black95z0122

I have a 95 z-28 m6 w/ a basically stock setup just a few bolt-ons and i have some money to spend. I've been saving up for a while and want to do something big. I want to either put new gears in my stock 10 bolt(3.42) or put in a cam but i can't decide which would be the better bang for my buck. Any advise?

if a cam any recomendations?

GhostZ

The gears would be FAR less expensive. If you are looking for a less expensive mod that will show some improvement, go with the gears.

You won't believe how much the little stuff adds up when doing a cam.

Are you wanting to go with 3.42's or is that what you currently have?

If you're wanting a good starter cam kit, go with the hotcam kit or keep your eyes open for a cam GP.

SPEED750

I gotta say go with the cam. Yes it will be pricey, if you had an A4 and some steep gears, then it would be a different story. With a M6 and 3.42's you've already got a go start.

black95z0122

yeah i relize the cam will be more expensive but i can't see putting that much money into my 10-bolt. If i put 3.73's in (i have 3.42 right now) i don't really know how much improvement there will be and if i put 4.10 in i'll need some better tires which i don't mind paying for but i think that added traction along with the gears and my driving will prolly break the my 10 bolt pretty fast( or atleast thats what i've heard about the lifespan of 4.10s in a 10-bolt). so setting up my rearend and breaking it is gonna cost in the long run too. i think i might be better off putting in a cam and saving up for a 12-bolt?

HardtopSS

Go for the cam, the LT4 hot cam kit isnt that expensive and it includes everything you need. 4.10's + Sticky tires+ 10 bolt = Broken Camaro

SnakeSkinner28

If you dont have headers already, dont even think of putting a cam in before you get them. Also, you will need new rocker arms, new valvesprings, new lifters (not required but definitly recommended) and depending on how wild the cam is a tune. I have 4:10s with Nittos on my car with a 10 bolt and havent broken it yet. Im certainly not easy on my car but as long as your not stupid doing burnouts all the time youll be fine. Also, you can get everything you need for your gears at about the cost of a cam. Since you have a manual definitly go with 4:10s, you wont notice much with 3:73s, especially on a stock motor. And its not so much a sticky tire as it is a fresh one thats wider then the one that came on the 16"rims if you have them. Its still up to you, but with what i have in my sig my car will take LS1 Vettes and the NOS isnt even wired up yet. Main thing, no headers + cam = waste of time + money.

black95z0122

I do allready have headers(edlbrock) as well as some intake parts and exaust and i am aware of all the stuff needed to do a cam install and how much work it'll take me to put one in as well as the risks i would take putting one in. A kid i went to highschool with tried to put one in w/o really knowing what he was doing and from what i hear he never got the thing running again. This is what i liked about putting in gears, its fairly simple. I could take my 10 bolt out in an afternoon give it to the guy who is doing the work get it back a few days later and bingo i'm done and there would be a dramatic difference in how my car moves.Now with that said all that work i was talking about earlier is also why alot of people like to do a cam install, u'd finally have braggin rights over all ur friends who don't have the ***** to do anything more that put in a cold air intake and a set of gauges that do nothing more then light up in their console.
So i guess it all comes down to whether my 10bolt would hold up. Alot of ppl say that they made short order of theirs and it was a waste of time and money and other people swear by them and say it was one of the best mods they ever did. So i guess it would be a 50/50? And i'm even will to bet that if i got gears i would have a blast and that they would hold up for a while but i am planning on putting in a cam and heads in eventually no matter what within a year or two. So would my 10-bolt hold up with those kinda mods(or mabye just the cam) and with the tires needed to make them effective?

Fast Caddie

One risk you run with a cam swap is ruining a bearing, which will take your engine out completely. I've strayed from installing a cam until i get the engine built for this reason. Not everyone spins one, and some have gone 50k+ miles after a cam swap problem-free. But IMHO it's too risky unless you have enough money set aside for a rebuild. Especially if the car is your sole daily driver w/o another car to drive if problems happen.

Gears are a little more reliable and if they break, you're out only a few hundred bucks and a couple days... rather than thousands and weeks. And you'll love 0-60 blasts with 3.73s or 4.10s. There IS a difference between 3.42s and 3.73s, i've been in and driven several LT1s with stock gears and i can tell a substancial difference. It's not as pronounced as with 4.10s, but i loved my 3.73s and never regretted getting them over 4.10s since i could hook up great and still row through the gears pretty fast. The cars should've at least come with 3.73s from the factory.

So on that note, i'd recommend you get gears first... whichever you choose is up to you. And i'll throw in that if you choose 4.10s, go for 4.11s instead since the teeth are thicker and stronger. There is a thread somewhere on this board where a member took side-by-side pics of 4.10s and 4.11s, and the difference in teeth thickness was obvious.

