Brianwilson1990

Hello all, I am rebuilding my 6.2 l92 top end. I have a bad lifter. The truck is a 2007 yukon denali with 6sp auto.
Currant mods are 1 7/8 long tubes, CAI, ORY pipe, flowmaster super 44, blackbear tune, and bigger tires.
I know my truck has VVT and currently has the AFM/Dod lifters but doesn't utilize that feature.

My potential build will be to prep me to stroke the motor next year to 416. It will always be a NA motor. No plans of ever buying a SC.

I will be installing a comp vvt phaser limiter kit, chromoly pushrods (unsure on size or length at this point. What are the strongest I can run on stock block without machining?) Factory rockers with straub trunion kit, stock oil pump (which becomes a high volume pump with the delete of AFM lifters somehow?) New ls7 style lifters and new lifter guides.

Now the questions, I am torn between the TSP stage 2 cam and the comp 402 cam for VVT. I want a nice lope at idle and I think the added lift of the TSP cam will be better if and when I stroke the engine. And maybe a better cam altogether? Not sure what spring to run. I hear pac springs and comp recomends a dual spring kit that is pretty expensive. Any reliable cheaper alternatives to the comps? With whatever springs, can I use my stock retainers or am I risking failure? Are ls3 valves better or just lighter? If they are better I don't mind buying them but I don't want to sacrifice durability. And is it just the intake valves that are better or exhaust too? And about the compression, I run only 91 octane. I can't forsee ever using 89. Can or should I shave my heads to boost compression or use a thinner head gasket or would that be begging for piston to valve clearance issues? I have posted this on a few forums but nobody seems to want to touch this post with a 10ft pole. Here is the basic info on the cams

Wolftrk99

iTrader: (5)

Most of the sodium filled, hollow ls3 valves get replaced by most if the camaro/vette guys, cant off the top of my head remember exactly why though! I have an L92 in my yukon, about to replace the cam actuator in due to a p0336 code, and what indo believe was me screwing something up when i installed the limiter in the actuator The oil pump becomes higher pressure if you delete vvt and dod, along with deleting the pressure relief valve in the oil pan! If youre using vvt use a stock pump, the presusre relief valve would in theory just regulate the pressure back down to what it needs for the vvt to operate properly. In the L92 and the LQ4/9 i built for my trucks i used a set of dual valve springs i bought off if ebay, for less than half of what just about any other set costs. I need to look them up again, but i researched them and a lot of what i found they seem to be Basically comparable to btr and comp, if not a bit more reliable! If you are going to a dual spring, you need retainers as well as a set of valve locks, if for no other reason rmthan peace of mind!

EDIT: the brand of the valve springs are PEP valve springs

Wolftrk99

iTrader: (5)

What heads does your engine have on it?

Brianwilson1990

Stock l92 rectangle port heads. I heard of the ls3 valves splitting and breaking before. But no proof. Btr sells a spring,lock, retainer kit. The retainers are choosy and lighter than stock. Cost is about 250$. Is that a good de as l for .660 lift springs? The lighter retainers make me nervous.

Wolftrk99

iTrader: (5)

The pep springs i used are advertised as a .650 lift spring with steel retainers, i wanna say i paid either $150 or $170 shipped. Titanium retainers are lighter but are supposed to be stronger. As far as the heads there are 3 different castings, 5364, 0821 and 823, the earlier l92s were supposed to all have 5364's but i have seen all three on L92, L96 and L77(Caprice PPV engine) i have a set of 0821s that came off of an L96 6.0 that have the lighter valves, the 0821 were supposed to be exculsive to the ls3, but apparently they were randomly used on truck engines also.

Brianwilson1990

Nice info so far guys. Any thoughts on the cam choice?
Boh look good

Wolftrk99

iTrader: (5)

The comp cam seems it would only be a small bump over stock, the other cam seems to be a bit more radical, but i am no cam expert by any stretch! I know there are two different cam actuators gm used and you have to have the roght cam for the actuator being an 07 you should have the 994 actuator, later models had, iirc, a 368 actuator. The part number will be stamped on the actuator itself. the main difference being in the amount if retard each can apply, something like 52 on the earlier and 42 on the later. The GPI vvt2trk cam i am running in my yukon spec wise is almost identical to the btr ls3stg2 cam in my silverado with a wider lsa and more advance ground in. Biggest thing with vvt is it brings power on much earlier and holds it longer.... your best bet would be to contact btr or some other cam company and have one specd, or there are a few memnbers on here that will spec a cam and can order it for you.

Brianwilson1990

Thank you. I really like the idea of getting the kit from TSP as it seems cheaper. But I don't want buyers remorse since this entire project will be around 1200-1400$ are you happy with your cam? Do you run a 6.2 6speed?

Wolftrk99

iTrader: (5)

I am happy with it, even with the vvt not working properly at the moment, it has plenty of power. Yes i an running a 6.2/6L80 with stock reman converter.. the dod delete kit can be had for less than what most companies sell them for, buying a 4.8/6.0/6.2 top plate and a set of lifters is a lot less than what the dod delete kit is gonna run, most of which include the ls3 top plate thats 2-3 times the cost of the non dod truck top plate

Brianwilson1990

Thank you. I am buying a cam tomorrow. Btr, tsp, or comp. I will just see what is cheapest I guess. But I think the added lift of the tsp is best for my eventual stroker (anyone agree maybe?). I know it will be better than stock at every rpm so I guess I can't be upset no matter what. I'm just concerned because Justin at blackbear suggested the comp 402. Which makes me think it is better or he can tune it better, or unlikely, he hasn't any experiance with the TSP stage 2 cam I showed above