CAMs

[2002GT]

Ha! GTManiac... Couldn't have said it better... I picked up on that too when I was reading it...

Originally posted by GTManiac
'nuff said

some of us like our dependable daily drivers. You wanna blow your engine up for a few more ponies (we're talking like 10-30 HP TOPS here; depending on mods), then by ALL means DO SO, but I'll be cruising, a bit slower than you, while you're rebuilding your engine.

That comment right there shows me how much you know about engines and how they work. Go ahead and spread your performance myths.

[1993Grandamgt]

okay i dont know if this was posted yet (due to me not wanting to read all the posts) but... crane makes cams for the2.8,3.1&3.4 l v6 they are sold through Jegs, and Summit with an average cost of $159.99. here are the specs:

Part#270-254112: low and mid range torque & HP.258/254 adv duration401"/423" gross lift

Part#270-254122:mid range torque and HP.264/274 adv duration.423"/423" gross lift

[phantom505]

<sigh>

All I want is some information about cams because my knowledge of performance cams is zero. I have gone to several sites that have either dead links or something that doesn't go into very much depth.

Every company I have dealt with so far is well aware that I wanted a regrind because that is the first thing I said, "I'll probably need a regrind, how long and how much?"

I also do not know all that much about how much strain the internals can take. I am not doing any additional work right now other than lower intake manifold,heads/valvetrain, and cam so its pretty much a dead issue, until I get to the lower engine. In which case I'll probably work on the top end a little bit.

So all I should have to worry about for now is:
1) Will the stiffer springs allow me to change anything about the cam?
2) Will the slight increase in compression ratio allow me to change anything about the cam?

If those things are mutally exclusive then fine, but I want to know what to ask for.

[bszopi]

Those cams are for Gen 1 and 2 60º V6s, not the Gen 3 3x00s. So once again, there is no aftermarket cam for these engines. And since you brought up these cams, let me point out another interesting aspect of this discussion.

I'm sure it has been brought up before, but there is a reason a cam was made for these engines but one hasn't been made for our engines. The number one reason: the engine was available in F-bodies. It was also a popular engine used for circle track racing. Ok, so... the cams were made because people who had F-bodies wanted more performance. It wasn't because the people in the Berettas, Cavaliers and Grand Prixs wanted more performance. And the cirlce track guys run carbs, so there is no reason to support it now. Get it through your heads... there are too many other profitable bases to cover than just a few dozen people interested on an internet forum. This can be shown with the TOG group purchase. Everyone always asks about headers and cams when they first start to look into performance mods for their cars. Why is that? Because that is the most common mods for SBCs and the like. So then John gets together a group buy for a discounted price for headers and he can't even get 20 people together to buy them. What happened to everyone wanting them? It seems like the majority of this community is all talk when it comes to internal mods or something that is more than just a bolt on. And once again, the reason there is no aftermarket support.

[steve_m]

Originally posted by GPXSS
That comment right there shows me how much you know about engines and how they work. Go ahead and spread your performance myths.

All flames aside, I would agree with this statement. Guys, I am putting very close to 200HP to the wheels on my Alero right now and I am far from done the engine work. Yes, my car is a bit louder than it was before but other than that the ride quality is better than it was brand new.

A cam will effect your idle and the overall quality of your ride -- but so will motor mounts. If you are concerned with ride quality etc.. then go with a more mild cam -- if you want zoom zoom and don't care about the ride then an aggressive cam is the way to go.

[GTManiac]

Originally posted by GPXSS
That comment right there shows me how much you know about engines and how they work. Go ahead and spread your performance myths.

guess I gotta go out and buy a car that's at LEAST 10 years old or older and play with it to learn more huh? prolly be nice to buy a car with a 1 month payment amount then I can spend all the money I want on mods and not care about blowing it up cause I can just go out and buy more stuff for it cause money "aint no thang"

and I'm done with the thread. I'll watch and you guys can go on about your thing and TALK as much as you want, I'll clap when I see it all done (maybe it will be, but until then I guess we're gonna have to stick around and listen to guys who'd rather just think they know it all and don't mind blowing up engines in cars that are easily replacable.)

