i have always wanted to have the sound of a cam coming from my car, i now have the money. would this be to much cam for all of the stock stuff?i know that without getting heads and intake the cam will not perform to its full potential. i figure that without heads and intake it will still perform better than stock and two, i will have that awsome lope.


also, is it possible to swap the cam with the engine still in our cars?

thanks,

david

 

Yes...

And Yes...

 

Don't be to disapointed when the lope isn't there. I'm using the comp cams 269HR cam that has very similiar specs to the LT4 hot cam with a little more lift and it barely lopes at all.

 

now hold on. having a "lope" is not just a factor of lift and duration. its also got a lot to do with reversion ( which points also to intake design) and overlap and so forth.

the LT4 Hotcam I have heard a few times.

all of those time, it had a very very healthy lope to it. very healthy.

I was running a 234/244 @ .050 cam (.550 lift) and it sounded pretty mean, but that LT4 hotcam, even though the SPECS arnt as healthy, it had a nastier lope than mine did!

i beleive I heard it in an LT1 engine once, and another time in a high revving 305, and once more in a 383 motor. out of all of them, the 383 had the best "sound quality" to it. it had a very low idle, noticable lope, very deep and very nice. the LT1 idled a little higher but it was still radical as all you can imagine.

that cam sounds a LOT meaner than it looks on paper.

 

Maybe I have a distorted ear of the sound of a lopy cam but the LT4 cam has a 112 deg. centerline and at .050 lift 218/228 duration. That is identical to the comp cam I have. And comp cams are kind of known for aggressive slopes.

Now if I adjust the idle down to 500 rpm it sounds a little lopy but what's the point of that.

You want a lope then get a cam with like 230/230 duration at .050 and a 110 degree centerline. Not a monster cam but definently a lope.

 

ok well then what is a good cam that will work with the stock valvetrain, and still lope good?

 

<b>That is identical to the comp cam I have. </b>
I know it makes little sense, but the hotcam.. just sounds hotter than it is! like i said my 234/244 cam sounded mild compared to the hotcam. it has to do with other things besides duration.

<b>ok well then what is a good cam that will work with the stock valvetrain, and still lope good?</b>

well the question is can your springs handle it, and can your engine make use of it?

My personal opinion is the hotcam is a great all around cam. the duration is just right for computers and mid-range torque. in my opinion, that is. just make sure your springs are up to the challenge. I do not have lift figures for the hotcam and i would make sure before putting it in.

 

Oh and let me point out my last 2 cams also had more duration than the hotcam.

I had a 224/234 @ .050, 114 LSA, 109 LCA Crane Blazer cam

it idled @ 500 RPMS smooth as a baby's bottom.

I had a 218/224 @ .050, 114 LSA, 110 LCA Comp Blower Cam

It idled @ 600 RPMS also REALLY Smooth but a bit of a lump under load at lights.

 

Your lobe separation on both of those cams wouldnt lend its itself to a lope . And I Went from a comp cams 280 magnum to a paw ssi cam 230-230 with a 109 lsa to the lt4 hotcam and the hotcam is ALOT milder at idle than either of those.

 

OK, I know arguing on the internet is pointless so don't consider this a rebutle but more of an observation.

Lope is primarily caused by the event of the intake and exhaust being open for a short time at the same time. So the lope is due to not only duration but lobe separation also. So a longer lobe seperation with a shorter duration would have a smooth idle and vice versa.

Now the LT4 hot cam is made to still work with a computer and computer cams typically have wider lobe seperations for vacuum purposes. And the wider lobe seperations tend to have smoother idles. So unless gm is not telling the truth about the numbers it should idle pretty smooth in anything bigger than 350 cubes.

On a side note, it really sucks to have a lopy idle and get wooped by a smooth idleing LS1. It's nice to be able to back a lopy idle up. But that is just my opinion. Stealth is everything.

 

so all that i would have to buy would be new springs? i can handle that, springs arent very expensive. what all needs to be removed to install the cam with the motor still in the car? (i could figure it out i would just like a little heads up)

thanks for all of the replies, looks like i will be getting the lt4 hot cam.

also, thunder racing has it listed under the lt1 section, this is the same cam though isnt it?

thanks,

david

 

i know that someone knows............

 

I think your heads would have to come off so they could be machined for taller wider valve springs. The LT4 can is in the .5xx region of lift, so that is almost certainly too much for factory heads.

 

My hotcam would not idle after the car was warmed up as the ECM set the idle speed to 588rpm in drive. You may need to get a chip. I have a link in my sig of my hotcam, it was at about 725rpm, it wasn't quite warmed up yet.
EDIT: Now that I think of it, my minimum air was still set for the stock cam, so it may have idled that low with it set for the hotcam.