[TrumanG8gt]

Hello, I have a 09 GT all stock and I'm looking to make some more power. I'm mechanically able to do most anything myself so labor costs are no matter. I really want to stay with the stock converter but I want to do the DOD delete and some other mods. Any recommendations for what cam to go with? I was also thinking of adding a flex fuel sensor and being able to run e85. My goals are to make maybe another 100hp or so to the wheels. I don't mind a nice chop at idle but want it to be quiet enough to travel 4hr+ on trips. I'm willing to yeet my cats out of existence for a little cash to spend on go fast parts and free up some exhaust flow. Same with the mid muffler, I have already removed the rear mufflers. Thanks in advance, glad to be here.

 

[RedUgg]

BTR CAMSHAFT - LS3 - N/A STAGE 2 - 32538133R1

BTR CAMSHAFT - LS3 - N/A STAGE 2 - 32538133

briantooleyracing.com

This cam is a newer grind than the one I have in my car. I love mine. If you yeet the cats (depending on who you are) it will not be a 4+hr fun car. My wife doesn't mind it at all but ymmv. We drove from ATL to Bowling Green and had no problems with the sound.

 

[GT Drew]

It sounds like you want to make a complete package upgrade to reach your HP goal, but won’t accept a lot of compromises to reach it. A little more work and parts but worth it in the end. First headers. Exhaust and intake. You want a cam that is in the intake duration of 115 to 121 deg, and lift in the .550” to .585” range. RCR has endurance/low lift cams (under .600” ) , Lunati Voodoo L92, Cam Motion LS3 or Titan 1, Vinci, Crane, Comp. They all make cams in this range that will add 100 whp. Stock make 295 to 305 whp on average so 405+ whp is an easy goal. Also if you see an LS3 can that adds 45 to 65hp,that is what you want. An LS3 cam would add around 40 hp , so add a cam that add another 60 and your there.

 

[Jeff92se]

What's with teh sloppy stage 2 cam??

 

[JCMG8]

OP - seems you have a idea of what you goal is. From my perspective, contact a Cam professional. There is more to cam design than duration and lift, lobe profile will determine performance and valvetrain reliability. Profile is seldom shared. Since you are deviating from the OEM, new springs, trunnions, hollow intake valves (LS3) and 2110 lifters may be required to maintain reliability The Cam Professional will recommend what is required, including supporting intage/exhaust/fuel to gain 100hp reliably within the rpm band and convertor you desire.

The internet is full of free information, opinions and testimonials, good for discussion and sometimes reference, but when spending hard cash I suggest purchasing proven experience.

The Cam professional will have experience across several LS platforms - G8, Camaro, CTSV and Vettes to draw from to ensure you meet your goals. Two that I have personal experience with and recommend are listed below. There are others, be sure to get refences as you will be spending considerable money.

Patrick Guerra (PatGTuning)
Matt Gower ([email protected])

 

[TrumanG8gt]

It sounds like you want to make a complete package upgrade to reach your HP goal, but won’t accept a lot of compromises to reach it. A little more work and parts but worth it in the end. First headers. Exhaust and intake. You want a cam that is in the intake duration of 115 to 121 deg, and lift in the .550” to .585” range. RCR has endurance/low lift cams (under .600” ) , Lunati Voodoo L92, Cam Motion LS3 or Titan 1, Vinci, Crane, Comp. They all make cams in this range that will add 100 whp. Stock make 295 to 305 whp on average so 405+ whp is an easy goal. Also if you see an LS3 can that adds 45 to 65hp,that is what you want. An LS3 cam would add around 40 hp , so add a cam that add another 60 and your there.

How much power do headers really add? It seems like HP/$ they don't add much of a gain in comparison to some other things. I adhere to the church of sloppy pretty well and from what I can tell it seems like stock manifolds are decent. Also from my readings it would seem that the stock intake on the car is pretty decent in comparison to $500 LSXR intakes that people go with. I am all for doing it sloppily. Part of me wonders if I should just go with a turbo as I have one sitting on my bench. Honestly I just have a bunch of friends who buy "fast" cars and I want to be able to beat them with something that I "built" myself. I was planning on building a turbo 4.8l Volvo 240 wagon but I am contemplating just building up my g8 as it already has the engine and trans in it and everything is hooked up. One of my main bothers is paying someone $400-500 to tune a car per time I make a change. Has anyone hooked Terminator X to their car and still maintained stock gauges and all?

 

[TrumanG8gt]

OP - seems you have a idea of what you goal is. From my perspective, contact a Cam professional. There is more to cam design than duration and lift, lobe profile will determine performance and valvetrain reliability. Profile is seldom shared. Since you are deviating from the OEM, new springs, trunnions, hollow intake valves (LS3) and 2110 lifters may be required to maintain reliability The Cam Professional will recommend what is required, including supporting intage/exhaust/fuel to gain 100hp reliably within the rpm band and convertor you desire.

The internet is full of free information, opinions and testimonials, good for discussion and sometimes reference, but when spending hard cash I suggest purchasing proven experience.

