I wanted to start a discussion about b-series aftermarket valves such as supertech,skunk2,ferrea, and all the other manufacturers. I know they state the valves lighten up the valve train and thats what their benefit is. I've driven with my stock valves, skunk2 springs/retainers for almost 3-years with no problem. From my experience I cant see anything wrong with the stock valves and why you cant just have them shot-peened, polished, or nitrate coated(dont they come from honda/acura that way when you buy them?). I've heard stories of aftermarket valves breaking or dropping out in the past. All those with PERSONAL FIRST HAND experience pls chime in, im interested in hearing what you have to say.

 

im running brian crower flat faced valves but my reasoning was I bought a complete bare head and needed valves, plus I wanted to bump the compression a little bit since I was using big cams. I love bc products they are good stuff

 

stock valves are best for allmotor

they flow better than any aftermarket valve available

they are also stronger and more reliable imo

only reason to go aftermarket would be to increase size

 

please elaborate...........

 

i broke a kms aftermarket valve and ruined my engine! :D

 

This is kinda hard to beleive, however, seeing who its coming from......

Do you yourself use Aftermarket Valves on your H2B? Also, do you think getting Aftermarket Valves to raise compression is a good idea, or just stick with Stock Valves?

 

People that know anything in this industry know what NAH2B said is true. People who get sucked in by clever marketing always question these things.

The simple answer is you use stock valves unless you need an aftermarket valve to accomplish something specific in your build like a bump in the compression or an oversize option. Aftermarket valves in many cases tend to be cheaper than stock which is why lots of people buy them but you always select your parts to achieve an ultimate goal in your build through research and understanding, not cruising parts catalogs.

 

I can not answer for Randy, but no bumping compression with aftermarket valves is not a great ideal. The preferred way is to use the piston geometry. Adding additional wieght to the valve will only result in less valve control or shortening the life of the camtrain.

Stay stock unless you need bigger or lighter valves, in that case only Ferrea will suffice.

 

Well, I must say this is very informational. I didn't think Stock Valves were stronger. Thanks to the OP for askign this and thanks to everyone else for the info and saving me some money!

 

stock valves flow a couple cfm better than supertech and a few more cfm better than ferrea. they are designed well as is most everything from honda. they hold up better than anything else in allmotor applications.

i have seen first hand and also heard of COUNTLESS supertech valve failures where the heads have seperated/dropped from the stem resutling in catastrophic engine damage.

i have tried ferrea and skunk valves in the past when i first started building engines because i simply didnt know the facts and got sucked in by the marketing like someone else stated already.

lately w/ my h2b setups i have always been running stock valves up until now. the new motor im building has ferrea valves simply because i wanted to go 36mm (+1) otherwise i would have kept the stock valves because they FLOW and have smaller margins which = more V2V clearance. i had to turn the ferrea's down on a lathe to gain some extra clearance because the margins were so much thicker than stock

although there is a way to go 36mm using oem valves, i just didnt want to experiment w/ that just yet

as for the question on the flat faced high comp valves, i have been told they dont flow as well as dish valves...

 

Nah2b are you stating that before adding different valves a person would need to look at there build first.

also In my personal motor with going b18c1 bottom and b16a head im looking at 12:1.1 with blueprint cams and valves. So in my case i have no reason to have aftermarket valves in my set-up

 

aftermarket valves that are one piece will most likely bend outta shape and stay together. Stock valves break into peices and destroy dreams. hahaha. BENT MANY Supertech valves replace and im racing again. Bend a stock valve anything worth talking about. Your looking for a new motor. Again nobody builds there engines expecting a misshift. Build your motor for 12k it'll survive at 9 easily.

 

no im just saying theres no reason to stray from oem valves unless your going oversized

 

I gotta agree with about everything Randy has said. The stock Honda valves do flow a little better than most of the aftermarket valves when comparing apples to apples. We are talking like 2-3 cfm. Nothing you will notice on the dyno. There is one valve that will pick up a few more, but most people can't use it.

