are cams for these engines street worthy?

[jtate300]

just curious if you can use like an intense stage one cam for a daily driver.....ive always liked the lopey idle in a car and having one in a bonneville would really be something you dont really hear everyday but i drive this daily and dont want to take away the streetability of it....please help and what supporting mods must i do as well?

[myfirstbonnie]

I run the S1x cam with a 3.4 pulley, FWI, high flow cat and headers and the wife uses it as her DD. The most important thing is to get a tune. It does make the idle a little more choppy, but not extreme. IMHO, it really wakes the car up and makes it a blast to drive. It also takes off a MPG or two and I think that is mostly from the fun factor.

Anytime you think of modding, you want to ake sure it is running top notch before you start. With this cam, you will also need to change the valve springs.

[Ghosthawk]

I love that sound too, but just like you I want to make sure I keep my car "daily-driver ready and reliable." I also want to increase my performance without shredding my fuel mileage.

Anytime you consider a mod like a cam, you need the supporting items to take full advantage of the additional airflow. With your L67 I would first suggest either headers or a Powerlog front manifold, ported rear manifold, and a 3" downpipe w/hi-flow cat. On the intake side you may want to consider a hi-velocity throttle body along with a low restriction FWI or K&N filter set-up.

Personally, I'm leaning towards installing a set of the Yella Terra 1:8 roller rockers as opposed to the more involved cam swap. Higher ratio rockers will give you more valve lift but retain the stock cam centerline and duration. A hi-lift, shorter duration cam profile makes for improved performance across the powerband, retaining good low-end torque and fuel economy. Of course fuel economy will always depend on how much you play with the loud pedal (it can be addictive)

Higher lift, long duration cam profiles with more overlap creates the heavy loping idle, and improves top end power but will sacrifice some low end torque to do so. These cams are not as efficent in the lower rpm ranges and can have some effect on fuel economy.

Its very easy to get "carried away" when looking at mods like cams, throttle bodies and supercharger pulley sizes. Our desire to get the most "bang for our buck" tends to make us lean toward the higher performance items, but for a street driven car used almost daily, it pays to exercise a bit of restraint.

There is nothing worse than spending a large chunk of your hard earned dollars to build a stout performance engine, and while it may turn a great 1/4 mile and run like a greyhound with its tail on fire, the regret of feeding it on weekly basis and have it not be reliable for everyday use is a sour pill to live with. In the end its all personal choice, what you want and how you intend to use it, so take the time to choose carefully before you break out the wrenches.

[jtate300]

thats my main thing im not looking to take this car out on the strip...but its nice to have that little extra umph when a honda pulls up next to you and wants to go. just wanted to make sure what supporting mods i needed to go along so i dont blow it up, afterall it is my daily driver!

[01bonneSC]

Cam it

EDIT---- also need to do headers to take full advantage.

[BonneMe]

Not a PLog fan, maybe if you're just replacing a bad manifold...

Go headers, especially if doing a cam. Gain scavenging effects, not just pure flow increasing.

[jtate300]

ok so what cam do you guys prefer? intense or the xp hot cam from zzp?

[95naSTA]

Not a PLog fan, maybe if you're just replacing a bad manifold...

Go headers, especially if doing a cam. Gain scavenging effects, not just pure flow increasing.

Scavenging isn't happening on any off the shelf 3800 header.

[olblueeyesbonne]

Unless you want to spend several hundred for just some unequal length headers, get the ebay S&S unequal length headers and ceramic coat them your self with VHT ceramic coating. You can get the headers and ceramic coating and supplies to ensure good adhesion for under $250.