Just curious, has anyone put a high lift cam on their Alpha yet?

 

No, but a comp 216/220 is on the list...

 

Much easier ways to get 100% reliable power increases without tearing the top of the motor off.

Bang for the buck for cam replacement in a Gen IV 5.3L is way down the list.

Would be interesting though to see if anybody has bothered to do it.

 

It WOULD be extremely cool to hear a that lopey sound coming from an H3 tho! lol.

 

Actually, you are not correct.

A cam swap on these engines is an easy Saturday job. I've done 4 of them so far and it doesn't require "tearing the top of the motor off". Take a look on performancetrucks.net or ls1tech.com and read up on the process and benefits.

A cam swap is a perfect power adder after you have a good intake and free flowing exhaust and can yield an additional 30rwhp for under $500 and it is highly recommended that you get a custom PCM tune (I use HPTuners) to make it even better. What other mod can you do that's comparable to that?

My best recommendation on a cam is Lingenfelter's GT2-3 kit that comes with new ls6 valvesprings. This cam can be installed w/o tuning and has excellent characteristics for a DD. on top of that, it was designed to be paired with a supercharger so when you get the itch for top performance, you will get the most out of it.

 

Im running a 214/224 with i think 550 lift. I did the cam before the turbo and truck was a turd. I built the tranny with a 2800 stall and it was more fun but the 37s were still killing me. I dropped 8/10 in the 8th mile with the cam and tranny. I havent been back since boosted. The best I ran on 37s stock except for tune, TB, cat back was a 11.36 at 62mph. I could just beat my buddies yukon with a 5.3 after cam and tranny with a 10.5 in 8th. I bet with the boost I should be low 13s 1/4 now at 8lbs. I plan on some meth and 12lbs soon

 

Saturday Job? What's your Saturday worth? Something you wrote also makes me wonder if you are talking about an LH8 H3?

It would appear you are saying a cam is great if you already have: 1) an intake; 2) free flowing exhaust; and, 3) get a PCM tune. That's four mods in all, and the cam itself with the install essentials is under $500.

Pretty hard to get 30rwhp in an permanent AWD/4X4 H3. I did not have any access to an AWD dyno in 2009, so all I could do was compare the same LH8 in a 2WD capable platform.

Here is the #s, stock with zero mods 2WD 2009 Colorado LH8 5.3L as a baseline runs 224 HP and 253 TQ max.

After an Air Doc Intake with K&N filter in the box, PCM tune, Efan conversion, and a performance muffler (nobody made Cat backs or Efan conversions for the 2009 Colorado when our customer ran this test) stock cam. 300 RWHP and 339 TQ.


Pretty much took the flywheel numbers and moved them to the wheels with those mods. The PCM tune controls the fan PCMforless Efan with a patch now, takes about an hour to install the Efan on the 08+s version and costs less than $350.

So my answer is mod 1, 2 and 3 (I'm only including them because you did ), plus...... an Efan conversion ... and spend the rest of Saturday on the boat.


What I was originally getting to was, a cam takes hours and may be beyond simple for many to DIY. The other stuff is easy, take minutes, and for some you do not even get your fingers dirty.

 

cant tell what the curves are but you can see a slight increase at,,,4500,,,!! yikes,i try to avoid that neighborhood.
my new trip comp gives max readings. rarely see 3000 unless racing to the pizza shop!.
i still see no use whatever in persuing hp in a hummer. off road mods ok but in lo lock u got more tq/hp than u need for stump pulling.

 

It seems like a bigger undertaking than it actually is and if you read through the how-to on ls1tech and get everything prepared, I think spending a Saturday with a buddy drinkin beer and wrenchin is just about as much fun as a day on the trail...to each their own...

I listed the other bolt on mods because I consider them to "supporting mods" and ensure you get the most out of your rig. That dyno chart looks good, but wouldn't it look better at 340-350hp? You know, since this thread IS about a performance camshaft

What I'm getting at is a cam the "next step" once you have already done the basic bolt ons and still want more without dropping $4500-$6500 on a supercharger or turbo kit..

 

Very nice! What is your lobe separation on that cam? 224 pretty a pretty big cam especially for a heavy rig before the converter lol that's why it was a turd! You could probably chock up .3 for the cam and .5 on the converter I bet that thing is a beast with the turbo! Do you have any videos of it?