cams too big for stock manifolds?

so, as i've mentioned a few times earlier, i'm wanting to get a cam sometime before i leave for OTS in june. after talking to a few of y'all & some guys at Comp Cams, Texas Speed, & Thunder Racing, i think i've narrowed it down to a couple choices.

the specs for my truck are:
1999 NBS Sierra RCSB 4x4
2001 5.3 LM7, 1999 NV3500 trans
3.73 gears, 265/75-16 tires (changing to 285/75-16 when these wear out)
airaid CAI (filter & tube), Mellowtone muffler (similar to flowdisaster 50HD) - 3" in/dual 2.25" out the back
possible 243/799 heads later on down the road, but that still remains very undecided


i'm basically just looking for a bigger curve, mainly low & mid gains - 90% of my driving is under 2500rpm. any top end gains are just for kicks & giggles and showing off

now, on to the point of my post...
i know that some LT headers are a great addition anyway, but i don't know if i want to do them or the cam first (leaning more towards the cam), so i'm wondering if any of these will be fine to run with factory manifolds for a while. also which would y'all recommend based on real-world usage (feel free to add your own suggestions as well)

comp 212/218 522/529 114*
tsp 214/218 522/529 112*
tr 214/230 601/575 117*

they said the cheaTR works great with factory manifolds, but from a little reading, i'm leaning more towards either the comp or tsp.

thanks in advance for y'all's input!

If you keep your eyes out on pt.net, people sell longtubes + ORY for good deals.

in a N/A setup.. long tubes and a Y pipe help out alot... dont waste money with shortys

If I was doing the same thing as you I'd be doing the one from TR, the lower duration with the massive lift (in comparison to the other 2) would work great on the bottom end. If you want any hint of a nicer idle, I seriously doubt it will be any different than stock.

Comp LSR part#54-455-11

215/223 .604/.610 112

Now that's a cam!

doing a cam before exhaust is like chasing your tail. youll see more gains tossing headers on right now then you would a cam with manifolds. When you install the cam once you have headers the cam will then shine

thanks for the responses. i was thinking the LTs would probably end up being the first one that needed to be done, but i figured i'd ask.


about that LSR cam: how's the DD-ability of it? i'm trying to not completely kill my mileage which is why i was looking at the slightly-bigger-than-stock cams instead of something like a TR224. besides... this ain't a race truck

Very streetable cam, would def. have a little lope to it. Naturally, will decrease gas mileage.

tr220 or old man cam. or a 212/218 .595/.590 114. has more hp than the high lift 212/218 and has more aggressive lobe. good with stock verter

Headers first for sure.

thanks again for y'all's help with my noob questions. i'm pretty new to this modification stuff - i mean i read about it all over the place, but i ain't never had first-hand experience with a lot of it.

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Originally Posted by Tank

tr220 or old man cam. or a 212/218 .595/.590 114. has more hp than the high lift 212/218 and has more aggressive lobe. good with stock verter

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212/218 .595/.590 114*
that's higher lift than the one Comp suggested, so which one are you recommending?


ps - my left foot is all the stall i need :spit:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WARLOCK

Headers first for sure.

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yeah... i'm starting to get that picture

The fact that you have a 5 speed allows you to use a larger cam. Why would you worry about low end when you can rev it to the moon on takeoff?

Ooo didn't know it was gear grabber. :lol:

So the TR wouldn't be bad. :)

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Originally Posted by pl4yboy

The fact that you have a 5 speed allows you to use a larger cam. Why would you worry about low end when you can rev it to the moon on takeoff?

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because

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zebra

...i'm basically just looking for a bigger curve, mainly low & mid gains - 90% of my driving is under 2500rpm. any top end gains are just for kicks & giggles and showing off...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tank

Ooo didn't know it was gear grabber. :lol:

So the TR wouldn't be bad. :)

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again from the OP...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zebra

...the specs for my truck are:
1999 NBS Sierra RCSB 4x4
2001 5.3 LM7, 1999 NV3500 trans
3.73 gears, 265/75-16 tires (changing to 285/75-16 when these wear out)
airaid CAI (filter & tube), Mellowtone muffler (similar to flowdisaster 50HD) - 3" in/dual 2.25" out the back
possible 243/799 heads later on down the road, but that still remains very undecided...

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i was looking at the not-all-that-big cams because i still have to drive this thing every day & i ain't loaded, so filling up with 93 takes enough of a worthwhile toll. i do expect to lose a little mileage with a cam, but i'm trying to find a middle ground. it's a 4x4 for crying out loud, not a drag queen.

i will agree, however, that it was worthwhile to do the headers first. at least it's back up to my dumped muffler loudness level. almost 2yrs with catless LTs has been nice, but i still need a cam... i'm still wondering how that 214/218 would do with my car's LS1 swapped over :) probably port my 862s for a extra compression bump.

but ain't it always somethin?... i still gotta get a 402 or 416 for the car first, and for the past year being with my (now) wife, i ain't been able to spend a dime on either vehicle :( i want to die...

Definitely go with headers first. Mine were 330 to my door from eBay. Headers and ory, and installed in less than 2 hours.

I'm running a Comp 219/227 .607/.614 112lsa in my cc z71. I drive it every day. Good low end torque, and still very drive able. I lost 1.5-2 mpg after cam swap, but I think most of the mpg loss is my right foot.

mine were $275 - caught them on special a little over 2 years ago ;)
and i don't feel like slipping my clutch that much for a cam like that

I can get you that comp cam: comp grind 212/218 522/529 114* for $345.00 from my wharehouse overnight...pm for more info