is this the right cam for me?
05-21-2008, 03:53 PM
#1
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is this the right cam for me?
I have a 03 denali lq4 6.0 it is my daily driver as it will remain...I do tow with it occasionally....how does this cam sound
224/224 .568/.568-112lsa
with a 3200 yank tc
I want to gain power and speed, and a badass throaty sound. Is this a good cam or not?
224/224 .568/.568-112lsa
with a 3200 yank tc
I want to gain power and speed, and a badass throaty sound. Is this a good cam or not?
05-21-2008, 04:06 PM
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I would go with a lower duration in the 212-220 and 114 lsa in that truck, also a tad less stall 2600-3000. Depending on what ya tow will be the answer for the converter you will need.
John
John
05-21-2008, 11:42 PM
#5
Call up CompCAMS and have them custom grind you a 218/ 224, .562/ .567, 112 LSA on a 108 ICL with +4 advance. The LQ4 made about 400hp, 410lb-ft of torque and went into a truck that constantly tows an 8000lb bobcat and trailer. It's fun to drive, peppy as hell, 15mpg in a lifted 2500, was very easy to tune and only required new springs during the install. I believe exhaust mods are on the "to-do" list, the truck already had a K&N FIPK.
05-22-2008, 09:16 PM
#7
LS1 stock springs I believe only allow up to .514-.520" lift whereas "yellow" LS6 springs are rated higher at .540-.550". If you find 02/03+ LS6 "orange" springs they max out around .580". Match the springs to your cam.
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05-22-2008, 09:18 PM
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I haven't seen many cams in that dur set up come up at all, never one that had that lsa with that advance ground in. That is def a custom grind. Also anything over 550 lift you need atleast 918 springs, I personally would go with hardened push rods on any kind of cam swap..
John
John
05-22-2008, 10:28 PM
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can you explain to me what all the numbers in a cams specs mean, and what the numbers actually effect in real life, what properties the numbers have etc...get me to where i could look at a cam's specs and know if it was right for me so i dont post a thread like this one everytime i see a cam for sale...also a trailblazer tc has a stall of 2600, is that good or do i need something closer to 3000?
05-22-2008, 11:12 PM
#10
The stock torque converter will do just fine, leave it alone if you use your truck as a daily driven truck that tows from time to time. If all you're looking for is a quicker get-up when you smash the skinny pedal with no other ill effects, leave the stock converter in and just change the cam and springs, finally ending with a good tune.
Many many articles on line have been written to try and explain camshaft theory. The basics are duration, lift and lobe separation angle. Those three concepts are generally what online goers will refer to when citing a camshaft.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Duration is measured in degrees. For example the stock 5.3L cam has the intake valve open for 190 degrees of crankshaft rotation while the stock exhaust valve is open for 191 degrees of crankshaft rotation. It's basically saying how long the valves are open. The higher the numbers, the longer the valves will be open for a single 360 degree full rotation of the crankshaft, where camshaft theory believes will help move the power band of the motor higher up from let's say 600-5600 in the stock 5.3L compared to another cam like the XR259 with 206 intake degrees and 212 exhaust degrees which moves the power band into the 850-5900 range. Low duration camshafts have been proven to make lots of low end torque where a truck needs it. High duration cams are what all the Car guys over on LS1tech are running, or a few fellas here with fast lowered 2wd's.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Lift is measured in inches, sometimes millimeters but on here, commonly cited as .xxx" or so. Back to my 5.3L cam example, it has 0.466" of intake valve lift which means the actual camshaft will push the lifter up, causing the pushrod to tip the roller rocker, which in turn pushes down on the intake valve spring which is connected to the intake valve, opening it .466" off it's seat. However now is the right time to explain roller rockers and their ratios. The camshaft will push up 0.xxx" amount designated to be used with certain ratio rockers, 1.6 or 1.7, or 1.8...ect ect whatever you have in there. I believe stock is 1.7:1, meaning the cam's lift is multiplied by 1.7 times, so that by the time the cam reaches full peak it's actually pushing the valve down .466" total which is where the number on the cam card comes from. Same goes with the stock exhaust lift of .457". The cam will open the exhaust valve that much after being multiplied by the roller rocker's ratio. In real world terms, lift = torque. Torque = smile on your face. Also in real world terms, lift = accelerated wear and stiffer valve springs. All things are a compromise. You want more torque through cam lift, therefore you must pay for higher lift springs to accommodate, along with knowing your springs will wear out faster than stock. How much? Depends on how much ya romp on the gas pedal.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Lastly the common citing is lobe separation angle (LSA). This is a little more tricky and complicated to understand because it ties in all the valve events into a degree. Lobe separation angles are just that, measured in angles. Without going into too much detail, the gists of an LSA citing is to explain where the peak torque is going to be made, along with how well the cam will run in a particular motor. A lower LSA typically will move the peak torque down giving better throttle response and towing power, as well as better fuel efficiency. Say for example the 5.3L cam again has 114 degrees of lobe separation between the intake lobe and exhaust lobe of a cylinder. The exact same cam in every way except for a 112 LSA will make the same torque, just at a slightly lower RPM. The motor will not idle quite as nice as the 114, however in this particular example the 5.3L will still idle very well with the 190/191, .466/.457 specs. A 116 LSA will move peak torque up a hair over the stock 114 LSA, while idling even better with a less lopey sound. Pretty much any camshaft made by CompCAMS or any other reputable name has already put a lot of thought into the lobe separation angle for any given marketable camshaft, and for the matching cam specs the LSA tends to work out nicely in the application. From my limited experience with LSx motors, any lobe separation angle between 112-116 yields the friendliest motor in every way you can think. I've worked on a few other small blocks and big blocks prior to Gen II-IV, and 112LSA is my favorite.