As for the flat faced stuff...get the compression elsewhere. That is the last place you want weight and there is a HUGE weight difference in a lot of them depending on the dish design you are comparing to.

Not all aftermarket valves are equal. There is good stuff out there, and there is stuff that is flat out junk turd ****.

Lastly, most people's valve problems are not valve related, but rather valve spring related.

When I buy valves for customer motors I have to look at the whole package from a business perspective. Who gives me the least trouble...not who flows 2-3 cfm more. Availability, consistency in machining, weight, price, etc. Some of these valves come straight out of the box and it looks like Ray Charles was running the grinder while he shot up

 

Thanx guys for the feedback, I've always questioned this in my mind and I always tell people im building motors for that the stock valves are simple the best option,imo. They are specifically designed for your motor, the only reason for upgrading would be to increase the size of the valve itself or add a slight compression bump which is what flat faced valves do. But for other application such as turbo,nitrous,etc., their's no real benefit. Seems like more of a risk, plus with the added weight on the end of the flat faced valve(for all motor applications), would'nt that throw the valve trains geometry off? Aftermarket valves are a waste of money, too much risk involved...my 2 cents

 

the only reasoning i can see for aftermarket valves are 2 possibilities.

1) you are building an engine for extreme RPM and need to lighten the valvetrain wherever possible to prevent float.

2) for whatever reason, your current valves are too small to flow enough air to allow the engine to reach its potential output. an example of this is that maybe you are using the biggest cam the head will allow without coil-bind, therefore the only way to increase airflow from there is to increase the valve size.

other than that, no reason to not use oem. the b-vtec heads flow great from the factory.

 

NAH2B, since you deal with RLZ, what is brad's opinions on this topic? the only reason why i ask is because i heard a different opinion from him, it was more about longevity than flow.

also, isn't the valve job the main factor (CFM) regardless whether its OEM or aftermarket?

 

I totally agree with #2 but #1 i question, if you refer to the may 2008 issue of honda tuning they used a stock block b16a with only pistons and cam gears(set to stock specs), was boosted to 507hp/339lbs of torque at 7800rpm. I know the rpm isnt that high, i will try to search later if anyone is running higher rpms with stock valves

 

well i wasnt saying you HAVE to use lighter valves. but on a serious build if you are going for say 10k or more, then you should probably be looking for ways to reduce VT weight.

and yes the valve job is the most critical part of head flow, but you can only squeeze so much air through a certain size hole(n/a) so if youve hit that limit, bigger valves is an option for more flow.

 

are we talking gsr/b16 to aftermarket valves? flow wise,
some aftermarket valves come with a smaller stem/back-cut like the itr in. valves and flow a tad bit better when compare to a gsr in. valve.

quality wise, i must say honda is top.

 

newtron63h>>ok i agree, at extreme high rpm you do have to lighten up the valve train but for the everyday daily driver/weekend drag strip, i dont see the need for changing the valve, stock valves are just fine.

092eg6>>yes we are discussing b-series vtec valves. For the most part everyone agrees that there is nothing wrong with the stock valves, therefore I can see why i should spend $300 plus for something thats gonna give me POSSIBLY 2-3 cfm of flow which translates to what 3-4hp guessing ?? If they lowered the prices then maybe i could see spending the money

 

fyi

99% of people on here will never have the "need" to go w/ lighter valves. i have been turning 10,400 rpm on stock valves for a couple seasons now w/o any issues whatsoever.

and as far as longevity as someone mentioned...stock valves are nitride coated which slows down guide wear which is another plus.

also the info i have posted goes for all oem valves weather its b h or k series.

 

With that said...
How much bigger are k series valve than b-series??

And can they be fabricated to fit a b series head?

 

so basically what your saying is that there is no aftermarket valves as good or better than honda valves unless your turbo then they aren't that good why is this?

 

sorry but i dont feed trolls

besides, the answer to your question should be self explanitory especially for someone like yourself who knows everything