Nastiest most Aggressive LS3 Cam

[MeanGreen_SS]

title basically sums it up. im looking for the biggest, angriest, nastiest cam you can run in a stock ls3 without clearancing or flycutting. I dont care about drivability, mpgs, bucking, or any other dissadvantages due to this being majorily a race and show car. ive looked at TSP F35, Summit, and other brands but im hoping to see what yall are running. The goal for my car is to mix a little bit of retro drag cars with a little hotwheels added in and my goal for sound is the lumpiest cam mixed with a little flowmaster. if the car sounds like it wants to cut off, thats perfect lol

[CamaroCracka]

Big cams require supporting mods. The most aggressive cams are solid roller, but that takes a little more work. The ASA cam will work on your stock valvetrain but sounds pretty aggressive. Are you just looking for a sound or are you trying to make power past 7k?

[MeanGreen_SS]

Mostly sound but power would be good to as i do alot of roll racing. i have LT Headers, full exhaust, cai, and tuned on e85. i know imma have to get pushrods and valvesprings, i just dont want to have to do any piston or head clearancing like flycutting, decking, etc. i want to be able to slide it in, replace valvetrain, tune, and go.

[acammer]

The GPI SS4 NFC is designed to be exactly what you're looking for - the biggest possible camshaft that fits within the constraints of the stock piston to valve clearance, and maximize performance (more than just a dyno number) of a naturally aspirated LS3/L99. We've work to refine this design a few times over the past several years to be the undisputed best option for those looking to maximize their results on the dyno, and most importantly on the track.

It's notable that you don't have to completely sacrifice driveability to have a big camshaft. There are trade-offs, big overlap does come with some low rpm low load instability in the airflow though the intake tract, but good tuning will ensure a very driveable setup that you should be able to take anywhere.

As several eluded to, a cam package is far more than just the camshaft itself - you definitely want to accompany something so aggressive with good springs, lifters, bushed trunnions, and all the gaskets and hardware that goes along with a complete cam package. If that's something you're interested in, you're welcome to shoot me an e-mail at andrew@gwatneyperformance.com and I can work to help get you setup.

[acammer]

The GPI SS4 NFC is designed to be exactly what you're looking for - the biggest possible camshaft that fits within the constraints of the stock piston to valve clearance, and maximize performance (more than just a dyno number) of a naturally aspirated LS3/L99. We've work to refine this design a few times over the past several years to be the undisputed best option for those looking to maximize their results on the dyno, and most importantly on the track.

It's notable that you don't have to completely sacrifice driveability to have a big camshaft. There are trade-offs, big overlap does come with some low rpm low load instability in the airflow though the intake tract, but good tuning will ensure a very driveable setup that you should be able to take anywhere.

As several eluded to, a cam package is far more than just the camshaft itself - you definitely want to accompany something so aggressive with good springs, lifters, bushed trunnions, and all the gaskets and hardware that goes along with a complete cam package. If that's something you're interested in, you're welcome to shoot me an e-mail at andrew@gwatneyperformance.com and I can work to help get you setup.

[CamaroCracka]

I run CompCams in both my cars. Specs are in the sig. The turbo car sounds pretty aggressive even with the 122 LSA. It made power right up until it choked on the 75mm turbine. I just upgraded the turbo to an 80mm turbine but have not gotten it to the tuner yet.

The cam in the vert is supercharger ready and a good bit over stock, but not obnoxiously lumpy. I actually picked up a BTR stage four thinking I might drop that in the vert one day, but I'm thinking the juice is not worth the squeeze so I put it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Those specs are Specs: 233/250 .630"/.615" 113+5 and that should rumble more than the my turbo car. They even have a stage five now. Specs: 235/251 .640"/.625" 112+3 and that can still run on hydraulic roller lifters.

There are a number of good cam manufacturers who make what they feel are the optimal cams for these cars. BTR is just one of those, but they do make good stuff. GPI is another good company.

A couple good rules of thumb are the longer the duration the higher rpm you need to make power. The lower the LSA number, the more bottom end you will get and the more lope the cam will have along with potential stalling issues if you go too crazy. Plus, FI does not like really low LSA numbers, so if you ever think you might go turbo or blower, keep the LSA at 115 or higher.

[CamaroCracka]

Nevermind, just listen to Cammer. He knows all this stuff.

[acammer]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

I run CompCams in both my cars. Specs are in the sig. The turbo car sounds pretty aggressive even with the 122 LSA. It made power right up until it choked on the 75mm turbine. I just upgraded the turbo to an 80mm turbine but have not gotten it to the tuner yet.

