Camshaft

Ivan Ramirez Crespo · December 7, 2018

I have a bagged 2003 Chevy Silverado with a 5.3 engine and recently I decided it'll be a good idea to add a Level 3 cam, but before starting i was wondering what else should I take in consideration besides a dyno tune? What else is required for my truck to sound and drive "BETTER" ? It would be of great help Thnx!!!

75z28 · December 7, 2018

Headers/exhaust will also make it sound and drive better, and stick with a smaller cam. The truck is too heavy to really take advantage of a large cam.

vandenbroekjj · December 7, 2018

Your going to have to change your valve springs and a higher stall torque converter wouldn’t hurt either. The harmonic balancer puller is a must the rentals aren’t the right one in my experience

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Supreme Pizza · December 9, 2018

That's a pretty big undertaking. I would not change a cam for performance purposes unless I was competition racing.

I have known people that replaced cams and found no difference in power.

swathdiver · December 11, 2018

A Level 3 cam sounds like the typical grind that move the power band higher, losing 30-60 foot pounds of torque from idle and getting it back where most people don't drive daily, above 3500 rpms.

Keep lift at or below .502 and duration below 210 and you'll keep bottom end torque.

vandenbroekjj · December 12, 2018

A Level 3 cam sounds like the typical grind that move the power band higher, losing 30-60 foot pounds of torque from idle and getting it back where most people don't drive daily, above 3500 rpms.

Keep lift at or below .502 and duration below 210 and you'll keep bottom end torque.

Totally agree with you hear the level one low lift from Texas speed is a good choice for this

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Mikebtte · December 12, 2018

14 hours ago, vandenbroekjj said:

Totally agree with you hear the level one low lift from Texas speed is a good choice for this

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I second texas Speed. Last time I did a cam they provided everything I needed. Lifters, cam, gasket sets. Only thing that did not come in the kit was the correct timing gears. Old one would not swap and they send me a different style. Worked great without a torque converter, but a higher stall would have helped a lot.

https://www.texas-speed.com/

75z28 · December 13, 2018

On 12/11/2018 at 8:54 AM, swathdiver said:

A Level 3 cam sounds like the typical grind that move the power band higher, losing 30-60 foot pounds of torque from idle and getting it back where most people don't drive daily, above 3500 rpms.

Keep lift at or below .502 and duration below 210 and you'll keep bottom end torque.

Why would he keep lift down? He needs as much lift with as little duration as he can get--I would keep it around .550 to keep it reliable.

swathdiver · December 13, 2018

16 minutes ago, 75z28 said:

Why would he keep lift down? He needs as much lift with as little duration as he can get--I would keep it around .550 to keep it reliable.

To keep the torque down low. The only camshaft grinds that I've seen that have as much or more torque down low compared to stock for a big truck all limit lift to under .510; which is within the limit of the stock springs.

Check out this article and at the bottom pay particular attention to the Crane Cam Trio:

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ls-cam-test-comparison/

75z28 · December 13, 2018

high-lift won't cause torque to go down ever. Those cams are so different that they cannot be compared.
Remember the goal is to get air into the engine. If you open the valve farther, it is going to allow more air(unless you're beyond max flow of the head), valve timing is where you play with the power curve.

Open the valve for longer, the curve goes higher.
So your goal is to open the valve as far as you can for a shorter amount of time.