Thread: Cam Question XP or VS Style?

Well I was supposed to get a cam that had a grind very similar to the ZZP VS grind. but with some delays I've been offered an XP in place. What I'm wondering is if the XP will be too much for me & my setup?
I've got:
ZZP stage 1 TB
Ported Gen3 & LIM
SLP headers
Full custom exhaust
JMB FWI
HPTuners (with all the extra goodies)

The thing is that I just got myself a brand new OEM timing chian & gaskets to install the other cam. I'm still planning on usign the same springs (105's) with the XP, but will the stock timing chain be ok?
I also liked the fact that the VS style cam made better low end to mid power & I'm wondering if the fact that the XP's power being closer to the top end & with my car being a daily driver it may not be as beneficial. I'm hoping to get some insight for others.
Finally I'm still on stock injectors, I assume that with the XP I may be to close to static with them? (I do have the fuel pump hotwire, but also the stock pump). I was planning on starting my tuning with a 3.2" pully this spring.

IF you have stock gearing (2.93), I wouldn't get an XP. I don't like mine in the in the low to mid range, even with 3.29 gearing.

Yes you can, and I would, run the stock chain and tensioner.

Injectors may be iffy, especially with a 3.2 pulley.

That was my first & main worry that the cam would be too much for my setup, since I'm not as fimilar with the 3.8 I wanted to be sure before making any decision on weather or not to take the XP.

Originally Posted by RNUOVR

That was my first & main worry that the cam would be too much for my setup, since I'm not as fimilar with the 3.8 I wanted to be sure before making any decision on weather or not to take the XP.

It's not too much for your setup, it's just that the low to mid range suffers a bit and w/o 3.29 gearing it would be even worse than mine.

With the car being more of a driver over a race car (actually already have one of those, race care that is & with plans to get a 2nd) & with what you said IndeedSS I really don't like the fact that I'll be giving up low & mid end, especially with the stock tranny & no plans of upgrading the tranny gears or convertor any time soon.
Anyone else out there that has an XP with a stock tranny are your feelings the same?
I'm hearing that the s1x would be better (more cam than the one I was supposed to get, but less than the XP).

http://www.grandprixforums.net/f18/t...-step-819.html

Try that thread it actually has good info on cams, if you ignore all the bs'ing between us.

Cool, thanks for that link. I think I remembered reading the start of that thread when I was deciding on a cam, but it was hardlt 2 pages long then. Well I think that I was right with my decision the 1st time, after reading I think that the XP is just not going to be what I want & it's specs arn't what I'd need it to do (light to med acceleration, traffic & just regular daily driving).

Originally Posted by 38special

i don't think you going to like vs after awhile. xp is a way to go. i have xp and i love it and mine is a dd. check out this vid.

http://www.grandprixforums.net/f51/t...an95-1178.html

Do you drive in a lot of stop and go traffic? Or where you need to make a quick lane change but the slot you are moving into is small enough you can't put the pedal down very far? Hmmm. it just occured to me you are the one that just switched. Give it a little time.

i work in the suburb and yeah there some stop and go and as far as gas mileage it not as bad. beside i got the xp for a reason. if you worry about gas and other craps might as well keep it stock. look at cars coming out from the factory they keep getting faster and faster. gotta keep with the compitition. beside i don't beat up on my car like most people maybe once in awhile and man it feel good beating a corvette. btw lee i have the xp since last year i think that's enough time. my father had a vs cam in his gtp for 7 months and guess he don't like it. he now just switch to xp last weekend.

Like I've mentioned many times, I've had both the VS and the XP and for my driving style, I really liked the VS.

Originally Posted by 38special

i work in the suburb and yeah there some stop and go and as far as gas mileage it not as bad. beside i got the xp for a reason. if you worry about gas and other craps might as well keep it stock. look at cars coming out from the factory they keep getting faster and faster. gotta keep with the compitition. beside i don't beat up on my car like most people maybe once in awhile and man it feel good beating a corvette. btw lee i have the xp since last year i think that's enough time. my father had a vs cam in his gtp for 7 months and guess he don't like it. he now just switch to xp last weekend.

I understand you are running the stock timing chain? I wonder if that -2* cam is hurting me that much? I would have thought the 3.29 gearing would have trumped the retarded timing, but apparently not.

I've not been real happy with my XP under normal driving conditions since the day I picked it up. Actually the first time I went to pass a truck using light throttle on my way home I could tell there was a noticable drop in performance versus my stock cam. Now anything above medium throttle or at high rpms is excellent. Many other people have noticed this about the XP, but I bet all of them went aftermarket timing sets like I did. We are going to remedy this situation though.

Originally Posted by DuBob

Like I've mentioned many times, I've had both the VS and the XP and for my driving style, I really liked the VS.

Dave, what timing set were you using?

Originally Posted by DuBob

single rollmaster. I'd like to see pictures as proof of the whole "-2*" thing.

I can't confirm the actual number of -2*. However, it has been confirmed, by the former GM engineers at Thrasher, the goto guy at JP that there is a difference in the cam timing between the L36 and L67. JP and and Rollmaster are both Aussie companies and I don't know who it was that confirmed the Rollmaster was designed for the 3.8l NA and not the supercharged version. At least two people on this forum have confirmed that there is indeed a timing difference between the L36 and L67 by comparing the gears and are looknig further into how much difference. If you look at Intenses site you can see that the gears are different on the GM replacements.