HITHERE little late to be asking, but....
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 83
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Car: 89 silverado,02 s10 blazer
It's little late to be asking, but....
I was looking at everything I have piled up for this engine build and got to asking myself a huge question, "Do I have all the "right" parts?" The only thing yet to be purchased is the zz-409 camshaft and valve springs. I was just wondering if any of you guys have opinions on things I should have done, or things that can still be done. I jumped into this before I found this site, and you guys are much more experienced than I am. This is my first experience "building" an engine, let alone a TPI. All parts are in my sig. By the way, if you didn't notice, it's all going in to an s10 Blazer. Thanks for any info
Last edited by ericoo1; Apr 2, 2003 at 04:39 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: San Diego, California
Wow, no responses yet,
Sounds like a pretty good set up but I will throw in my thoughts!
I am pretty sure the lift #s TPIS give on their cams are with 1.5 rockers. If this is true your net lift would be .554 w 1.6s which would throw you over on their springs for that cam Part# 700-132, up to .540 lift. Although some would disagree, this also sounds like too big of a cam for a 350 with your intake set up. If your were using the miniram or a carb, I might have a different point of view, but using this cam with what you have to work with, in favor of a slightly smaller one I think you would suffer quite a bit on the low end and not be able to make the the upper power this cam is capable of in a 350. It is the opinion of myself and many people that TPIS makes great products but they seem to be overpriced. If I had your package in front of me I would take the same $500.00 you were going to spend on the cam and springs, (unless you were getting them discounted), go with a lower priced comp cam or similar, and if you wanted to make alot of higher RPM horsepower, I would sell your SLP runners, take the money you saved on the cam and throw it toward the purchase of a Superram upper Plenum and runner kit.
Again, just my thoughts!
Good luck,
Tony
Sounds like a pretty good set up but I will throw in my thoughts!
I am pretty sure the lift #s TPIS give on their cams are with 1.5 rockers. If this is true your net lift would be .554 w 1.6s which would throw you over on their springs for that cam Part# 700-132, up to .540 lift. Although some would disagree, this also sounds like too big of a cam for a 350 with your intake set up. If your were using the miniram or a carb, I might have a different point of view, but using this cam with what you have to work with, in favor of a slightly smaller one I think you would suffer quite a bit on the low end and not be able to make the the upper power this cam is capable of in a 350. It is the opinion of myself and many people that TPIS makes great products but they seem to be overpriced. If I had your package in front of me I would take the same $500.00 you were going to spend on the cam and springs, (unless you were getting them discounted), go with a lower priced comp cam or similar, and if you wanted to make alot of higher RPM horsepower, I would sell your SLP runners, take the money you saved on the cam and throw it toward the purchase of a Superram upper Plenum and runner kit.
Again, just my thoughts!
Good luck,
Tony
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 83
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Car: 89 silverado,02 s10 blazer
yeah I was told the lift would be .554 with the 1.6's. In an email reply that was the cam that TPIS said would work best with this setup. they said it would make 10 more hp at a loss of 10 ft. lbs over their zz-9, which was my first choice when I thought about ordering from them. You think it's too much? Any suggestions?I've just been under the impression that these intakes are sensitive to cam selection and they seemed to know their stuff.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 475
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From: San Diego, California
If the ZZ9 & the 409 were your choices on cams how about something in between like the Hot cam for half the price, Netting .525 lift with your 1.6 rockers. And would probably work very good changing nothing to your set up.
