Hello all, looking for a cam selection on a gen iii 4.8. I don’t want to lose low end power, but I want power overall from top and bottom end, I would also like the chop with it too. I heard truck Norris isn’t the best for a 4.8. Probably would do a torque converter too while I’m at it, would 3200 stall be good? Or should I just scrap the idea of all that and save up money to throw a pro charger or Lsa on it later down the road?

 

Camshafts with a lot of chop will lose low end power usually. A stall converter is really only required if you go with a large camshaft, and those will lose low end power.

A middle of the road camshaft is a 212/218 or so in size, a stock stall or a mid 2000's rpm stall would be fine. A supercharger or procharger would give you good power, the procharger would take a while to get you more power compared to supercharger. Re-gearing the truck would help a ton as well.

 

I'd go a touch smaller than a 212/218 for a 4.8 but das me doe

 

Summit sells a great torque camshaft for a 4.8L (SUM-8727R1 200/205 113+4 .550/.550 lift), that'll make power right off the stock torque convertor all the way up, but idle would be mild.

Custom Cam Motion 204/214 108+0 .553/.570 lift will lope in a 4.8L. Could use stock or mild stall (2200-2500rpm). Won't be as snappy down low as the 8727R1, but slightly more mid/upper range without too much low-end sacrifice.

Magnuson Super Charger would be light years ahead of a cam/torque convertor. Since it's a positive displacement blower, it'll build low end boost quickly making it feel like a much larger engine.. As stated a centrifugal like Procharger needs rpm to build boost.

 

OP,

Good advice so far. Our SUM-8727R1 that @68Formula mentioned is a solid cam for what you're after. It keeps good low-end torque, which matters a lot on a 4.8. It won’t give you a wild chop, though. Most chop-heavy cams push the powerband higher and hurt bottom end. If you really want both, a custom cam might be the way to go. That said, tuning can bring out some chop even with a milder cam.

An LSA or Magnuson blower would give you strong low-end torque and more power across the board. If you're willing to wait and save, that route checks all the boxes: power, torque, and sound. For a 4.8, you'd probably want to go with a 1900 over a 2650. The smaller blower matches better with the engine's displacement and gives you great response without needing to spin it to the moon.

Just comes down to whether you want to build around a cam now or save up and go forced induction later. Either path works. Let us know if you'd like any further assistance. We'd be happy to help!

 

The best cam swap for a 4.8L has a 6.0L wrapped around it. You can literally buy a nice running 6.0L for less than it would cost to cam a 4.8L in many states.

 

 

That works too, but it will make even more power starting from 6.0Ls.