Cam for my 5.3L

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06-07-2008, 08:21 PM
silverado777

Cam for my 5.3L

Looks like x-mas came early this year. My wife and I just went to Loper's Performance and got my new cam, springs, lifters, retainers, valve locks, push rods, and roller rockers. Everything is from COMP cams. The grind number for the cam is G3 XFI261 HR15. 208 212 .554 .558. The rockers are a 1.75 rollers. I have a 05 silverado with LT headers w/ no cats, single 3'' flowmaster super 44 exhaust, CAI, throttlebody spacer, MSD wires, and a custom tune. I am looking for some opinons if this is a good set up or not.
06-07-2008, 08:55 PM
freemaSSon

that should be a very nice cam the additional angle on the rocker will help sqeak a little more lift out of it and the reduced valve overlap will run the cylinder pressures up and make a beautiful TQ curve and have a nice pushy feel to it.....

GOOD CHOICE......i like to see a well thought out cam choice soom of the wild choices around here for heavy trucks amuze me.......

your setup will run nice and if you decide to GAS it, will it will turn into a CAGED FREAKIN MONSTER!!!!!!!

COMP CAM....that looks like a BEAUTIFUL cam.....mild lobe, 115 LSA 111 ICL.....dude get an adjustable cam gear and degree that bitch 4 deg. and it will idle i little choppy but be a nasty, nasty LITTLE cam.....most people over cam these LSx motors and have the nasty sound but no go in it......that little cam is a perfect choice....KUDOS to whoever pointed you in that direction....it WILL be a runner i guarantee it!!!!!!!!
06-07-2008, 09:04 PM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by freemaSSon

that should be a very nice cam the additional angle on the rocker will help sqeak a little more lift out of it and the reduced valve overlap will run the cylinder pressures up and make a beautiful TQ curve and have a nice pushy feel to it.....

GOOD CHOICE......i like to see a well thought out cam choice soom of the wild choices around here for heavy trucks amuze me.......

your setup will run nice and if you decide to GAS it, will it will turn into a CAGED FREAKIN MONSTER!!!!!!!

COMP CAM....that looks like a BEAUTIFUL cam.....mild lobe, 115 LSA 111 ICL.....dude get an adjustable cam gear and degree that bitch 4 deg. and it will idle i little choppy but be a nasty, nasty LITTLE cam.....most people over cam these LSx motors and have the nasty sound but no go in it......that little cam is a perfect choice....KUDOS to whoever pointed you in that direction....it WILL be a runner i guarantee it!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Thats was exactly what I needed to hear. I've been doing research for about 3 months now. There are so many choices out there, it was hard to make my mind up. Everything cost me about $1400 with a valve cover spacer. Any tips, tricks, ideas or some words of wisdom before I crack into the intsall?
06-07-2008, 09:11 PM
freemaSSon

really call the shop you bought from and VERIFY and REVERIFY piston to valve but i'm almost certain that lift range will be A OK for degreeing the cam....it allows you to truely gain from advanced spark timing when matched with valve advance......it will make about 10-15 more ft. lbs. of TQ with the cam degreed which is the feel good part of any mod.......

it sounds to me you have covered all your bases just keep an INTERNAL GURU's number close by when you tear into it......

i am an armchair expert....i am versed in all the combo's but i do not do the internal wrenching, i am in a position to pay the experts for the internal mods and i do the external stuff.....so i would not be the one to caution you on the install part......but as far as your combo i will guarantee you will have track results that far exceed trucks that have MUCH MUCH better dyno graphs......you'll see
06-07-2008, 11:33 PM
nonecktribe

thats a good cam...but i would sell the rockers off the stock ones work plenty well...
06-11-2008, 01:56 PM
txarkitekt

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverado777

Any tips, tricks, ideas or some words of wisdom before I crack into the intsall?

Have you ever done a cam swap on a LS motor before? It is easy as Hell honestly...

Use a vlave spring compression tool FOR LS1 MOTORS. If you use something different, you can mess up the rocker bolt threads inside the head. Make sure to have a pen magnet handy to get the valve locks off. You can either pump the cylinder full of air to keep the valves up or turn the crank so that the cylinder you are working on is at TDC. The valve will fall a hair, but it will be picked back up once you get the spring and locks back on.

You need a new crank bolt. Must get it from the Chevy dealer.

Use 7/16" dowel rods in the oil galleys to keep the lifters from falling--and make sure to spin the cam until you hear that each lifter is in the up position before you insert the rods. they need to go all the way to the back of the block.

Make sure to get the timing set before you take the timing chain off. VERY IMPORTANT. Upon reinstall, make sure the nub on the end of the cam is near the 3 o'clock position then put the chain and cam gear back on.

If you have any other questions, ask them on the Live Tech Help Shoutbox on the forum's main page or PM one of us. We'll be glad to help.
07-07-2008, 12:15 AM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by freemaSSon

that should be a very nice cam the additional angle on the rocker will help sqeak a little more lift out of it and the reduced valve overlap will run the cylinder pressures up and make a beautiful TQ curve and have a nice pushy feel to it.....

GOOD CHOICE......i like to see a well thought out cam choice soom of the wild choices around here for heavy trucks amuze me.......

your setup will run nice and if you decide to GAS it, will it will turn into a CAGED FREAKIN MONSTER!!!!!!!

