speed_demon24

Mail order tune on both, the tune on the cam was farther off though, 12.0 a/f with the cam vs 13.0 without the cam. And with the cam it was a ****ty run, it wouldnt shift and it was bouncing off the rev limiter. It had ALOT more in it. When I put a 6-spd in it it trapped 115mph all day.

SS RRR

That still doesn't answer the question as to what you were running before the ported heads to come up with your conclusion.

speed_demon24

They were on it when I bought the car.... And 104mph with boltons/1.6 rockers isn't exactly that impressive....

SS RRR

If it was done with stock exhaust with cats in tact then it isn't bad, but if the cats had been removed to achieve that mph then no it isn't.

speed_demon24

Longtubes, o/r y, hooker catback, 1.6 rockers, CAI, and a pcmforless tune. It put down 303rwhp.

SS RRR

That sucks. However I'm not sure the, "heads w/ a stock cam" can really be to blame.

Denny McLain

Have to agree with the post that comparing trap speeds from different locations and setup’s isn't particularly scientific especially since I went to your web site and it shows you running skinnys on the front, front end jacked up hooking pretty hard and I doubt the track is over 40ft above sea level. Some tracks are faster than others and some even point down hill. A few people also lighten their cars so how does that all fit in to what the original question was??

If you were just to do one and performance per the buck is your goal with perhaps paying it back later via reduced reliability, then a cam change is the winner. If you want more performance while retaining fuel economy and reliability not minding spending a little more up front, then great heads win hands down.

A happy compromise is decent heads and milder cam would give you the best of both worlds but to optimize you still need to get air in and air out. So intake and headers with a good exhaust have to fit into the equation and I still say do the best heads you can afford. Cams all cost about the same.

By happenstance this weekend a friend was over and we went through dyno sheets and calculators to show him options and what to reasonably expect from certain mods he was planning. Thought it was interesting old SS with a 211/219 LPE cam, MTI heads and shorty headers made within 2 hp of my LT4 with stock cam, long tube headers, great exhaust and GTP ported LT4 heads/intake. Both cars were tuned to the max and the powerbands were identical making right @ 360 rwhp.

Pick your own poison as there are a 1000 different paths to get ya there. Just depends upon what ya really want but whatever you do.....spend the extra $$ and time to get it right and it will pay dividends back.

speed_demon24

Not all cams give up reliability, gas millage, and driveability. My old 227 cam drove just like stock, and you would have to listen carefully to hear the lope on it. It made power from idle-6K and the gas millage stayed the same. If you pick your parts carefully instead of just throwing the biggest cam they can find in their car you will be much happier with your setup.

Denny McLain

As usual common sense rules. The particular 211/219 combo that I refered to did exactly as you point out....acted like stock in every way. Also the LT4 with just heads n headers got better gas milage than stock.

Get carried away with a cam and that changes very quickly.

kgkern01

Well I may end up trying this out sooner than I thought. My car overheated due to a hose, fixed it and now is losing coolant, but not under the car. It also is starting to smoke white some at idle. Still runs fine, the oil has checked out ok, pressure is still the same, no milkiness at all, however the coolant is getting low every few days, not leaking anywhere under the car and is starting to have a slight gas smell, so it looks like head gasket may be leaking into a cylinder slightly. So I may be pulling the heads anyway to replace the gaskets. Might as well get them ported while off, so will go with the LE1 heads. It will be a few months before I do this, got twin boys due in March to worry about. Maybe after the Kentucky Derby (I live in Louisville) I can order the heads (usually make $1500 in 4 days that week). I'll post up the results when it happens.

1997whitez28

OMG SLP should just make stage 1 to a stage 3 for the LT1 stage bein like 500 HP and stage one bein 330HP makes thing smore simple for us insteade of guessing

speed_demon24

If you keep driving it with a blown head gasket you might end up having to replace more than just the gaskets...

SS RRR

What did you run at Ennis with that setup?

rasputin

Yeah this is the internet and its easy to call you dumb, but seriously, thats just plain dumb. Buy yourself a hotcam kit, get 330-340rwhp, and figure out what you really want and can afford. in that time you will have a 12 second car, that lopes hard, and pulls really hard compared to stock or bolt ons.

Its like building a single plane 396 and keeping the stock exhaust because you are unsure of what sound or clearance you will want or afford. If anyone did that, the LT1 community would make an *** out of that person. Why, because its silly and counterintuitive, much like what you are doing.

Dont be silly, get the hotcam kit, and save yourself a whole hell of a headache switching between two changing combo's, and reselling old worn parts, while redoing the install twice. For all you know, your plan and budget could change in the wink of an eye, so take baby steps, because clearly you aren't ready to play with the big boys.

SS RRR

Please refrain from typing one of the gayest phrases ever known on a car forum.

Thanks