hey guys,
I did a search for my question, but never really found a definate answer. My question is: I picked up some AEM Tru-time cam gears, and I have heard that they dont make much of a difference unless you upgrade your cams to performance ones. Now, I am always low on cash, and I would only be able to afford just the cams (very interested in the Crower 403’s; heard nothing but good things about them). Now, my question is, do I have to get valve springs and retainers with them? or can I just use my stock vs and retainers? Also, I wont be going beyond redline when I drive either. also, if i just get the cam gears and the cams installed, how much of a difference am i looking at? hp wise? I have an LS with i/e. any help is greatly appreciated. i am new to the whole cams/cam gears thing.
your stock springs and retainers should be fine as long as you don’t rev pas the redline. If later on you wish to rev higher then the valve springs will be needed to prevent valve float. The stock retainers can be used in conjunction with the stiffer springs. The retainers aren’t necessary, but they are nicer to have (they are lighter).
your cam gears are basically worthless without some cams for them to tune.
Originally posted by 91IntegGS your cam gears are basically worthless without some cams for them to tune.
yes! and 91integgs also meant to say that both cams and cam gears are worthless unless you tune them correctly on a dyno. it’s a horrid trickling effect, but if you’re gonna do it then do it right.
yes! and 91integgs also meant to say that both cams and cam gears are worthless unless you tune them correctly on a dyno. it’s a horrid trickling effect, but if you’re gonna do it then do it right. [/B]
i don’t know if i’d go that far. you can get decent power out of cams even with them set at the stock timing. But yes, to get the max power out of them you’ll need to tune them (personally i think higher revs is a little more important though), most people don’t seem to get very big gains from tuning unless their car is pretty heavily modded.
check this thread. lot of these guys aren’t too heavily modded and see some good gains, but only on a dyno. what good would higher revs do you if you didn’t know where you’re actually making power? the real dyno and butt dyno are deceptive, as you can actually feel like you’re going fast, then dyno tune, and get faster track times due to a better, more linear power band–which on the whole is better than a peaky, up and down powerband. not to start an argument, but this thread should show a little of what i’m talking about. tuning is key.
hey, thanks for the help guys. but, no need to argue
Now, as for the dyno, i have heard all about it, but i have a few questions about it. First, where the heck would i get my car dyno’ed? also, how much you do think it would run me?
as for installing the gears/cams, i have heard that the cams are basically just drop in. is this true? also, before havin it tuned, is -2/+2 for the gears alright?
also, what kind of a gain do you think i would be looking at with the addition of the gears and cams? hp? i have i/e right now.
Originally posted by woody92
[B]hey, thanks for the help guys. but, no need to argue
Now, as for the dyno, i have heard all about it, but i have a few questions about it. First, where the heck would i get my car dyno’ed? also, how much you do think it would run me?
as for installing the gears/cams, i have heard that the cams are basically just drop in. is this true? also, before havin it tuned, is -2/+2 for the gears alright?
also, what kind of a gain do you think i would be looking at with the addition of the gears and cams? hp? i have i/e right now.
to get it dyno tuned you’ll have to find a local shop that provides that service. Ask fellow tuners in the area, ask the various speed shops around there… see who they recommend. Getting it dynoed usually runs about $50+, if you want them to do the tuning it’ll probably run more. Personally i don’t think it’d really be worth it in your case. With the mods you have you probably won’t extract too much power from them by having the car professionally tuned. I would just take some advice from other members with similar setups on what fuel pressure and cam timing to run. It won’t give you the max power, but i’ll probably ge you pretty close. And most likely thats all you need (especially considering you seem to be in a similar situation to me… i.e. not having much extra $$ to spend).
i/h/e, cams, cam gears, raised redline (chipped ecu, stiffer valve springs), fpr, and some mild tuning you could expect probably 140-145whp. Whereas stock is something like 110-120whp. Don’t worry about how much power you’ll be getting. There isn’t anything else out there that could give you more power for the money (unless you want to start squeezing).
Doheboy6 (g2ic member) dynoed his car with crower 403’s, skunk2 cam gears both set at zero, intake, headers, and exhaust. I don’t remember the numbers, but they were disappointing, something close to stock. The butt dyno is probably deceptive, but the for the both of us, the car seemed quicker with +2 intake and -2 exhaust.
With the Helm manual, camshafts and cam gears install was relatively easy. And this is coming from an amateur (me).
Atomic Performance in Fullerton (SoCal) wanted $100 for dyno and tuned by Dr Charles.
Originally posted by woody92 hey, thanks for the help guys. but, no need to argue
oh no, never! i wouldn’t argue with 91integgs anyways. he’s correct about not needing to dyno with just the basic mods… it would be a waste of money, and i agree with him. what i was pointing out was tuning is a good thing to do to cap off your investments, that’s all. 91integgs is very knowledgeable in this area and is open minded to all sorts of info… i like to think the same way of myself. we’re just sharing ideas.
91integgs is very knowledgeable in this area and is open minded to all sorts of info
Thank You!! I hardly think of my self as that knowledable, but i’ll accept the praise anyway, hehe. I owe nearly all i’ve learned to this club, so don’t thank me… thank g2ic, and its more senior members (aka the guru!).
