Stock 05 5.3 thinking thumper cam, which one

[russellrox]

I am wanting to do a can in my bone stock 05 5.3, was thinking thumper cam but there is 3 versions of it. What would the best one be to go with, I want a rough idle but don't want to have vaccume issues with my brakes, what is the best combo and what do I need to order as far as, do I need new valve springs and rockers, pushrods, oil pump, opinions please. This is going into a 66 c10 shorty with a 373 12 bolt, with 4l60e

[DLW]

Seems like a decent cam. I think I would shoot for the smaller 219/233 cam. Springs would be a must and push rods are real good idea.

[BigCountryx]

in a 5.3 the smaller cam would be better I think. I've got a 221/228 .609"/.571" 112+2 in mine and the 2800 stall isn't quite enough. I don't care for huge stalls, so for me a bigger cam would be really sluggish off the line. Be sure to use long tubes if you really want to hear it cut up.

[OutlawDrifter]

what is your goal other than a choppy idle?

is this a daily driver or a fun toy?

we put a 224/224 in my buddies 5.3 powered fairmont and its a lot of cam for that car. takes full advantage of the 3600rpm stall. i wouldn't want to daily drive it. when it gets up on the stall it pulls like a freight train. i've got the fms f13 in my 6.0l. its 230/232 112+4, it's got a nice lope to it and i've got over 300lb/ft of torque at the wheels at 2000rpm. it tops out at 422rwhp @ 6500, but the torque curve is amazing.

if it's just noise you want, that cam will do it. i think there are much better cams for making power and still getting a "rough idle".

springs will be necessary with any cam swap, and to keep it safe, i would do better pushrods too.

[russellrox]

I am wanting to drive it pretty consistently, anyone have any better options on price or brand of cam that works great. Any sound clips of the idle.

[OutlawDrifter]

a cam like the tr220 with a 112 would probably fit the bill. you're still going to want a little more stall than stock. but it would be a better choice.

i would call the vendor/cam grinder of your choice and tell them what your goals are. i think you'll find that rough idle your looking for will give you poor daily driving manners.

[russellrox]

Good to know, is comp cams a good choice to go with or is there a better option, lunati, etc.

[OutlawDrifter]

comp grinds a lot of cams. i've also always been a lunati fan.

don't be afraid to try places like texas speed & performance, eps, brian tooley racing (check out the stage 2 or 3 truck cam here), etc. they can also get you set up.

[russellrox]

the brian tooley stage 3 kit sounds good, would a stall be needed or just cam, pushrods, springs

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by russellrox

the brian tooley stage 3 kit sounds good, would a stall be needed or just cam, pushrods, springs

the stage 3 has a +3 ground in it, so the power will come in a little sooner, but a 2500-2800 stall would really make it awesome. with the electronic 4l60e's and their lockup converters, you can run a stall, and still retain the lockup feature when cruising down the highway. you should also be able to run the ls6 springs with this cam, which are inexpensive off of the shelf. i would still put a better pushrod than stock in when doing the swap. i'm guessing the cam has faster ramp rates than a stock cam, never mind the lift.

[Aruba1]

Just a question, isn't it true that any cam swap in the LS engine requires a tune? I just rebuilt my 2001 5.3L that is in my 1972 C30 (with a NV4500 ) but the cost for an LS cam, springs, pushrods, tune compared to the gains did not warrant the invest.

[OutlawDrifter]

some smaller cams you can get away without tuning, but you're not maximizing the benefits of the cam at that point. just because you can, doesn't mean you should. cam swaps can be worth 100hp @ the flywheel in the lsx/lqx platform.

[Aruba1]

When I talked to a cam guy he was talking about 20-30 hp gain for around $700 (excl cost of tune) so I was not interested. If I could gain 100 for a little more I would have done it but the way I see it the 5.3L is strong enough in stock form. Plus mine is in a work truck and I will not be doing any racing or burn outs :-).