Hello,

It's been a minute since I've been around the forum.

Here's the story: I decided to further my education last fall, so I've been really busy, and money flow is a bit less. However, I would like to continue to work on getting my 6.0 powered IROC Camaro running and driving. My initial plan was to use my 228/230 112 camshaft with a DBW TB and get it all custom tuned or use a Holley system. Now given the high pricing of tuning, I'm more leaning towards getting an LS2 camshaft(?) with a cable TB and getting a stock LS2 tune on my ECM, at least just to get this project rolling.

I'm hoping some of the more experienced individuals can give me some advice on this. Would the LS2 cam be okay, or is there a better option that could run off a stock ECM flash? Or a budget friendly option to keep my cam?

Project specs:
-LQ4 block
-LQ9 ECU, early DBW system (Escalade)
-243 Heads shaved
-6.0 bored 20 thou
-new pistons
-ARP cracked rod bolts
-new bearings, freeze plugs, etc
-ls6 intake
-long tubes
-4l60e

Thank you,

Slow'86

 

Well, you could keep your cam and tune it yourself with HPTuners. I think that setup is around $400. I put an LQ4 in my camaro last year and the tuning isn't too hard. You just have to put in some time to learn a few things. There are a ton of free videos online and some good message boards that help with the tuning part. And it gives you the flexibility to change things up later down the road and then do whatever you need to with the computer. Plus it really lets you fine tune driveability on the street with the shift points and converter lockup.

You could watch a few youtube videos and see if it's for you.

 

That's encouraging to hear! I've been seeing many people say it has a steep learning curve, so I've been staying away from it. I think I'll watch some videos to see what it's like. Any video recommendations?

 

There's a guy on YouTube that goes by Goat Rope Garage, or something like that. His explanations have helped me. HPTuners has a forum with a lot of basics you can read. They also have a library with tunes posted by users (you might have to create an account to get to that area). You can use those directly, but it's better to just reference what others are doing while working on your own tune. So there's a lot of info if you're willing to dip your toe in. It's not for everyone, but there's a lot of help if you at least try. People won't want to just do a tune for you, but they're willing to help you every step of the way.