# Help choosing a camshaft



## Othman Marafie (Jul 8, 2011)

2004 pontiac gto


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Othman Marafie said:


> Hi there guy's
> I have a 2004 pontiac gto 4 speed auto trans.
> Need help on choosing a camshaft that's both good as a daily driver and street racing.
> Can anyone help me choose, as I'm new to camshafts.
> Thank you


Lots of threads on camshafts here. I've heard (out of my exhaust pipe) that FlowTech's StreetSweeper HT 111 lsa cam is a great cam that makes a lot of power and produces lots of grunt down low. Lower lsa moves the power band down a little and is perfect for the street/track racer. Adding LTs, 80mm TB, MAFless tune and this cam netted me over 100 RWHP alone. Lower lsa lowers the power band increases effective compression and produces more torque


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## muddobberz (Jul 7, 2011)

I've done some digging and talking to alot of my ls muscle car friends. I'm personally interested in the 228 r camshaft with the 112 lsa by Texas Speed. It's got a decent lope to it and isn't too hard on the daily driving aspect of the car. I have heard it only hurts gas mileage by 1-2 mpg. If you want a big lope i'd definetly look into megadeth I've heard alot of good things.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Frankly if the OP buys a cam by lope he should have his GTO keys taken away. If I wanted my car to idle rough I could do it with the tune. I try to get it to idle as smooth as possible.


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## gmantheman (Feb 20, 2011)

With an auto, I would choose either gears or a stall or both, as you may loose a little low end tq with cams.


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## Falco21 (May 11, 2010)

Send Ed an email and FlowTech Induction and he will set you up with a custom grind. There is no single cam that will benefit everyone the same way. There are tons to chose from, and having one custom grind for YOUR needs, is the best your gonna get.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

gmantheman said:


> With an auto, I would choose either gears or a stall or both, as you may loose a little low end tq with cams.


I gained 100 RWT so I'm not sure how that fits. You'd need a stall with a cam anyways tho


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## gmantheman (Feb 20, 2011)

svede1212 said:


> I gained 100 RWT so I'm not sure how that fits. You'd need a stall with a cam anyways tho


Should have been a little more clear. Typically don't most cams cause the car to loose a little tq off the line? And some are better in the 1200-6200 RPMs and some are little stronger in the 2500+ range. I know you'll gain tq number wise especially peak.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

I have a M6 and gears but losing a little more torque off the line would actually benefit me a lot . I have way too much and it makes it hard to launch. Even on an auto you're into the powerband so quickly and after launch stay there that a cam will outrun gears alone. My torque is up to 300 RWT around 2K


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## gmantheman (Feb 20, 2011)

svede1212 said:


> I have a M6 and gears but losing a little more torque off the line would actually benefit me a lot . I have way too much and it makes it hard to launch. Even on an auto you're into the powerband so quickly and after launch stay there that a cam will outrun gears alone. My torque is up to 300 RWT around 2K


I also have a M6, stock gears and a MS3 cam. I don't feel I need a steeper gear. For cam and gear combo I guess I am going off mustangs. A friend of mine had an 05 Mustang with stock 3.31s, auto and Thumper cams. Down low the car was a dog.
Before I bought my car I thought I would need gears but I guess since 1st gear is fairly short, I don't think the M6 really needs gears.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

A thing about cams is that a lot of people pick them by sound and a few specs. There is more to it than that and is why there are custom grinds. That's also why I think it's a good idea to have the guy that grinds great cams help pick the cam instead of a speed shop that uses what it's used before or internet advise from people (even like me) that have used maybe one or two cams.


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## Othman Marafie (Jul 8, 2011)

Thanks a lot you guys I really appreciate your replies


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## gmantheman (Feb 20, 2011)

Othman Marafie said:


> How can I choose the right stall and gears? I searched, but I couldn't really understand anything!
> What would happen if I didn't change the stall and gears? Would it only effect the low en torque? Or would it have any mechanical problems?
> I Heard that if I install a camshaft with high loop, the engine would be hard to start and idle really rough!


Regarding the stall and gears I was reading other threads. I believe (not 100% sure) more aggressive cams works better with a bigger stall. So something like the MS3 237/242 would probably work with 3000 to 3200 stall. 
My car has starting issues about 90% of the time because of the cam. When I start it the RPMS go to 1000 or so then drops down and almost stalls and then goes back up to 900 RPMS.


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

Othman Marafie said:


> How can I choose the right stall and gears? I searched, but I couldn't really understand anything!
> What would happen if I didn't change the stall and gears? Would it only effect the low en torque? Or would it have any mechanical problems?
> I Heard that if I install a camshaft with *high loop*, the engine would be hard to start and idle really rough!


 I assume you mean lope? Lope is a function of cam lift, duration, lsa but a lot depends on the tuning. A fairly aggressive cam can be tuned to idle not much differently than stock. Finding a really good tuner is a lot harder and rarer than imagined tho. I bumped my idle speed up only 25 RPM after cam and my own tuning. A stock manual idles at 800 RPM and autos much lower so they need to get that speed up due to the cam higher without fighting to keep from moving the car. It helps a lot for fast launches too as the torque converter is a torque multiplier until lockup.


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## GM4life (Mar 18, 2007)

Othman Marafie said:


> How can I choose the right stall and gears? I searched, but I couldn't really understand anything!
> What would happen if I didn't change the stall and gears? Would it only effect the low en torque? Or would it have any mechanical problems?
> I Heard that if I install a camshaft with high loop, the engine would be hard to start and idle really rough!


Like I tell everyone on the forum. You need to talk to a speed shop. No one on here can choose the right setup for *your* car. You don't want to over cam the car and have mis-matched parts. A well thought out car will allways out perform a thrown together car. Cars with alot of lope or chop are what I call "top end" cams. That lope comes from the long duration and tight lobe seperation. At low rpms the car does not build alot of vacuume some of the intake charge is blown out, ect ect. Cams that perform on the top end of the rpm band. Most 'good' cams are 114+ LSA with a wide power band with little to no lope but they are good all arounders.


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