i bought a comp 206/212 .515/.522 112lsa last week but i'm now hearing this is a very weak cam and i won't gain much...i can still send this back so i need some advice. What would be a good cam for me?

this is what i am looking for...

More torque
Nice sound
not a lot of tuning required
stock converter


this cam will be matched to stock 5.3 liter heads, TOG longtube headers, Corsa Catback, UPD, free mods...

thanks for the help...what's this i hear about this cam? Comp Cams LS1 Camshaft - 212 / 218 .522 / .529 114 LSA anyone tried it?

 

That is a nice inprovement over the stock cam and a good choice based the criteria you listed. Since youare looking for more torque and want to keep the stock converter, it is a better choice than the 212/218. Plus the 112lsa will give you a little choppier sound.

 

Your not going to get sound and torque out the same cam. To keep alot of torque you will need to keep the duration low. My cam has a semi choppy idle and i lost a ton of low end. It is only 216/220 526/532 on 114. Send that cam back and have them grind one on a 108 or 110 lobe sep and you might get some sound out of it. That cam should work good for pulling. When you get a smaller lobe sep you narrow your ramp rates on the cam so it narrows the power gap on the rpm side{ where the cam kicks in} I think I amright on this anyway. BigTex jump in here man.

 

You aren't stuck with an off-the-shelf cam. Just order one with the specs you feel right about. With the 212/218, you will not gain much torque. Pick one somewhere in between. Like this:

210/214 114 LSA with +4 degrees advance. Get it with standard lift (.520/.524 lift) or XE lobes (.556/.460 lift).

 

The larger the duration numbers you have (212/218 etc...) the more overlap you have. To make more power, you need more air/fuel in the chamber. Keeping the valves open longer does this. But there is a catch to it. On a standard pushrod engine, any given camshaft is only at peak for a given rpm range. With big durations and low rpms, the valves are open long enough for the chamber to fill, but some air fuel also escapes out. That can cause the lope you hear and loss of low end torque. At higher rpms with bigger durations less air fuel is lost due to several factors. This allows the motor to make big power, but also moves the peak powerband up the rpm scale. With small durations and high rpms, the valves aren't open long enough to allow air fuel mix into the chambers and the motor runs out of steam. So its give and take - take more power at higher rpms and give power in the low rpm range.

Lope and torque don't really mix in the really low rpms range. A tigher lobe seperation angle can cause lope by allowing unburned air/fuel to escape. Lost air and fuel is lost power. A wider LSA stops lope and the mean sound, but preserves more of the air / fuel mix.

That all said, I think there is a better chioce than the factory cam for torque and power both. GM used these cam specs for the "X" factor - emissions. You can easily change to a slightly more aggressive cam that makes more power all around and still pass an emissions test. It just won't be as green as it was before.

BTW - when I say low rpms, I mean really low rpms like 1000-2500 rpms.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by BigTex:
<strong>210/214 114 LSA with +4 degrees advance. Get it with standard lift (.520/.524 lift) or XE lobes (.556/.460 lift). </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">so this would work well? I don't care about emmissions at all, sound is my last priority, function is #1 priority

from your post it sounds like i cannot have a cam that will both give me more low end AND increase my HP throughout the powerband, which is what i want to achieve, i don't want it to run out of steam any earlier as i like how it pulls when i put my foot in it. my main objective is this: gain more low end torque at earlier RPMS while gaining power throughout the powerband and not having to sacrifice too much power in the upper RPMS. if it can be done, please suggest some specs that would accomplish this and i'll call up Cam Motion and have them custom grind it for me. thanks for all the help

Nitin

 

My suggestion is to get a nice size cam and a converter to help reach that RPM range quickly. Good luck with whatever mods you choose.

 

How about getting the Crane cam 208/216 .530/.530 113lsa.

BTW, anyone know if the Ls6 springs can be used instead of the Crane cam springs for this cam?

I hope to be getting this cam next month.

 

Any cam that u buy for more torque will give your an increase in HP. Even though the cam you are looking for is setup for low RPM power it will still rev higher than a stock cam. Learn what diff setups will yield. you can have a 212/212 or a 212/218 or a 210/206 reverse split, there are so many variation. Also remember that the cam that you choose may not make the peak power that you were looking for, but might make better power across the curve.

 

My buddy installed my old XE216/216 .538" cam in his truck this winter and it runs great. I was suprised to hear how lopey it sounds at idle <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" /> He still pulls a 5000lb. trailer down the freeway no problem. The nice thing about the XE lobes is that they have less advertised duration for the same .050", so you can run a bigger cam and still retain drivability. The XE 216 lobe has only 265* of advertised duration...The HE 212/218 that most people run has 265* on the intake and 271* on the exhaust. Its advertised duration that lowers idle quality. You dont really need a split pattern cam if you have headers, for what you'll be doing w/ a truck.

Nitin-I remember you (and Magnus) from the other site <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="gr_images/icons/cool.gif" />

<small>[ April 09, 2003, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: MyLS1Hauls ]</small>