Hey all, looking for some insight on a new project. I have a 1992 camaro rs 305 tbi and I’m looking into camming it. Obviously I’m not shooting for speed here as I know it’s pretty slow… looking for the sound and a SLIGHT power gain. My issues revolve around the computer and price… is it worth it to spend the money? I’m not sure about the specific cam specs but I want to know what I’d have to do to the computer in order for the car to run right? I’m looking for a mild cam or better on idle, so I know I’d have issues putting it into drive as the rpm would dip and probably die with the cams I’d go for! What should I do? I’d like to hear from someone who’s already went through this with a tbi car and what they did to the computer!

 

I swapped in an L98 and just upgraded my tbi+ intake. Stock L98 cam works good with these TBIs. Had a custom chip made. Car does good, even keeping the 305 I think you would gain some with an L98 or LT1 cam. Run a 14-16lb spring also what would help is a bored 46mm throttle body. My L03 revved to 4500, this L98 with bored tbi, bored intake, along with full exhaust will rev to 5300-5500 no problem.

 

Buying a cam "for the sound" is crazy. It amounts to spending money to make the engine run worse, so you can impress people down at the Dairy Queen that you don't know and who don't care about your car.

Buy a cam for the way it makes power. Which, with a 305, is kind of futile. The best thing to do with a 305 is to scrap it in favor of a 350--instant 45+ ft/lbs of torque with only the most mild upgrades, and potentially far more as the upgrades become more radical. If you're going to dick with computer tuning anyway, you might as well have something to show for it.

If you need it to idle rough for the Dairy Queen crowd, pull a plug wire off a block away and drive it in on seven cylinders. Make sure you've removed the catalytic converter first, or you'll melt it.

 

You're not going to get the big cam thump without LOTS of tuning and if you are going to go through that much tuning, you might as well use a reasonable cam and have the power instead of the thump.

The L98 and LT1 cams are common swaps to a 305 TBI. There are several threads on it here. Also, the TPI 305 heads are a good swap as well to squeeze that little extra power out. Then you'll have a fairly quick 305 car.

If you just toss a massive cam in a 305 (which you can't with the factory heads because of valve spring bind and guide clearances) you'll wind up with a nearly undriveable car. We're talking about cars that are gaining classic status quickly here, I think it would be better to have a nice driver rather than try to out-thump guys dumping 10's of 1000's of dollars into LS, Coyote and Hemi tuning in the 500+ hp range.

I'm wanting to have a quick LO3 car. It'll be slow, I know that. But I want it to be fun to drive and able to take long road trips as well. A car you can't or don't like to drive isn't worth owning.

 

To do as you propose would likely make your car undriveable. Your best bet would be to leave the hood closed and enjoy the car as it is.

 

So many people want that choppy or lopey idle (hey, it does sound good), yet have no idea what is happening to cause that sound, or what other things must be modified to accommodate a cam like that. The result is REDUCED performance...

 

FIFY