Which one and why? Cam or SC?

[CSP]

I've come to a cross roads. I'm ready for the next step in modification but am unsure which way to go. This will be the final step so I want to make sure I'm making the best decision. It will be one or the other - not both. There is no need to consider future possibilities etc...

I have done a lot of reading about it already... But wanted to open the flood gates to peoples opinions.

Do I go for a cam, valve springs and push rods + retune?

Or do I go for a supercharger + retune?

So far I have the dual 3 inch exhaust, CAI and tune so I know I have the prerequisites.

But what do people think? Cam or supercharger? And why? What have others done when faced with a similar choice?

I want a car that is a pleasure to drive, sounds good and will be reliable. I'm certainly not doing it to become a dyno queen so would prefer a torque advantage more than top end rwkw advantage.

[vyssbeast]

I think the clear winner would be the charger if you are willing to spend that coin.

Keep in mind time to sell you can take the supercharger off if you struggle to sell and recoupe some cost of that and sell your car is a bolt on type package.

Cam, i think scares people that dont know bout em and definatly harder to pull that out at time of sale.

IMO charger. But think bout kw gained per $$ spent.

You'll find with the LS2 you will probably end up in the 320rwkw region with a cam whereas most chargers should get you around the 360+rwkw region.

But then again you'll be spending double the money ... so is it worth twice as much for 100rwkw gain compared to 50rwkw gain with cam over your current baseline?


EDIT: charger will show torque and power increase right from the get go. Cam depends on size chosen so if you go for a torque cam it'll be great on the road ... but wont gain as much up top ... soo that seems more like what you want.

Your call in the end

p.s. Note i started this post saying charger, and convinced myself cam by the end ... hmmm

[michaels1v8]

No extractors yet?

I would look at the charger if the budget can be stretched

Fuel economy like stock could be retained if you dont sink your foot into it

Smooth idle

more power

bolts on and off easy for sale

best of all

blower whine :drool:

[hurricane]

Hi CSP,just my two bobs worth i would go the tt/bb kit from Ls1edit if your budget allows has plenty of power gains on a car like yours and is all leagal too, no worries about the local boys in blue putting the sticker on the windscreen for an illegal mod. My car is supercharged Harrop 112 with the 75mm pulley and definately whines down low but has a sweet sound under full throttle, pulls pretty hard down low. Anyway there are plenty of options out there and good luck with your choice you wont be dissapointed either way you go, cheers Ian.

[Brandonsdad]

Do what you want to do, not what others think you should do.

Hasnt this been covered heaps of other times by a well known member.:doh:

Hey Tone, hows the car going?

[CSP]

Thanks for the mostly constructive feedback so far guys. Not a fan of turbos so I'm not considering that as an option. AFAIK the Harrop blowers are ADR compliant. I also don't mind lumpiness from a cam or the noise they make either.



Do what you want to do, not what others think you should do.

Errr... I will be doing what I want to do. Doesn't mean I can't ask for opinions on a discussion forum.


Hasnt this been covered heaps of other times by a well known member.:doh:

Nope. If the exact same question had been asked before, I wouldn't have asked it. :D


Hey Tone, hows the car going?

WTF has that got to do with the OP? How about you PM him and ask him how his cars going... :confused:

[GC0008]

I just went through exactly the same deal.
I just imagined standing next to the insurance assessor at a smash repair place, and him saying, sorry mate......
So, I went the cam way.

[CSP]

Shannons will insure me either way so I'm not worried about that.

[Roonstain]

hey mate
i know you probably won't want to hear my opinion because of the car i own... :poke:
haha

if it was my money, i would go for the cam - a nice lumpy mid 22X perhaps?
my reasons would be:
-the sound!
-the low end torque (more applicable to you i think as you said, not a dyno queen!)
-to the uneducated, they would think you havent done anything major under the bonnet
-the price - cheaper is always nice :thumbsup:
-power output - lets be honest, without lots of strip time and track work, you'll never be able to use all the power of s/c legally or off a dyno

there's probably more, but you would of course know them (you would definitely have a much better understanding of this than me!)
i know it may sound a bit rich an 18yo handing out advice to some of his elders, but i know when you've got some $$$ and you get too excited on what mod is next...

good luck, and i hope you keep us informed with your choice for the red demon!
cheers
mark

[Oztrack Tuning]

The right sized cam can give great gains everywhere not just up top and make a nice streeter. Any positive displacement SC well tuned will have breathtaking torque right where cars are driven most of the time. You can combine both for a nice effect if thats where your tastes are. The key with pd superchargers is if you want the quiet crusing in the cabin keep your boost goals low then you can spin the pump slower and have a quieter ride when you want it to be quiet.

