Best Cam for an LT1 Gen V — VVT vs Non-VVT Paths

TL;DR: For a street-driven Gen V LT1, L86, or L87, the right answer is almost always a VVT-active cam paired with an AFM or DFM delete — keep the phaser working, delete the cylinder deactivation, and let the tuner use cam timing to recover the part-throttle manners a big grind would otherwise destroy. VVT-delete (locked cam) belongs on dedicated race and heavy-boost builds where a tighter LSA and a simpler timing setup matter more than drivability. Two constraints decide everything else: your cam must carry the tri-lobe that drives the high-pressure fuel pump, and on Gen V the oil pump lives on the crank snout behind the front cover — so a cam swap is a front-of-engine teardown, not the afternoon job an LS cam swap is.

If you searched "best LT1 cam," you probably already know the grind you want. The part that costs people money is everything around it. This guide is about getting the whole decision right the first time.

Why a Gen V cam swap is not an LS cam swap

The Gen V small block shares a bore spacing, a firing order, and a bellhousing pattern with the LS. It does not share the parts of the engine that a cam swap touches.

The oil pump moved. On an LS, the oil pump is a chain-driven unit at the front of the block, and the cam comes out through the front cover with the radiator and condenser pushed aside. On Gen V, the oil pump is a variable-displacement pump driven directly off the crankshaft snout, sitting immediately behind the front cover. You cannot get the cam out without pulling the balancer and the cover, and the cover carries the oil pump with it. Budget a front cover gasket set and a crank seal on every LT cam job, and inspect the pump while it is exposed.

The cam drives the fuel pump. Gen V is direct injection. The high-pressure fuel pump sits in the valley and is driven by a tri-lobe on the rear of the camshaft. Every legitimate aftermarket Gen V cam includes that lobe. If a "cam" you are looking at does not clearly state it retains the HPFP tri-lobe, it is not a Gen V cam — it is a Gen II LT1 cam, and those two engines share a name and nothing else.

Fueling has a hard ceiling. With port injection you can chase injector duty cycle. With DI, above a certain power level you are limited by what the HPFP can deliver, and the fix is a pump upgrade, not bigger injectors. That ceiling is what makes very large naturally aspirated Gen V cams a diminishing-returns proposition on an otherwise stock fuel system.

Shop the platform: Gen V LT engine parts · Camshafts

Fitment gate — identify which Gen V you actually have

Get this wrong and none of the rest matters. "LT1" is the most overloaded engine name GM has ever used.

The last row is the one that generates returns. A Gen II LT1 cam is a 5.7L Opti-Spark part with hydraulic roller lifters and no fuel pump lobe. It will not go in a Gen V, and the two categories should never be shopped from the same page.

VVT-active vs VVT-delete — the actual decision

Gen V uses a cam phaser on the front of the camshaft to sweep intake centerline while the engine runs. Every factory Gen V is VVT. Your two paths:

The wide LSA on VVT cams surprises people who came from LS builds. A 116° LSA sounds lazy on paper, but the phaser is sweeping the intake lobe across a range at every operating point — the number on the card is a starting position, not the whole story. A VVT LT1 cam at 116° LSA can make more area under the curve than a locked cam at 112° while idling in a drive-through.

The honest case for VVT-delete is narrower than the forums suggest: you are already spinning past where the phaser is useful, you want a specific fixed centerline for a boosted combination, or you are eliminating a failure point on a car that lives at the track. Everywhere else, locking the phaser throws away the single best feature of the platform.

Shop the hardware: Timing components and phasers

The AFM / DFM delete is not optional on most swaps

Factory Gen V truck engines and most car engines run deactivating lifters. Those lifters are a known failure item, and the cam lobes on deactivated cylinders are ground for them. Nearly every aftermarket Gen V cam is a non-deactivating grind, which means the deactivation hardware has to come out at the same time.

A complete delete on an L86 (AFM) takes:

• 16 non-AFM lifters — for example the BTR LT1 non-AFM lifter set of 16, the Johnson 2110LTA set, or an equivalent
• Non-AFM lifter trays / guide buckets
• A delete valley cover with the VLOM (valve lifter oil manifold) provision blocked or eliminated, plus a MAP sensor relocation
• Oil pressure relief or block-off for the deleted VLOM feed
• A calibration that turns AFM off in software — hardware alone will set codes and can put the engine in a bad state

An L87 (DFM) delete is the same idea with more of it: DFM cycles 17 deactivation patterns instead of one 4-cylinder mode, the control strategy is deeper in the calibration, and the delete kits are DFM-specific. Do not buy an AFM delete kit for an L87. They are not interchangeable, and the catalog splits them for that reason.

Shop the delete parts: AFM / DFM delete kits · LT lifters

Picking the grind — real stage brackets

Cam makers use "Stage" labels inconsistently, but within the Gen V LT market the brackets line up reasonably well. These are representative grinds from current catalog listings:

Check all lift and LSA figures against the current manufacturer cam card — Gen V grinds get revised, and several of these brands run more than one specification under the same Stage name.

