I have obtained, what I have been told to be, Brian Crower stage 2 turbo cams for b series vtec heads.... The exhaust cam looks odd to me, the vtec lobes look kind of flat as if for long duration. Just curious if anybody has any experience with these cams and can confirm this is what they are supposed to look like. Any input helps, thanks!

 

Looks a bit worn. If so, you probably shouldn't use them.

 

I could be wrong, but that looks like oil starvation wear on the cam journals...

 

The cam is worn and should not be used. If you paid money for them you should return to seller and request a refund.

 

Not to mention that crower turbo cams generally don't perform that well in a vtec setup. A set of type r cams Would work better.

 

how did the vtec lobes all end up slightly flat like that? I measured all 4 of them with a digital caliper and all four of the vtec lobes were exactly the same heighth. odd.

 

That's how the lobes were made. They're a long duration lobe. Important differentiation, though, are they Crower, or Brian Crower cams? There's a difference. Looking at them, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they're Brian Crowers.

 

They are brian crower cams. So the vtec lobes ARE supposed to look slightly flat for duration? That was my main question. But the journals look oil starved/ burnt? There's no way to clean these up and run them? Sorry dudes I'm a newb.

 

Yes, the VTEC lobe is supposed to look like that. At least, that's how they come out of the factory looking - I'm not saying they're ideal, or even good, just...that's how they're made.

Yes, the journals look oil starved and chewed. I personally wouldn't put them in a motor that you care about.

 

micropolishing possibly

 

ive seen people install worse

 

I will have the cams micro polished and see how the turn out.. wish me luck

 

I mean, you can have it micropolished, but you'll want to check your journal clearances after you do that. I don't know off the top of my head what healthy cam journal clearance specs are.

 

in most cases it wouldnt be worth it, imo. especially when you have alot of dollas invested into the head. just for the cams to bounce around. but, i figured id mention it as an option. and i couldnt tell you the camshafts clearance specs either

 

Holy ****, the cam is WORN. NOT ground like that. This could be caused by many reasons, point is do not install junk cams. Get a good set, hell even oem anything is better than that crap.

 

Honestly ever set of Honda cams I have are slightly worn on the journals... even cars that were meticulously built and maintained.

the journals are coated, it's inevitable that some wear will happen and coatings wear off. it's the same thing with bearings and cylinder walls after lots of use... bearings will show slight wear as will the cylinder walls with a slight loss of cross hatch and mild scuffing.

if the journals aren't gouged or deformed and you can't feel any scratches or rough spots with your fingernails then I would run them.

I had a set of Blox type c's in a high compression b20/vtec that had similar wear... still running strong. I can show you a set of cams out of my 49,000 mile high compression b16a2 that ran high grade oil and was maintained absurdly well that still show wear, while the inside of the motor was varnish free. so clean you could eat off of it.

mechanical parts wear, there's no way around it.

 

Its not the journals that are the concern, did you see the vtec lobe? Take a close look, its smoked.

 

All of the google images I glossed over for this cam look very similar to what the OP's vtec lobe looks like, and his looks as if it's worn uniformly across that lobe, not as if it's been eroded to that kind of peak over time. We should really be asking for higher res photos of multiple vtec lobes. And also the journals don't exactly look scored or anything like that on this cam, just some rotational scuffing.

If the surfaces feel smooth and consistent to the touch with no palpable scarring or gashing, do you really think those marks seen in the journals really make THAT much of a difference?

 

that is just a shadow from the lighting in the room. there is a slight amount of wear on the lobes but it's minimal and nothing out of the ordinary

they wouldn't matter at all. normally when I see wear on journals or on aftermarket cams I see wear on the cam journals in the head. it's the head that causes the scoring, especially if a cam cap has been swapped/replaced or something damaged the journal surfaces. I've even gone so far as to micropolish the cam journals in the head, makes a huge difference.

 

Brian Crower cams have polished journals and can be identified with these markings on the end.

 

Those cams appear to have had spring binding issues that created the "flat tops" you are seeing.

 

So are these vtec lobes supposed to be like that or not?! I measured all four of the lobes the best I could with a digital caliper, and all 4 where almost identicle in size.

 

Alright I've sent pictures of the cam to crower in California... we will find out for sure.

 

I mean it's a way cam companies get more duration but they should be basically the same height... how far off are your measurements from lobe to lobe?

also aftermarket cams have some form of ID on the cam ends (dizzy side) whether it be an etched or stamped ID. is there anything on the end of the cams?

 

That is not normal.....