ChaudMasterFlex

So after perusing the forums for the last few days I still can't decide which cams to go with. I have a 2003 GT 5spd with 83k miles. It's N/A, and I plan on keeping it that way. The only mods are; an Airraid intake, underdrive pulleys, Accufab 70mm throttle body and plenum, and an SLP exhaust. I've been seeing people mention Cushman and Modular Motorsports? I don't take the car to the track and put around 5k miles on it a year. I really like that "lopey" cam sound, and I would like to get as much power out of them as I can without sacrificing reliability and piston clearance. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

cominus

Stage 2 cams, maybe some 270 with the springs and retainers but good luck finding somebody to degree them, everybody around here does the whole "we'll notch your pistons cuz were incompetent" or tell you to just go FI.

WJL

I have the same issue, Cushman by far is the least expensive and I've never heard anything bad about them.

For me, i drive my car on weekends here and there, maybe 1000 miles a year, i'm thinking Stage one, no valve springs however you should have a tune, (Cams $600.00, Tuner $400.00, $1250.00 including gaskets and such.

if you go stage two N/A, you need valve springs and a tune = $1500.00, including gaskets and such. (Springs $300.00, Cams $600.00, Tuner $400.00)
Add another $500.00 if you go Dyno.

If you start thinking about that, you can do a used procharger with intercooler for $2K maybe cheaper, again you will need a tune and some fuel system upgrades another $500.00 Call it done at $2500.00

Hmmm, procharger, tune and 3:73's sound fun to me.

It is really not that difficult to degree cams you can buy adjustable cam gears that make adjustment really easy or you can buy a crank gear that has multiple timing marks as well.

All you really need is a degree wheel and a dial indicator and a little know how.

cominus

Dyno tunes vary, one shop around here goes for 250 and another for 350, and springs go for $200, check out ebay, i got some 262s for $589 from lmr's ebay page.

WJL

I was just throwing out some general numbers, horsepower doesn't come cheap.

I'm sure if you shopped every thing ebay/amazon you could do for a little less, not much and remember "you only get what you pay for" never been to a dyno but i heard key word being heard, around here is $500.00 I think the place is called Wolf Pack Racing

school boy

I been both routes, the "$1500 vortech" route and Comp 270's cam route, I will give you my opinions.
Both upgrades are going to require injectors. I suggest 24# with the cams and at least 39# injectors with the blower. The blower will require a bigger fuel pump, so that's about $100-$150 more.
Both will require a tune.

Cams:
Cam cost is about $600
New from chain/tensionor kit $400
Springs $200
Crank timing gears $70 (get the ones for the crank only!!!)
Cam degree kit $100
Spring tool $70
Total: $1440 Plus gaskets

The Vortech $1500 build is about that if you can get the unit at a good price. But I suggest adding a intercooler.

So after looking at cost, it would be about a $500 difference. As a personal reference, I liked the cams better. The blower made more power up top but lagged below 3500 rpms. I am running a high compression short block though.

As cam selection goes, get a cam that doesn't require notching the pistons. Unless the heads are coming off, the added costs of notching them isn't worth the little bit of hp gain. You can notch the pistons while theyre in the block IF the heads are off. Comp 262's and 268's don't require notches I know. Other companies you can call and find out.

WJL

Thanks School boy and i completely agree, checked out your budget build thread, great stuff.

cominus

The shop i called said previous 262s they've installed had ptv clearance issues...idk, they also said they didn't degree cams.

school boy

Sounds like you need to find a new shop to use. 262's will clear easily and the 268's will clear easily unless advanced quite a bit. Even 270's will clear if you retard the cam timing, buuutttt you will move the power band up and will prolly leave hp on the table. I actually advanced my cam timing a few degrees to bring the power band down in the rpm range on my 270's but I notched my pistons.

I do want to say, even the price on the cam vs blower is close, I would chose the cams. The only way I would go blower is if I used a tork tech, saleen, kenne belle, etc. with a 10 to 1 compression and 7-10 psi.

cominus

There actually was a 2.1kb selling on craiglist locally with all the piping and intercooler for $3k.