5.3L Camshaft

SportSide 5.3 · November 29, 2003

Well, I headed over to LSITECH.COM and went to the truck performance forum, and most of the talk when it comes to the right camshaft, seems to be pointed to the Comp 212/218 .522/.529 114 camshaft. Personally, i'd rather spend my money on the internal parts of the engine and not mainly air intake, exhaust and so forth, though, they will open and free things up. I found the comp cam for about mid $400's. Anyone else found a better deal? Also, I realize you have to do some tuning and will need new springs and lifters to handle the cam. What should I do about tuning after the install?

Thanks,

99Silver6.0 · November 29, 2003

I snagged mine for $200 new... From a local sale. The cheapest I have found was $350. That cam will need some tuning! Need to crack the idle up a bit. You can drill the hole in the TB in steps to see what smooths the idle out. Because the IAC counts are gonna be off after the cam install, the engine will start surging on idle till its corected. And will die occasionally. You will benefit from a full custom tune. Youll need either Comp 918 or 02 LS6 springs. I went with the LS6 springs because the 918's are very aggressive, valvetrain is very loud with them. The LS6 springs are a bit more forgiving and will hold up to .550 lift. 918 springs are kinda expensive, a complete set of LS6 springs ran me 100 bucks. If you do go with the 918's you need to start observing a proper warm up procedure or you could risk breaking a spring. And a $100 dollar insurance policy is some Comp Hardened 7.4 rods. The stock pushrods are CRAP!! You can put an ASP underdrive pulley on while you got the big stocker off along with a new crank bolt! Get new gaskets and a new front main seal and put them in while you have it torn down. If you want you can get a ported LS6 oil pump and new timing chain and put them in also but not neccessary. You do not need new lifters unless you go crazy on the lift. Stock rockers are semi-roller. But a good addition would be some Yella Terra rollers, 500 bucks!!

You are gona sacrifice some lowend with that cam. Some. A worthwhile addition would be a Yank TT2600-3000 stall. Im gonna try and get my hands on a TT2600. But they aint cheap. Listen to the clips below!!!!! You will like them!!!

Truck cold at idle

Truck warm at Idle

SportSide 5.3 · November 29, 2003

wow, that warmed up idle definetly deserves a Tim Allen Home Improvement grunt. Alot better than stock anyways. Thanks for the information. Off topic here, but how much heavier were your SS rims compared to stock? I wanted to buy a set, but not if they are gonna slow me down. Thanks man

99Silver6.0 · November 29, 2003

Off topic here, but how much heavier were your SS rims compared to stock? I wanted to buy a set, but not if they are gonna slow me down. Thanks man

Werent really too bad. I couldnt feel much of a difference after I put them on. Not sure on their exact weight. Im thinking maybe .2 tenths went bye-bye. But oh well. There is a set on eBay right now!!

BenKey · December 2, 2003

If this is the Comp Cam 54-412-11, it's the same one that I have in my truck. You do not need to do any tuning for this cam. Although, to get the full benefit from any cam, a custom tune is needed.

My truck didn't shut-off or idle rough at all. However, the more mods added has made it almost a necessity to get the custom tune. Since the cam, I have added a Magnacharger Radix, 2600 stall, and ASM headers. The 2600 stall has caused numerous stalls. So you won't need it right away, but the further you go will make it a requirement.

99Silver6.0 · December 3, 2003

Im gonna get my laptop and Edit out and let a guy at Raging Motorsports tune my truck. Make a few pulls to and see how it acts. Anybody with the 212/218 wanna share their dyno sheet??

On another note, I hear alot of good things about Nelson Performance Tuning!! Lots of guys on LS1Tech will vouch for that. And I do mean alot!!!

SportSide 5.3 · December 3, 2003

i was lookin at the nelsons performance site about the tuning and how do they tune it. do you have to go to one of their shops or do they just send you a pcm that you plug in? thanks

99Silver6.0 · December 3, 2003

U can send him your PCM or get another and send it to him. You can get an extra PCM from a salvage yard for like $50 -$80 bucks. Nelson is also located in the US. So your PCM doesnt have to go through customs. Allen is located in San Antonio. I would send him my PCM before I went with Westers.. Just my opinion.

ridnlow · December 4, 2003

You can get the Wester's tune through Nelson Tuning as he sells them now.. so no customs.. either will work.. a custom tune is the only way to go in my book

SportSide 5.3 · December 4, 2003

is a shift kit and servos necessary if you get the tune since they are reprogramming the shift points or should u get both?

americanmuscleman · December 11, 2003

I agree with everything above that was said. I think a 212/218 duration cam on a 114LSA would be about perfect for a 5.3L. I would HIGHLY recommend getting custom tuning. I would check out Ed Wright in Tulsa, OK (www.fastchips.com or www.fastchip.com ... I forgot which) and Bryan Herter at PCMForless.com. I've used both of their programs in my truck and car, and seen awesome results!

Your idle quality, power, and gas mileage will be so much higher with good tuning. Its completely worth it if its done correctly.

I've installed a couple cams in LS1's and I would highly recommend the 02' or newer Z06 cam. The idle is pretty mild, but the mid range and top end power is awesome. Your gas mileage will remain good, and it will be an easy cam to tune. The engine won't have an surge at idle if its tuned right.

If you really want to get rowdy, port the heads and add a free flowing exhaust with a custom tune. These LS1-derived engines make awesome power.

I'm not sure on the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0L engines what type of oil pump they use, but if its like the LS1 oil pump, it needs to be replaced with a higher volume unit if you put a bigger cam in. The stock LS1 oil pump isn't up to the task of higher rpm, and I imagine the truck engines are the same way.

Good luck!

SportSide 5.3 · December 11, 2003

yea some guys over at the ls1 forum were talkin about some 36hp gains with the Z06 cam and a -5tq. Im runnin a RC which is alot lighter than the EC so hopefully the little bit of torque loss wont kill me. But, also, like you said no tuning is needed but is recommended for optimum performance. Not to bad when the cam only cost about 225 bucks plus the LS6 springs. Only cost you a lil over 300 plus installation.

thanks for the info man

99Silver6.0 · December 11, 2003

That cam takes some power from the low end. But man will it be a high revvin MOFO!! It has a horribly tight LSA which bumps power up to high end anyways. You might want a converter. Most I have seen get that cam take it out and get a cam with a lower LSA. The 5.3 stock is 191/190 .466/.457 115LSA. I talked with quite a few people to make sure the 212/218 wouldnt do much to my low end. I almost got Comps 206/212 on a 112LSA. But I wanted a bit more upper RPM power. Thunder Racing had run a 212/218 in a 5.3 with a few piddly mods and it made 43 more horse. Lost 2 lb-ft of torque. The 02 LS6 springs go for about $88 bucks plus shipping.

01 ZO6 Cam 204/211 .525/.525 116

02 ZO6 Cam 204/218 .551/.555 117.5

As for the oil pump, you can get a ported pump from Thunder Racing or Texas Speed. Run about $120 bucks. Im having truck mine tuned on the Dyno at Raging Motorsports next month. Gotta get the LTrms right. Plus a little fudging of the PE and MAF tables and a few other choice tables are needed. Plus a little help from a wide-band always helps.

Almost forgot the cam part number!!!! Part# 12565308

02denali · December 21, 2003

get a nelson performance tune. you will not be disappointed.

99Silver6.0 · December 21, 2003

I want a dyno tune. Where I put that cam in I need it. I know the custom tunes are nice but I want to get everything precise. Thats why Im gonna tune on the dyno.