Here is what I was told by Ed Wright of FastChip.com : The lt4 HOT cam w/the SuperRam may actually end up hurting be - he said there were a few people that actually went back to the zz3 cam because it just didn't work out too well. I was gonna get one for $450 too! (The Kit, that is). Of course, the natural choice I'm sure would be the LPE 219 w/ the 219/219 525/525 specs and 560/560 lift w/1.6 rocker arms. Why would I not jump on this? Well...I can think of about ($)760 reasons! Granted, it's sure to be a perfect match (agree or disagree?) is it worth the money? Or is the a similar cam from CompCams or something that I should get? When I'm done, I wanna be at a low 12 second 1/4 mile pass. I'm at 13.30 with stock tpi and 2.73 gears. Stall is 1850 by the way. Can I get there w/fully ported superram/3.73 gears/cam/chip? Help me find the right cam :0)

 

It only hurts them if they don't know how to properly tune their engine, ie: burn their own chips. The LPE 219 cam would work OK too (just about the same intake duration as the LT4 HOT cam, but 10 degrees less exhaust), as well as the ZZ3 cam (much milder). The LPE 219 cam would be a little tamer and works great if the cylinder head exhaust ports were very good (I/E ratio closer to 80%) and the headers aren't restrictive (Edelbrocks or SLP 1 5/8" with the small collectors). You might not want to go with the 1.6 rockers on the LPE 219 cam if your cylinder head airflow tops out before .560" of lift. CompCams also have a good selection of cams, like the 218/224 on a 112 or 114 LSA.

If you want to hit low 12's with a 350 engine, you'll need a lot of traction and launching capability, which involves Drag Radials (or E/T Streets) and at least a 2800 stall converter (like the Vigilante). Either 3.42 or 3.73 gears would work great, depending on the diameter of the tires you go with...

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Greg Westphal
'87 IROC 355TPI/A4

[This message has been edited by GregWestphal (edited September 27, 2001).]

 

No matter what cam you go with, if you are getting a chip from mail-order, it will take at least 5 or 6 re-burns to get it right.

The LPE 219 is worth a couple of hp over the hot cam in my engine analyzer program, but what you get from that cam is less chance of reversion. If you ever take your intake apart and see lots of black sooty carbon in your back intake ports, that's reversion.

The LPE cam is also more aggressive with the 1.6 rockers than the hot cam, .525 lift versus .560.

It's your car, so you make the choice.