Which cam for carb LS

[smiths86cutlass]

Ok I have a stock bottom end 5.3 with Edelbrock dual plane intake and 750 carb. Im looking for a cam other than the stock truck with some lift and a more lopey idle. I plan on rebuilding the 2004r and running 3.42 gears. What cam would be good for decent street performance and occasional strip use?

 

[L92 OLDS]

Ok I have a stock bottom end 5.3 with Edelbrock dual plane intake and 750 carb. Im looking for a cam other than the stock truck with some lift and a more lopey idle. I plan on rebuilding the 2004r and running 3.42 gears. What cam would be good for decent street performance and occasional strip use?

This article may help you decide. The 5.3 will wake up with a good cam but be prepared to lose low RPM power if you are looking for that lopey idle and high revving HP. The 5.3 is already weak in this area and with those gears you will likely need a good stall torque converter.

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/ls-cam-test-comparison/

 

[Texas82GP]

I have the GM Hot Cam in the 5.3 in my 08 Sierra RCSB. I like it. Anubis is absolutely correct that you will trade some low end grunt for high end HP with a cam that has some lope (overlap). I have 4.10 gears (31.9" tall tires) and a 3200 RPM converter and it runs well. I have a new video camera so maybe I can make you a video. It is as much cam as I want in a daily. It's a little large to me for the 5.3 but it sounds great. I like it a little better in my brother's 6.0.

I like that the lift is limited to .525 with the Hot Cam. With the LS6 springs that come with it, it is what I think of as a safe stable valve train setup that will run as long as you want it to.

I'm not urging you to go with the Hot Cam. I just wanted to relate my experience.

The Hot Cam is 219/228 .525/.525 on a 112 LSA.

 

[Dinosport]

It looks like your looking for about the same thing I am. I looked around a bit, there are tons of choices. I decided to just go with the hot cam from GM. It has a lopey idle and decent street manners from what Ive heard. Its obviously going to run its best tuned but Ive heard rumors that guys have used it without tuning and ran well. Might depend on the ecu being used and stuff. Im running a 6.0 though so it might not be a bad idea to call Howards cams, texas speed or someone like that and see what they recommend for specific combo. Part of it will depend also if your willing to do springs with it. In my opinion Texas speed tends to advise a higher lift cam than what you need to achieve what you want. They do have an good reputation though.
Hope this helps

 

[Texas82GP]

I agree with Dinosport on the tendency to have too much lift. I just don't think you need .600 lift with the stock heads. I don't think you are going to realize much gain from going mid .500's lift to .600 lift and the .600 lift will be a lot harder on the valve train. I don't care for the high lift setups on the street because I don't want to have to change springs. I want to put it together and enjoy it, without failure. I have over 60k trouble free miles on my Hot Cam swap in my Sierra.

I wouldn't go higher than 224° duration and mid .500's lift. For a carbed setup I would go with 112 LSA. It will have plenty of good sound and still be streetable. As mentioned before, It will require around a 3200 rpm stall or it will be a dog. My engine with the Hot Cam doesn't really wake up until 3000 RPM. 3000-6000 is FUN.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-12480033

 

[smiths86cutlass]

Howards cams recommended this
http://howardscams.com/i-24076644-h...s-hydraulic-roller-1800-to-6600-camshaft.html

 

[Texas82GP]

Howards cams recommended this
http://howardscams.com/i-24076644-h...s-hydraulic-roller-1800-to-6600-camshaft.html

I think that is definitely in the ballpark. Idle might be a little rowdy with a 108° LSA. That's a lot of overlap.

 

[awdblazer]

i just ordered a comp cams 5441611
hot rod made 415hp with it

 

[Texas82GP]

i just ordered a comp cams 5441611
hot rod made 415hp with it

Looks like a good suggestion. Be sure to run the matching springs.

 

[motorheadmike]

I think that is definitely in the ballpark. Idle might be a little rowdy with a 108° LSA. That's a lot of overlap.

The ICL looks to be 108; the LSA is 112. The funny thing is that because this is a carb'd application the LSA can go a lot tighter and still run well - in EFI this can be a tuning nightmare.

I'd argue it is duration and aggressive ramp rates that beat up the valvetrain. I have over .600" lift on both lobes with my CamMotion bumpstick - the lobes are very smooth off the seat - something CamMotion has a reputation for. http://store.cammotion.com/

I'd call them and explain your application - I bet a custom cam is in order due to the intake design and other factors.