Is There a Good EveryDay CAM For A 3.1?

[95oldsVan]

The 93 GrandPrix,3.1 V6 im working on,I decided to tear down the engine and going to give it full gaskets and all the love it can get...lol...anyways is there a better aftermarket cam than the stocker I can install?Maybe a crane version?

 

This car is my younger brother in laws car and he wants me to add a bit more power to it as I fix all the leaks and the other problems.Its going well and the tear down has been super easy.

 

Ive seen some cams for these engines on different sites but would like to hear some real world results.We plan to reuse the stock push rods and rocker arms.Thamks for any suggestions.The car is an auto with the stock converter.No emissions testing down here either.

 

 

 

 

[GutlessSupreme]

Crane H260.

 

I would find a set of stamped 1.6 ratio rockers from a 3100 as well.

[19Cutlass94]

You can go with some LS1 valvetrain parts to go with the cam as well.

[95oldsVan]

Hmm the crane sounds appealing...gonna check and compare cams in that range.

 

[z34Phoenix]

yes the cam is made by GM and should have been in the engine when you bought the car :-P

[Brian P]

Crane H260.

 

I would find a set of stamped 1.6 ratio rockers from a 3100 as well.

 

^^^^ What he said, and use LS1 (beehive design) or even LS6 (stiffer beehive design) valve springs, seats, and retainers.

[z284pwr]

Crane H260.

 

I would find a set of stamped 1.6 ratio rockers from a 3100 as well.

 

^^^^ What he said, and use LS1 (beehive design) or even LS6 (stiffer beehive design) valve springs, seats, and retainers.

 

Gotta make sure and be careful, if you use to much spring pressure you run the risk of flattening the cam on a hydraulic cam.

[Brian P]

LS6's they're not super-stiff, and well within the range that Crane recommends for that cam. I used the whole setup on my old car (except used a H-272 cam, not a 260)

[95oldsVan]

LS6's they're not super-stiff, and well within the range that Crane recommends for that cam. I used the whole setup on my old car (except used a H-272 cam, not a 260)

 

Hows the car with the cam and etc?Hows the power,mid range and torque off line?Or does it pull harder in mid range?Just curious to hear real world stuff...thanks!

 

[Brian P]

The setup I had gave the engine a LOT more midrange power, and a little extra topend (those 3.1 manifolds make it hard to breathe up top no matter what) Torque off the line was a little better, but it didn't drop off, it would just keep pulling hard thru 4500 rpm. From what I hear about the H-260, it makes improvements like this, plus has a much better idle.

[Euro]

is the H260 a lopey cam? or kind of a better stock replacement?

[Brian P]

I don't think it's that bad. My 272 was described as "rough idle" but even after installing it WITH 1.6 ratio rockers, it was not much. I'd get the occasional fluctuation when coming to a stop, and a mild lope when stopped, but heck I'm getting that right now with my relatively mild cam in my 3400. And for another example, my friend put the old Crane Compu-cam in a 3.1 (less lift and duration than the H-260, only slightly more aggressive than stock) and there were problems like I describe above, HOWEVER it was nearly eliminated by swapping out the stock valve springs in favor of LS1's springs which happened to be almost exactly what Crane recommended.

[95oldsVan]

Brian P,

Did you mod the lower half? I mean did you bore the engine out or raise the compression?

I was thinking with a good cam and a bit higher compression,focusing on quench,the cam can make more torque off the line while pulling a bit harder as you described.A good cam can help bleed off excess cylinder pressures so I dont think a problem would be had when bumping it up some.

 

Also,with your mods,do you run regular gas with any problems?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Brian P]

Well not the one I described above (I left that block stock), actually for a brief time I DID completely build-up a 3.1 in my other Cutlass. It was bored .030 over, new forged pistons meant for an iron-headed 3.1 used (smaller dish area) which brought compression ratio to about 11.5:1. Also had the H-272 cam, 1.6 ratio rockers, LS6 valve springs, and mild headwork. Yeah it did need premium though. I drove that engine about 10,000 miles before I killed the original tranny (150k on it) and just kinda gave up on the car as a whole. It needed too much work, and at the time I had no place to work on it. The engine only set me back about $500 with everything. Let me tell you though that engine was FUN, and it kicked a lot of ass, too bad I never got to dyno it, but it ran mid-15's with the factory manifolds, stock exhaust, and that worn-to-shit tranny. Power was great all around, especially bottom and mid, and it'd still make decent power after 5000 RPM (not past 6k though) I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had an older Beretta or Cavy that needed a 3.1.

 

http://www.geocities.com/rhedalert/ it was in the gray car. I never did upload photos of the built engine, but I will if you want or I can even email em.