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L33 vortec cam selection; help needed

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Old 03-16-2008, 07:47 PM
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Default L33 vortec cam selection; help needed

Hey guys i figured you all would be the best community ask. I will be putting a 5.3 L33 vortec into a rwd nissan chassis. I'm sending the 799 (ls6 heads) of to be shaved .030" and a 5 way valve job. The truck intake manifold will be ditched in favor of a ls1 intake manifold and cable operated throttle body. The exhaust side will get some long tube headers. This car will be setup for mid to high range power. I stress mid level power because it will be a track (turns and whatnot) car. Throttle response needs to be quick and crisp through all power ranges above 2000 rpms. This will be coupled with a t56 so stall speed is not an issue.I know the L33 has a "hot cam" but how good is it really. I also know the L33 has a bit higher compression than its other 5.3 counterparts. With the head shave i should see a very minor bump in compression. I need some realistic cam selections

Also I plan on running 918 valves springs and retainers. I need to know what pushrods i should select. Two pushrods were bent from light piston to valve contact so i would like to replace them all. Additionally this motor will see extended periods of high revs and lowering the mass of moving parts should
help me out.
Old 03-16-2008, 08:15 PM
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IMO for what you want you need to rethink the LS1 intake in favor of a LS6 or Fast intake... There are flow charts floating around here that show the truck intake is better than the LS1 intake...
Old 03-16-2008, 08:40 PM
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I'm on a tight budget and im thinking cutting the corner and going for more midrange power.
Old 03-16-2008, 08:48 PM
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+ you probably don't have the hood clearance for a truck intake.
power from 2k and up? i'd stick with something in between 220 and 224 duration.
Old 03-17-2008, 03:08 AM
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good stuff and yes the truck manifold wont clear the hood.

those patriot gold valve springs get good reviews and are cheap, but performance wise would i be better with the 918's (although lack of safety from failure.) I know the patriots come with titanium retainers for something like $260 and that just seems cheap if including those titanium retainers... but i guess that doesn't matter as much as the drag you pick up from the Dual valve Spring. This motor will see extended periods of mid to high revs and i want a valve spring that will give me performance, but im also on a budget .

I saw i can get ferrea 6000 valves for $160 all around the engine. Would i be better with those than getting a valve job on my current valves?

BTW domestic engine parts are much better priced than import engine parts... i like this.
Old 03-17-2008, 03:43 AM
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The new comp 918's are a very nice spring. If you can find a good deal on a LS6 intake that might just be optimal for what you're doing with the car. As for a "racing" cam I honestly would not know where to start in reccomendations, maybe look over on LS1tech in the racing section. I'm sure the TR220 would be nice, but something with badass mid/top power matched with the LS6 intake would scream. Anyways, looks like you have a fun project on your hands. The stock cam in the L33 isn't "hot" by any means, specs are slightly different and the tuning is where it gains a little bit over the LM7.
Old 03-17-2008, 06:28 PM
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agh i see about the l33 cam not being anything to write home about. Are there any specs on the L33 cam out there? Anyways, I independently came up with that tr220, specifically

Thunder Racing Custom Camshaft
"TR 220-112" - 220/220 .551/.551 112 LSA

so i must be on the right track with your recommendation.

I figure that anything more agressive wont match up as well with the ls1 manifold. Specifically form what i gathered the ls6 manifold does a good job sending the power range up higher in the rpm range. I can settle with keeping it down low as ill be saving enough money from going with the ls1 intake manifold to get springs and a cam.

So going on, should i go ahead and upgrade the valves or go with a valve job on my current valves?

Also why are those partiot dual valve springs so cheap once you consider the titanium retainers. There has got to be a catch...

Also, manly pushrods... are they decent enough? They come in the cam package.
Old 03-17-2008, 10:11 PM
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Hmm, wonder what the stock L33 cam is...I have one in the cupboard. For some reason I thought they were similar to the LS6 cam.
Old 03-20-2008, 03:17 AM
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<---- was wandering the same thing. prolly still going to replace it with something around 220 or 224 degrees of duration on both sides. I found this low dollar "typhoon" intake and was rather impressed. For $500 i can have intake mani that is better than the ls6 mani and close to the fast.... with a throttle body. I'm convinced its the smart doller move so my budget just increased by a few hundred... the project continues
Old 07-22-2008, 08:58 AM
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Sethck, have you made any progress here? I've picked up a L33 and will be putting it into the same car.

I have been planning on running the Z06 Cam and springs, along with the LS1 or LS6 intake. I already have the LS1 intake, but I may spring for the LS6 intake if I can find a complete one (w/injectors and sensors) for a good price.


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