Z06 cam swap information

[C-WAY]

I bought a 2003 Z06 Cam kit off ebay:

eBay Motors: stock gen III 2003 LS6 cam, push rods, valve springs (item 190208286967 end time Mar-27-08 18:37:11 PDT)

Im going to be putting this in my truck after I get the retuned PCM in....and Probably tyler is going to help me put it in along with a few other parts possibly

So is this all I need or will I need some better P-Rods? Allen said I can use stock ones and I think the Stock Z06 P-rods are better than mine...?
Will it matter with the 4.8 heads though..I know a lot of 5.3s that did this same swap too

[thunder550]

IIRC the Z06 cam has a smaller base circle, but my roommate ran one in his 4.8 with the stock length pushrods and never had an issue. Pushrods are relatively cheap for new hardened ones...should be able to find a set for $80 or so if you have a little patience and keep and eye out for a good deal. It would be a good idea to do springs while you're in there too. A new set of yellow LS6 springs should run about $60.


*edit - just opened the auction and saw everything that it comes with. You can probably get away with using all that stuff and be ok. Don't rev it to the sky though.

[C-WAY]

IIRC the Z06 cam has a smaller base circle, but my roommate ran one in his 4.8 with the stock length pushrods and never had an issue. Pushrods are relatively cheap for new hardened ones...should be able to find a set for $80 or so if you have a little patience and keep and eye out for a good deal. It would be a good idea to do springs while you're in there too. A new set of yellow LS6 springs should run about $60.


*edit - just opened the auction and saw everything that it comes with. You can probably get away with using all that stuff and be ok. Don't rev it to the sky though.

Yea I didnt know if the LS6 pushrods were better than my stock ones though and Allen said the z06 cam is good to 6500 RPMS...The Springs just arent yellow but oh well haha

So you think Im strait? Ill tell Allen to set the Gov to make sure Ill be safe with those P-Rods

Oh Edit: and should I dispose of the pulley or use the pulley it comes with? whats the pros and cons of it?

[-HIC-]

Man I know it sucks to wait, but you will thank yourself if you wait until you have the funds to put in some double springs and titanium retainers. Replacing the springs, seats, seals reatainers is the biggest pain in the ass of the whole cam install. If you wait you will be able to change cams at will and not worry about springs or pulling big r's. BTW I have the JPR cam install tool if you need to borrow em makes the cam swap easy without having to use magnets or prayers. I live in tomball let me know if you need any advice. I just swapped my cam and springs couple of days ago.

Also if you break a single spring you are screwed.. Double springs give you a little chance of less damage.

I also have the Crane Cams in car spring replacement tool if you are close.

[thunder550]

Yea I didnt know if the LS6 pushrods were better than my stock ones though and Allen said the z06 cam is good to 6500 RPMS...The Springs just arent yellow but oh well haha

So you think Im strait? Ill tell Allen to set the Gov to make sure Ill be safe with those P-Rods

Oh Edit: and should I dispose of the pulley or use the pulley it comes with? whats the pros and cons of it?

The only thing I'd probably do is get a new set of springs. If the pushrods can't take it one will just bend a little bit, which is no big deal...just replace them. If a spring fails you'll be in trouble. Fortunately, the springs are the cheaper of the two. That's just me....if those really are LS6 springs then they will probably be ok. I was under the impression though that all LS6 springs were either blue (older model) or yellow (newer model). Those aren't painted, so I would question whether or not they are really LS6 springs.

The pulley won't work on the trucks. The accessories on the LS cars are closer to the engine than they are on the trucks...belts won't line up right.

[thunder550]

Man I know it sucks to wait, but you will thank yourself if you wait until you have the funds to put in some double springs and titanium retainers. Replacing the springs, seats, seals reatainers is the biggest pain in the ass of the whole cam install. If you wait you will be able to change cams at will and not worry about springs or pulling big r's. BTW I have the JPR cam install tool if you need to borrow em makes the cam swap easy without having to use magnets or prayers. I live in tomball let me know if you need any advice. I just swapped my cam and springs couple of days ago.

Also if you break a single spring you are screwed.. Double springs give you a little chance of less damage.

I don't really think duals are necessary with a mild factory style cam. If GM thought that dual springs were necessary, they would have included them from the factory. The LS6 springs are perfectly capable of handling the LS6 cam for the life of the engine. I wouldn't spend the money on an expensive set of springs unless it was for a higher lift/aggressive cam.

[C-WAY]

Im probably gonna stick with my parts I have..Those are def. LS6 Springs Cause they are the parts he took out of his Z06 and I doubt he put ****ty springs in there he has 100% positive feedback and Why go through the hassle to put ****ty springs in there. Maybe the 2003 Z06 Springs were different? I dunno..Just like tyler said its a very safe cam and Allen will tune it to make sure I dont rev it to the sky

Thanks for the advice though guys!

BTW Warranty can kiss my ass...I found a dealer in caldwell that actually doesnt give a rats ass lol

[oneBADDz]

It's a great cam for the 4.8 and 5.3, and it's actually fairly aggressive in a 4.8
If they were his stock Z06 springs they should be yellow. Either way, duals are WAY overkill for a tame ramp rate .551 lift cam. You'll want to use the pushrods and retainers from teh Z06, they are notably lighter than your stockers. You can tell simply by holding the bundles of pushrods in your hands when they are all out that the pushrods are significantly lighter. The pushrods will easily be strong enough, a Z06 revs to 6600 and they don't generally have issues bending pushrods like the LS1s do.
You'll love it, good luck! It's a great upgrade in the smaller cube engines

[C-WAY]

Thats the thing I dont get...They arent yellow

Could they have a blue stripe down the side we cant just see? I mean look at the pic? lol

Or maybe the yellow wore off?
I doubt it at 14,000 Miles though

[RedHeartbeat]

They're probably the LS2 springs, brown not blue striped or yellow.