COMP CAM....that looks like a BEAUTIFUL cam.....mild lobe, 115 LSA 111 ICL.....dude get an adjustable cam gear and degree that bitch 4 deg. and it will idle i little choppy but be a nasty, nasty LITTLE cam.....most people over cam these LSx motors and have the nasty sound but no go in it......that little cam is a perfect choice....KUDOS to whoever pointed you in that direction....it WILL be a runner i guarantee it!!!!!!!!

I finally got my cam installed. However, I'm kinda disappointed in it. I guess I expected too much out of it. I notice some decent power at high RPM, but my truck is a dog off the line. I haven't got my truck re-tuned yet, I'll get that next week. Hopefully the tune will wake it up a bunch. Any ideas? Did i do something wrong?
07-07-2008, 12:23 AM
RedHeartbeat

what's this cam in? C1500, C2500, C3500? 60e 65e 80e? Do you have a converter? If not, you might start saving up for one. What gears do you have? Have you dyno'd the setup before the cam install?
07-07-2008, 01:29 AM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

what's this cam in? C1500, C2500, C3500? 60e 65e 80e? Do you have a converter? If not, you might start saving up for one. What gears do you have? Have you dyno'd the setup before the cam install?

Its a 2wd 1500 with a 4L60e, stock converter, 3.73 gears. Never had it dyno'd just a custom tune by black bear performance.
07-07-2008, 02:09 AM
RedHeartbeat

regular or extended cab? Tons of stereo stuff and subwoofer box? Do you know how much it weighs? What size tires and wheels are you running?
07-07-2008, 09:08 AM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

regular or extended cab? Tons of stereo stuff and subwoofer box? Do you know how much it weighs? What size tires and wheels are you running?

extended cab, i do have a stereo and sub box but nothing huge, running 285/50/20, I think I weigh about 5k.
07-07-2008, 11:17 AM
RedHeartbeat

Does Black Bear do live tunes? I'd get down there to him ASAP and see if that wakes the engine up some. As much weight as you're pulling a converter is going to help tremendously. You probably won't need much more than a 3000 rpm stall. If you don't pull heavy trailers often I'd go with a 9.5" converter rther than an 11" since it will help you rev quicker. If this is a daily commuter truck then I'd go probably around 2600 on the stall but still stick with the 9.5" for faster reving.
07-07-2008, 09:48 PM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

Does Black Bear do live tunes? I'd get down there to him ASAP and see if that wakes the engine up some. As much weight as you're pulling a converter is going to help tremendously. You probably won't need much more than a 3000 rpm stall. If you don't pull heavy trailers often I'd go with a 9.5" converter rther than an 11" since it will help you rev quicker. If this is a daily commuter truck then I'd go probably around 2600 on the stall but still stick with the 9.5" for faster reving.

I'm not sure what exactly a live tune is. He ships me a cable that I hook to my laptop and plug into my OBD port (i think thats what its called) then the program on the laptop records me driving. i sent that file to him, he collects the data and then puts the tune on a PCM. He sends me that PCM and i put it in my truck. As for the stall. Everyone is telling me to get a stall. How much do they run? Hard to install? What size stall? I want to get a super charger later on, will the new stall work with that?
07-07-2008, 10:47 PM
RedHeartbeat

That is pretty much a live tune. :thumb:

As for a converter, I would find out where your engine starts making HP, or call your cam supplier, and order a converter 200 RPM higher. If its supposed to start building HP/TQ at 2400 get a 2600 RPM stall. I always suggest a 9.5" Vigilante converter for racers. 11" converters are for offroaders and guys that tow a lot. A stall is easy to swap out, just be careful and have a friend handy to help. Stalls run from $200 to $1000 depending on brand and options. Be sure to get a 3 or 5 disc stall to handle the torque of a supercharger.
07-08-2008, 02:28 PM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

That is pretty much a live tune. :thumb:

As for a converter, I would find out where your engine starts making HP, or call your cam supplier, and order a converter 200 RPM higher. If its supposed to start building HP/TQ at 2400 get a 2600 RPM stall. I always suggest a 9.5" Vigilante converter for racers. 11" converters are for offroaders and guys that tow a lot. A stall is easy to swap out, just be careful and have a friend handy to help. Stalls run from $200 to $1000 depending on brand and options. Be sure to get a 3 or 5 disc stall to handle the torque of a supercharger.

Well, looks like I know what my next mod will be! Thanks for all the help!!!
07-09-2008, 12:55 AM
txarkitekt

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedHeartbeat

If this is a daily commuter truck then I'd go probably around 2600 on the stall but still stick with the 9.5" for faster reving.

+1 to that. You should be happy with a 2600 stall with your mods--it has great driveability. I would recommend getting that tune in soon. With a stock converter, it will be a dog out of the hole. If you've got any questions when doing the install--ask a few questions on the Live Tech Help on the main forum screen.
07-10-2008, 03:12 PM
AdioSS

for what it's worth, my stock 5.3L made peak torque at 4000RPM just like the factory rating. A longer duration camshaft is likely to move that RPM range up a bit.
07-10-2008, 10:13 PM
silverado777

Quote:

Originally Posted by txarkitekt

+1 to that. You should be happy with a 2600 stall with your mods--it has great driveability. I would recommend getting that tune in soon. With a stock converter, it will be a dog out of the hole. If you've got any questions when doing the install--ask a few questions on the Live Tech Help on the main forum screen.

Cable for the tune was sent today. I'll probably have it in 2 days. I'll have the tune by beginning of next week. i also ordered a 160 T-stat. 2600 stall will be my next mod.