How many miles is to many?

[Chevrolet Racing]

When I bought my Camaro on 10-19-02 it had 48,400 miles on it, it now has 53,000 miles. I don't drive it very hard at all; I try to keep it under 2,500 rpm's. Is that to many miles on my Camaro to put a cam in? How much harder will my engine have to work with a cam? How much faster will it wear my engine out (mileage)?

Also I did a search on SLP Rocker Arms, it sounds like if I buy them, I would have to go with a mild cam. Is this true? I don't want a mild cam, or a cam that's too harsh on the engine, one in between, maybe a little more to harsh.

I did a search on all this, and I like the way camaro_zach (I believe that's the correct name) cam sounded. One a little more aggressive than that would be nice.

I want a comp cam; can someone please post the one I should get?

[Tyler]

it all depends on what kind of power you want..


your miles are fine.

do you ever plan on going forced induction?


zach's cam got him some damn good times, but remember he had quite a bit weight reduction and i believe 4.10 gears..

i think when it comes to a cam you should decide where you want your power to be. in the upper RPM's, Mid range power, or low end power.

be more spacific to what your looking to get out of your car, and more people would answer

[Chevrolet Racing]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Tyler:
it all depends on what kind of power you want..


your miles are fine.

do you ever plan on going forced induction?


zach's cam got him some damn good times, but remember he had quite a bit weight reduction and i believe 4.10 gears..

i think when it comes to a cam you should decide where you want your power to be. in the upper RPM's, Mid range power, or low end power.

be more spacific to what your looking to get out of your car, and more people would answer<hr></blockquote>


No, I do not plan on going forced air induction. First gear seems decently quick, after that, the car seems slow. So I could definitely use some more speed above 2,500 rpm's when I'm in second and third gear and so on. I just don't want my car having all kinds of problems when I have more miles.

Hope that helps.

[ October 22, 2003: Message edited by: Chevrolet Racing ]</p>

[white96six]

I have a 96 with 170,000 miles on it and I run it really hard with no problems. I havent put a cam in it but if you put a cam in and do a valve job it should make your engine last longer if your rings arent worn real bad and loosing compression. do a compression test and maintain it really well it should give you no problems. the 3.8 is one of the best engines out right now. but that is just my .02. good luck.

[jonny985]

50,000 miles!!! I wish I only had 50,000 miles.

I just racked up 145,000 the two weeks ago before I took my engine down for new heads and cam. As what was said before, the 3.8l engine is one of the best engines ever made IMO. I'll let everyone know how the install went after I'm done, hoping she'll still run like a champ.

[jonny985]

oh, BTW you need to drive your car harder.

Everytime I get in my car I go to 5k at least once while driving. I don't think I've ever shifted before 3k, there isn't any power down there. It blows out some of the carbon buildup and keeps her running like a champ. ;)

[Bird_Of_Prey]

I wouldn't worry about the miles. Magnus did his cam at well over 80k or so and was flying. Zach's car had at least 35k when he did his. And I put my cam in right around 54k. My car is still running fine now at 61k, still gets 33 MPG!!! on the highway, and still is able to put up new bests everytime I hit the dragstrip. Believe me when I say that my motor has not had an easy life. I've sprayed the hell out of it and it's still begging for more!!

[OneQuickV6]

Yep, what they said. My car had 50K on it when I put the cam in. Has about 55K now and has been sprayed since about 30K, still running strong!