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Cam or Intercooler? Which setup would you buy first?

jayroca

jayroca

Banned
Hey guys im buying a Cam or Intercooler setup next week i wanted to know which setup is better to grab? Would i need tune for the setup as well? I want some opinions to start from oh and the cam is a XP Cam setup and the intercooler would be phenolic or stage 2 zzp or wbody thanks guys!!!

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darkhorizon said:
Its not really required.. You could shift kit the trans and bolt a intercooler on, drop a pulley and not get any faster with tuning.
Click to expand...

Always just negativity, offer some insight as the OP was looking for some.

On that note:

It all really depends on what you want or are looking for. The two options you ask about do different things. The CAM will change your overall engine performance with increased performance on the top end of the rpm's. The IC will allow you to eliminate knock thereby increasing HP (pulley drops)... Apples and Oranges to me. Ultimately make your decision and don't look back, both are good upgrades!

:)
 
coolone said:
Always just negativity, offer some insight as the OP was looking for some.

On that note:

It all really depends on what you want or are looking for. The two options you ask about do different things. The CAM will change your overall engine performance with increased performance on the top end of the rpm's. The IC will allow you to eliminate knock thereby increasing HP (pulley drops)... Apples and Oranges to me. Ultimately make your decision and don't look back, both are good upgrades!

:)
Click to expand...

Im really feelin the Cam and im hearing a lot of good reviews about the XP cam as far as a tune which one is prefered for a cam setup dyno or a tune from one of the vendors? Could i do without a dyno tune? Intercooler i thought brought gains?

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I'd cam it before I ic'd but that's just me. It really depends on how much of the motor you want to tear apart.
 


And you don't want to "dyno tune" you car to get the magic number, you will not be drinving WOT all the time and dyno tune is for max output. You do want a good in car street tune for DD use. Next would be an OTC tune.

If running the XP cam, I'd look into exhaust work also... my $.02, others can comment on exhaust if really needed or not.
 
darkhorizon said:
Its not really required.. You could shift kit the trans and bolt a intercooler on, drop a pulley and not get any faster with tuning.
Click to expand...

This is correct.

coolone said:
Always just negativity, offer some insight as the OP was looking for some.

On that note:

It all really depends on what you want or are looking for. The two options you ask about do different things. The CAM will change your overall engine performance with increased performance on the top end of the rpm's. The IC will allow you to eliminate knock thereby increasing HP (pulley drops)... Apples and Oranges to me. Ultimately make your decision and don't look back, both are good upgrades!

:)
Click to expand...

He's not being negative, he's suggesting saving money on a tune if going the intercooler route. Cam will need a bumped idle, thats about it.

Cam will add power almost all around, not just up top, but that's where it'll help the most. IC will just be mid/low end torque because all you're doing is adding more pulley and not changing the dynamics of the engine flow characteristics.

jayroca said:
Im really feelin the Cam and im hearing a lot of good reviews about the XP cam as far as a tune which one is prefered for a cam setup dyno or a tune from one of the vendors? Could i do without a dyno tune? Intercooler i thought brought gains?

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

This shows you need to do a bunch more researches.

dsmuts said:
I'd cam it before I ic'd but that's just me. It really depends on how much of the motor you want to tear apart.
Click to expand...

I agree, IC will leave you wanting more.

dbextreme said:
And you don't want to "dyno tune" you car to get the magic number, you will not be drinving WOT all the time and dyno tune is for max output. You do want a good in car street tune for DD use. Next would be an OTC tune.

If running the XP cam, I'd look into exhaust work also... my $.02, others can comment on exhaust if really needed or not.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with a dyno tune if they know what they're doing. But with any tune, the tuner could have no idea what the **** they're doing.

asite57 said:
an IC is just a bolt on but a cam requires engine removal
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Totally incorrect.

Intercoolers are pretty sketchy for these cars, and cam requires dropping the subframe most of a foot or removing the engine.

And you guys wonder why GPF is looked at as being stupid.
 
Ok I meant its easiest to just pull the motor and a IC set up is definitely bolted on with the motor in place.....I think what I said was pretty correct
 


But you also need to tear the front end apart to install an ic. I'd say a cam install is easier than an ic install.


And that's leaving the engine in place. Now take into consideration if you know exactly what you are doing.
 
You'd need more then an idle bump on an XP cam.... Gotta have shift points changed for the powerband or you might as well go with the S1X or VS...

And, yes in a perfect world having a tuner that knows that they are doing, an in car street tune is the best option.

What other mods are going to happen?? For an XP cam, don't you need stiffer springs in your heads or can you run stock?? I'd rather take the time to pull the motor to do the heads properly then keep it all in the car and work around everything. But that's my opinion.
 
dbextreme said:
You'd need more then an idle bump on an XP cam.... Gotta have shift points changed for the powerband or you might as well go with the S1X or VS...

And, yes in a perfect world having a tuner that knows that they are doing, an in car street tune is the best option.

What other mods are going to happen?? For an XP cam, don't you need stiffer springs in your heads or can you run stock?? I'd rather take the time to pull the motor to do the heads properly then keep it all in the car and work around everything. But that's my opinion.
Click to expand...

A stock trans will be shifting by 6000+ rpm anyways. so it won't matter.

Some professional tuners will argue that they can't acheive the speeds required for testing high engine speeds long enough to ensure accurate data without a dyno.

Even on a mildly modded grand prix, you'll easily break legal limits tuning the thing even if you never get out of second gear.

What are you doing to do to the heads while having them out?

Port and weld the cracks? Might as well buy vendor heads at that point.
 
wth, matt agreeing with me???... Hell you actually even posted other right stuff so I dont need to correct you.... Man maybe people dont all hate me around here....

Anyway.. I have had a few "IC only" cars out here making over 300whp (ok, this was probably 6 years ago) but its a solid setup that IS pretty simple for the average dude to install, as its more bolts and plumbing, than it is actually engine work like a cam install (where you need to pay attention to stuff like torque specs, install methods, timing, etc).
 
Ok guys given the info i'll go for the XP cam with supporting mods with it off the shelf tune first then in car tune intercooler comes after cam upgrade ftw

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In terms of power, the cam route would be the best way. You don't need to remove the engine, just lower the cradle enough(after some other steps) and you'll be able to take off the timing cover. I was running a 3.3 pulley on a gen 3 setup with 1.9 rockers and supporting mods. After the NIC cam swap I was able to, and still am running a 3.1 on a gen 5. So that's basically running .4 more pulley than the rockers if I still had the gen 3 on it.

In terms of other mods, I've seen guys use a new GM chain on xp setups with a raised idle, and L76 or crow 105's for springs. If you were to do the NIC cam and only raise your idle by 50rpm so you can hear the white trash idle like mine, I'd go double roller to be safe.
 
You white trash mullet man.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWYYYYYYYYYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
 
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