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Blown Away: Supercharged LS Cam Comparison

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It’s Go Time-Battle of the Blower Bumpsticks!

By Richard Holdener

Cam swaps for LS motors are always exciting because nothing wakes up an LS like wilder cam timing. We have seen 50, 60, and even 70 horsepower gains from a simple cam swap on an otherwise stock LS application. The gains have been even greater on modified motors. The reason for this is that LS motors already sport sufficient displacement, head and intake flow and lack only proper cam timing to make serious power. That doesn’t mean things like heads and intakes don’t make additional power, it just means that a cam swap should always be the first thing you think about when upgrading your LS. With that in mind, the question now becomes how well does a supercharged LS motor respond to a cam swap? Obviously, that is somewhat of a loaded question, as the outcome depends a great deal on which cam you choose, but the question still remains, do supercharged LS motors respond to blower-specific cam timing?

At the risk of killing the suspense, the simple answer to that question is yes, blower motors work best with blower-specific cam profiles. You can successfully run a supercharger with any of the stock LS cams, or any off-the-shelf normally aspirated cam, but a supercharged application (specifically a positive–displacement supercharged one), will benefit most from a cam profile designed specifically for that form of forced induction. One need only look at the factory LS offerings to see that GM saw fit to design not one but a pair of cam profiles specifically for the factory supercharged LSA and LS9 applications. Might the LS2, LS3 or LS6 cams work on these motors? Yes, just not as well. The LS9 cam profile was designed specifically for the 600+hp supercharged LS9 motor. Not only did the factory succeed with that motor, but the LS9 cam profile has become a go-to cam for many home-made supercharged LS combinations. Looking at the popularity and performance of the LS9, we set up a test to see if we could improve upon the factory offering. For this test, we pit the factory LS9 against a dedicated blower grind from the LS cam experts at Brian Tooley Racing (BTR).

The test motor for our cam compare was not your usual 6.0L LQ9 or LS2 or even the later 6.2L LS3, but rather a much smaller 4.8L LR4. Far from stock, the LR4 had been augmented with a set of forged JE pistons, TFS Gen X 205 heads and an LS9 blower cam. The reason for swapping out the stock LR4 (LM7) cam for the LS9 was that this test was all about cam timing for forced induction. The 4.8L was also sporting a 2.9L Whipple supercharger capable of supporting 1,000 hp. The Whipple featured this integrated air-to-water intercooler located directly below the outlet of the supercharger. The intercooler was fed a steady diet of ambient dyno water during testing.

As with most LS cam swaps, the test was a simple one. We ran the supercharged combination first with the LS9 then the Stage 1 cam from BTR. Before swapping cams, we needed to get our house in order with a supercharged test motor. Unfortunately we didn’t have a factory LS9 motor available, and, rather than attempting to duplicate the expensive factory offering, we put together something altogether different. Given the popularity, pricing, and availability of a 4.8L truck engine, we decided to run this test on a supercharged LR4. Prior to testing, we upgraded the beast with a set of JE forged pistons, CNC-ported TFS Gen X 205 heads, and ARP head studs. The head studs were used to secure the Fel-Pro MLS head gaskets, an important consideration given the boost and power level run during the cam test. Additional mods included 85-pound FAST (LS3) injectors, the Big Mouth, 102mm throttle body and a Holley Dominator EFI system. Of course the crowning glory was the 2.9L Whipple, twin-screw supercharger. Capable of supporting 1,000 hp, the intercooled, supercharged system was more than sufficient for our modified 4.8L. 

The blower assembly also included this compressor bypass valve. The valve was designed to eliminate the build up of boost that occurs during a hard decal as well as allow recirculation (and cooling) of the heated air under light-throttle, cruise conditions. The lower intake manifold featured o-ring sealing for the blower and bypass valve. The lower manifold was designed with short intake runners that provided sufficient plenum volume to house the air-to-water intercooler core. Knowing the combination was capable of supporting healthy power levels, we stepped up to a set of 85-pound, LS3 injectors from FAST. FAST also supplied one of their 102mm LS throttle bodies. Boost coming out of the blower is a function of airflow into the blower. Note also the elbow used to position the throttle body away from the blower pulley. Tuning the multiple cam combos was this Holley Dominator EFI system.