[Y55-7UT]

in all honesty, you said you have done a lot of searching.......
so you should know the differences by now then,
i searched a little to help make up my decision, we got a cam motor and ive had a blown 5.0l before, but this time round i was keen for the heads and cam, but a split decision made me go blower as i want a new ute in a year and half so i figured it is more expensive to start of heads and cam, but then what if i wanted more later..? head and cam + FI would be very expensive, for my opinion i went the blower because love the sound, as steve said once you go for boost upgrades it gets louder, but its sweet regardless, i can turn my ute back to bolt on as it was start of the year in a few hours and then transfer it to the next motor = i dont lose money!, compared to not even worth pulling a cam out and all other parts, as there not worth much anyway.
And do the valve train regarless if you go N/A or FI,

see if there are any cammed and blown 6.0ls in town they might help make up your decision :driving::burnout:

[BlownLS7]

i feel to get honest opinions you need to specify a budget.
cuz i bet after you fitted blower (if that was option) then you would want cam as this will put the icing on the cake.
if you went cam only it would be nice to have heads.

so it really depends on the money you wish to spend.

but cam only will be 3000
up to nice blower and cam around 11000

just my opinion.



cheers

[boyley]

Are you considering centrifugal/roots or PD type blower.

You wont be dissapointed in going the cam option mate and you can always add blower later eh?

[Bravotwozero]

WTF has that got to do with the OP? How about you PM him and ask him how his cars going... :confused:

Clearly the irony was lost on you! :rofl:

Just make sure funds are approved! :jester:

[S2VYSS]

You could always go a cammed and blown setup and might be able to get a decent deal

Dont forget that you will need a fuel system and clutch or upgraded auto

[Tyre biter]

Go both I say.

PM Uteme and ask him how his Harrop H122 intercooled S/C, 3" X-Force system, VCM cam, valve springs and tune by Gentech is going - 397rwkw easy-peasey with a VCM fuel system to follow next week...hello >400rwkw!

I reckon it all depends on what you want to spend, and just how many kw you are after I guess, given the 'driveability' of both is excellent nowadays.

On the money front, a cam is what, around a couple of thousand plus springs and tune - a fair bit of change from $5k probably?

Whereas a decent roots type blower is $11k, plus, plus...looking nigh-on $20k ll up. On the HP front, from what I have seen a well set up VE with cam and some extras is running what around the 230rwkw mark, whereas S/C are running about 400rwkw.

On the ADR front, yes the Harrop is (reportedly) ADR compliant - that is, if everything in your car matches the vehicle it was complied by Harrop with. You throw in just one difference and the ADR won't convert to your's sorry to report. Also, the lads at the ACT RTA reckon a S/C will require an engineer's certificate at a minimum, and probably something extra in the brake department to get past them.

In any case, good luck with it.

Cheers

[CSP]

I hope the 230rwkw for a cammed VE is a typo. Cause I got 260rwkw with just a cat back zorst, intake and tune.

[Tyre biter]

I hope the 230rwkw for a cammed VE is a typo. Cause I got 260rwkw with just a cat back zorst, intake and tune.

It was sorry. Should have read 330rwkw.

[Ls1346]

was thinking the same thing, you get pretty much that from otr and tune from a ls1.

[Vulture]

i feel to get honest opinions you need to specify a budget.
cuz i bet after you fitted blower (if that was option) then you would want cam as this will put the icing on the cake.

Spot on. It really comes down to budget. A blower is going to cost a hell of a lot more. I did a cam and springs on my LS2 GTS and am very happy with this. The next stage would be blower but not sure I want to take it that far at this point. I think you should go the cheaper option and do a mid sized cam, you will almost certainly be happy and have plenty of drivability. If you get sick of that you can add a blower later as funds allow. You already have spent on the exhaust and OTR (which will not be able to be used with the blower). The reason I say this is because I don't like to do things by halves. I reckon a blower without a decent cam and boost is sortof not realising its full potential. But then, everyone is different. Powertorque have done a lot of blowers on VEs that are making heaps of power with stock exhaust or just cat back. Smooth and quiet.