jdawg04 4.8

iTrader: (1)

Hello everyone,

I have a few questions. I have a 04 RCSB with a 4.8 and 3.73 gears. I have a CAI and cat back. I want to do a cam swap and a few other things. What im looking for is just a little jump in performance throughout the entire rpm range. I dont want anything to extreme or i would do a motor swap. So heres my thoughts I want to go with a Thunder Racing 220 or 224 cam( and eyerything that it needs to be complete), some kind of posi unit (i have an open diff), TC stalled to 3000-3200 (??brand), also iam planning to beef the tranny up with some servos and tranny cooler also possibly a shift kit. And a tune of course. A small shot of giggle gas may be further down the road.

Q's How will this setup work as a daily driver?

Is there any thing else that i should get done for reliabilaty?

Is there any other cams that i may want to look at?

Is there any thing i may not have thought about?

And of course any suggestions or comments from you guys would greatly be appreciated.

Sport Side

iTrader: (6)

Given the following info : 4.8L, DD, AVG Power, I'd be looking more in the direction of a single pattern X-E high lift grind from Comp. Here's some of the lobes you could choose from.

A single pattern 214/214, 216/216 cam would be plenty for a little 4.8.

jdawg04 4.8

iTrader: (1)

Sportside,

I honestly dont know much about cams whats the diffrence between the TR cams and the ones you suggested (a breif decribtion will do no need to get into full detail).

Sport Side

iTrader: (6)

A 214/214 or 216/216 would just a be a bit smaller than a 224/224 in your 4.8L, making things better for a DD 4.8 that needs good avg power. Bigger cams have narrower powerbands and wont work as well on a larger RPM scale.

jdawg04 4.8

iTrader: (1)

Like i said i dont know alot about cams but the TR cams most likely the 220 would give me a good pick all around and is very street freindly and emmissions freindly at least that what ive been told. Maybe my original statment of a "liitle jump of performance" is off what i mean is am wanting the most out of the 4.8 i can just dont want to endanger the reliability and dont want F.I or to do major internal work. besides the cam swap (and related items).

I see you have one of the cams you mentioned do have any numbers and how does it drive (DD?)

jakebdb56

iTrader: (24)

im personally getting a tr224 in a few months once I'm not so poor anymore.
the 220 would be a good cam for you, but if you want to keep your low end power I would maybe go with the thunder racing old man truck cam. it's got good specs "214/220 .600/.523 115 LSA +2"
other than that the tr220 is a good cam. on the stalls, im still researching myself, but i've seen most people be pleased with TCI or yank stalls.

ThunderZ28

iTrader: (7)

Just FYI, your tranny is going to need more than just servos, shift kit and a trans cooler in order to take the beating it's about to get..
you will need to look at getting a fully built 65E, or even go to an 80E
trust me..
also the 224 is going to be a booger to tune unless you get it done in person by someone that understands how the 224 acts in the 4.8L
the 220 would be a little friendlier to tune compared to the 224..
I wouldnt even try the 224 with a Mail order tune, heard to many people having issues with it not being right on..
everybodies Truck is diffrent..


Just thought I would throw my .02 out there..

jdawg04 4.8

iTrader: (1)

If i were to go with the TR220 would my off line/low end really hurt that much even with a 3000-3200 TC

and is the tranny really going to be a big issue will it not like all the mods. i know they are not by any means bulletproof but i shouldnt be going over 300whp if even that (without the bottle if i even get the nitrous kit)

thanks for the replies keepem coming

jdawg04 4.8

iTrader: (1)

01 thunder deff going take what you say into play considering thats on hell of a 4.8 you got there.

jakebdb56

iTrader: (24)

with a tc it is mandatory to get a bigger tranny cooler unless you just want to say goodbye to your tranny fast. and what 01 thunder said about the tuning, IMO a cam install should definately get a good dynotune w/wideband by a reputable shop.
my friend has the TR220 in his 4.8 and likes it with a 3200 stall. He put down a good amount of power with just the cam/tc/tune. he has a hayden 20x10x3/4 tranny cooler.

your low end power should be ok with the TR220 and a 3200 stall. the cam is rated for a good all around rpm range from 1500-6500 RPM (per Thunder Racing).

and for the tranny, stock it's designed that if anything over 350 ft.lbs. off the crank is put into the tranny it'll go into abuse mode and pull timing like a ****. I'm still learning more about trq mgmt. but when you get the truck tuned most of the time the tuner will either delete it (which is stupid if you have a lot of miles on the tranny) or lower it. in my case I took about 60% of trq mgmt out of the pcm. it shifts/runs a lot better, but I know that I need to go bigger on the tranny eventually b/c they just aren't designed to handle much more than 375/375 off the crank reliably. I'm sure someone else has a diff opinion on the power it can handle, but I sure as hell am not going to run my cam/nitrous through my stock 4L60E