hey guys, looking to get a gt2 cam for my 00 n/a monte next week, and i have some questions.
Comp Cams - GT Camshafts #
i talked to a zzp rep and he told me that this cam is meant to be used with stock lifters, springs and pushrods ect.

"The GT2 cam was designed for use with totally stock heads. Stock springs, keepers, retainer, lifters and pushrods can be used. Upgraded pushrods are recommended but not needed. RPMs past 6200 will require upgraded springs. Either 90 or 105# springs are recommended for high RPM use."

can i cam my 3800 without pulling the motor? i recently changed my crank pos sensor, and had to pull my crank pulley to get to it and there seamed to be quite abit of room there. can it be done?! i thought ive read about it somewhere that you can do it it just take alot of patience.

thanks in advance!

 

It can be done but it's not easy. You will have to drop the passenger side engine cradle a bit so the cam will clear and slide out the wheel well

 

Can I recommend just getting a higher ratio rocker?

Even after you build your NA with a cam, you might not be satisfied with the power and want to go to boost later. You'll usually want a different cam with boost, so you'd be doing the job twice. At least rockers are a piece of cake

 

I agree with Chibi, just do rockers for now. Coming from personal experience, doing an NA build sucks. I had very few things left that could be done to an NA 3800 and all I could muster was a 14.4 second 1/4 mile. That's better then my 15.7 bone stock time, but still disapointing because an L67 just needs a cai and exhaust to do that.

Save the cam work for when you're boosted. Throw some rockers on your engine right now (very easy install) if you want power and keep the stock rockers for when you go boosted and need a cam (you can realistically do one or the other, not both).

 

This cam will be good even when I do add boost! That's why I want it. That and for the sound

 

Also different springs are recommended for this cam if shift points are raised. Is there such thing as too strong of a spring? Like says to upgrade to 105# could I throw 150# and have not problems?

 

It's true that you can use a GT1/2/3 cam in a boosted 3800, but it's not ideal especially compared to an XP cam or something like that. I'm still running my GT1 cam with my Novi 2000, but I have been considering a different cam to help get more performance. A GT cam is just not ideal for a top swaped car is what I'm getting at. How long do you think it will be before you do the top swap?

And yes, there is such a thing as too strong of a valve spring. You should try to use the weakest valve spring possible because the stronger the springs are the more wear and tear the valvetrain will go through. Plus when you go beyond 105# valve springs it's recommended that you upgrade to a double chain timing set with a machined oil pump cover.