I'm looking to buy a cam for my Camaro. It's a 305 TBI automatic w/ stock exhaust manifolds. I'm looking at a Crane Energizer cam with free lifters. I want the very rough and aggressive idle, what intake/exhaust duration should I look for? I do plan on doing this by myself, not going to waste the money on a shop when I can do it myself. Any help is appreciated.

 

Do a search in the TBI board and you will see that any cam under .480 lift with 1.5 RR's and 112 or higher LSA's are the way to go. A very popular one for great gains and ease of computer tuning is the LT1 cam.

 

And changing out cams wouldn't require any type of other modifications?

 

Besides tuning and replacing valve springs and timiung chain no. Then again that is based on the fat that you already have a full exhaust and car that is up to tune. A weak fuel pump will not get you very far if it has some age to it. Good time to replace that as well.

 

yup, lots of mods.but if youre only goin for the sound, without matching up, or upgrading alot of crap, its gonna be a pig on wheels.(actually a pig might be faster)i mean, a rumpity cam with a stock converters gonna lurch and buck at stoplights.with a big cam you need heads, exhaust,gears, etc.with a big cam,stock exh. manifolds,stock pipes, and if youve got like a 2.73 rear you could possibly get beat in the 1/4 mile by a v6 79 malibu if hes tuned right.im just saying try to match up what you got or plan your mods.dont just go for sound ,ive seen alot of guys make that mistake

 

I'm not just going for sound, it's just a cheap and easy add on.

 

I'm very interested in this topic, because I'm on the verge of starting to mod my stock ''88 305 TBI as well.

What do you guys mean with an LT1 cam? The orginal GM-cam out of the 350 LT-1 Corvette engine?

My only mod until now is a 14x3 K&N. Next wil be Hooker headers (2055), cat delete, flowmaster American Thunder catback.

After having that done, how much HP would a LT-1 cam and an Edelbrock performer intake add, keeping the stock TBI?

Will this run right with the stcok computer chip?

 

The LT1 cam we are talking about is any one out of a vette, f-body, impalla, or caprice. The vette and f-body ones are the way to go and have the biggest specs. The B-body ones aren't as big. But yes you are correct in that we are talking about a used cam out of one of those cars. Those cams can always be found on the market because people swap out their cams in favor of a bigger one. The LT1 cam is a great match for tunability and performance for a 305. They can also be found for less thatn 50 bucks.
A LT1 cam will not run right with the stock chip though. You are going to have to burn your own chips or get a half assed one from an aftermarket source. Pending you get it all tuned right, a full exhuast, and cam LO3 can make upwards of around 250hp.

 

That is not how a sensible person chooses a cam, but to each their own

 

Comp XR300HR 248*/254* @ 0.050, .562"/.580" 1.5 lift, 110* LSA

This cam will give you a very rough idle, assuming you can get it to idle. Expect your ET to roughly double. Seriously, though, get the LT1 cam.

 

The only way to have a cam that will have a horrible idel and huge lobe to be compatable with the stock heads would be one with monster duration, extremely low LSA's and lift under .480. You won't find an roller cam ion the market with specs like that. Save the lope for carb cars. It will never run on a TBI car.