i have a 2004 monte ss n/a. its completely stock except for mufflers and a cai. but i would like to put a cam in to for a nice exhaust lope. kinda sorta a sbc. i seen sum videos on youtube and i really want one now. i was thinkin a xp hot cam but idk. can you guys help me make a decision. i plan on adding headers really soon. and a turbo kit down the line. prolly wont do anymore engine upgrades after that. but i would like for input on everything that would be needed. thanks

 

i love this sound but i kno its a 3.4 but i would love to have my 3.8 like this
YouTube - grand prix idleing at 650rpm with a XP HOT cam

 

That IS a 3.8. Its a supercharged 3800. It has a 3.4 pulley on it.

 

these 2
YouTube - GTP XP Cam Idle & Rev
YouTube - Cammed Gtp 600/601 lift cam

 

oo ok sry. my mistake

 

You would probably want a GT1 or GT2 cam from ZZperformance, depending on your mods.
ZZ Performance

GT1 Cam:
YouTube - Grand Prix GT1 Cam

GT2 Cam and mods:
YouTube - 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT2 Cam Idle

 

i like the both of them but prolly the first one more. i just have cai, mufflers, and 180 therm. but looking into headers now. so with the gt1 what else am i goin to need with this

 

From what I understand, they are both "drop in" replacements, the GT1 being the milder of the two. I would probably recommend a CAI and a DP or headers. Not experienced with these cams so I couldnt tell you for sure. Member Zipper used to run the GT1 cam in his car before he went with the CSC so he could probably answer better.

 

I hope you realize what a pain a cam is to do with the engine in the car- that's a lot of work for just some sound. The more lopey cams really should have worked heads to go with them, and the more mild cams made to work best with stock heads don't make much power (heck, none of the NA 3800's make much power).

Have you given any thought to a top swap? I'd bet you'd get at least as much power gain as a cam- it'll cost you more, but then you'd be able to make a lot more power. Instead of the lopey idle- you'd get blower whine at WOT instead- kinda of a decent tradeoff.


XP cam is for supercharged cars. The GT1/2 are for NA. The NA cams tend to be more lopey than the SC cams given the same lift range anyways- you're not as worried about blowing fresh fuel/exhaust out of the exhaust when the intake isn't pressurized.

turbo won't work with headers, turbo would be better off not running the SC cam you wanted, or the NA cam you should get if you want a cam. If you are serious about TC and want to cam it, get a TC cam.

One other thing to think of here- if you're looking at a cam and headers- why not just set that money aside, save a little more and keep an eye on the clubgp forum classified section for a used turbo kit. Obviously a used turbo kit would cost at least double what a new cam/headers would run- but then you'd get more power sooner rather than waiting longer to do it.


More info on GT cams:

ZZ Performance

Also, I believe Intense-Racing has some NA cams available too if you want some bigger than what ZZP offers.

Lastly- keep in mind- if you do decide to do a lopey cam NA. Even though your peak power will increase- it will hurt bottom end, and move your powerband up. It is possible to have very little 1/4 mile gains from doing a cam if you go too big and don't do gears or a high stall converter to get you into that rpm range. The boosted cars don't have this problem as drastically (especially since a lot of camm'd boosted 3800's can't hook from a dead stop anyways).

 

To kind of paraphrase what bumpin said, with everything that you said you want to do nugmtg the order that you do them should be as follows:

Turbocharger/kit
Cam
Tune

XP cams are for s/c 3800's only
GT1 or GT2 cams are for NA 3800's
Headers won't work if you go turbo
Cams are VERY difficult to install or VERY expensive to have someone else install

I still have my GT1 cam installed even though I have a CSC and it works, but I would do better with a custom cam. When I was NA and had my GT1 cam installed, the gains were great, however like bumpin said the power band shifts up so you don't have as much torque in lower rpm's. I raced a Monte like mine, but he had rockers instead of a cam. He had me through the 1/8th mile, but after that I dominated and ran .250ish faster then him in the 1/4 mile.

So if you're interested in street racing and get a GT1 cam, you better race to at LEAST 80mph, or be prepared to lose the race.