i like big cams, and say smaller than 220 duration. i'm now driving a 2500hd on 33" tires and it has absolutely no ***** down low. it's a horrible driving experience.

5.3 with 35" tires has got to be a turd of a truck to drive. giving it some ***** back down low would make it more enjoyable. also, 35" tires with the converter that would be necessary to run a big cam = lots of heat.

 

I run 5.38 gears so I have a huge advantage for low end, I am hoping the 80E swap I do this weekend will actually take some gear out and help me hook better.
my trans temps are 190 max on a 40c day in stop and go with my basically 3800 stall and 40k cooler going through the rad
this is just what I have learned on a lifted truck and a couple different setups. I tend to not mind bigger cams and higher stalls on a DD but some don't like it.

 

I have seen big cams run circles around small cams at the track in fbody land. My old camaro with a lt4 hot cam would get its *** handed to it by my brothers cc306 lt1 formula. Every time I would pull him out of the hole and he would blow by me around the 660'mark. Mine was an auto with a stall and his was six speed with gears. I say go big and enjoy the rolling steam power.

 

Swap to a 6.0. Less money and will make the same power. Or save it and go fi

 

It all depends on the usage of the truck. I've had several different setups and I'm about to go smaller on my cam because I didn't build according to how my truck gets used the most. I have a '04 ECSB with longtubes and 4.10s on 32" tires. I had a 222/224 with a Circle D 3200 and it was a blast to drive and sounded mean, but when I had to hook up any trailer it sucked. It had plenty of power but the high stall just made it a pain, and with a smaller converter the truck would have been a dog. Next setup was a 212/218 with a Circle D trailblazer converter. Great for a daily driver who does occasional towing/using a truck for a truck. Converter still made towing heavier trailers a hassle, but much better than the 222/224. The stock converter with the 212/218 made the truck a little sluggish, but the ability to tow without hassle was worth losing the "wow" factor the converter gave. Not as much mid and top-end though, yet the better fuel economy made up for that. Next is going to be a 206/212 with the stock converter which should give me a good bump in torque over stock but still net good mileage. Build for what the truck will do 90% of the time.

 

this is what I mean about different opinions cause I towed with my circle d 3200 with my tsp220 and my current cam and the converter and both cams towed just fine.
I towed frequently with the tsp220 and a handful of times with my current cam.
I don't tow with my new converter tho, only light loads but nothing like I used to

 

I just went through this a few weeks ago.
I'm lifted, 35's, cal speeds, 4.88's and a trailblazer stall.
Wanted an all around good cam, as I tow a boat as well.
Was spec'd a 214/222 .560 111lsa
I had the same concern that I didn't want to lose down low, and only gain above 4k

Supposed to be a great all around cam for power through the entire range of rpm

 

pull the 26" tires from both camros and throw on 35" tires. on top, we need 6 fat ****** in the back seat to bump those camaros to around 4,500lbs. now line up the big cam vs small cam and see what happens.

the point is different combos need different parts. greensierra is running 5.38 gears. that's a pretty big jump from a 4.56, which will help with the low end...i'd rather have a down low stump pulling cam than gears that run the rpm high at highway speed.

this is coming from someone who loves big cams. BUT i love big cams with 28" tires and 4,000+ converters. you guys playing with 35" tires need all the help down low that you can get. especially with a 5.3. just my opinion. listen, or don't

 

Can you elaborate on how the TB converter made towing a hassle?
I tow about 5500lbs a couple times a year, and I was sort of under the impression that a bit higher stall than stock would help get the load moving a bit quicker.... Maybe I'm wrong?

 

It was mainly the shift points in the tune for the higher stall speed. The more you push the pedal to get the rig moving the higher it would stall up. With a load behind the truck it would spin up but take more time to get rolling as fast as a lower stall speed converter would. It wasn't terrible, just something that will put more stress on the drive train by creating more heat and using more fuel. My boat weighs in around 4500lbs ready to head out. It did fine up and down the ramp, and to and from the lake, but I just got annoyed at the motor revving up all the time with the higher stall. If you don't tow frequently then a 3000 would be alright, but if you tow a couple times a month then a 2400-2600 would be better.