Three rules for reading that table:

1. A truck is not a car. L86 and L87 grinds are ground for weight, gearing, and torque converters that a Corvette does not have. The truck cams above are milder on purpose, and that is the correct choice for a vehicle that tows.
2. Stage 3 is a package, not a cam. Anything at .624" lift and up needs springs, pushrods checked, and valve-to-piston verified. Buying the cam alone and reusing everything is how a Stage 3 build ends up with a bent valve.
3. LT4 is its own conversation. Supercharged Gen V wants a smaller-lift, wide-LSA grind matched to boost. An N/A LT1 cam in an LT4 is a wrong-parts decision, not an aggressive one.

The supporting parts nobody budgets for

Price the whole job before you commit to the cam.

• Valve springs. Stock Gen V springs are limited. Anything with meaningfully more lift than stock wants an upgraded set — check the stock spring's rated lift against GM data. Springs are also the cheapest insurance on the list. → Valve springs
• Pushrods. Gen V uses a 7.400" pushrod. Check length after the cam is in — a base circle change moves geometry. → Pushrods
• Timing set and phaser. Reuse of a high-mileage phaser on a fresh cam is a false economy. If you are going VVT-delete, you need the lockout or a non-VVT-style set instead. → Timing components
• Front cover gasket, crank seal, balancer bolt. You are opening the front of the engine either way.
• Head gaskets and head bolts only if you are pulling heads for spring work on the bench rather than doing springs on-engine.
• Cam position sensor. Gen V uses a specific CMP sensor (GM 12667309 / AC Delco equivalent). Replace it if the original is high mileage while access is open. → Sensors
• Tune. Non-negotiable. AFM/DFM off, VVT tables reworked, torque management adjusted. Budget it as a line item, not an afterthought.
• Rocker trunnions. Whether Gen V LT rockers benefit from a trunnion upgrade the way LS rockers do is genuinely application-dependent — confirm with the kit maker before ordering a trunnion kit for a specific year and engine.

Install sequence (summary)

A Gen V cam swap in a car, in order:

1. Disconnect the battery; relieve fuel pressure and secure the DI fuel system before opening anything.
2. Drain coolant and oil; remove the accessory drive, belt, and the cooling stack as required for front-cover access.
3. Remove the balancer with a proper puller — do not hammer or pry a Gen V balancer.
4. Remove the front cover. The crank-driven oil pump comes with it; keep it clean and inspect it.
5. Remove valve covers, coils, rockers, and pushrods. Keep everything in order for reuse.
6. Remove the valley cover, HPFP, and lifter trays. Retain the lifters if you are reusing them — but on a delete build you are not.
7. Unbolt the phaser and timing set; remove the cam through the front with the cam retainer plate off.
8. Install the new cam with assembly lube on the journals and lobes. Fit the new lifters, trays, and delete valley cover.
9. Degree the cam if the build warrants it, install the timing set and phaser, and verify VVT hardware orientation.
10. Reassemble front cover with a new gasket and crank seal; torque the balancer bolt to spec.
11. Set rocker preload, reinstall the HPFP with a new seal, and reconnect the fuel system.
12. Load the calibration before the first start. Prime oil pressure, then start and monitor cam-phaser fault codes.

Take all torque values from the GM service manual for the specific year and engine — Gen V balancer bolt and HPFP fastener specs are not the same as LS.

Frequently asked questions

Will an LT1 Gen V cam fit an L86 or L87 truck? Sometimes, but you must confirm the specific grind is listed for the truck engine and for its deactivation type. The bigger issue is suitability: LT1 car grinds are usually too aggressive for a heavy vehicle with tall gearing, and a truck-specific grind will drive better and tow better.

Do I have to delete AFM or DFM when I install a cam? For nearly every aftermarket Gen V cam, yes. The cams are ground non-deactivating, so the deactivating lifters have no matching lobes. Deleting the hardware without the supporting calibration will set codes and can create an oil-control problem, so the tune is part of the job.

Can I keep VVT with an aftermarket cam? Yes — and on a street car you should. Most current Gen V performance cams are ground specifically for an active phaser and use a wider LSA because of it. VVT-delete is a race-oriented choice, not a performance upgrade by default.

Does an aftermarket cam affect the direct-injection fuel pump? The cam carries the tri-lobe that drives the HPFP, so any correct Gen V cam retains it. What changes is demand: a larger cam at higher RPM asks more of the pump, and at some point the stock HPFP becomes the limit rather than the cam. That is when a pump upgrade enters the build.

Is a Gen V LT1 cam swap harder than an LS cam swap? Meaningfully harder. The oil pump lives on the crank snout behind the front cover, so the balancer and cover must come off, and you are working around a high-pressure DI fuel system. Plan on a weekend rather than an evening, and on a longer parts list.

Will a Gen II LT1 cam work in my 2016 Camaro SS? No. The 1992–1997 Gen II LT1 is a 5.7L Opti-Spark engine that shares nothing with the Gen V beyond the name. Check the engine RPO before ordering anything labeled "LT1."

What lift is too much for stock valve springs? Any meaningful lift over stock is where the conversation starts, but treat it as a spring-spec question rather than a number to trust from a forum post. Check GM data for your engine and replace the springs if there is any doubt — they cost far less than a valve job.

Do I need a new cam phaser? If the original is high mileage, replace it while you are in there. Phasers are a wear item and a known source of rattle and codes, and the labor to change one later is the entire front of the engine again.

Building a Gen V? Start with the Gen V LT parts collection, then match camshafts, lifters, and valve springs as one package rather than three separate purchases.