TIME FOR POWER (Heads, Cam, Intake)

[pgriffith]

I was thinking about buying the SSM Heads, cam, intake package from supersix motorsports. But I was wondering what cam to go with? Should I get the compcam or should I have SSM regrind me a cam for the kit? Which would work work best with the supersix heads, and intake? Which would make the most power? Also I have heard to replace the springs along with the cam. Is this needed? Any other info I might need please reply.

[veesix]

I would have SSM regrind your cam. their have been some issues with the comp cams / zzp cams ( they are the same one) they have clearence issues. basicly the springs are close to binding. again I would go with tom's set up.

[pgriffith]

I have heard about the spring issues. I thought those were fixed by buying and installing stronger valve springs? How is the clearence problem fiexed? I guess I am just new to all this and I got some money to spend.

[veesix]

SSM cam has a total lift of .445 or .448 if I remember right. and the others lift beyond the .450 limit of the stock springs. their should be some better springs avaliable soon though. if you go to clupgp and do a search in the driveline section and see what you find. They can explain things better than I can. :D and they also tell you what needs to be done to safely run a bigger cam too. But one thing I would do is get a new set of springs, aftermarket of from chevy. The ones from chevy are like 4.50 a spring, you need 12.

[Magnus]

If you work with Tom@Supersix for your heads, you will not have to worry about anything.

He knows about all the problems when going with a high lift cam... such as valve springs, milling the valve guides for clearance, etc. etc.

Basically what a few of the ClubGP guys did was rush into things... A few put some very high lift cams in their cars (Higher than I am going with) and expected their stock springs to be suffecient. That was their flaw.

I have thrasher springs for my heads and I believe Thrasher is also coming out with a new set of springs.

Tom@Supersix has even found an LT1 spring setup that works as well.

When choosing on a cam, you need to know several things.. How crazy are you, how much poor driveability can you deal with, will your heads be ported and flow well, will you have a power adder?

Give me a little more info about what you would like to do with the car and how your setup will be and I'll try to recomend a cam for you.

[jughead]

To add from Keith....

I would look into new pushrods also while you got everything out of there.

Having a High lift cam like that with stock srpings will make dings in the cam at rpms above 5k, metal on metal.

Trust me, having a too looby of a cam sucks. Do you want your car to sound like you have a 750cfm carberator on there? I bet your car will have trouble finding an idle speed.

Just be smart, ask around, like here, and take your time.

I also wanna be running atleast 91 octane after you get all this stuff in.

To fully maximize the setup, full exhaust would be helpful, along with a MAFT+ tuner garunteed.

[Magnus]

Lane,... I believe you are a little confused.

Pushrods go between the lifters (Which is what rolls over the cam) and the rockers (which is what rocks and presses on the valve stems)...

Having a high lift cam won't hurt the cam itself or the lifters and the pushrods whould be fine as well..

The reason you wuld change pushrods is if your geometry changes. Say you only swap cams, and your stock base circle is 1.000 inch and your new base circle is 1.050 inch, you would need pushrods .025 inches shorter, follow?

What happens when you go with high lift on stock springs is this...
You get valve float at high RPM's.. The springs are not strong enough to push the valves closed in time.
You get spring bind, the spring becomes coiled completely and cannot be compressed any more.
Valve guides become smashed from high lift..

All of those things though a good mechanic will be aware of and will fix the problems before they happen.

- Keith

[pgriffith]

OK Magnus, I am looking for a nice power adder. But this car is still my daily driver. I just need a fun car I can street race on the weekends and win. I also visit the drag strip from time to time. But this car is still my daily driver to and from work. And back and forth to school. But things like rough idle and such dont bother me. And I know when you add huge power adders there is a potential risk of damaging your car. And I am prepared to fix what ever breaks. But I would like to get it right the first time. So like I said I need a good power adder that I can drive with almost every day and race on the weekends. Now what would you recommend? Should I get Tom's cam or the comp cam everyone is talking about? Give me the good and bad of each the best you can and I will then see which better suits my needs.

Thanks.

[Magnus]

Ok, currently I'm leaning toward a COMP Cams Xtreme Energy camshaft with these spects:

Duration @ .050:
Intake : 212
Exhaust: 212

Valve Lift:
Intake : .520
Exhaust: .520

Lobe Separation: 112
Intake Centerline: 108

I also recomend ported heads by Tom @ Supersix.. He can mill your valve guids a pinch to allow for the greater lift and also come up with an effective valve spring solution.

This is VERY similar to the cam that I am going with, only difference is I have a 110IC.. 108IC just helps bring the power band down a little bit.. but I have a high stall and plan to rev it a little past 6000 Anyway.

Now, if you would like, you can wait a month or so for me to put this cam in my car and then my information would be much more accurate about it.. right now I have a general idea of how this cam should perform but its only a guess.

There are some other members putting much larger cams in their cars, I'm a little worried that they might be too big.. but then at the same time they might just be big enough.

When you go with a very big camshaft (Long duration), your power band is generally very high, much higher than what we usually rev too.. and low end power is decreased. The key is usuable power.. you need to find the perfect median. Good upper power while not sacraficing the lower too much.

[pgriffith]

Where is the best place to buy that cam? I cant seem to find a comp cam like that.

[Magnus]

its a custom grind... and I would buy it straight through COMP Cams.

www.compcams.com

[pgriffith]

Magnus, I was talking to a friend about the cam you suggested. He says the 212/212 is a little on the mild side. He suggested I go with a 225/225 at least. Is this a good idea? I dont know much about cams so I appreciate your opinions. Tell me what you think? Thanks.

[Magnus]

You probably talked to someone with a V8...

Our stock cam specs are 182/190, if you over cam, you will lose power.. you want USABLE power.

IF you want, you could get a 218/218 .528/.528 from comp cams.. its bigger..

bigger is not always better.

[pgriffith]

You guessed it he has a 97 LT1.

[JamesL]

What kind of horsepower are they making with the SSM heads/intake/cam setup? I went to the SSM site and didn't see any hard info on HP.

On the Comp Cam custom grind mentioned. What kind of HP are you expecting?

I would like to get into the 250+ range. Is that doable without getting too exotic?

[ February 27, 2002: Message edited by: JamesL ]</p>