Jumping In Head First

[Blue Angel]

Well, I've finally pulled the trigger. My '02 Z06 has a bad cam and lifter, so out they come and in goes the $$$.

I've ordered a GT11 camshaft, LS7 lifters and already have PAC 1518 springs, and a PILE of other stuff including an HP Tuners and LC1 package. I've been testing the water for years now and am finally getting pushed into the pool.

Before I get a bunch of "that cam is too small" comments, I already know that! I was tempted to just put the a stock LS6 cam back in but couldn't bring myself to pay this much money (whole top end rebuild) without some sort of performance gain. I also want it to idle like stock and pass emissions tests. I'm doing all the work myself, and even so the bill is adding up...

My car has a tune already, but this was just an adjustment for my headers and intake (otherwise stock). Once the new cam goes in I'll have to tweak for it. Specs are 215/231 duration, 631/644 lift, 118 LSA (stock is 204/218, 551, 118 I think).

Can someone direct me to a good "HP Tuners 101" type of guide? I would like to read up on what I'm getting into before I get the car reassembled so I can get it back on the road in decent time. Thanks!

[WS6FirebirdTA00]

Check the stickies

[ajamesbond007]

Buy Greg's Calibrated Success Book. It will give you a step by step of what you need to do to properly dial in your z06. His DVD is also very helpful, as it shows you the actual screens you need to calibrate, how to calibrate it, and what it looks like while on the dyno.

[Mr. 2008 SS]

Good luck on your build and have fun tuning the ZO6...

Thanks,
Mr. 2008 SS

[Rinkrat456]

That cam should be pretty fun actually. I dig it.

PM me your email.

[Higgs Boson]

Seems like a lot of lift, I know you want power from lift since you aren't running much duration so be prepared for the compromise - valvetrain maintenance.

As mentioned, Gregs books and DVDs and this website are the best resources....In fact, I tuned my 01 Z06 with a 408, big cam, different injectors, nitrous etc etc myself just by looking at tables, reading this site, making changes. It ran like total shit at first but now it's perfect. It only took about 8 months to learn it all (for what I was doing) and implement it correctly....lol. Now it's no big deal to tune a car. Use the search. Almost every question has already been asked.