so, as i've mentioned a few times earlier, i'm wanting to get a cam sometime before i leave for OTS in june. after talking to a few of y'all & some guys at Comp Cams, Texas Speed, & Thunder Racing, i think i've narrowed it down to a couple choices.

the specs for my truck are:
1999 NBS Sierra RCSB 4x4
2001 5.3 LM7, 1999 NV3500 trans - BlackBear 93 tune
3.73 gears, 265/75-16 tires (changing to 285/75-16 when these wear out)
airaid CAI (filter & tube), Mellowtone muffler (similar to flowdisaster 50HD) - 3" in/dual 2.25" out the back
possible 243/799 heads later on down the road, but that still remains very undecided


i'm basically just looking for a bigger curve, mainly low & mid gains - 90% of my driving is under 2500rpm. any top end gains are just for kicks & giggles and showing off

now, on to the point of my post...
i know that some LT headers are a great addition anyway, but i don't know if i want to do them or the cam first (leaning more towards the cam), so i'm wondering if any of these will be fine to run with factory manifolds for a while. also which would y'all recommend based on real-world usage (feel free to add your own suggestions as well)

comp 212/218 522/529 114*
tsp 214/218 522/529 112*
tr 214/230 601/575 117*

they said the cheaTR works great with factory manifolds, but from a little reading, i'm leaning more towards either the comp or tsp.

thanks in advance for y'all's input!

 

LT's first imo..

 

They aren't "too Big" for stock manifolds but even the Stock cam performs better with Long Tubes. It doesn't really matter which one you do first IMO. You will need a retune after each and they will compliment each other regardless of which is done first.

LT's and a tune with a stock engine can net 30rwhp on most engines.

 

Just a note, those 285/75-16's are a 33" tall tire, which will really kill your 60' times (or you could say just your accel from a stop in general if you're not into racing). I used to run the same tire with my setup and it was pretty bad from a stop. I'd go with some new gears in the rear, 4.30 should be a nice compromise in dead stop acceleration and highway cruising...4.10's at the very least, but I'd do 4.30's if it were my truck. I'd go with the famous 212/218 cam and at least a 2600 converter also

That cam will work with the stock manifolds, but you really should upgrade to some long tubes to get the most out of it

 

I can vouch for that. My 4.30's have no problem getting my 265/70/17"s moving. Moves them a little too well sometimes.
That's with 216/220 525/532 114. 3000 Circle D.
Running the 17"s as we speak so I can get my 20"s cleaned up.

 

I would do LTs first. A cam sounds like **** through stock manifolds and cats IMO (or at least compared to the sound you get with longtubes and ORY)

 

TR says this doesn't even need tuning (although a tune would still probably benefit you):
"Old Man Truck Cam" - 214/220 .600/.523 115 LSA

 

yeah, i plan on gettin the LTs as well - it's just i've gotta pick one & save up for the other (well i'm still savin for the first right now). i definitely will retune accordingly.

now that ~30ish HP... are you saying that's what the LTs'll add on top of my BB tune? i don't really think they'll pick up that much. from what i've read, i was expecting maybe another 15-20.

they're only 32.8", but who's measuring? and that's only 1.15" taller than i have now. i think it'll be fine & actually take my first gear from almost-useless to almost-useful. i do enough highway driving that 4.10s would be the lowest i would go, but it sure wouldn't be worth it do do 2 sets of gears for one tire size up.

it's a 4x4 truck & i use it as such, so the bigger tires not only look better, but work better off-road.


ps - my left foot is all the stall i need

my 3.73s with my 4.02 first get mine moving even easier.
your cam is a little bigger than i was looking for, but humor me - how does it behave down low & around town? considering you're using the 3000 stall, i'm guessing it's kinda doggy.

hmmm...

 

I guess none of us noticed you said NV3500 trans.

The 30rwhp I was referring to is typical for stock engine +LT and Tune so the numbers you mention should be close but you should always retune for the headers to compensate for the added flow. Which I figure you already know.

Mine drives fine down low. Had a TB stall which is like 2200 rpm at the most and it felt fine with that. Went with a bigger stall to get into the power band quicker and for better shift extensions. This stall is also pretty tight so it doesn't just immediately jump to 3k unless I want to and it allows me to still average the same mileage I did stock.
I have the converter locking at 40mph which puts it at 1500rpm and it pulls just fine, even uphill. Wasn't suggesting a 216/220 to you, just stating my experience with one.

I've seen several people on here with a similar request as you go with the 212/218 and were quite pleased.

 

LTs before cam. You will be shocked at how big the gain is with headers. Trust me, you'll say "oh ****" the first time you get on it with headers.