GMPP is offering an LS3 crate engine with a hotter cam. With just that upgrade power is up from 430 to 480 HP.
The stock stick (.551/.522 204/211) sees increased intake lift and duration on both sides (0.525/0.525, 219/228). Street manners are said to be excellent with the modest changes, although a 50 HP jump would certainly put a litle extra ;D in your day.
When gas hits the “own-weight-in-gold” level, you can keep your hybrids and your 351 Interceptors (and their anti-Semite drivers). I’m going with a small-block Chevy.
They could have given it a bit more lift with the “LS6” valve springs they seem to use on everything these days. With a factory style lobe profile they will take .580 lift all day. BUT you can’t sell LS7’s if the LS3 puts out similar numbers, lol.
the hot cam is the worst cam in the world, you’ll be lucky to see 20rwhp with that cam, If you were to do the work, why would you put a cam in it thats almost the same size as the stock one, I would look into a cam like a 228/232 or around that range, custom ground, something that actually has lift to it. The have been designing the same cam since the tpi days, there is so much more power to be had
I’m not saying the GMPP Hot Cam is anything radical. Part of my point was that it isn’t. The Hot Cam comes on GMPP crate LS3s for hot-rod swaps. 480 HP isn’t a bad place to start for a street rod, especially with a warranty.
When the LS3 first came out, I was skeptical that it was just a half-assed punch-job with bigger numbers from a few more cubes and bigger valve ports. Thing is, they (GM) put a lot of work into it. It was the heads (L92) that made me most skeptical, but they are the rough casting that the LS7 heads are machined down from. The LS6 style heads used on the LS6 and LS2 were very good, flowing at least 320 intake side, but they’re more expensive to manufacture than the L92s (330 intake).
The valves are bigger, and with the upgraded LS3 springs that extra mass limits RPMs to around 6600. Making more power will come down to what you want to do with the valve-train. For forced-inducted engines, you might want to switch to inconel valves to stand up to the heat (particularly exhaust), but then the added weight of the heavier material can cause uncontrollable loft. You need progressive lobe ramps to prevent loft and to keep lash within tolerances so you don’t roast your valve. Too much or too little lash will push power one way or the other in the band, make the engine idle poorly, or kill top end. That’s as much as I know, anyway.
Just throwing a huge cam alone won’t make all the power these engines are capable of. Machined, the L92 heads with the right valves should be good for huge numbers (probably 400 CFM intake, maybe more). You don’t even need forced induction to make these things into monsters.
im not saying throw a big cam in it, im saying there are even cheaters cams with bigger lifts that make more power than that, so what would be the point in it?
Im not famlier with the LS3 yet, But I know theirs a cheater head/cam package for the LS1 that is built for stock manifolds/exhaust and intake and puts down 400rwhp.
Exactly – it’s about total set-up. You can’t consider what you’re doing one part at a time, because a series of small changes can have great results in overall velocity/airflow. Hell, look at Nelson Racing Engines. He uses some rather small cams, depending on his set-ups. You can find at least one build article where he gives away his specs, and he’s making ridiculous horsepower.