Ok guys I have a 2002 chevy 5.3. I've been looking into cam swaps but haven't found quite what I'm looking for. I need something that will get me up there in horse and torque but won't break the bank and won't have to change spring for it. Any advice will help out.

 

Look into the btr truck cams, if you dont want to change the valve springs that is really going to limit the choices!! What are you looking to get out of it, what are your goals?

 

To gain a bit more power out of her.

 

Staying with stock springs will really limit your cam choices.... You could always go with something like an lq9 cam which my understanding is about a 50hp or so increase, but youd be able to keep your stock valve train, being it is a stock cam! I want to say most of the major cam companies make cams that dont necessarily require springs.

Why are you opposed to changing the valve springs? Is it just the expense?

 

Yeah its more of not being able to break the bank. I'm a college student man haha. But I also like fast and loud pickups so yeahm sums it up. Also I believe my motor has a hydraulic roller tappet?

 

You have hydraulc roller lifters, if they are tapping, or making any noise, you are going to need a set of lifters....which requires heads to be pulled!

 

LS9 cam would be a horrible choice for a LM7. And would also need a spring change.

Get a computer tune and a higher stall converter. Even a tune with a trailblazer torque converter and a vette servo would make a drastic difference over stock. Probably could do all that for under $1k.

Cam swaps open a whole can of worms of mods to complement the cam itself. They usually entail full LT exhaust, fuel system upgrades, valve train upgrades, drivetrain and a computer tune.

No offense man, but asking if you have a hydraulic roller tappet is saying a lot about what you don't know.

 

Who said anything about an ls9 cam??? LQ9 would be an improvement over the lm7 cam, and shouldnt require spring swap... I do agree however that supporting mods should be looked into first, exhaust(including headers), tune, converter and servo would definitely be an improvement!!!

 

Relax dude and save some ?'s for the rest of us. Read ls9 somehow. Still not the best suggestion. Lotta work and seriously doubt a 50 hp gain.

 

I agree that I'm no guru on motors