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For those of you running cams

1251 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  2HiPsi
did you notice immediate gains from your cam or did it take awhile, i really want to here from the N/A 3800's but would also like input from the l67 group
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Immediate gains. But it got better as the PCM learned and I dropped pulley sizes (which I guess doesn't pertain to you). Tuning will make it even better.
i did notice right away the top end power didnt drop off at all for the power i was getting but, it still seemed a little slow, and i was expecting more, i know i was running a bit rich, but i thought the gains would be be bigger, i was told the pcm just may need time to adjust to the new cam, but i just wanted more opinions
I had imediat gains but i also added Gen3 rockers, Torque converter and cam at teh same time.

Prior I was Gen 1 1.9 rockers and stock cam. I went from 13.3 end of last year to 12.8 on my first pass after the istall. Since then i have added a few more things to get me to where i am now.

The PCM does help to have one tuned for a cam.
Night and Day difference. I already had the Stage 1 Intense PCM though. Dropped .6 tenths from a cam swap. Nuts.
Immediate gains. You will need a PCM specific to the cam though depending on how agressive the Cam is. I run a S/C car, so I cant speak for the N/A 3800's, but the whole theory of swapping a cam for one with more lift and duration can only be good provided you're able to get that PCM tuned to the car. Once you get that PCM it will take a few days for it to "learn". Depending on what cam you put in your car, the powerband usually moves up, so you may be feeling disappointed with the cam because the car's not shifting where it should be. I ran a "Re-programmed" PCM from PFYC (the one I had prior to my mods) with my Stage 2 cam after the rebuild, while I was waiting for my PCM from INTENSE. The car ran like "Dog-dung" (I'd like to use more colourful terms, but I guess I cant here, LOL) until I got that Stage 2 PCM in and learned. The difference with the cam I have, and shifting at 5800 as opposed to the now 6500 RPM is night and day. I would be leary of changing the shift points on a stock engine though. Some may say it's alright, but I already grenaded one engine, and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Good luck!
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As far as the pcm goes, i had my pcm sent to charles and told him which cam im using and he made changes accordingly, so i know the pcm is ok
Put cam in, let the car warm up, went out, WHOA :D
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