I honestly cant understand their thinking, did you check out this post I borrowed it from their own FAQ board here it is
(Question) : I have a 95 LT1, it has LT4 heads and intake, LT4 fuel injectors, 1.6 roller rockers, 52mm throttle body, 1 3/4'' SLP headers, GM Performance Parts Hot Cam, ACCEL 300+ Ignition and K&N fuel injection performance kit. Idles good, but when I hit the throttle it is slow to respond, and when it does, it isn't very impressive. Do I need a re-programmed computer? A larger fuel pump or an adjustable fuel pressure regulator? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
(Their response)
A: The Cam is too big for a 350 motor. I get this question all the time with the LT4 Hot Cam. If you look at the duration @ .050 it doesn't look bad , but it must be huge everywhere else in it's lift range. It would be fine in a 383 or bigger motor with a lot of compression, and a deep gear. Also the intake port volume of the heads are big for a 350 street motor. In order to use these pieces you would want to stroke the motor and or raise the c/r, or add a supercharger. When you go with big cams and 1.6 rocker ratio, and add big heads you will lose a lot of your bottom end power and most of your mid-range power. What happens is the velocity of the air slows down that's why you go slower. The whole set up is still on the big side for a 383 ci motor. You will make more power but it will be all up top.
This is strange, How can their ZZ-409 not be bigger than the hotcam? (By the way there are people on this board running the Hotcam with modified TPI set ups and having very good results). I do understand that the LT4 Intake would slow down velocity a bit and a TPI would make up for some lost torque, but come on! GM made that cam for that type engine, so how can it be too big.
In a way this is comparing apples to oranges LT4 vs TPI, I am not saying their products arent great, they obviously know their stuff but I do think if you are going to get stuff from them that you should go all out and get a complete matching package. I think the bottom line is they want to sell you a cam but I dont think they have one that would suit your set up the best.
I would like to keep this thread going and hear other peoples input on this subject as well!
I honestly cant understand their thinking, did you check out this post I borrowed it from their own FAQ board here it is
(Question) : I have a 95 LT1, it has LT4 heads and intake, LT4 fuel injectors, 1.6 roller rockers, 52mm throttle body, 1 3/4'' SLP headers, GM Performance Parts Hot Cam, ACCEL 300+ Ignition and K&N fuel injection performance kit. Idles good, but when I hit the throttle it is slow to respond, and when it does, it isn't very impressive. Do I need a re-programmed computer? A larger fuel pump or an adjustable fuel pressure regulator? Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
(Their response)
A: The Cam is too big for a 350 motor. I get this question all the time with the LT4 Hot Cam. If you look at the duration @ .050 it doesn't look bad , but it must be huge everywhere else in it's lift range. It would be fine in a 383 or bigger motor with a lot of compression, and a deep gear. Also the intake port volume of the heads are big for a 350 street motor. In order to use these pieces you would want to stroke the motor and or raise the c/r, or add a supercharger. When you go with big cams and 1.6 rocker ratio, and add big heads you will lose a lot of your bottom end power and most of your mid-range power. What happens is the velocity of the air slows down that's why you go slower. The whole set up is still on the big side for a 383 ci motor. You will make more power but it will be all up top.
This is strange, How can their ZZ-409 not be bigger than the hotcam? (By the way there are people on this board running the Hotcam with modified TPI set ups and having very good results). I do understand that the LT4 Intake would slow down velocity a bit and a TPI would make up for some lost torque, but come on! GM made that cam for that type engine, so how can it be too big.
In a way this is comparing apples to oranges LT4 vs TPI, I am not saying their products arent great, they obviously know their stuff but I do think if you are going to get stuff from them that you should go all out and get a complete matching package. I think the bottom line is they want to sell you a cam but I dont think they have one that would suit your set up the best.
I would like to keep this thread going and hear other peoples input on this subject as well!
Last edited by 85TPI400; Apr 3, 2003 at 08:07 AM.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 83
Likes: 1
From: Fort Worth, TX
Car: 89 silverado,02 s10 blazer
I've seen the results of a hot cam in a 94 trans am and wasn't too thrilled, not to mention I've heard only negative things about it. Not through these boards but at the dealership where a friend of mine works. So the ot cam isn't even a option in my case. Just one of those times when it depends on who you talk to, but every one I've talked to said it was junk. I duno, maybe I'll just start searching or give comp a call and see what they recomend. opinions are still welcome.
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