What is a truck cam?
A "truck cam" is a camshaft designed for LS truck engines (4.8/5.3/6.0 Vortecs, and 400+ ci truck strokers) that adds power without giving up the things trucks need. BTR describes its truck cams as delivering more average torque and strong midrange for towing, good street manners, and in many cases working with the stock torque converter.
Compared with a car or race cam, truck cams use milder duration, moderate lift, and tighter lobe separation for low- and mid-rpm torque. Current examples (BTR, 2026 prices ~$390–410):
| Cam | Specs (int/exh @.050, lift, LSA) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| BTR Truck Stage 1 V3 | 201/21X°, .542/.542, 111 | Mildest |
| BTR Truck Stage 2 V3 | 208/21X°, .549/.549, 108.5 | |
| BTR Truck Norris | 212/22X°, .553/.553, 107 | 1999–2013 Silverado/Sierra; the classic LS truck cam |
| BTR Truck Norris NSR | 212/22X°, .498/.498, 107 | No springs required: lower lift works with stock springs |
| BTR Truck Stage 4 V3 | 219/23X°, .553/.553, 108.5 | Most aggressive |
| BTR Truck Hoss | 219/23X°, .620/.636, 112 | For 400–416 ci trucks; works with most stock converters; needs a .660 in spring kit |
("22X" is BTR's own format; they don't publish the last digit.) Gen IV AFM trucks need an AFM delete to run any of these.
Related questions
- Which LS engine is best for turbo/boost?
- How much horsepower does a stock 5.3 make?
- How much horsepower can a stock 5.3 handle?
- How much boost can a stock 5.3 handle?
- Junkyard 5.3 turbo build: what do you need?
- Best cam for a 5.3
Sources
- BTR Truck Norris Camshaft (product page) — Brian Tooley Racing
- Brian Tooley Racing camshaft catalog (product pages crawled 2026-09-28) — Brian Tooley Racing