Hey guys has anyone had any luck with productions vortec's with over 500 lift? Seems like most everyone is saying 480 is about the max. I figured the guide bosses could be machined or retainer/springs would take care of it but ???

 

Yes, you can machine them for more lift.

 

That gets you over ~.480", but apparently the ports in stock form exhibit stall at around .530" or so. You can probably port them to get around that, but you'd risk losing the excellent swirl and velocity that makes vortecs so great. If you're going for a big cam, a limited lift racing cam might do the trick.

 

This is kind of a poor question to ask. You should find the camshaft you want regardless of lift. Then buy the springs, retainers, and keepers the manufacturer recommends. If your trying to keep factory springs they probably won't have enough open or closed pressure to suit the camshaft you decide on.

 

The Comp Cams beehive 918 springs and retainers will fit with no problems and give you .550" lift without machining. There are other options such as the kit from Crane Cams.

 

Yea, you'd still have to shim up the valve springs to get .550" lift max with the comp beehives. It's guide bosses that are key, so if you shim up the springs higher, you're good in that respect.

 

I did some reading when I got my vortecs and what I gathered was that vortecs really cant be made much better. You'll spend a lot of money and not gain that much. Don't dump a bunch of money into them because after awhile, you're better off buying an aftermarket aluminum head.

What engine are they going on? I've also heard that on a TPI engine vortecs are expensive to set up and aren't all that great.

 

Thanks folks. Here's the deal. I'm currently running a flat top 350 (L98) with mildly ported stock heads, stock TPI, and CC XR264 with .488/.495. Currently getting 237 RWHP and 8.85 1/8 mi. Nice, but I want more... Considering HSR and trying to select a set of heads to match. Right now it seems to be a race between upgraded production Vortecs and Tri-states Tri-Thunder aluminum. OK-duh! But cost IS a factor and the $300 cost differance would go a long way toward the purchase of the manifold. Oh crap! Just writing this made me realize how minor the saving are and. . . Does anyone have any experiance with the Tri-state head???