same thing mr. fuso... I may swap to 243 heads, but at this time no gear or stall.

Tootall, explain efficient and stock heads with the 220 please. Interested in more info.

 

If you're looking for a "max effort" cam to work with the stock 99-07 5.3 heads and a stock converter, the TR220 was the best. This was from a while back. It actually specs out to a 218/220 something. It was an old thread.

OR get a custom spec cam from Pat G if you don't want to search
it was posted a few years ago, and discussed a crap load of times. HP curves and dyno charts were posted with several cams. You'll have to search for it.

5.3's with ported heads and a FAST intake did really well with cams in the 230s range. . . . again, you'll have to search if you want some more posted results

 

There is no way a 220 intake will be worth a darn with a stock stall. The absolute max intake I'd run with a stock stall would be a ~214 with any amount of lift. When people talk they're usually talking peak HP numbers, which seems cool in conversation but means nothing getting you down a strip or the road. The real game is to get a nice wide powerband so that whenever you punch it, you have power. A 22x duration with any amount of lift will start your powerband over ~2300rpm even with an advance. You might get away with a TB stall and a 220 or 224, but you'd want a 4* advance. Tuning can hide a lot of these issues which is why it's hard to find a telling dyno.

Adding just 243/799 heads, even decked .030, will hurt your low-end numbers. My goal for a big-heavy crew cab 4x4 DD was always to widen my powerband and maximize torque and I love my combo. Adding a LS6 cam will give you a nice HP gain too, but I think you'll hate the turd you created.

 

Agreed! with the stock TC, it will be a turd from idle to 2800 rpm and then start to come alive and he is going to be thing that his truck is actually slower. Even if he wasnt getting a cam I would recommend getting at least a 3200 TC as the first mod.

 

I understand what you guys are saying. I'm not looking for a verter because I do still tow with my truck, and many times it's at max capcaity.

Do you think for the average joe with an otherwise stock 5.3, that a cam and headers will be noticeable as far as power gain? so right now I'm looking at a 210 or 212/218 as my best bet with a stock converter. What about lift and lsa. I've heard lower lsa moves the powerband lower, like a 112. So how does advance affect that?

 

As you probably already know, for towing you're looking for torque. I'd suggest either a 210-212/218 or a 206/212. A low LSA really just makes your powerband peak lower... a higher LSA will produce a nice flat powerband albeit with a slightly lower max. Adding an advance is what really moves the powerband RPMs down (exact same curve starting at lower RPMs). Also, high lift will give you more power with shorter durations, but is harder on the valvetrain and is typically associated with steeper ramp rates/ more aggressive lobes. All that said I'd recommend a 210-212/218 high lift with a 114 LSA +4* or the 206/212 with the other specs the same.

 

You will also see more low end torque with a lower LSA. I wouldn't go with anything higher than a 112

 

You guys are great...much more to consider now!

 

So what you guys are saying is for a heavy truck with stock stall and gears, a 210/218 cam with 111 or 112 lsa would be ideal? Does such a cam exist?

 

Nealy any place will do custom grinds. I also kind of disagree with the notion that a lower LSA will provide more low end torque as a general statement. What a lower LSA does is it changes the powerband from a plateau shape to a mountain shape with the peak numbers coming in lower than the "peak" of the higher LSA. If you're talking about moving the curve down to a lower RPM range uniformly, then you're talking advance. Lower LSAs also come with lower vacuum and typically higher overlap which comes with it's own emissions implications.