Okay, I have the '01 Z06 cam (tighter LSA, less lift one, std base circle) and well how many degrees should I advance it?

The timing gears and chain I'm getting from Cloyes goes up to 6° advanced! Now since this cam is pretty small (204/211) would there be a reason to advance it that many degrees?

Also, WTF makes this cam be able to pull such high RPMs... the wide LSA?

The cam has -2° ground in so... +6° would be a total of +4° but is that too much?

 

From eveyone I've talked to lately (and I've talked to a lot of people on cams, mostly cam engineers or head engineers or tech folks...ALMOST ready to pull the trigger myself), all of them say 4* advance is what you want.

BTW, I am looking at the same specs on my cam as the one you are installing. Some of the people I've talked to say that even a 212/218 on a truck is too much cam.

 

Four degrees total advance sounds good to me especially for your Z71. I would use the full 6* on the chain. The custom grind I will be installing next weekend has 4* ground in and is on a 113lsa.

 

go 6, that brings you to a 112ICL correct?

 

It does rev so high because of the 116lsa and its ground 2* retarded.

I do have a problem with advancing it 4*. Looking at the valve events with it stock, it closes the intake valve at 40* ATDC and opens the exhaust valve 42* BBDC. Those numbers are fairly balanced. By advancing it 4*, you move the IVC to 36* and EVO to 46*. Thats probably too early to open the exhaust valve and still retain good torque. The main issue is the LSA (and large split). If this same cam were on a 113lsa and still had its 2* retard ground in, it would have a IVO of 37 and a EVO of 39. That 39 will make better torque, and the 37 will keep rpms down.

My point is -go with another cam if you want more low end, because advancing won't help it that much. The large exhaust duration and earlier EVO will be great for a restrictive exhaust (like stock), but if you have headers and good exhaust work, you'd be better off with a different cam.

 

I had originally purchased the '01 Z06 cam for my 6.0L (sold it to Mudz5.3) in order to keep cost down. I bought the cam and springs for like $150!! I later decided that with the amount of labor involved in a cam swap (down the road) I may as well get the "right" cam in the first place. I got the .212/.218 high lift (a custom version of it anyway) for $315 and the springs for $160 = $475. Thats a lot more then $150, but in reality, its only a difference of $325, and in my opinion really not that much considering what it takes to install a cam, especially when the motor is in the truck. (mines still on a stand for now). Some people are buying the Z06 cam because it is such a value (used) and then spending $125 or so on an adjustable chain anyway. I agree with BigTex, get the right cam in the first place. Thats just my .02, and what I was talked into doing!

 

Well said, BADMOFO.

I had the 01 ls6 cam in my 99 truck. It ran fine. But it didn't get me any better ET because of the lack of off the line power. Had I made a better choice at the time, I could have had more than just upper end rpm gains.

If you already have the cam and still want to play with the timing chain, I suggest you test it, spend some time with 4* advance, then retard it 2* from stock (4* total) to get a big picture of the effects of the chain.

 

Well if it makes a difference (and it should), I am getting Flyers' TT3K once it comes out of his truck. That's sorta why I chose the Z06 cam...yes there's better choices out there for sure (hell 01Thunder has a 212/218 I'd like to have) but funds are limited now and I don't think it'd be too terrible of a cam with that stall.

If I installed this '01 straight up, how high of an RPM would it spin vs an '02 installed straight up? What sort of RPM should I try to shift this at?

It's sounding more like that it's best to install the cam w/o advance or retard.

Exhaust wise I'm going to be tossing my Flowmaster for a Magnaflow I have in a box now. Cats will be gone. I may try to talk 02Denali into selling me those 'Brock shorty headers (they may help the cam breathe from ~4000+) until I can score some LTs again.