[EDIT] Also, if your gears are setup right you shouldn't have to worry about breaking them with bolt-ons. No slicks, high rpm dumps, or powershifting and you should be ok. It'll still take a fair bit of abuse. A friend on mine (posts on here) had 4.10s in the stock rear and a 100 shot of N2O, but his rear held fine. I was kinda tough on my rear at times, but never did any of the above. Ironically enough, my M6 kicked the bucket before the rear did. And i've never known anyone personally who broke a geared 10-bolt. Mainly cause all of them showed a little precaution and didn't abuse the rear.

YZF/LS1 Freak

If you have never done it before don't plan on it taking an afternoon. I am about to put my new 10 bolt in and with out air tools it took me about two afternoons to get the stock 2.73 rear out because I had to use hand tools and the cars has about 112k miles on it. If you have air tools and go at it hard you could get it out in a afternoon.

I say gears, I am not going wild with the car yet. I got a 20k mile 3.42 rear out of a 96SS that has LCA relocation brackets a cover and red line gear oil and I hope to notice a nice differance going from a tired 2.73.

black95z0122

i put springs, struts a panhard rod and control arms in in a day w/o air tools but ur right u never know when working on a car how long it's gonna take i was just saying its definately alot easier to take out a rearend then to put in a cam.

Fast Caddie
"One risk you run with a cam swap is ruining a bearing, which will take your engine out completely. I've strayed from installing a cam until i get the engine built for this reason. Not everyone spins one, and some have gone 50k+ miles after a cam swap problem-free. But IMHO it's too risky unless you have enough money set aside for a rebuild."

i understand that there is a definate risk of damaging my motor if a do a cam swap and that the project is a kind of "leap of faith" but i don't know if i'd throw a cam swap into a "danger rating" of "u better have enough money to replace the whole thing if it doesn't work. i may be wrong but i bet a very large majority of people who put a new cam in their car are successful or at least don't permentely damage it, but at any rate i'm confident that i'd pull it off.

black95z0122

fast caddie
"[EDIT] Also, if your gears are setup right you shouldn't have to worry about breaking them with bolt-ons. No slicks, high rpm dumps, or powershifting and you should be ok. It'll still take a fair bit of abuse. A friend on mine (posts on here) had 4.10s in the stock rear and a 100 shot of N2O, but his rear held fine. I was kinda tough on my rear at times, but never did any of the above. Ironically enough, my M6 kicked the bucket before the rear did. And i've never known anyone personally who broke a geared 10-bolt. Mainly cause all of them showed a little precaution and didn't abuse the rear."

i wonder how it would hold up if a had a cam in and mabye a set of heads. if i do go with the gears i would definately be following it up next year or so w/ a cam

Fast Caddie

I swapped rears in my car in 3 hours... from the time i pulled it into the shop to the time i drove it out with the other rear.

I'd venture to say my bud's car with nitrous was putting down at least 380rwhp and a lot more torque than any 380rwhp NA car. It's torque and shock loading that kills gears, not hp. Most who break gears do it with slicks and high rpm launches. Or their gears weren't set up properly to begin with.

IMO you'll be fine with the 10-bolt and heads/cam. If you desire to get the lowest ET possible, which means hard launches with sticky tires, then the 12-bolt will probably be good money spent right now. Besides, you sound like you have big plans for car on down the road so you'll need a better rear sometime. In that case, i'd wait and get the 12-bolt ASAP. I tend to follow the ideal that it's better to go overkill on the drivetrain before digging into the engine.

Just my $.02

SnakeSkinner28

A panhard rod, springs, struts, and control arms are cake. Some of the easiest things to do on your car actually. Dont judge how long it will take you to do gears by how long it took you to do those mods.

black95z0122

fast caddie
"IMO you'll be fine with the 10-bolt and heads/cam. If you desire to get the lowest ET possible, which means hard launches with sticky tires, then the 12-bolt will probably be good money spent right now. Besides, you sound like you have big plans for car on down the road so you'll need a better rear sometime. In that case, i'd wait and get the 12-bolt ASAP. I tend to follow the ideal that it's better to go overkill on the drivetrain before digging into the engine.

Just my $.02"

Thanks for the advise
I still have alot to think about, although it does seem more appealing to put in the gears now in my 10 bolt if it will take a cam and heads w/ it, i mean the cost of the three mods is a fairly large amount of money and i can't see myself spending more than that within the next 3 or four years, i don't like the idea of spending alot of money on setting up a rear that "should work under most conditions" with the set up i want when i guess i could be spending that money towards a rear that will be far better suited to work under those or even more demanding conditions. hmmm we'll see a guess

Eddie Z-28

My vote goes for a cam.