retainers, and pushrods.

[ReodDai]

upgrade whatever you can afford to ;) $900 bucks can go bye bye quickly when doing engine work tho. So be careful.

[97 black bullet]

so all of the parts that i see on ZZP are good for what i need and also how many lb spring should i get

[AZ3.8Camaro]

I would mod my car more first, if I were you.

[97 black bullet]

the only other thing i have are paceseter headers that i have had for about 2 weeks but never put on and also my mechanic said it is usless to upgrade the ignition and i cant get lsd and 3.42 becouse i cant reprogram the computer to accomodate the new gears so i dont know what else to do

[BLLDOGG]

well you need to wait until you can do those things you mentioned like gears and LSD. you need to get those headers on. are you going to be installing the cam and everything yourself? cause labor will cost a pretty penny and hender the amount of upgrades your going to be able to do with that small amount of money. why is upgrading the ignition worthless? did you ask him that cause it not a good idea to take a mechanics opinion to heart unless he is a mechanic in a shop that only works on your type of car, like f-bodies ;) i would take some time researching this whole cam thing [img]smile.gif[/img]

[97 black bullet]

he said that if the car needs a certian amount of electricity it doesent matter how much you give it, it is only going to use what it needs aka stock i am planning on bringing it to a shop to get done and i cant get lsd and gears becouse my rpm and shift piont will be off and i cant reprogram it becouse its a 97 and also gears and lsd wont really effect how the cam works

[BLLDOGG]

it will effect how you car runs down the track. you 60's will suck and in turn, so will your ETs compared to what they could be. i know you can get a different PCM from another year and have it tuned cause others have done it

[97 black bullet]

i think ive figured it out ime going to wait until x mas to get the cam and hopfully by then i will have enough basic mods to go with the cam i have to get my headers on first then ile look into the ignition and i think its time i get a new machanic he charged me 300 to install my exhaust becouse he had to make a threaded hole for the 02 sensor thanks for the info everyone

[AZ3.8Camaro]

I would do:
Headers and cat for exhaust.
At least a LSD and Alum. Driveshaft for drivetrain.
Lower control arms and a tranmission mount at the very least for suspension.
Walbro fuel pump for fuel delivery.
To get any decent cam, you will need a higher stall torque converter ASAP or your car will buck when you take off.