i need help with choosing a cam

[Tyler]

i have intake and exhaust done to my car. its a 96 Camaro RS. 3.8L.

i was thinking about getting me a more agressive cam from SSM, and then later on, get the Port and polish.

whats my limit to how agressive i can go. i want to keep everything the same, lifters, rockers. blablabla. just a cam that will allow better performance on lowend, but keep the top end the same.

any help?

also, how much will a cam like this cost me?

[Dominic]

I recommend, but have never tried, the new Compcams customgrind cam. The one grandprixstore.com offers is an awesome one - I would definetly get it and probably will get it.

The less duration the cam has, the less "lopey" the idle is and the lower the powerband is.

More duration, more lope to the point of misfire, but higher powerband capability.

Lift, well - lift is lift [img]smile.gif[/img] Dont go too high or you'll get valve float or you'll have valves smacking into pistons. Tom's 0.450 is IMO pretty perfect, don't go higher unless you are buying stiffer valve springs.

There is no such thing as a *bad* cam if it is halfway designed right, but there is a such thing as a bad cam for a particular application. I recommend you do some talking with both CompCams and SuperSix to find out a good option for how you drive. [img]smile.gif[/img] And be sure to let us know what you decide on!

Price varies, $100-$400 + install.

[nino]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> also, how much will a cam like this cost me?
<hr></blockquote>

alot

$100 for a cam install is from some guy you have known for a long time. $400 is cause you take your car to a shop and tell them to install your new cam.

[Patrick Javert]

I suggest the .450 lift that tom@ssm has suggested. I suggest more lobe separation with the intake and exhaust done so you get a broader powerband and keep more of the intake charge in the combustion chanber to stay fuel efficient. Add a little more duration as well so you get more midrange to topend. Just my $.02.

[Tyler]

will that be good when i add forced induction later on? or nitrous?

[nino]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> will that be good when i add forced induction later on? or nitrous? <hr></blockquote>

yessir

[Tyler]

about how much gain will i notice from this cam?

[Patrick Javert]

depend when you do it. If you get the heads done also, you'll get more than supersix is advertising. I'd say around 300 hp at the flywheel. this is a consevative estimate, just to let you know. that way if you get better, you will be even happier!

[Tyler]

truuuu

[Cale]

300 at the fly?

*cough*cough*

What are you smoking patrick?

[Ironman24]

I think 300 is a very high estimate. I'm only pushing about 255 at the flywheel now and I seriously doubt heads will give me another 45hp.

[Patrick Javert]

This estimate is based on having a custom cam, supersix heads, intake done(lid, silencers, maf screen, ram/cold air), and exhaust(cat-back or muffler, s-pipe, and i-pipe). the supersix heads/cam pkg. advertizes 275 flywheel hp. assuming he has the mods i have listed done, I feel that 300 flywheel hp is very conservative.

I assume he will get the heads done w/ the cam since it is cheaper to do both at the same time rather than separately.

[ April 04, 2002: Message edited by: Patrick Javert ]</p>

[Tiago]

I do think heads can give 45hp....

[DominusEtDeusNatus]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Tiago NOS'd Bird:
I do think heads can give 45hp....<hr></blockquote>

Not on a v6 and only with top of the line heads. LS1 with MTI or ARE heads with a good cam get around 400rwhp. Roughly 80rwhp increase from both. Those are top of the line with a cam and it's a V8. So unless our heads are a huge restriction, I wouldn't expect 30-40hp out of them. I don't know how good the supersix heads are, but I wouldn't compare them to MTI or ARE. Even they when they started doing LS1 heads in 98/99 didn't get real good results until they got some experience with them. It's hard to expect the first batch of heads to be amazing. They could still be good, but I'm sure they will improve over time with some feedback. I don't think they actually put those heads on their own 3.8 fbody and done dyno/track testing. They really should do that and show some results from their heads and heads/cam combo. Flow numbers don't mean much to me. It's just one variable in the equation. For now we can only rely on the first few of you to do the testing for them.

[Patrick Javert]

right, but those figures are on a stock ls1. sure, you wouldn't see much of a gain with ported/polished heads on a stock v6, but you would if you had done most of your intake and exhaust already. I try to look at my car and upgrade things considering how much will it cost against how much will my cars overall abilities improve. sure, you can do intake, exhaust, and heads, but can you get all that newly aquired power to the ground efficiently(without losing traction). if you can't, get lsd and wider/taller tires. now you can hook up but you have more wheelhop than before. now you need to upgrade the lca's, torque arm, ect. you also have to be able to stop quicker since you can get up to speed quicker. I look at it and see where the weakest point on my car is and try to make it stronger. when I do this, a new weak spot shows itself. It just goes on and on. sometimes you don't have the money to buy what you need, so you look into something that is related to the weak spot and strengthen that if it is cheaper for the time being. My next few things on my sig are what I have noticed to be weak spots on my car. I don't get great traction, I don't handle all that great in the corners, and I need more power to lower my 1/4 times. these mods I listed will help me on all of those aspects. the next mod I will do is probably the lsd since it is desperately needed.