[steve_m]

Originally posted by GTManiac
guess I gotta go out and buy a car that's at LEAST 10 years old or older and play with it to learn more huh? prolly be nice to buy a car with a 1 month payment amount then I can spend all the money I want on mods and not care about blowing it up cause I can just go out and buy more stuff for it cause money "aint no thang"

and I'm done with the thread. I'll watch and you guys can go on about your thing and TALK as much as you want, I'll clap when I see it all done (maybe it will be, but until then I guess we're gonna have to stick around and listen to guys who'd rather just think they know it all and don't mind blowing up engines in cars that are easily replacable.)

Pardon my ignorance here, but how is a cam regrind going to blow up an engine? You are at higher risk of doing that with NOS or even a SC/Turbo kit.

[bszopi]

Hmm... I used to have respect for you. It is going away quite quickly.

But oh well, I'll just keep working on my 94 (only 9 yrs old) Beretta since I don't have to worry about a car payment. Oh yeah, and since I've had my regrind in for over a year now, putting over 16,000 miles on it, which included 2 trips across the country, I really don't doubt the reliability of it. That also included failing AT LEAST 6 lifters during my 3400 top end swap when the rockers were removing metal from the bottom of the lower intake.

As far as talking goes, you don't seem to be adding any good info to this thread. Do you even have your regrind installed and running yet?

[PACE]

Your not the only one...last time I got into an arguement with that guy he called my office and told my boss that I threatened him with "Phyical Violence".....Luckily my boss and I laughed about it and went for beers after work....

[steve_m]

Originally posted by ECAP
Your not the only one...last time I got into an arguement with that guy he called my office and told my boss that I threatened him with "Phyical Violence".....Luckily my boss and I laughed about it and went for beers after work....

What? Someone actually called your boss to complain about something that happened on an Internet forum.

Thats weak....

[PACE]

GTMANIAC

Thats why I don't argue on here anymore.....I was lucky my boss is my bud.....You have to be careful...there are some real psycho's out there !!

[GTManiac]

Originally posted by ECAP
Your not the only one...last time I got into an arguement with that guy he called my office and told my boss that I threatened him with "Phyical Violence".....Luckily my boss and I laughed about it and went for beers after work....

PM from Ecap

"What up man...

Lets squash the arguements man. I think we were both out of line with the comments made. I'm not trying to fight anybody...especially a fellow Grand Am driver. I'm too old to be meeting up to fight people...Those were my college days...I'd like to think we're both more mature than that.....Good luck with your club. I hope it grows to its potential....I'm not trying to divide the GA community...One love-Grand Am's

Peace out-

Jay Pace"

what happened to letting this one go, Jason?


This is after he called my cell phone requesting I meet him at his work to "settle our differences as men". I called to let his work know he was offering their place of business as a boxing ring. WHY would I bother going out to kick someone's @$$ Then after that happens he PMs me with that note above. Then this... whatever.

[PACE]

Cuz I decided I didn't want an internet stalker......I PM'd that to you 2 days after the fact.....

[phantom505]

How aggressive do I want my cam? One that will still work with a stock computer, and can be optimized with a reprogram at DHP. Idle quality? It's going to go to hell eventually anyway....

I guess I don't want it to shake the car apart though.

Bzopi, I know you have a regrind, and you have been one of the more helpful ppl on the boards. I can't remember, are you running a custom computer?

[GTManiac]

but as you can see, from ECAP here, who comes onto threads and topics about cams and regrinds and CR raises to bring up something that happened almost a month ago that I thought was settled. I don't have to defend my position. He's trying to damage my credibility.

internet stalker ??? yer the one calling my cell from your work... wtf

WHAT will it take to have that argument to be over with? I am all for settling it, but when you go and bring it up on other threads, that's not settled.

