Aftermarket cam

Cool Zr2 · March 18, 2004

I have asked many people and I still can't get a good awnser.

I want a cam for my 350 that will not cause the SES light to come on, I do not want to loose too much gas mileage, and not get a horrible idle, I want the most power as possible, what cam should I run?

I assume that 1.6 roller rockers are a must?

3BAV · March 18, 2004

Comp Cams is probably the company that I would call.

If you follow this link Cam recommendation and fill the form out or call the number they have listed. They will call you back with a couple recommendations. My experience with them has always been very professional and they have always answered all my questions.

Hope this helps.

Jon

Cool Zr2 · March 19, 2004

Thanks, I am looking into it.

Cool Zr2 · March 19, 2004

They said part number 08-501-8

The guy said it is worth 75 hp and 95 ft lb tq..... does that seem right? thats 330 hp and 430 tq. I'm kinda skeptical......

3BAV · March 19, 2004

Checking a couple different sites and the comp cam site. I think they got you a good cam.

Did they they tell you how this would help the truck? Were they helpfull? It had been a couple years since I talked to them.

Jon

Cool Zr2 · March 19, 2004

The guy said it is worth 75 hp and 95 ft lb tq..... does that seem right? thats 330 hp and 430 tq. I'm kinda skeptical......

3BAV · March 19, 2004

I know CAMs can add allot of power, but I think that is high. It might be good for up to that if you have several other mods to the truck but I think 40 or 50 might be more realistic. Cams are probably the best bang for the buck mod in my opinion. They can add allot of power and totally change the driving characteristics of the vehicle.

I think 40 or 50 is more realistic, but I could be wrong. I would call them back and see what the next guy says for power. My guess is you will get a different answer, and if they say the same thing then maybe I'm wrong.

I'm not an expert, just an opinion.

Jon

Cool Zr2 · March 19, 2004

I had a guy do that desktop dyno thing for me and came up with these numbers.

389 hp@6000 rpm

391 tq@4500 rpm

stock is 255hp and 335 tq

3BAV · March 19, 2004

WOW! if that is what it really adds. I might have to look into a setup for my truck.

Jon

Cool Zr2 · March 19, 2004

Don't worry, I'll hit the dyno before and after to get some real numbers.

3BAV · March 19, 2004

I will be very interested to see the before and after. When you thinking of doing this?

Jon

juiced01s10 · March 25, 2004

thats a nice cam, lets get on this thing I am interested to find out what kind of power you well see.

Cool Zr2 · March 25, 2004

I will only put in a cam that will not mess with my PCM and cause a light to be pulled, they can't promise me that.

Has anyone used this cam and not had a light?

americanmuscleman · March 26, 2004

I don't mean to be a downer here, but realistically, I don't think your going to see a 70hp/95tq gain.

What are the specs on the cam? (Duration, lift, and LSA?)

With a good tune, I bet you could see a 40hp gain, but 70 seems way optimistic to me. My truck has never been dyno tuned, but I bet I gained about 50 or 60hp adding a custom cam, aluminum heads, headers, custom chip, intake, and all the little stuff. Granted my engine isn't a Vortec with multiport injection, but it is the same short block.

I'm guessing your truck had the 4.3L before you swapped in the 350. Did you use the 4.3L 4L60E tranny and 4.3L torque converter? If you used the 4.3L torque converter (which obviously has a higher stall speed), that converter would be really good to use with a bigger cam.

If you want to keep your low end power, you don't want to get too crazy with your cam selection. My truck has around a 210/215 duration cam, and it idles very nicely (very very minor vibration when in gear idling at 700rpm), but I have had a couple people ask me if it has a cam in it. I have awesome low end and mid-range torque. My top end is a lot better than stock, but not knock-your-socks-off amazing. My camaro's 350 has a 220/230 duration cam. There is no doubt its cammed. It shakes the whole car idling out of gear and especially in gear running 750rpm... and thats with a really good tune. Your Vortec 350 will act much the same. The 220/230 cam doesn't really start making major power until after 3500rpm or so (and pulls really hard 4500 to 6500rpm). I lost quite a bit of low end torque with this cam. I still have enough to challenge the tires, but when I hit 3500rpm, its like in back-to-the-future when they throw that red log into the train's fire... only without all the red smoke (thankfully).

Hope that helps!