The Cam professional will have experience across several LS platforms - G8, Camaro, CTSV and Vettes to draw from to ensure you meet your goals. Two that I have personal experience with and recommend are listed below. There are others, be sure to get refences as you will be spending considerable money.

Patrick Guerra (PatGTuning)
Matt Gower ([email protected])

If I'm going to go with a custom cam and all that jazz it would seem to me that I could just go with an off the shelf cam and buy a converter and be at a similar amount of money invested. I could be wrong as I don't know much, but that's why I'm here

 

[TrumanG8gt]

What's with teh sloppy stage 2 cam??

The sloppy stage 2 is what I have in my 4.8ls

 

[Jeff92se]

IMHO headers are worth 20+. More with a tune. That's pretty std thinking but I'd love to see a header vs stock manifold shoot out on you tube

 

[GT Drew]

If you didn’t search for an old post that some one just did headers only. Or it’s not on You tube. Who cares? Better is to find what post or You Tube is the final result of headers, cam, intake and exhaust.
Look for the goal, not a half job

 

[JCMG8]

If I'm going to go with a custom cam and all that jazz it would seem to me that I could just go with an off the shelf cam and buy a converter and be at a similar amount of money invested. I could be wrong as I don't know much, but that's why I'm here

PatG charges about $25 for cam spec. Since he tunes LS vehicles, remote and on his dyno, 100's if not 1000s over the past 10years(?), you should get a recommendation that will fit your needs, including if blower is in future. It can be an off the shelf or custom grind. Same goes for Matt.
Otherwise a recommendation is depending on a persons feelings about a cam they purchased (perhaps only one ever) and measured with a butt dyno based off another person's testimonial. If you know someone with experience and can trust, none of my babble applies.

It's your money. Reality is, HPTuners/EFI live is about $400. Cam will be $300. Remote tune $500 and then there is the supporting parts (lifters, trunnions etc) which can get close to $1k.

Your gonna drop some coin, $25 or so to make sure you understand what you are getting from person with vast experience seems logical to me. I regret not doing it when I started modding -

 

[Jeff92se]

I’m a Pat G believer. He tuned my LS3 with some unknown cam remotely and had it 95% on the mark after reviewing the 1st datalog. Also around here, scheduling another local dyno time is 30 days apart. So if my tune sucks, I have to wait a month. With Pat G, he sends a re-tune often the next day and will offer tunes until you are happy. Every dyno tune is $$$$$. And with HPT tuner suite, you get the datalog option and OBII scanning.

 

[TrumanG8gt]

PatG charges about $25 for cam spec. Since he tunes LS vehicles, remote and on his dyno, 100's if not 1000s over the past 10years(?), you should get a recommendation that will fit your needs, including if blower is in future. It can be an off the shelf or custom grind. Same goes for Matt.
Otherwise a recommendation is depending on a persons feelings about a cam they purchased (perhaps only one ever) and measured with a butt dyno based off another person's testimonial. If you know someone with experience and can trust, none of my babble applies.

It's your money. Reality is, HPTuners/EFI live is about $400. Cam will be $300. Remote tune $500 and then there is the supporting parts (lifters, trunnions etc) which can get close to $1k.

Your gonna drop some coin, $25 or so to make sure you understand what you are getting from person with vast experience seems logical to me. I regret not doing it when I started modding -

I'm all for running stock lifters (buying 8 used ones to replace the AFM ones currently in my engine), stock trunnions, and anything that doesn't "need" replaced due to the fact that I'm a big fan of saving money if I can. I have a local guy who tunes LS powered stuff very well and charges around $450 to do so. If I was going to buy HPTuners I would be more inclined to tune it myself instead of then adding another cost of someone else doing it. I understand I am not a tuner and there's more to it than just tweaking numbers, but I see it as a skill to learn. From other readings I have done it would also seem that there's not much point in doing a cam without swapping the torque converter. Mostly I was just looking to learn the opinion of people with the same car instead of a general idea.

 

[Trenton Man]

I'm all for running stock lifters (buying 8 used ones to replace the AFM ones currently in my engine), stock trunnions, and anything that doesn't "need" replaced due to the fact that I'm a big fan of saving money if I can. I have a local guy who tunes LS powered stuff very well and charges around $450 to do so. If I was going to buy HPTuners I would be more inclined to tune it myself instead of then adding another cost of someone else doing it. I understand I am not a tuner and there's more to it than just tweaking numbers, but I see it as a skill to learn. From other readings I have done it would also seem that there's not much point in doing a cam without swapping the torque converter. Mostly I was just looking to learn the opinion of people with the same car instead of a general idea.

Trunnions are not really needed. The stock ones work perfectly on 1000+ hp cars. Of course there's that one guy who had his fail on him and now everyone thinks those need to be replaced. Long tubes are a must - otherwise you'll have driveability issues. My cam of choice is either the little lunati or or little lunati (low lift). Neither requires a stall. Eaton/morel/gm ls7 lifters are basically all the same, so just get the cheapest ones of the three.

 

[tchr49]

Geoff at EPS is another alternative