Bamm Bamm

hey first post over here I've been lurking for awhile.

Well I bought a 03 sierra last summer and have finally gotten to a point where I think I want to do a cam swap, I've done several cosmetic things already(in signature).
I want to have alot more power of course But the main thing is it needs to be streetable and pass smog. I don't want to swap my heads. Looking to just do a cam, pushrods, lifters, springs(if I need to do them all). And then I was planning on buying a Predator and getting a custom dyno tune done with it. Possibly getting some shorty headers as well. Any information on cam's would be awesome. Especially links to sites I can buy them from and choose through the different ones, Also if anyone has a good instruction link to a swap that would be awesome..

My 73 Chevy idles at 1100RPM and isn't really too streetable or smog legal. This is cam is going in my daily driver, so reliablilty and gas mileage are of concern also.( I doubt I'd lose too much gas mileage with proper tuning)

Thanks in advance
Dan

Mr. Sandog

I'd suggest doing a search in the LS1-LS6 Internal Engine section using 'California' or 'Cali' and 'smog' and 'cam' as key words. You'll find more than enough info on this topic. From what I remember when I was looking for info on this very topic, a 220/220 is a no-brainer with tuning, whereas some guys were confident that a 224/224 could pass. Either way, tuning is key.

If this is the case, then I think you need to worry more about whether this type of cam would be streetable than whether it will pass smog. Those F-Body guys regularly run 3400 RPM stalls and have no issues running up to 7K RPMs, so streetable to them is going to be something a little different than streetable for a truck guy.

Good luck - let us know what you find.

Bamm Bamm

Thanks for the reply. I'll start some searchin

hink9

i would look into a short duration cam like this from vinci,http://www.vincihighperformance.com/...s%20truck.html the 44 cam, i have the 55 cam, and comp 918 springs, you can reuse your stock pushrods, and retainers and locks, some people have had trouble with 918's setting off knock sensors. you can also reuse your lifters, you dont have to pull heads to do swap, predators are nice, the vinci tuner is real nice because it has tuning for camshafts built into it, if you want to do a custom mail order tune the allen nelson offers good tunes, and mti is pretty good i think, they just got into tuning trucks and may still have a special running, i have hptuners, its a do it yourself type of tuning and is still confusing to me, if you get a cam you might want to look into getting a stall converter, i am running a yank tt3000 its fun to drive, and has alot more torque of the line, these trucks are a little restricted on the exhaust and it would do alot of good to get a free flowing exhaust before the cam, imo.

Bamm Bamm

Thanks so much for the reply I'll look into it for sure=)

QuietTahoe

FWIW, I had Roger Vinci install one of his 044 cams, Crane roller rockers and Crane duals in my 03, 5.3 Tahoe. The truck runs super! Absolutely no driveability issues even with the stock convertor. The truck idles almost as smooth as stock with a stock tune. I'm sure there won't be any issues going back to the dealer as long as they don't have to pull the valve covers. I had purchased the Vinci (Crane) tuner prior to installing the cam and it worked great with the stock cam, but it really brought the new cam to life. Totally smoothed the idle (which I want so that I don't get any complaints from the wife). Part throttle driveability is flawless and much smoother than stock, but with a ton more throttle response. Full throttle the truck accelerates quickly at all speeds (totally smooth like a turbo Carrera!) up to 6000, with no hint of "coming on the cam" . It's on the cam everywhere! This is a great cam for trucks for general driving or towing. The Vinci tuner made tuning a breeze. Just 5 minites and it runs so much smoother and harder than stock. Roger put a lot of development time in the tuner and the tunes are custom for these applications. Besides that, you can change the timing, idle speed, shift points, etc.to fit your needs. The tuner even has the tuning necessary for a supercharger and high flow injectors--those will probably go on next spring. One last point, Roger's man Greg did an absolutely flawless job with the installation. You would never guess that the engine had been apart. Not one hint of sealant, fingerprints, dirt, dust or anything. The job and results absolutely couldn't have been better. Thanks a bunch, Roger! You and your guys are the best!