[steve_m]

Originally posted by GTManiac
PM from Ecap

"What up man...

Lets squash the arguements man. I think we were both out of line with the comments made. I'm not trying to fight anybody...especially a fellow Grand Am driver. I'm too old to be meeting up to fight people...Those were my college days...I'd like to think we're both more mature than that.....Good luck with your club. I hope it grows to its potential....I'm not trying to divide the GA community...One love-Grand Am's

Peace out-

Jay Pace"

what happened to letting this one go, Jason?


This is after he called my cell phone requesting I meet him at his work to "settle our differences as men". I called to let his work know he was offering their place of business as a boxing ring. WHY would I bother going out to kick someone's @$$ Then after that happens he PMs me with that note above. Then this... whatever.

Wow. Either way, calling someone's boss and posting someone's private messages to a public forum is pretty slimy. I don't know the whole situation but can we get back on to the topic of cams instead of the high school drama BS. A good rule of thumb is to treat the Internet like you would a public place -- would you say these types of things to a stranger in a shopping mall? It is trivial to find somone's personal information from Internet posts.

Anyways, back to cams.

I don't think we need to worry about re-grinds as with the kind of power we are putting out I doubt they will pose us any problems. I am also interested in the compression boost, you are most definately running 92 octane gas right? Didn't this cause you a ton of heating issues? With the mods I have done (list below) I am running hotter than I would like. I am thinking that putting in a switch to control my fan (perhaps larger/better fans) would help as well as replacing the rad with a larger aluminum one as well.

Here is what I have done so far;

Shaved head
Cylander head port job (www.entrenctech.com/carporn for pics - yes I have these off of my works website -- call my boss and I will @#$@# kill you. )
Borla Cat Back
TOG Header
180 Thermostat
SA pullies
FFWD pully
removed cat
CAI

I am waiting on a new TB and just sent back my Granatelli MAF and will order the Muscle Motors one this week. Also waiting on DHP to finish the PCM for the Alero.

[steve_m]

Originally posted by phantom505
How aggressive do I want my cam? One that will still work with a stock computer, and can be optimized with a reprogram at DHP. Idle quality? It's going to go to hell eventually anyway....

I guess I don't want it to shake the car apart though.

Bzopi, I know you have a regrind, and you have been one of the more helpful ppl on the boards. I can't remember, are you running a custom computer?

I agree with you on the cam. That is probably what I am looking for too. I want more lower end punch for those 1/4 mile runs.

[phantom505]

As soon as a I get the cam/heads/lower installed I'll go to running 91. That's the best we have out here. (The only place I've ever seen worse is in north TX where you can only get 90.)

Aleroboy had a thread started way back when about a cooling upgrade. It involved getting a better radiator and coolent. I'm not sure what has happened with that since then. You might try searching for it or ask him. I can't remember the thread title.......

As I understood things, doing a cam is the best way to make sure you get the most out of your headwork. That makes sense to me so you can put all that porting to good use.

[steve_m]

Originally posted by phantom505
As soon as a I get the cam/heads/lower installed I'll go to running 91. That's the best we have out here. (The only place I've ever seen worse is in north TX where you can only get 90.)

Aleroboy had a thread started way back when about a cooling upgrade. It involved getting a better radiator and coolent. I'm not sure what has happened with that since then. You might try searching for it or ask him. I can't remember the thread title.......

As I understood things, doing a cam is the best way to make sure you get the most out of your headwork. That makes sense to me so you can put all that porting to good use.

Yeah, thats what I understand about cams as well. I wouldn't bother doing a cam change on a completely stock car but with the head work it should give some nice improvements.

As far as the cooling issue goes, I am probably going to get a custom Aluminum rad made for my Alero. If the dimensions are close enough to the Grand Am I can check into pricing on doing more than one.