Alright, I gotta '02 Z06 cam sitting at home waiting to be installed in May...

Now my question is this, I have heard that this cam isn't the best when it comes to low end power, is there anything I can do to help this... should I just go with a different cam???

Also do I need tuning for this cam or not??? Should I stick with Z06 springs or should I get different ones?? As you can tell I'm kinda new to all this...

 

it will take away low end power. you will start pulling about 3500 rpm if i remember right. not sure on the tuning. i would go with a different cam.

 

If you do go with that cam or some other mild cam, you can stick with the Z06 springs.

 

Gustin raised a question with the 02 cam. It has a smaller base circle meaning slightly larger pushrods are needed but not sure if there was a concern there meaning if it was a must have deal. Just advance the cam 4* with an adjustable timing chain. Also get a custom tune from Nelson to take advantage of the cam and get a tt3k converter, eventually. You can stick with stock Zo6 springs and stock prods. I wanted the extra insurance of the comp prods, so its just a matter of preference.

 

i installed the same cam on my 03 4.8. i have put 12,000 hard miles on it with the factory pushrods & springs. you can degree the cam gear without getting an adjustable timing chain set. it sucks on the low end but pulls really well up top. i got mine with the intentions of installing a roots style supercharger to build low end power & with the extra lobe seperation it would be a good cam for nitrous (.550 lift & 117.5 lobe seperation)which i intend on running as well. i would defenatley reccomend custom tuning, if you are going to continue to build go with ls1 edit. if you are looking to just install the cam and race through it in the trash!

 

I've rode in CARAZYCUTER 4.8's truck and it pulls really hard in the upper rpms. I say if you plan on getting a 3000 stall, throw it in and advance it 4*. But if you want to keep some of your low-end and add alot of mid-range torque and upper rpm horsepower, get the Crane Cam 208/216-.530/.530lift-113LSA. If you get that cam, you could still use the 02' LS6 springs. Trust me if you have some gear, you'll love that cam. But, it still don't pull as hard as the Z06 cam up top. If you wanted a little more top-end with the Crane Cam, retard it 2-4*. Mine peaks around 5800 rpms, I'm shifting right about 5900 on the 1-2 and 5800 on the 2-3 (at like 93mph!).

 

OK, I feel stupid because I wanted to mention my future mods to the truck also...

I'm gonna P&P my heads and most likely throw a set of TOG's on... I was thinking of doing a Nelson Tune and beefing up the tranny... not too sure about which stall I want... and eventually do a Whipple w/ that Kenne Bell upgrade...

I dunno how much of a difference all of this makes, but if it does... tell me please.

Also, this cam should improve my low end torque a little shouldn't it?? I mean, it is still better than what comes stock right???

 

No, a Z06 cam is mostly a high end cam. Advancing it 4* would bring it down just enough to not kill the low end. It will bring the power band down approx 800 rpm's I believe.

 

I installed mine striaght up and it worked well but it didn't really start to pull till 4500rpm though. Personally I would go with the standard 212/218 cam with the 114 LSA. Even my cam doesn't really do much till 4000rpm+ but I picked up 2mph over the Z06 cam so I ain't too mad. It's coming out fr the new turbo cam though

 

I was concerned about the smaller base circle and the need for longer push rods but was told by several of the GM performance people that I didn't need them. I have 10,000 miles on it and it does fine, I do believe there is a loss of low end power but plenty up top.