thinking of a new cam

[Italian Stallion]

I'm leaning towards a cc306 for my 97 Trans Am. I love the sound. And I heard it runs well with stock heads. What would I need for supporting mods? I'm not doing this myself so is there somewhere that wouldn't charge me out the ass? Thanks guys

[Blackbirdws6]

I had this cam and while it sounded great, there are better grinds out there. What mods do your currently have on the car and what is your goal?

[LTb1ow]

Old cam, but if sound is all you want, then it will work well.

[Italian Stallion]

Old cam, but if sound is all you want, then it will work well.

Honestly, it really is lol

[LTb1ow]

GM847, go for broke then.

[Italian Stallion]

I had this cam and while it sounded great, there are better grinds out there. What mods do your currently have on the car and what is your goal?

Basically stock, lm1, intake, rebuilt heads, rebuilt trans, larger posi

[WildBillyT]

Basically stock, lm1, intake, rebuilt heads, rebuilt trans, larger posi

No headers?

[Italian Stallion]

No headers?

I have pacesetters but they aren't on yet

[deadtrend1]

Cam, valvetrain, computer tune, converter plus all the little odds and ends to add to it since it is a 16 year old motor.

Picking a cam cause it "sounds good" isnt a good idea. The actual use of the car, power goals and budget would be the basis to go by.

[sweetbmxrider]

http://www.ls1lt1.com/forum/lt1-|-lt4-|-l99-engine-tech/25032-**lt1-camshaft-valve-train-selection-guide**.html

cc306: (230/244 .544/.576 112lsa) w/ 1.6RR's
Features Comp’s Magnum lobes with are older technology but proven not to take a beating on valve train components. Has been proven over the years to make good numbers and perform well at the track. Similar in power output with the newer XE 230/236 with slightly worse drivability. Exhibits a very strong mid-range and top-end with some low-end loss. Not recommended for cars that are daily drivers or that have stock bottom ends/heads due to its large size in duration. Stock heads don’t allow this cam to be used to its full potential so one with a built bottom end and head work would benefit greatly from this cam. Automatics require high-stall converters and gears and 6-speeds require steep gearing to run this cam successfully. Degree of cam surge will be determined by how good the tune is, stall size/gearing etc.
Pass Emissions?: No
Shift Point for Maximum Performance: 6400+rpm
Idle Characteristics: Very Choppy Idle
M6; Require Gears?: Yes
A4; Require Stall?: 2800+ Stall Speed

A cc503 is the biggest recommended cam for stock heads. It will drive well and make good power on the street and sounds good.

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A hot cam is another good cam for the street and has good sound.

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With any cam, you are going to need the supporting mods. At a minimum, I would do new valve springs matched to the cam and highly consider a good set of comp cam's roller rockers. How high you are going to rev the motor will dictate self aligning or non-self aligning. You can most likely reuse your lifters and you should measure for pushrod length. A cai and a free flowing exhaust will help. A new timing set would be a good idea. Any maintenance that can be addressed while the car is apart should be considered along with the obvious gaskets and fluids. And of course, you'll need a mail order tune. That is the BASICS! A higher stall torque converter like the ss line from yank would help with driveability and 3.73 gears would compliment that. A large trans cooler would be a good addition to the converter. If you want to get into the oil system, an arp oil pump drive is a good addition along with brazing the oil pump pickup to the pump itself (they tend to fall off) and a gm white spring in the oil pump for higher oil pressure to help increase bearing life.

Whoever said the cc306 was good for stock heads or on the street wasn't too keen on cam selection. That cam will want more rpm than the stock bottom end can usually handle. You will also NEED most of the supporting mods I mentioned along with others if you want the full potential.

[Italian Stallion]

Cam, valvetrain, computer tune, converter plus all the little odds and ends to add to it since it is a 16 year old motor.

Picking a cam cause it "sounds good" isnt a good idea. The actual use of the car, power goals and budget would be the basis to go by.

I don't drive the car daily. I'm not looking for as much hp I can get. And yeah I understand picking it cause it sounds good isn't a good idea, but would it still be risky to run that cam with all supporting mods?

[Italian Stallion]

Car has 93, 1xx

[deadtrend1]

.... but would it still be risky to run that cam with all supporting mods?

