I am going to be upgrading the engine in the GTA over the winter and I am trying to figure out what I need to start saving for. I am looking for a very streatable setup with a smooth idle, this car is hardly ever going to see the track, maybe once a year. I am going to go with hooker 2055s, an SLP Loudmouth and the Holly steathram intake. What I don't know is what I want to do for a head and Cam combo or any other upgrades I should do. Basicly I am looking to get the most power I can while still keeping mild manners. Any sugestions?

 

The hsr makes power from mid-high rpms. Match a cam that likes 2000-6500 rpm powerband. If you don't want to rev that high then get something 2000-6000 or however high you want to rev. You'll need a new stall converter to take advantage of the different powerband... something in the 2000-2400 range would probably work nice for you. You should run higher gears to if you don't already have them.

check out comp cams website. they have a big list of cams for the factory roller 305/350 and it says what the powerband for each cam is.

as for the heads, there are lots of good heads out there. Just pick a set that's in your price range.

AFR 195's
Dart
Edelbrock
Pro Topline
World Products makes some good heads
Trickflow 23's

all of them are good heads.

 

I took a look at the Comp Cams selections and I found a few of them but I am not sure if they will work for what I want:

2200 to 5800 RPM but it doesnt say anything about the idle.
08-432-8 Cam

2000 to 5500 RPM range, is that going too low of an RPM range for the intake? Says it has a mild rough idle..how bad is that going to be?
08-430-8 Cam


This is a street strip model, 2500 to 6000RPM but nothing on the idle...
08-433-8 Cam

As far as gears, I am running 3.23s right now, but I have a 9bolt so I am not sure I will ever be upgrading unless it blows because of the cost and lack of avalibility of used gears for the 9 bolt.

I really don't understand what all the numbers for the Cams mean and how they relate to the performance, can anyone clue me in on that or give me a link to do some reading.

 

here is a good page to check out, it has some good info

https://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/mods3.shtml

here is the comp cams page for you that i was hoping you'd find, scroll down until you see the "originally equipped 87-98 with hydraulic roller cam" section.

http://www.compcams.com/Technical/Cu...ML/128-169.asp


I have a GTA myself, 87. I have the 9 bolt posi but i'm running 3.70 gears. You should come over to www.stealthram.com and check out some of the setups the guys over there are running. Maybe it'll give you some ideas. They're always willing to answer questions for people.

 

I did see that page, that is where I pulled the part numbers from and picked the Cams out.

How much did you end up paying for the gears? Everywhere I was looking it was $350+ for new and there was no sign of used ones anywhere.

 

that tech page tells about how the lobe effects idle and vacuum. 110 wouldn't be too bad but i'd try to find a 112 lsa cam. The gears I have were already in my car when I bought the car. If you want new gears keep an eye out on ebay and on the classifieds here at thirdgen. I'd imagine at summit they're probably a couple hundred bucks but they'll be new.

 

I am starting to under stand all this now, it seems so difficult to begin with but once you start looking at the numbers and figuring out what they all mean it doesn't seem so hard.

 

yeah that's how it was for me to, at first I was like WTF does all this mean then I started reading up on it all and now it all makes sense. I was over at the GTA source page and saw somebody post a site for the 9 bolt rear end. Check out 9bolt.com for gears. He said you can get them from there used but they're still kinda expensive.

www.gtasourcepage.com is a great site for info on our cars

 

You listed a smooth idle as one of your desires. I would not go with a cam larger than 214 degress at .050 on the intake and maybe 212 lsa. Plenty of cams meet these specs. I would use 1.6 rockers to give the cam good lift. As to the heads get the best your wallet can afford. This is where the power is going to be made. AFR's are probably the tops but cost the most. Trickflows, Pro topline, Edelbrock and others make some very good heads and will serve you well. Look for something around 250cfm at .500 lift. You should stay under 195cc for the intake runner size.

It's my opinion that if you have a good flowing exhaust and intake system it does not take a big cam to make good power. You should have no problem making 400HP at the flywheel with the above parts with a good intake and exhaust system. Allen

 

Call compcams man ! They are THE most curtious staff I have ever talked to ......for anything ! Once you know hwta you are going to put on it .... they will pick out a cam for you . I got a custom grind picked out for me ....and it costs the exact same as the off the shelf camshaft

AFR's seem to be the way to go for the heads ..but MAN they cost large ....but welcome to motorsports .


The more flow info you got ...the more Comp cams can be "less "conservative on there recomendations .

 

I would look at the Xtreme Energy grinds for EFI. They have them in both roller and flat tappet versions.

Yes, they carry more LSA, however, with the LSA comes the change in valve timing. TPI as well as other forms of EFI generally do not like reversion. By making the intake valve close sooner they cut that down significantly. (intake valve closing point is the most important of all the valve timing events.)

Custom grinds from Comp do not cost the same as shelf grinds in 99% of the cases.

 

So I think I have it narrowed down to these two cams
ZZ3 - P/N 10185071 - $170 from GMpartsdirect
and the
CompCam - P/N 08-503-8 - $353

And I'm pretty sure I'm going with the
WP S/R Torquer heads

Anyone know how accurate DeskTop Dyno 2000 is? Because the AFR190's only gained about 10 hp/lb. ft., and just about zero loss with L98 aluminum heads?

 

I have a ZZ4 cam sale if interested and its the same as the ZZ3. It is $100 plus shipping. Allen

 

I ran a zz9 with trick flow G2 heads on my old stock short block. Had very good results. The only problem with the G2 heads was the canted valve setup forced me to go with a thicker head gasket. that cost me a little compression.

I now have a zz4 hot cam and trick flow centerbolt heads. Both are great! You have to listen really good to hear the cam and I have not got it tuned yet. The heads are really nice. I got some AFR 210s on my 383 and I dont think they are worth the money.

 

I wouldn't waste money on the afr's either, there are other heads out there available now, cheaper, and flow good also. Don't overlook used heads and a port job either.

That cam you picked won't be the stocker smooth as glass idle either, it will have some shake to it. For a smooth idle, the zz4, zz9 and anything around that size won't rattle your teeth.

 

Don't bother with the 9-bolt gears, either, since you don't go to the track. The 3.27's are good for what they offer. Just get a 2800 stall convertor.