Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Tech discussions on the L77 6.0L V8.
CrashTestDummy
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by CrashTestDummy »

It's still not too late to get here! :lol:
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
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bsparks72
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by bsparks72 »

9C1fanatic wrote:I just got an LS3 cam with 8000 miles for free from a friend. Is it a good match for the 6.0 in a car as heavy as ours with 2.92 gears. The lowest gear any ls3 car comes with that I'm aware of is 3.27 or something like that in auto ss.
It would work, but it certainly wouldn't be the best. The specs are:

204/211, .551/.525, 117

If I was going to bother to do a cam, I'd get one with a lower LSA than 117. Mine's on a 112, which brings in the torque at a lower RPM. The lower the lobe separation angle, the more lope you'll get at idle. I like old musclecars, so it's what I wanted anyway. That, and it's nothing to write home about in lift or duration, either. Since a cam swap involves pulling the heads and all of the other headache, I'd get one spec'd out or use a known good cam for a similar application. That free cam is the tip of the iceberg as to what you'll spend on the rest of the parts, gaskets, fluids, etc.

I think a good place to start would be like this:

Duration 224/230

Intake Lift .581"

Exhaust Lift .590"

LSA 114

http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/product/LPP801115" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Keep in mind that cams that were good for LS engines with old cathedral port heads are not the best for newer LS3-style rectangle port heads. They prefer a split pattern much like the above.
-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
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bsparks72
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by bsparks72 »

CrashTestDummy wrote:It's still not too late to get here! :lol:
NO VACANCIES! We're full! :)
-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
9C1fanatic
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by 9C1fanatic »

Thanks for the good info. I'm don't know for sure what if anything I'm going to do with it but I like to dream. I'm pretty skeptical about cam swaps anyways on daily drivers. Seems the engineers do a decent job getting the most drivability, MPG and power from what they pick usually. 4 years back I bought a "replacement" LT1 for my 1994 Caprice from Golen engines who is well known in the LT and LS community that came with aluminum GM heads like the F and Y bodies and a cam that had specs very similar to what you would find in a mid 90s Corvette. Advertised as 300 hp from Golen. Put it in my car (which has 2.5 Edelbrock cat back) and had it dyno tuned which returned 251 RWHP and 315 RWT which I thought was a nice improvement over the factory 260/330 flywheel rating of the original engine but I swear it feels slower than it used to with the iron head engine. I'm hoping it just feels slow cause I'm used to the 2014 Caprice but when it warms up and the track opens Ill know for sure. Also gas mileage which used to be 15-16 city 22-24 highway is now a dismal 13-16 MPG city/highway. The engine runs great but I think its not the right cam for a heavy car with 3.08 gears.
Garner Ames



1975 Pontiac Grand Am L77 - 14.82 @ 92.89
1991 Chevrolet C1500 L31 Vortec/5 Speed
2002 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LM7
2014 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 L77 - 13.60 @ 105.87
2019 Chevrolet Express 3500 L96
CrashTestDummy
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by CrashTestDummy »

Yep. I keep thinking about AFM-delete kits, converters, gears, etc., to improve the performance, then take our '12 out on the road, and a quick stab at the loud pedal, and I'm thinking ' h0ly cr@p, this thing just GOES!'.

I'm now going to concentrate on handling and see where we end up there.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
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bsparks72
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by bsparks72 »

Please see the picture of the fried cam lobe. This happens ALL the time on AFM engines. That's as much of a reason for a cam swap as getting more power. How long do you think my engine would have lasted at the rate it was going?
-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
CrashTestDummy
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by CrashTestDummy »

Brandon,

I know that. Our Caprice has already had lifters and cam done once, at about 46K miles. I'm drawn between running it as long as I can, rolling the dice and taking my chances every time the key gets turned in the ignition, vs. going ahead and calling Texas Speed for the AFM-delete package. I know the former would be a lot more expensive, but the options would be greater, I think. The longer I can put the work off, the more I can spend on the race car. :-)

Garner,

It seems the builders build (and spec) for a HP/TQ rating without much care of where the peak is. I'd bet that Golen engine made less HP/TQ under 2000 RPM, where most street engines spend most of their time, than that OEM LT1. I don't have a dyno sheet in front of me, but remember the torque band on those cars was pretty flat off the assembly line. And remember, aluminum heads will take a lot of heat away from the combustion chamber, which kills some power. To counteract that, you want to, and can use, more static compression.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
K9Vic
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by K9Vic »

Brandon, you were in Dallas and did not look me up?... No worries, all good.

I have had a few Dallas cars and a Bronco, but I got lucky most of the time with good ones. If anything that Impala will be a good beater car, nothing different over what it was when in server, LOL.

As for my Caprice has about 37k miles and would like to do the cam and AFM delete, but I do not want to do that while still under warranty. Be nice to get rid of that garbage, but I am guessing it would void the remaining power train warranty of the whole car. Unless I am mistaken, so I would have to wait a while to do this.
CrashTestDummy
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Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by CrashTestDummy »

It would most certainly void the warranty on the engine, but GM would have to prove that mod damaged anything else, should something break. But yeah, I'd probably hold off on that mod, because if the AFM fails, GM will be on the hook to fix it, although they usually opt to replace the broken parts, not the engine, unless parts drop down into the crankcase and start eating things up there.

When it failed on our car, it looks like they replaced the cam and a couple of damaged lifters, no more.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
User avatar
bsparks72
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:29 pm
Location: Katy, Tx

Re: Cam/shorties/high-flow cats/Rotofab CAI/CTSV converter

Post by bsparks72 »

CrashTestDummy wrote:Brandon,

I know that. Our Caprice has already had lifters and cam done once, at about 46K miles. I'm drawn between running it as long as I can, rolling the dice and taking my chances every time the key gets turned in the ignition, vs. going ahead and calling Texas Speed for the AFM-delete package. I know the former would be a lot more expensive, but the options would be greater, I think. The longer I can put the work off, the more I can spend on the race car. :-)
Sorry, didn't mean for it to come off that way. I was more directing it at Garner, about being skeptical of a cam swap on a daily. I was trying to say, "You better swap in SOMETHING (even that stock LS3 cam), or you'll be doing it anyway down the line, and not in the way you might like!" :)

If I were to leave the guts in, I'd at least turn off AFM in the tune for hopefully a little longevity. I think the collapsing of the lifters when AFM is on helps them to an early grave.
-Brandon
2012 9C1 L77 - 228/234, .604/.609 112 cam, JBA shorty headers, Solo high-flow cats, X-pipe, Cherry Bomb single-chamber mufflers (Frankenstein exhaust), Roto-Fab CAI, CTS-V torque converter, 3.45 Camaro diff, G8 red/black seats/steering wheel
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