Hey guys, another question, i'm full on them. I was wondering what the biggest cam I can go in my little underpowered 4.8. I don't have many mods right now. I've got flows, Edelbrock headers, Hyperteck programmer, and the K&N kit, but that's pretty much it. I've got lots of mods planned though. Besides rims and tires my next purchases planned are a torque converter, probably kinda mild, a 2400 or 2600 stall from Yank. And i want a new cam and springs but not sure which one to go with. I'd like to be able to use the Hypertech instead of a custom tune, but if i can really get a big gain out of a cam i would consider going with one of the custom tunes you guys have. Right now i can only run a best of 15.3 and i did that at the Southern Shootout last year. I guess the difference in sealevel made me a little quicker. My best back home is a 15.4.

 

oh yeah forgot to mention, i do plan on putting a bottle on it, not sure about the shot yet thinking of 100, 125, or 150, whatever it will safely hold. They may not have much affecto on the cam choice since i won't be spaying all the time but still thought i'd put that in there.

 

I'm back!

 

c8
Why spend $1500 on bolt-on to make it run like a 5.3,which would have cost about $500 more when new?Save the cash and buy a used 5.7 or a 6.0 and a custom tune for the $1500,then you will have something,seems like a lot of guys that defended the all mighty 4.8 have decided to go more cubes and see the light,best bang for the buck.

 

I just didn't think it would fit into my budget, but yeah if i could find one at a good price i'd love to have either the 6.0 or 5.7, i've seen what a good 5.7 can do in these trucks. When i was at the Southern Shootout there was someone with one that was consistently running low 12's on all motor. I don't want spend what they spent though. Tight budget here, but i see your point about making it run like a 5.3. Wish i could find a good late model salvage around here with a good Caddy motor in it. For now my goal is high 13's or mid 13's but i've gotta hit some 14's first on motor.

 

I had a 212/218 .522/.529 114 Comp in my 4.8, and it would have been in the 13s if it were properly tuned and I had a converter and some traction. I was pulling 96-97mph with some bad traction issues, which limited me to high 14's ET-wise.

I would still have the 4.8 if not for a KILLER deal on an LS1 long block. Not everyone has the ability to swap a motor themselves--if I wouldn't have had some very knowledgeable friends, I would never have gotten it done. It's much easier to do bolt-ons, a cam, or some nitrous to a 4.8 and spend a little money beefing up the driveline (tranny, rear end, driveshaft, etc.)

The whole "4.8 is crap, why didn't you get a 5.3" argument holds little water with me. Yeah, I've done a swap, but I could've just as easily spent the money I used to build the motor to put a converter, built tranny, and some gears into my 4.8 setup and gone just as fast, if not faster.

5.3 RCSB's are hard to find, and not all of us bought our trucks with the intention of making them fast. My truck was going to be a show-only truck, but I quickly got the go-fast bug after I realized that they were pretty quick in stock form.

The answer to every 4.8 owners question should not be "swap the motor." Some people either don't have the money or the know-how to perform a motor swap, so they have to deal with the hand that they dealt themselves. We're all in the same boat, let's act like it.

 

I know what u mean exactly. When i bought my truck i never intended for it to be fast. I just wanted it to look and sound good. At the time when i bought mine, new in Feb. i think of 2000, i didn't see ANY regular cab 5.3's. And i looked all over this area, and even in to other nearby states. I drove the 4.8 and was perfectly happy with it till i finally felt something better.

I can also feel u on the technical side of a motor swap. I'm not prepared to tackle something like that by myself, a also have a few friends that could probably help, but still it would be unchartered water for us. I'm not sure i want to be the ginneau pig. I'm just looking for maybe some mid-thirteen's some day. If i really have to go faster i'll cross that bridge when i get too it. I appreciate you comments and thanks for the cam specs!

 

The only good thing i see the 4.8 has is such a short stroke. I would love to see someone pop in a Comp T-Rex cam, ported LS6 heads, 4500 stall, and tune it to shift at @ 7800rpms. I think it could pull some extremely high revs with good flow and that cam.

I say think about the future and where you might be headed with this. Yes you can spend $1000 on your 4.8 and make it quick, but a stock LS1 or 6.0 will be just as strong. And you will still be able to build on that for more.

 

Thanks for the input, i want to hear what everyone has to say. I know that fast enough is never really fast enough. But i figure that if i want to go faster than 13's i'll buy another project, but for not i'd like my truck to run 13's and still be able to use it to haul stuff if i want.

I'm curious about this T-Rex cam though, are there several of them available, or just one big bad cam? I don't really wanna go any higher than a 3000 stall and i'm not really even sure about that. I'd like to stay around 2400 to 2600 but evenone tells me i wouldn't be happy with it. Most people say go with the 3000.

 

I was wondering how the idle sounded with the cam u gave me the specs on.
And were you able to run this cam with Hypertech tunning or would a custome tune be required?