I dunno what exactly youre asking here cause i dunno what cam youre talking about

[Italian Stallion]

I dunno what exactly youre asking here cause i dunno what cam youre talking about

With the correct valve springs and rr, would the 306 be a bad choice?

[deadtrend1]

With the correct valve springs and rr, would the 306 be a bad choice?

I would hope the correct valve springs and rockers would be used during the swap instead of the wrong ones.

Go for it. Stab the cam in and everything will be golden

and sweetbmxrider also went more in depth of the supporting mods that i listed.

[WildBillyT]

would it still be risky to run that cam with all supporting mods?

Car has 93, 1xx

Based on this, yes it would. That engine has seen some time and distance. The cam's powerband is not what you would use. What rear gears do you have?

Throw the headers on first. Then see.

[deadtrend1]

on a related note with the headers, you're probably using the pacesetter off road Y pipe?

if so, do you got a way to get the car inspected?

[LTb1ow]

on a related note with the headers, you're probably using the pacesetter off road Y pipe?

if so, do you got a way to get the car inspected?

Its a 97, tune it and toss some fake cats on it.

[Pampered-Z]

If all you are looking for is a ruffer idle, just look for a cam with a tight LSA - 111-112 with less duration then a 306 and it won't effect the drivabilty as much.


If you want the big cam:

http://www.97transam.com/97ta-cam.php

306 or 847 - use the same parts. Car had about 60K on it so he repalced everything while we had it apart.

Same as you, Ron wanted to up the performance and add some sound.

The cam did not like the stock convertor at all! Very sluggish on throttle tip in, and would stall in reverse. Once we installed the Yank 3600 the car runs amazing. Car is a blast on the street!

Your personal preference on how loose you want the convertor, you don't need 3600 RPM if you want less, that would work too. It has Mac shorties, stock heads and gears and runs fine. Car runs low 12s, and can probably see high 11's with a little tweaking, and that is right where he wanted to be.

[The_Bishop]

The car's an auto with no converter? Your next mod should be a converter as the biggest bang for the buck. Stock converter+any of the cams you mentioned=No Bueno.

My vote is a Yank SS3600. Excellent street/strip converter.

You need to do all the 'bolt-on' mods first. You also need a good converter. Don't cheap out on the converter! You'll regret it. Also, don't do a cam *before* full bolt-ons and a converter, because you will *really* regret it. Also, you'll need a tune with the cam, then you'll need a re-tune once you do the converter/bolt-ons. You can do bolt-ons and a converter with no tune, then tune it once the cam's in.

Also, **** 'image' and 'sound'. Performance and drive-ability is where it's at with a street car. Don't install some donkey-dick cam looking for 'maximum POWAH' because it'll make you hate the car when it doesn't idle for crap, makes you smell like gasoline everytime you drive it, gets rotten mileage, and generally makes driving the car a miserable experience. Also, it's embarrassing when your top-fuel-idling pig gets it's ass handed to it every time you run it by cars that don't 'sound as good' because the other guy used his brain in picking his mods/cam and not his balls and/or interwebs-penis.

[zraffz]

You're a fool if you select a cam with a powerband much higher than 6,000-6,200 RPMS with stock heads. Also finding someone to do the long tubes on the cheap, they are a very tight fit... mine rub my motor mount on one side.
I'd probably charge somebody $525-600 to install a set at my shop. You'd need a hollowed out catalytic converter and tune to get rid of the rear oxygen sensor too.

[Italian Stallion]

alright cool guys, sorry haven't posted back in a while real busy with finals. Thanks for the help. I see jumping into a cam for sound isn't the smartest thing to do lol.

[WildBillyT]

alright cool guys, sorry haven't posted back in a while real busy with finals. Thanks for the help. I see jumping into a cam for sound isn't the smartest thing to do lol.

No, it isn't. You are not alone, though. Far from it. Comp came out with the "Thumpr" line of cams for guys who have to have the big cam sound. It's a reverse split pattern (more intake than exhaust) and is universally regarded as poor performing.

[greenformula92]

What about a LT4 cam? That sounds like the closest to both worlds. It will give you the sound but also drive well