Hey everyone i have an 87 iroc with a 305. this winter i am rippin off the heads and doing a valve job. id like to put in a more aggressive cam. i want to gain some hp and get that loppey idle. what is a good cam with out running into tuning issues. I have typical bolts on now. shorty headers, true duals no cats. bbk throttle body, cold air, b&M shifter and shift kit. any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

the best cam for thre buck and for a 305 is the lt1 cam with new valve springs get the cam from here or ls1 form around 50 bucks for a used cam

 

If your car has the automatic trans from the facotry then it's got the "peanut cam" in it, as it is called around these parts. It's an itsy-bitsy little sucker with specs of 179*/192* @ .050 and lift well under .400" on both intake and exhaust.. Yes, that's LESS than 180* duration and lift that doesn't even register on the performance radar. Just about anything will be a "fire breather" compared to it, even very mild performance cams. The factory LT1 cam would be a good example.

You may be tempted to over-cam it if you stare too long at aftermarket performance cam specs. Resist that temptation. Even a very mild cam like the factory LT1 cam (about 202*/206* duration @ .050) is a HUGE change over the original cam. The MAF-equipped EFI systems like were used on the earlier TPI engines are pretty good at adapting to larger cams without requiring custom programming. But they have their limits. And a 20* increase in cam duration is going to test those limits even though the cam is still going to idle very smoothly.

 

The lopey idle and tuning issues go together.
Best to get a very very mild cam as suggested.

 

get a lt1 cam thats the best one or call compcams see what they have to offer.

 

yeah i keep hearing from everyone is to go with the factory lt1 cam. so can i get that new from say summit racing? and what aplication to i use as in year make model?

 

I've heard good things about the Lunati 60102 and 60103 cams for the 305. Easy to find on summit's web site to check their specs.

 

It's fairly easy to find used ones very cheap.
Check classified on a few forums where the LT1 is common.
I think even LS1tech has a LT1 section.
There are some forums for Impalas as well.

 

I ran a 218/218 cam w/110 LSA from Lunati with no problem in my old '86 305 TPI, needed to be tuned of course to optimize it, but what cam doesn't. Hell, even the stock cam can be tuned to perform a little bit better when you look at the logs. I pulled that camshaft out of the TPI and threw it in my old 305 L69 for a little, and it did fine. Here is a video from when it was in the L69, it sounded essentially the same when it was in the 305-TPI. The L69 had no tuning whatsoever when I recorded this video, and I could have made it sound even tamer if need be. Would also recommend a stall speed converter to match your new cam with...

 

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the forums but I need all the help I can get if you guys don't mind. I have an 89 5.0 TPI stock and was looking into changing the cam. I don't know everything there is to know about cars and that's why I thought I'd come here for help. I was checking out summit racing and they had so many categories about duaration at 050 inch lift, advertized duration, etc. I have no idea what any of that means but I want to give the car more hp. Can anyone help me out?

 

Don't go over 220* intake duration at 0.050", and don't go over 0.468" lift at the valve and you will be okay.
You should start your own thread in the TPI section.

 

I've heard really good things about the Lunati Cam's 60102 and 60103 for the 305's as an upgrade from the stock that doesn't require anything else other than the recommended spring change as they'll fit the lift parameters of your stock heads. Just type in "Lunati 60103 or 60102" in Summit Racing's search and you'll find them.

 

The 60103 is too much duration for a TPI 305 without special PROM tuning.
Also, the lift is too high to be able to run positive style valve seals on stock heads.
It is possible to run without valve seals, but you will get some smoke.

It is also possible to run thinner seals to give you more clearance for lift, but it might take you some time to track down the ones that fit correctly.
SBI has a great selection of seals.

It is also possible to run the thicker seals ( 0.150" thick ), and run up to 0.540" valve lift, IF you swap to Vortec V6 spring retainers & no rotators.
That's still cutting it pretty close for the spring since you lose a little bit of installed height with the swap. It will work though, and be no problem with the Voodoo 60103.
That won't solve the tuning issue with the ECM though.

 

Alright, sounds good. I am NOT a cam guy, but when I was contemplating building my motor, those two wre recommended to me until I went with a 350 instead of the 305, which is why I recommended them hre.

 

cams that go rump rump usually require many many other parts to make it streetable.you could end up with a dog that sounds good at idle but aint worth a damn otherwise.

 

Hey everyone,

Hey all, I know this is an old thread but I made one back in march and have had people look at it but no one replied so thought I would make a reply in this one. I have a 305 in my 2nd gen camaro. I would like the 60102, I asked Lunati back in OCT and they suggested it than asked back in march and they suggested it again, but I have a couple of guys on a different forum saying its way to much but I see in most other forums it would be a nice cam.

The Goal:
Low RPM-Mid RPM Power
Mostly DD Some Street Use

Specs:
305 V8
3.736 Bore
3.48 Stroke
Mildy Ported Heads
601 Heads
.550 Lift Springs
Double Roller Timing Chain
MSD Street Fire
Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake
600 CFM Holley Carb
Hooker long tubed headers
2.5" dual exhaust
TH350 Trans
2000 Stall TC
3.73 Rear
215/70/14 Wheels

This vehicle is a DD.
I have plans for a future LS3 build far far off later and its more convenient for me to keep my 305. Just want better than what stock power it produces.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LUN-60102/

Someone else suggested an Elgin cam from Competition Performance .420 .420 LIft .208 .208 @ .50 and .280 .280 full duration.

 

A 60102 would be pretty close to perfect for your car. Not a "cam" so to speak, but alot of guys have builds similar to yours and got that cama nd have liked it. I would say you couldn't go wrong with it.

 

What do you mean when you say....

 

I meant I'm not a "Cam guy", as in I look to other's for cam recommendations. From my research on building my 350, that cam should be a great fit for your build.

 

Ah got ya. haha I came here first with the thread back in March and no on responded to I went to NastyZ28 which is for 2nd gens and there were a few guys that claimed it was way to big so the showed me the Elgin cam thats listed at the bottom and said it would be way better, but when I search I've seen 7 pages of forums on google saying they would recommened 60101 60102 you would have to mod the seals for 60103, but some people would like to put that in their 350s as well so it would be nice if I wanted to switch.