I need cam and torque converter advice for 5.3/4l60E

[motorheadmike]

Nope to all suggestions above.

Summit Racing has a new line of world class cams that are very cost effective and have superior lobes to most other offerings. With their flash sales you can get into these things for under $250. They have a really good 10% off sale going on right now.

 

[Texas82GP]

I'll share my experience since it applies, sort of. My daily driver is a 2008 Sierra regular cab, short bed, two-wheel drive (much heavier than a G Body). It has a 5.3. I have the LS Hot Cam (219/228 525/525 112) in it. It has the 4L70E transmission. I'm running a Circle D 3400 Stall converter with 4.10 gears. At first, this setup might seem a little extreme for the street (very subjective), but I find it quite streetable. Keep in mind, my 275/55/20 tires on the truck are nearly 32" tall, so that makes the 4.10 rear gear far less extreme. As far as the converter, when I first put the combo together, I thought I had made a bad mistake. It seemed incredibly loose, but ultimately how it acts is all in the tune. I went with Circle D's recommendation and I think it is completely streetable and well matched to the cam.

As far as the Hot Cam goes, I love how it sounds. It has that great choppy idle sound. Under 2500 RPM, it's asleep. 3000 RPM and higher, it's awesome. I put the cam in with 82k miles on the clock. Now it has 170k miles. I really like that it is a GM cam and matching GM springs. I like that the .525 lift and lobe profile aren't very aggressive which in my mind makes it a durable setup. In the summer, running the A/C in rush hour traffic, it's really on the verge of having too much overlap. The idle with hot underhood temps and the load of the A/C compressor on it is a little rough for my liking. We have the same cam in my brother's 6.0 in his 78 Z28, backed by a T56 magnum. I like the cam better in his car. With my automatic transmission and smaller 5.3, and with all the traffic I drive in, every day, if I had it to do over again, I would put in something different. When I bought the Hot Cam for my truck and for my brother's car, I had some buddies at a local GM Dealership and they sold me parts at their price so I got a great deal on both cams.

If you had a 6.0 and a manual transmission, I'd tell you to go for it on the LS Hot Cam. With an automatic and a 5.3, I think you should shop some more. I'm not familiar with the cams Mike mentioned above (Summit) but I've read enough of his posts to be able to tell you, he knows what he is talking about. It's been 6 years since I shopped for a cam for an LS so I can't tell you what cam to go for. When I initially read your post, I thought of the LS6 cam 204/218 550/550 117.5 but it might be a little too mild mannered for you, I'm not sure. With that much wider LSA it won't have the chop like the Hot Cam. It looks a little pricey so you might be able to find something better off the shelf.

Does your engine have cathedral port heads? Mine (LMG - Gen IV) does and so does my brother's (LM7 - Gen III). Did 5.3's ever get the LS3/L99 style rectangle port heads?

These look intriguing. Made in the USA. Way to go Mike!
https://www.summitracing.com/search...ck-swap-camshafts?autoview=SKU&ibanner=SREPD5

I like this one...
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-8719/overview/

 

[CaliWagon83]

Tire size (diameter) has a big bearing on gear selection. As Texas82GP said, 3.73 or 4.10 may seem aggressive on a truck, but the tire sizes are a lot bigger than on cars. For instance, I have 32" tires and 3.73s on my Avalanche, and to get about the same driving RPMs on my Regal with 26" tires, I'd need to run a 3.08 rear end.

 

[Silent viewer]

I am looking at the summit sum-8707, it sounds close? I can get that, the summit valve spring kit with all of the parts to install and lifters for 600 shipped. The car will have 3.42s, i will have to measure the tire height. I have cathedral port heads

 

[Texas82GP]

I am looking at the summit sum-8707, it sounds close? I can get that, the summit valve spring kit with all of the parts to install and lifters for 600 shipped. The car will have 3.42s, i will have to measure the tire height. I have cathedral port heads

Looks a little big to me for a 5.3 but that is very subjective. I hope whatever cam you go with, that you love it.

 

[Silent viewer]

which summit cam sounds ideal? that one the description sounded right but comparing specs, I am not sure. The next automotive one down seems too tame

 

[L92 OLDS]

How is the idle with that duration?.

Here are a few idle clips. Sloppy stage 2 camshaft....Nice chop but doesn't sound too radical.

 

[motorheadmike]

Couple of threads:
The announcement by Summit: https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/1902183-new-summit-pro-ls-cams.html

The cams: https://www.onallcylinders.com/2018/07/06/parts-bin-summit-racing-pro-ls-cams/

An actual application: https://ls1tech.com/forums/generati...-made-450-rwhp-first-pass-off-da-trailer.html

Go no bigger than the 8707 cam; the 8715 and 8706 are the sensible choices (but, who wants that?). If you do use the 8707 with a 5.3L you will want to use a looser converter about 3600+rpm... and pray you have a good tune(r). Also get the trunion bushing kit and recommended springs from Summit - its all good stuff made by the same name brand manufacturers.

 

[Kemper1976]

26-2800 Circle D, BTE or would all work well for a n/a setup. The 4l60 will work, and as mentioned, lighter and physically smaller than the 4l80, but I don’t know anyone who wants to stay at the same power level for long. It’s usually better to overbuild the drivetrain is the budget allows.



At the bottom is a clip below of the old 5.3 setup I had in my 88 Turbo car. It’s a Cam Motion Titan Cam. I used pac 1218 springs, stock retainers, comp pushrods, Comp trunions. Works great as a N/A cam. Not a very wild cam drove as if the cam was stock. Valvetrain was really quiet because how the cam lobes are ground.

Titan 3 LS1/LS2 Camshaft, 5150, Hyd Roller, 3 bolt, 224/228 duration @.050", .603"/.595" lift, 113 degree LSA

Another cam I use to run in the 5.3 was the LS3 cam. Yes, the single bolt, 4x cam. I disabled the cam sensor ( Holley Dominator EFI) and just had it read from the crank only. Not sure if this can be done with the stock ECU but might be worth looking into.

The LS3 Cam is a hybrid of the two LS6 Cams with 1 degree more LSA than the LS2. This cam acted as any stock cam would but made great power N/A. Turned out to be a really good inexpensive turbo cam too. I used the factory yellow springs, factory rocker arms, pushrods etc... with this cam.

.551in/.525ex
201/211
117LSA

 

[Kemper1976]