My last truck was a 2006 Sierra 5.3 and I did tsp headers and tsp 212/218 112lsa cam. It woke the truck up and ran pretty good. My latest purchase is a 1999 Silverado with a 5.3 4l60e. Im going to do a cam swap and I’m interested in a converter somewhere in the 2800-3200 range. I have never rode in or driven a truck with a stall and I would like to keep some drivability. I plan to either beef up the 60e or swap to an 80e. I think I’m going to go with 4.10 gears. I’m curious as to what set ups you guys are running similar to this. After the cam, trans and rear ended, I want to end up topping off with a turbo so I would like to find a forced induction friendly cam.

 

Basically any camshaft that you pick is going to be friendly to boost, it really doesn't care.

With a stall that high are you thinking a more aggressive camshaft then? Because a 212/218 size cam doesn't really require a high stall speed.

And don't forget about injectors, the 1999 trucks came with the smallest injectors and won't even support a camshaft upgrade.

 

yes I will be upgrading the fuel system. I liked the 212/218 but would like to go with something more aggressive.

 

I’m looking at the tsp stage 3 high lift 216/220. Anyone running this cam? After running the 212/218 I was wishing I had gone bigger.

 

That’s a nominal difference in cams.

 

I have the 278mm Circle-D 3200 ($499) stall with 4.10 gears. Drives like stock and flashes when I get down on the throttle, I have no complaints whatsoever with it's drive ability or performance. Allows my 231/234 cam to idle freely at 850 RPM without pulling against the brakes. It's a re-worked I6 Trailblazer converter tig welded with a carbon lockup clutch and anti balloon plate. Chris say's it's good to 700whp... so it should outlast your boosted 4L60

 

I'm running just a Trailblazer converter with a 6.0 and 8718 cam. Flashes to 2400. With the amount of towing I do, I should've just left it stock which is what I'm gonna switch back to if this thing tanks. But for a daily truck and this cam, it definitely gets into the power band better and pulls to 6000.

 

I have a similar combo, 5.3 4l60 3.73 years and stock 17” tire. I ha e a BTR truck 2 cam and noticed that the engine pulls way harder starting at 2800, when I had the trans rebuilt they put a stall in with around a 1600 stall speed and it was a beast from a red light. That trans broke the output shaft and case so I went back to a stock stall and no shift kit. The truck will chirp tires from a red light but isn’t quite as peppy as the 1600 stall. should I go for a 2800 when I swap to a 4l80 or what?


sorry for the high jack!

 

A few general stall statements.....

2800 is mild, 4000+ is wild.

The bigger the cam, the bigger you want the stall

NEVER buy a cheap converter. If it isn't at least $500, it'll end up costing you when it takes out the transmission. Spend the money on a good stall.




I daily drove my 3800 stalled camaro 600-1000 miles a week and loved it. Most of the driving was in traffic too. I had a Yank SS3800 (pretty sure it was actually a SS4000 since it would flash stall to 4100). Either way, i LOVED it. It made the whole car way more fun than I would have thought it would. That was also a car, not sure how I would feel about a 4k stall in a truck. I'd probably do 3200-3400 ish, but it would really depend on what I was doing with the truck.
.

 

I DD a 3800 triple disc after I lifted my truck and put 33s on it.

fun as hell. Lol