Should I pick up an LS6 cam or something else?

[HMFDZ28]

I would go 6.0 if thats in your mind. How can you beat a 60hp (LQ9) gain and Zero loss of idle/ driving qualities with the swap and a retune to compliment it and thats without a cam.

 

[blueflamed03]

is the 5.3 you have now good, low to decent miles, good oil pressure? You could always add a cam, TB stall, and use that for the 6.0 when you DO pull the trigger and go big.

 

[highrollin113]

hey i dont mean to jack this thread but i am curious about cams, what kind od gains are we talking, will i lose mpg? and can i change myself im fairly mechanical and i get the jist of how the cam works im just wondering what cam i should look for i have a 03 5.3l and how much $$$$

 

[KrautBurner]

hey i dont mean to jack this thread but i am curious about cams,
what kind od gains are we talking,
will i lose mpg?
and can i change myself im fairly mechanical and i get the jist of how the cam works im just wondering what cam i should look for i have a 03 5.3l and how much $$$$

I can't say for the Tahoe,

but when I did my cam in my GTO (along with Long Tube Headers and a tune),
I gained about 75 rwhp
my around town fuel milage went down about 1mpg
but my highway milage went down about 5mpg (with the stock tune/cam, I used to get 30-31mpg on open highway, now I'm lucky to hit 26mpg)

as far as doing it yourself,
if you have to ask. I'd recomend finding a friend who's done it before to help you.

it's not all that hard, but it's really something you don't wanna mess up.

 

[JennaBear]

It all depends on the cam you run. Any cam company can recommend a good cam for your application. We had the cam installed in my Tahoe in less than 2 hours, but it wasn't our first time installing a cam.

 

[skyhighsami]

I called Thunder Racing today and asked them about the 5.3 in my wife's truck and they suggested some of their cheater cams. The V3 for me. I'm torn between a head and cam setup or running a small 214/210 cam I have and getting a turbo setup. Just fyi they said that cam in a 5.3 with shortie headers and just a valve job on the heads made 346whp. In a Z71 with 33" tires

 

[JennaBear]

What type of dyno? DynaJet I am assuming? Those are lofty numbers IMO.

 

[skyhighsami]

Dynajet? Is that different than a Dynojet? I am not sure what they use but I would imagine they have a Dynojet. I wouldn't say the number are that high for a 5.3 with worked heads, headers, exhaust, electric fans, a cam of 219/230, and a tune. I had a 6.0 with similar mods without a cam that made 340ish whp. It was a truck Vengeance built and spec'd out for me.

 

[JennaBear]

Yes DynoJet, my phone doesn't like that word either, and yes those numbers are high, but that is just from my experience, take it for what it is worth.

EDIT: A stock Z71 (with stock wheels/tires) makes 230 at the wheels on a load bearing dyno (add 20% that is DynoJet number).

 

[skyhighsami]

He said on there dyno that they baseline 230. I don't put much in dyno numbers, just use them as a barometer of what I should expect. All dynos read different.