The cam in the vert is supercharger ready and a good bit over stock, but not obnoxiously lumpy. I actually picked up a BTR stage four thinking I might drop that in the vert one day, but I'm thinking the juice is not worth the squeeze so I put it up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Those specs are Specs: 233/250 .630"/.615" 113+5 and that should rumble more than the my turbo car. They even have a stage five now. Specs: 235/251 .640"/.625" 112+3 and that can still run on hydraulic roller lifters.

There are a number of good cam manufacturers who make what they feel are the optimal cams for these cars. BTR is just one of those, but they do make good stuff. GPI is another good company.

A couple good rules of thumb are the longer the duration the higher rpm you need to make power. The lower the LSA number, the more bottom end you will get and the more lope the cam will have along with potential stalling issues if you go too crazy. Plus, FI does not like really low LSA numbers, so if you ever think you might go turbo or blower, keep the LSA at 115 or higher.

Nevermind, just listen to Cammer. He knows all this stuff.

I wouldn't say you were off-base with anything there. I would say that LSA is more of a by-product of the rest of your cam specifications, rather than something you aim for. I think a mistake a lot of guys make when thinking about cam specs is thinking LSA = Overlap. They are related, but LSA alone does not dictate overlap.

I'll give you a quick example. Our SS1 cam is a 224/237 on a 112+4, and our SS3 is a 233/253 on a 112+4. The SS1 has 6.5 of overlap, and the SS3 has 19 degrees of overlap - yet they both have exactly the same LSA. We can take that even more to an extreme to belabor the point, our LLT1 (low lift truck - stage 1) cam is a 212/216 on a 112+4 and yet that cam has a negative 10* of overlap. As you can see, LSA alone really doesn't carry a lot of meaning in really understanding the manners of a particular camshaft, at least not without the important context of the actual duration of a given cam. An LSA of 112 on a little truck cam is mild, a 112 on a 245/265 416 stroker cam is aggressive.

You're right in the understanding that less overlap = better driveability, that's a pretty hard and fast fact. It can still vary some: 10* of overlap in a 4.8L is fairly aggressive, but is pretty mild in a 6.6L stroker. You're also (mostly) on point that turbo's and positive displacement superchargers (at least those for mild street applications) don't really like a lot of overlap. The reasons are variable, and turbo's get real sensitive to exhaust open and closing points as well since we use that exhaust pressure to drive the turbo, but in general you want to keep overlap mild on those combinations. The exception comes in with a centrifugal supercharger - they way they build airflow with RPM lends them to really work pretty well with more moderate to aggressive overlap amounts - which is why a healthy NA cam usually makes a good centrifugal supercharger cam.

At the end of it all, there are a LOT of variables to consider when spec'ing a cam. Ryan, our cam designer here at GPI, has come up with just about every combination you can imagine, and has worked really hard to deliver what we consider the absolute best options for this platform, from mild to wild. We've even got a great line of VVT specific stuff - a nice feature to keep on the L99 cars. You should absolutely do your own research and figure out what you think fits best for your needs, but the path of least resistance might be just to shoot me an e-mail and let us help work that out.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Listen to these guys...^^^^ They really know what's going on with these LS/L99 platforms.. I have the TSP Stage 3 cam and all the extras to make it work well. Numbers in my sig. Check out the second video, turn it up!!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cama...8562174322335/

[TheFlyingBananaSS]

Not for nothing but Andrew over at GPI helped me build a monster 10 second car. And I only used a SS2 cam. I can't imagine how much power the SS4 puts down. Do it, and don't look back. Thank me later.

[acutron42]

Originally Posted by MeanGreen_SS

title basically sums it up. im looking for the biggest, angriest, nastiest cam you can run in a stock ls3 without clearancing or flycutting. I dont care about drivability, mpgs, bucking, or any other dissadvantages due to this being majorily a race and show car. ive looked at TSP F35, Summit, and other brands but im hoping to see what yall are running. The goal for my car is to mix a little bit of retro drag cars with a little hotwheels added in and my goal for sound is the lumpiest cam mixed with a little flowmaster. if the car sounds like it wants to cut off, thats perfect lol

Do yourself a favor & contact Andrew. I am sure glad that I did.

[hudson773]

hope you don't have an auto trans

[acammer]

Originally Posted by hudson773

hope you don't have an auto trans

Well, he said LS3, not L99...

[Arogg]

Cam is next on my wishlist but the maintenance is what worries me. I keep reading about constant adjustments and whatnot... Ill do it eventually especially since now my car is no longer a daily. Id like some more grunt as well as a nasty lope