ok .. ive done a good bit of research and looking at cams and other peoples setups..

found out that comp cams desktop dyno is absolutely useless b/c i cant see this setup pushing 406 ft/tq and 340 hp out of a 305 ... hahahah ..

neways .. i have a 1991 camaro convertible z28 .. blew the 305 a couple weeks ago and just got it back from the machine shop .. got some summit vortec heads 170cc / 67cc chamber and 1.94 int / 1.5 exh valves .. and supports up to .520 lift .. got the edelbrock tpi vortec intake base and the edelbrock headers .. allready got flowmaster cat back system .. stock rear end / 5 speed tranny ..

but im stumped on the cam selection .. i dont want to chip the computer yet (short on money right now) .. and i need something that is gonna be fun as hell to driver (alot of bottem end torque) and doesnt guzzle gas ..

i called comp cams, crane cams, and lunati cams .. that was somethin .. comp cams punches in "tpi" into there computer and gives you one cam (dont really car if youve done anything to the motor or not) .. crane cams is some indian that is on his break from microsofts' tech help line ..

but lunati is friggen awsome .. they asked me about everthing before even suggesting a cam .. and the guy actually new how a motor worked .. lol .. thumbs up to them ..

heres the cams they recomended .. dont like the crane one at all .. so its between the comp and lunati .. im stuck so some advise / opinions would be great ..

comp cams
08-501-8
hydraulic roller
1200 - 5200 rpm
@.50 lift - 212/218
adv dur - 264 / 269
$259
lift - .488 / .495

crane cams
104204
hydraulic roller
500 - 4000 rpm WTF IS THIS .. itll rev more than that .. hahaha
@.50 lift - 184 / 204
adv dur - 246 / 266
$335 HELL NO!!!!!
lift - .384 / .429


finaly the lunati .. im leaning the most torwards this .. but what do yall think

Lunati voodoo cams
60101
hydraulic flat tappet (includes lifters)
1500 - 5500 rpm (more like it)
@.50 lift - 213/219
adv dur - 256 / 262
$190 (like $130 w/o lifters) NOW THATS MORE LIKE IT
lift - .454 / .468


so tell me what yall suggest on cams .. thanks

 

First off, the Lunati you have says flat tappet. Don't you have a roller engine? A 91 should be roller cam equipped.

If you don't want to "chip it" or tune the ECM, you can't deviate much from stock because you have a speed density system. Basically the fuel/timing map is set in stone into your programming based on your stock components. Your computer may even start to get a little upset with the mods you've done so far, but maybe not.

My advice is to buy a used LT1 cam for starters. They are not radical, and are better than what you have now. You may even re-coup a little money by selling your stock cam to someone here who has TBI. It is a nice upgrade for them as well.

The next thing you need to do is to get into tuning. You need to buy an old laptop and the hardware suggested on this site and start burning yourself some chips. Then you need a used LT4 cam.

You'll really think you've upgraded then. I wouldn't run an LT4 in a speed density car stock, I would run it in a MAF car and play with fuel pressure to help the unhappy computer until it was tuned...

Good luck!

 

yea .. its a roller block ..

does that mean i have to stick with roller .. b/c its expensive as crap ..

what gains does a roller have over tappet ..

the guy said i wouldnt have to mess with the computer straight away with the lunati .. and ive emailed another guy with that cam and he says it works fine .. but he had a maf system .. i got the gay map sensor ..

and the comp cams guy said that one wont mess with the stock tune .. dont believe it though ..

ive read up alot about if you stay under 220 duration @.50 lift then itll work with the computer w/o tuning it straight away ..

when i get some money in about a month ill get the tuning stuff and start messing around ..

 

The LT1 cams are under $100 w/ shipping on ebay and you can reuse your roller lifters if they roll fine and are not pitted.

Bill

 

crane 2032 seems perfect for youre setup.. i just got that cam, now im thinking about heads like youre's not sure how theyd go with a procharger though?

 

If you have roller cam, stick with it. Only thing I see about your combo--your comprssion ratio will fall from the bigger cc of the heads (305 heads of that year are 58cc) but all your other parts will make more power, so it might not matter.

 

That's great that the Lunati guy was so helpful, BUT the fact that he recommended a flat tappet cam for a motor equipped with a hydraulic roller from the factory really scares me. Makes me wonder how many poor, novice engine builders have ended up buying a cam they can't use at all. Out of the 3 guys you talked to, the Comp guy led you the straightest. That 501 cam they recommended will work in your motor without having to modify the prom chip. The duration @.050 and LSA are the two most important specs to look at when it comes to having it work with the stock chip. You want a LSA that's a minimum of 112 degrees or numerically higher. Duration @.050 should be about 218 or lower. Crane actually has some good tpi cams too. It's just a shame they had some drunken indian helping you. Lol. The 2032 Crane cam mentioned by 8T9 Bandit works good with stock programming. Another cam you ought to consider that you can get pretty cheap is the GM ZZ4 cam. If your heads are capable of .520 lift as you stated, you can use the ZZ4, and you can usually get one for $100 or less on ebay or here in the classifieds. Considering the fact that any cam will act more radical in a 305 as compared to a 350, probably your best 2 choices would be either the ZZ4 or a stock 93-94 LT1 cam. The cam mentioned by the Lunati guy actually has about perfect specs too, if it was only a hyd. roller and not flat tappet.

 

That Crane cam you listed looks like a stock replacement low-output TPI "peanut cam". DEFINITELY NOT THAT ONE!

I agree that the Lunati would be a good choice if you were going to do a flat tappet cam. But since you're already set up for a roller you might as well stick with a roller.

A used LT1 cam (one from a 4th gen Camaro/Firebird- not from an LT1 Caprice!!) would be the cheapest and most effective route to victory here, especially since you don't want to play with custom chip tuning. The LT1 cam has very similar specs to your stock cam, but with more lift, which shouldn't affect the tune much.

 

thanks for all yall's help ..

i just started putting the motor back together yesterday and i took my edelbrock cam (which i figured out was way smaller than stock) and was going to get the lunati ..

but the summit guy said he would never use a flat tappet .. so i went with the comp cams 08-501-8 and i found a couple guys on here that said it is a good cam that works really good with the vortec heads .. and it should run until i start tuning it ..

adrian