So, wrapping this all up with a real life example, your LQ4 and my recommendation for a 218/ 224, .562/ .567, 112 LSA camshaft. What this will do is give the 6.0L better breathing room in the mid range and upper RPM level by extending the duration higher up over stock by about 20 degrees on both intake and exhaust. To further increase torque, the lift has increased by almost a full .100" on both intake and exhaust leaving the motor full of torque from idle to redline, without getting too high of lift where you'll need dual springs or really stiff ZO6 springs that would wear out quickly with say a .580"+ cam. To slightly counteract the duration increase the LSA has been brought down to 112 degrees so peak torque is right where a truck needs it the most, at 4400 rpms with a broad torque curve stretching from 2200-5500. Pull a trailer on the highway with "Tow/Haul" button pressed in and 70mph will net you about 2200 rpms, right where you're making your best torque for how little gas is used. The cam has awesome midrange, and requires no "high stall" this and that. I had that camshaft made knowing the stock converter was going to be used.
Hope any of this helps, and if anything is sketchy, Google "Camshaft".
Many many articles on line have been written to try and explain camshaft theory. The basics are duration, lift and lobe separation angle. Those three concepts are generally what online goers will refer to when citing a camshaft.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Duration is measured in degrees. For example the stock 5.3L cam has the intake valve open for 190 degrees of crankshaft rotation while the stock exhaust valve is open for 191 degrees of crankshaft rotation. It's basically saying how long the valves are open. The higher the numbers, the longer the valves will be open for a single 360 degree full rotation of the crankshaft, where camshaft theory believes will help move the power band of the motor higher up from let's say 600-5600 in the stock 5.3L compared to another cam like the XR259 with 206 intake degrees and 212 exhaust degrees which moves the power band into the 850-5900 range. Low duration camshafts have been proven to make lots of low end torque where a truck needs it. High duration cams are what all the Car guys over on LS1tech are running, or a few fellas here with fast lowered 2wd's.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Lift is measured in inches, sometimes millimeters but on here, commonly cited as .xxx" or so. Back to my 5.3L cam example, it has 0.466" of intake valve lift which means the actual camshaft will push the lifter up, causing the pushrod to tip the roller rocker, which in turn pushes down on the intake valve spring which is connected to the intake valve, opening it .466" off it's seat. However now is the right time to explain roller rockers and their ratios. The camshaft will push up 0.xxx" amount designated to be used with certain ratio rockers, 1.6 or 1.7, or 1.8...ect ect whatever you have in there. I believe stock is 1.7:1, meaning the cam's lift is multiplied by 1.7 times, so that by the time the cam reaches full peak it's actually pushing the valve down .466" total which is where the number on the cam card comes from. Same goes with the stock exhaust lift of .457". The cam will open the exhaust valve that much after being multiplied by the roller rocker's ratio. In real world terms, lift = torque. Torque = smile on your face. Also in real world terms, lift = accelerated wear and stiffer valve springs. All things are a compromise. You want more torque through cam lift, therefore you must pay for higher lift springs to accommodate, along with knowing your springs will wear out faster than stock. How much? Depends on how much ya romp on the gas pedal.
190/191, .466"/.457", 114 LSA
Lastly the common citing is lobe separation angle (LSA). This is a little more tricky and complicated to understand because it ties in all the valve events into a degree. Lobe separation angles are just that, measured in angles. Without going into too much detail, the gists of an LSA citing is to explain where the peak torque is going to be made, along with how well the cam will run in a particular motor. A lower LSA typically will move the peak torque down giving better throttle response and towing power, as well as better fuel efficiency. Say for example the 5.3L cam again has 114 degrees of lobe separation between the intake lobe and exhaust lobe of a cylinder. The exact same cam in every way except for a 112 LSA will make the same torque, just at a slightly lower RPM. The motor will not idle quite as nice as the 114, however in this particular example the 5.3L will still idle very well with the 190/191, .466/.457 specs. A 116 LSA will move peak torque up a hair over the stock 114 LSA, while idling even better with a less lopey sound. Pretty much any camshaft made by CompCAMS or any other reputable name has already put a lot of thought into the lobe separation angle for any given marketable camshaft, and for the matching cam specs the LSA tends to work out nicely in the application. From my limited experience with LSx motors, any lobe separation angle between 112-116 yields the friendliest motor in every way you can think. I've worked on a few other small blocks and big blocks prior to Gen II-IV, and 112LSA is my favorite.
So, wrapping this all up with a real life example, your LQ4 and my recommendation for a 218/ 224, .562/ .567, 112 LSA camshaft. What this will do is give the 6.0L better breathing room in the mid range and upper RPM level by extending the duration higher up over stock by about 20 degrees on both intake and exhaust. To further increase torque, the lift has increased by almost a full .100" on both intake and exhaust leaving the motor full of torque from idle to redline, without getting too high of lift where you'll need dual springs or really stiff ZO6 springs that would wear out quickly with say a .580"+ cam. To slightly counteract the duration increase the LSA has been brought down to 112 degrees so peak torque is right where a truck needs it the most, at 4400 rpms with a broad torque curve stretching from 2200-5500. Pull a trailer on the highway with "Tow/Haul" button pressed in and 70mph will net you about 2200 rpms, right where you're making your best torque for how little gas is used. The cam has awesome midrange, and requires no "high stall" this and that. I had that camshaft made knowing the stock converter was going to be used.
Hope any of this helps, and if anything is sketchy, Google "Camshaft".
Last edited by InchUp; 05-23-2008 at 11:01 PM.