Hey guys, I'm new to the forum.

I bought a 89 Formula 350, and I am buying this camshaft, and heres the message I got on MySpace from the guy who's selling it:

"i forgot to mention it to you the other night. i got a Comp Cams Extreme Eneregy Hydraulic Roller cam.

i bought it for my LT1 but when i took it to the speed shop i found out they had sent me a cam for a TPI motor. so i've had it in storage for years.

its a 230/236 .495 .510 110lsa if i remember correctly. it idles MEAN and is pretty damn choppy. heres a similar cam in a LT1, it has a 111lsa so mine will chop a little bit more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBy9fydbNA

anyway, its yours for $100 if you want it.

matt"

I asked him about heads:

"i also heard you can run GM Vortec heads on TPI motors, and they are really good heads and are only like $800"

I am gonna buy it and It needs new heads, but my question is, will these Vortec heads fit on my block, and will they work with the TPI? Any suggestions? Will my car be super bad on gas, and is it worth the HP gain?

here are the heads I am thinking about: http://www.sdparts.com/product/SD8060A2/Vo...ingUpgrade.aspx

Whats you all's input?

The will fit the block fine, they wilk not work with the stock intkae, scoggy dickins sells the only one www.sdpc2000.com, it's around 450 i believe. Its made by edelbrock but they only sell that to sdpc. 800 seems pricey for vortec heads too, especially since you have to have them machined for different springs I think new from GM they are 650 a set and aftermarket vortecs are 650-750. Also that cam will not work in a tpi car, or at least run right, you need a cam with 112* of lobe seperation or higher.

-Jim

I bought the cam... the guy I bought it from said I have to get a 3000 stall or it will be hard to drive and a new timing chain, and new valve springs...

He said I can use the same heads I have now just put better springs and the cam will work with it. The cam wont work with Tpi? why not?

the cam will not work because of the lobe seperation angle. The cam is 110, you need 112 or higher. It will drive the computer nuts, and no one will be able to tune it. Fi cars need parts different then carb cars. That's not a tpi cam either. Also a tpi cam will work in a lt1 and vice versa, nothing different at all except the pin that sticks out to drive the water pump on lt1 cars. A 3000 stall converter would work ok.

-Jim

So I HAVE to ditch the TPI no matter what with that cam.... [edit]

loss of torque up the NOOOOOOO

Don't ditch the cam, just get a proper cam for the tpi.

"i checked the cam number on comp cams online and it says it will work. if you double check, go to compcams website, call a tech and ask him.

LS1's are fuel injected and people run 110lsa all the time with no probs tuning.

I've seen several TPI IROC's on youtube with this same cam on a 110lsa idleing fine.

if you go over a 112 your not going to have a choppy idle. the lower the LSA the more chop your idle as. a lower LSA also brings the power on lower in the RPM range, something that is good for your TPI. a lower LSA also has better throttle response.

you might need to get a ACCEL computer uprgrade i've read about. im not sure, or call lethal perf. and ask them if they could tune it.

a side thought would be, considering converting to a carb. you'll get better top end power, a little less low end torque, but you got tuns of that anyway, it will be easy to tune cause you can do it yourself and save $500. "

I get mixed responses. Ill just put it in with opther upgrades and see what I get.

The ls1's are way easier to tune, no one really has a clue on tuning tpi cars because of the eproms. asl accel doesn't make the computer upgrades for tpi's anymore. You have to go with the whole setup now. I would start looking into buying some tuning and chip burning equipment.

-Jim

I agree cuz with the way the motor is set up it just wont work the other way . so yeah start searching around looking try craigslist for #1 .

Your not going to find that stuff on craigslist, it's hard enough to find on TGO used.

hey jim, do you have videos/pics of your camaro? I really like it..... whats in it?

Not to steal the thread but I have a few pics online on my fquick, and as far as whats in it, I'm currently building a 355/vortec/HSR setup for it, should be in by the end of april. Here is my fquick: http://www.fquick.com/conlinj

-Jim

The lower the LSA, the worse it performs at low RPM. You have to rev it really high to make power. That's why you need a very high stall converter.... it has to be up in the rev band to develop decent torque. If you want performance, buy the correct LSA. If you want a lumpy cam, go low on the LSA and lose low end. The TPI intake is going to be a problem with a cam that big, and with that much overlap. Its going to want to rev to 6000-6500 rpm, and the TPI intake is going to need a major upgrade.

The overlap is what kills you with the tuning. At low RPM, the overlap allows a significant amount of intake air/fuel to blow right through the open exhaust valve. The O2 sensor sees the excess air, the ECM thinks its running lean, and it dumps a bunch of fuel in that the engine doesn't need.... it runs pig rich. Its going to fouol plugs, surge and be a handful on the street..... but it will have a choppy idle.

In this case I would have to ditch the TPI for that cam. Because of the LSA and the other specs of the cam, would it be better to get a Carb, a HSR, or a whole different engine altogether? I just want that cam to go good with the engine and perform well, and have a cool choppy idle with no problems... Or is there no such thing as power AND a choppy idle.

what would I have to do computer-wise? does a carb need a computer? also, Im not doing a stall converter. I want an easy daily driver