Hi guys, I have an 04 RCSB truck with the 4800, 5spd manual, and 3.73 gears. Right now, it goes pretty good, but as always, it's nice to add just a little more oompfh. I'm considering doing a cam swap and I really don't want to swap springs or buy new pushrods. I just want to do a direct swap of the cam and gasket kit if I have to. I know a lot of you guys are running big lumpy cams, but all I want is 1-2 steps stronger than the factory cam. BTW, does anyone happen to FOR SURE know the stock cam specs? I was looking at Lunati LS1 cams and noticed this one (listed below)

HYDRAULIC ROLLER: Excellent Idle. Increased low-end and mid-range torque and power. 1500-4500

270°-279°
212° 216°
.471" .507" 116° Sep
112° Int C/L -06°BTC 38°ABC /
48°BBC -12°ATC \


Keep in mind this is for a LS1 so know in a 4.8 it would shift the powerband higher..... I guess what I'm after is since this is a daily driver I don't want to put up with the annoying surge you get with big cams or the loss of lowend. I just want to install a cam that broadens the torque curve about 20-30 ft lbs and maybe a 10HP increase. I just want flat usable smooth power. The only reason I was looking at lunati's is I cannot find someone who makes LS1 cams small enough to be practicle in a daily driver. So I guess, how do you think this cam differs from the factory cam? If you don't like this one, what else would you go with? Any factory performance cams that would put me where I want to be? I know this forum has been slammed with cam threads lately but seems like everyone is chasing high screaming power and I'm in the persuit of smooth usable street power. Anything has to be better than the stock one, so yeah 1-2 steps hotter. And I would like to know the factory 4800 cam specs.


Joe

 

I think it should work easily, and I would go bigger... plus ur a standard truck.. so that makes things a whole lot easier.

stock:
190/191 int/exh @ 0.05" duration
0.466" / 0.457" int/exh lift
114 LSA

 

I think it will work really well with a 5sp 4.8,it should make power from about 2000 to 6000 rpm.With minimum tuning it should even have good street manners.The stock specs for your 4.8 are 191/190,.466/.457,114.

 

go bigger some wheres around .540

 

Now that I know what my baseline is for a stock cam, that makes deciding a lot easier. God I love this board So with a good tune, what do you think a cam like the lunati would give me for a change in power? 10HP or so and 30 ft lbs? Does anyone have any before and afters of their trucks and doing nothing other than a simple cam swap? I think this lunati cam would be beneficial in the sense it should widen the power curve and also is tame enough where exhaust improvements aren't neccessary along with any headwork.....



Joe

 

Joe, I have this cam for my 4.8 but it hasn't been installed yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you soon what my impressions are.

FWIW, my goals are the same as you described and a guy at Lunati told me this would be a good cam. BTW, you shouldn't need to change the springs or the push-rods if you decide to go with this cam. I've heard differing opinions about whether a tune is necessary but my tuner doesn't think it will require a re-tune. Time will tell!

 

What seems to be the holdup??? So what did he say exactly? That this cam would give your motor a more broad torque curve? Did he think this would be a good match for you with your truck being a 4x4 and the added weight of the 4x4? Also, what gears are you running? Are you going to leave your stock stall installed? Also how are engine manners changed by adding this cam? Will it change the exhaust note more than just a little? I'm leary about cracking into a new 4000 mile truck that's not even broken in yet so I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing

Joe

 

Oh and one more thing? What did the guy at Lunati think that this would do for horsepower/torque increase over the stock cam? Too bad desktop dyno doesn't have the new LS1 based engines in the database or I could run projected horsepower #'s and compare curves. I know desktop dyno isn't accurate for delivering #'s, but what it is accurate doing is projecting and accuratly comparing horsepower and torque curve characteristics against other motors

 

Cool, I thought you'd be asking about a B1 or T1 or something.

The lift is definitely mild, to say the least... I don't see any reason why you can't run stock springs with that, except if you chose to really wind the motor out. I would do them regardless though, just to be safe.

I think the specs are pretty nice... If you were dead set on that cam, I'd run it with some 1.8, 1.85, or 1.89 rockers (and better springs) and I'd call it a day...

You're definitely not the only one after this. There is the Comp Cams 206/212 112 cam. The CC 212/218 114. Both have lift around the .525 range.

Then there is all the Vinci (VHP) stuff: http://www.vincihighperformance.com/...%20LS1%202.htm You should see some cams that look interesting. For off-the-shelf cams, these guys seem to produce ones that fill in holes in the current cam aftermarket.

I'm running the 047 LS1 cam, QuietTahoe and Yelo are on the 044 truck cam, Gamedawg is on the 062 LS1 cam... and there may be a few others. Yelo, and I are on 6.0's. GD is on a 5.3. I don't reacall what QT is running for a motor. If you run some searches in this section, you're bound to find a ton of info on these particular sticks. I'm always rattling on about how much I love mine - I'm sure the guys are tired of it by now.

Off the top of my head here, I would think that you would be interested in the 043/044. Similar specs to what you got from Lunati, better lift if you're looking to run aftermarket springs.

 

Now this is why I love this board! I never even knew Vinci cams existed. I think I found a better suited cam there than what Lunati can offer. This is the one I think would be perfect for my setup.......

The 044

DUR @ .050" 210*/ 218*
LIFT .531/.531
OVERLAP 48*
LSA 114* STREET / PERFORMANCE
POWER RANGE 1700 TO 6000
THIS WILL PROVIDE HIGH TORQUE GAINS
TUNING & STALL CONVERTER DESIRED
LIGHT CHOPPY IDLE

I think this cam would have better manners with a stock exhaust setup, especially with that longer exhaust duration to empty the cyl's out and work better with stock manifolds. I also like the fact that it's got a LSA of 114* so as to have better vacuum and work better with power brakes. I think this cam with a nelson tune would be a pretty strong combo in a RCSB truck. Exhaust helps a bit but with a mild setup isn't needed. Plus, I like my daily driver quiet and luxurious. If I want a noisy shaky ride, I'll take out my '70 Chevy pickup with the 468 and 4spd muncie. That's running a flat tappet solid lifter comp 282S cam. I better stop before someone asks what a solid flat tappet lifter is How do you guys think longevity is on a aftermarket cam like a vinci. I want to put a new cam in while the motor is young so that I don't run into cam bearing issues down the road. I like motors to handshake at a young age rather than down the road. This will be a long term commitment. That's why I'm hoping it's as smooth or close to smooth running as a stock motor.

Joe