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[thehoe92]

I have a 5.3L with a BlackBear Tune
I would like to learn a little more about what I can do to upgrade.
What exactly would a cam do for me?.. Headers?

What do I look for when buying a cam?
About how much do some quality ones run for?

Give me the noob breakdown

 

[JKmotorsports]

A cam and longtube headers will make a huge difference once you retune the pcm. The cam will allow more air into and out of the combustion chambers and the headers will help scavenge the exhaust gasses more efficiently, helping with power.
Be careful with your cam selection though because the wrong cam will give you very little gain if not properly matched to the rest of your engine.

 

[blueflamed03]

agree with Jeff, don't overkill it with a huge cam. While it may sound killer, does no good to run like a 10,000 lb sled.
Also, a good converter and gear change will really wake it up, without the retune to start. (well, gears will due to speedometer off) but 4.10 gears and a 2800-3200 stall will really wake up stock motor.

 

[thehoe92]

great help so far and of course anything done to the motor I will have Justin retune it

if you were me what would be first on your list
exhaust, CAI, headers, or cam?

when I choose the cam how do I match it to my engine, what specs am I looking for?
and when I get the right one it will still sound different, right?

sorry I was the same way with suspension like a month ago but there are a lot of topics on suspension but very few on engine upgrades like this

 

[blueflamed03]

IMHO, for immediate, change gears. Do you know what you have now? That, and a TB stall will really help as well.

Then, headers and exhaust go hand in hand, and cam/springs, pushrods etc all go together. But te gears and stall are immediate, and compliment the rest later on.

 

[thehoe92]

I have no idea beyond the fact that it is a 5.3L with a BlackBear
once I got my tune it really opened my eyes to how much potential power these things really have and got my gears turning no pun intended on some possible upgrades

I am a complete noob to engines so thats why I am asking

I don't expect to go dive in and replace my camshaft at this stage because I don't know nearly enough I just want to know what the benefits of one could be

 

[hoe]

agree with Jeff, don't overkill it with a huge cam. While it may sound killer, does no good to run like a 10,000 lb sled.
Also, a good converter and gear change will really wake it up, without the retune to start. (well, gears will due to speedometer off) but 4.10 gears and a 2800-3200 stall will really wake up stock motor.

Im planing 4.56 gears and 2800 behind a lq9 with TR224 cam, how you think it will run in the Tahoe? Tires prob 17/65/285 or 17/70/265.

 

[blueflamed03]

hoe, ought to run great, be sure to add the biggest tranny cooler you can. With the huge 6.0, TR224 and 4.56's, stall...wow...you'll have FUN!