i'm in the market for a new cam. i want to do it right. i'm trying to learn as much as i can before i just get one. so far i have talked to many people and have been spec'd everything from a striaght 214 to a striaght 228. the 228 seemed big to me and i ask why so big and the guy said "here we try to make more power than most companies." so far i have come to figure that a striaght up cam or a small split duration cam in short durations seem to be the norm. then if you start to go longer duration cams you start to reverse the duration split in order to keep the exhuast from comeing back into the motor. i think the best cam i have cam acrossed is a 215/218 on a 115+1. my best guess (cause at this point thats all it is) is the small split is so it makes good power off boost, but it need to be a small of enough split to not cause problems in boost.

i also learned today that advancing a cam too much can hurt more than i thought. by advanceing too much it starts to act like a shorter duration cam and when the exhaust is long and you advance it just makes it seem longer to the motor. there it more to it than that, its in my head but can't explain it.

 

nobody knows nothing? how can we learn if we don't discuss? this cam tech refers to turbo's which is why i put it in this section.

 

I would look at the cam stock48 and nonnie and spoolin run.... I believe they are all 218/218 .55x/.55x 114+? (or something really close to that)... All of those guys make damn good power... And from what i understand about cams and FI. The cam choice is not as critical as it is NA, since your depending on the boost to make power.... Other than that i have no real knowledge, but look into what others run...

 

oh i've been looking. and looking and looking and looking. lmao i spent my whole 8 hour watch last night looking up cams.

 

Just based on what Stock48 has done, I think the 212/212 Isky cam would be perfect for your 5.3

 

but why? thats what i'm trying to learn. what in the valve events says oh thats bad or good. i was told a 5.7 lsi like to have a intake close point of 45* or close to that thats just one key here though.

 

Most off the shelf cams have a 2-4*advance ground in.It lowers the power band to help with low end and midrange at the sacrifice of topend power.and if its used mainly on the street then the advance is appreciated.now if its used mainly for the track then one with 2-0* advance would be better cause it'll increase the top end power but at the sacrifice of low end and midrange.....I know how you feel....there was about almost an entire month where i would just read and research on cam designs and theories.and by time it was all said and done i had a complete meltdown to where i couldn't even do simple math.i'd try to help a little more but i'm at work right now and all the info i have is at home on that computer.so i'll have to wait until then to chime back in.

 

i would appreciate it. i know i could go with what everybody else has done but then how would i know if it was worth it. if everybody ran the same thing nobody would have turbo'd trucks. lol i just wanna learn so i can make a somewhat informed Decision. in fact just to help me along i'm going to figure out a way to log back pressure, or at least view it. that way i know what it is. it seems that it can change the cam degrees a lot.

 

But pretty much from everything i've read the main thing i remember is the best way to select the most appropriate camshaft would be from taking multiple measurements of the entire system and determining what characteristics need to be addressed in duration, LSA, and lift.but also most of the cam grinds i've seen for turbo applications all had an lsa around 115.and with the 5.3 we're somewhat limited on whats effective just due to the cubes.thats why you'll see cam numbers smaller with ours as opposed for lets say a 5.7.and head flow has a factor in it as well.but i think a cam with lets say 225/255dur@.050 .581/.581 lift on a 113+2lsa would do decent with your shortblock and heads.i could be wrong though.really don't consider myself a guru on spec'n cams out. but all in all you just have to sit down and be brutally truthful with yourself and ask how you intend to use the engine in question.wasn't easy for me to do thats for sure but i had to come to terms with it just cause its mainly my dd.

 

what do you have?

i think i have the specs i'm going to go with but that doesn't mean i'm done learning. i still want to understand this better.