With our supercharged LR4 at the ready, we installed the LS9 cam and let the big dog eat. Run to a max of 6,700 rpm and tuned to perfection on 110-octane race fuel, the supercharged combo produced 675 hp at 6,700 rpm and 533 lb-ft of torque at 6,300 rpm. The proximity of the peak power and torque numbers is a strong indication that the power was still climbing at our self-imposed shut off point of 6,700 rpm (the graph confirms this). Run with the LS9 cam, boost from the Whipple supercharger started at 10.1 psi at 3,000 rpm then rose to a peak of 13.9 psi at 6,700 rpm. Satisfied with the repeatability of our results, we swapped in the Stage 1 cam from BTR. After minor adjustments to the fuel curve to match the air/fuel of the LS9 cam (no changes were made to timing), we were rewarded with peak numbers of 688 hp at 6,700 rpm and 546 lb-ft of torque at 6,300 rpm. The gain in power came with a slight drop in boost, down to a peak of 9.7 psi. The dedicated blower cam offered not just more power but less boost as well, a sure sign of a well-designed blower profile. We liked the gains offered by the dedicated blower cam, but it should be noted that the gains would be ever greater on an application with increased displacement and power.

The drive assembly for the Whipple included an ATI Super damper, manual water pump, and 4.0-inch blower pulley. In addition to the Damper, ATI also sent over a kit to pin the stock (press-fit) crank. Using a locating sleeve, we drill and reamed the necessary hole, then installed the dowel pin in place (arrow). The keyway in the damper and damper bolt ensured the pin stayed in position and the pin eliminated any chance of the damper spinning on the crank to cause belt slippage (or damage). To ensure plenty of airflow for the cam test, the 4.8L was equipped with a set of CNC-ported, TFS Gen X 205 heads. Flowing over 285 cfm, the Gen X 205 heads were designed specifically for the small-bore 4.8L, 5.3L, and 5.7L applications. Run first with the LS9 cam, the supercharged 4.8L combo produced 675 hp at 6,700 rpm and 533 lb-ft of torque at 6,200 rpm. Though stock on the larger (factory) supercharged LS9 motors, this cam was significantly wilder than the factory LR4 (LM7). In fact, testing has shown that this LS9 cam can be worth as much as 100 horsepower over the stock LR4 cam, especially on a supercharged application. Though the LS9 cam performed well on the supercharged 4.8L, we wanted to see if there was anything that could be done to make further improvements, without resorting to excessive engine speed. Brian Tooley Racing supplied one of their Stage 1 blower cams. Ground by COMP Cams, the Stage 1 offered a .610/.586 lift split, a 223/238-degree duration split and blower-friendly 120-degree lsa. Out came the LS9 cam and in went the BTR Stage 1 grind. After completing the cam swap, the peak number rose to 688 hp and 546 lb-ft of torque, with power still climbing with rpm. In addition to the increase in power, the cam swap dropped boost slightly through the entire rev range, with the peak down from 13.9 psi to 13.6 psi.

Supercharged LS applications require very specific cam timing. GM recognized this when they designed the LS9 cam for the factory supercharged 6.2L. Typically the positive-displacement, supercharged cam profiles offer wide lobe separations and minimal (or negative) overlap. A couple side benefits of a blower grind is that it helps improve idle quality and enhance power production higher in the rev range (compared to a typical NA cam profile). Designed for larger displacement, supercharged applications, we couldn’t help but wonder how the factory LS9 cam worked on the smaller 4.8L, and if there were further improvements to be made over the factory offering. Compared to the stock LS9 cam, the Stage 1 cam profile from Brian Tooley Racing offered slightly more lift (+.048 in, +.024 ex), slightly more duration (+12 degrees in, +8 degrees ex) and a slightly tighter lsa (120 vs 122.5). The net result was an increase in power above 4,000 rpm to the tune of 15-16 hp. The cam swap also dropped the boost curve by .3 psi.

Battle of the Blower Bumpsticks-LS9 vs Brian Tooley Racing Stage 1

Sources

ATI;atiracing.com, Brian Tooley Racing;briantooleyracing.com, COMP Cams;compcams.com, FAST; fuelairspark.com, Holley/Hooker;holley.com, JE Pistons;jepistons.com, Lucas Oil;lucasoil.com, Trick Flow Specialties;trickflow.com, Whipple Superchargers;whipplesuperchargers.com


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