OK I'm sure this has been covered too many times but I'm pretty new to the sight so I'm not sure how to research past forums so I apologize up front for my forum ignorance. Anyway I have a 96 GSR, with about 100K on the clock, just got a set of USDM ITR cams and of course I'm dying to put them in, problem is, everyone has a different opinion on whether I can install them in the stock head or if I need to change the valve springs. So what I'm wondering is can I put them in with the stock springs if not is it both springs that need to change or is it just the outer or inner springs? Does someone out there make springs that are better than honda and not too expensive? Do I need to change my ECU to really see an improvement in performance? It's my daily driver so I'm really going for reliability, not planning on changing the ECU or revving past the stock redline for now at least. Not trying to be a dick but can I please hear from someone who's actually done this and owned the car for a while afterwards, not from someone who's read about it or knows someone who's mom's cousin's F'ing brother's done it? I've heard so much theory in the past two weeks I could F'ing puke. Oh and is the power increase all across the Vtec part of the RPMs or is it only an increase in horsepower because you can rev it higher? I really appreciate the advice, and like I said, not being a dick, just want someone who's done it so my daily driver doesn't get all F'd up.

 

ttt for an honest answer.

 

Um, do what?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by M Coop &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Um, do what?</TD></TR></TABLE>ttt(to the top) for an honest answer... as in like... i give you a bump therefore others could see the post and answer your question...

 

Oh, cool, thanks man, like I said, really new to the whole forum thing.

 

you can use itr cams on stock gsr springs(make sure you change all your cams seals on both side and do valve clearence check)...the lift isnt that high...you wont see any dramatic changes cuase the itr cams is not aggresive....if you want a few extra ponies I always suggest getting itr intake cam with aftermarket sprocket for tuning, p28 with hondata, possibly bigger injectors for fuel play, good dyno tuner and you will see some gains.....

I have left over itr valve train from my itr engine....I upgraded to bc4 kit.....bigger and better....

 

Already got both cams (part of a trade for my old CRX) so I'm using intake and exhaust. Now are you saying I should check clearance to make sure I didn't F up when I put the timing belt back on? Didn't think there was an issue with clearance otherwize. I'm all about changing cam seals while I'm in there, usually do seals whenever I open any part up that has seals. I'll get hondata eventually, kinda short on cash now might do the cam sprockets though since they're cheap. Since you brought up the leftover ITR Valve train, what do you have that you're trying to get rid of?

 

I'm running CTR cams in my B18C1 head with stock inner/outter intake springs and B17A1 (probably the same as B18C1) inner intake springs on the exhaust side with stock GSR ex springs. I did this b/c I'm getting an ecu upgrade to raise the rev limit, but if you're running stock ecu, then you don't need to do that. I've been running this for 12k miles now and it works well with the stock OBD1 P72 ECU.

I have a set of Crower 10k rpm springs and titanium retainers. I think they were $270-ish, but they're not installed no this head.

I agree with CNSK about the gains. Not much to write home about w/o ECU tuning.

He's talking about valve lash clearance. It needs to be adjusted antime you remove cams, as well as every 30k.

 

Thanks man, I really appreciate the info. So is my HP gain only really coming in the form of the ability to rev higher and get more air in at higher RPMs? I'm pretty shocked that it isn't going to be much of a gain otherwize but I haven't seen the GSR cams side by side with ITR cams so maybe it's not as much different as I'm thinking. I have an OBD 2 ECU, think that's going to cause me any problems? Got ya on the valve adjustment part, I thought he was saying something else.

 

I can say from experience, skunk2 stage1 cams on stock gsr valvesprings. As long as you keep it stock revlimit, it's fine imo.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tilt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can say from experience, skunk2 stage1 cams on stock gsr valvesprings. As long as you keep it stock revlimit, it's fine imo. </TD></TR></TABLE>
yep . keep the stock limit on the clock, and thats it...no worries about injectors or extreme tuning, a VAFC can help u out all the way, the CTR cams comes with a hole in the middle, this hole aligns with the girder and wil giive u top dead center has honda intented. keep it like that until u get new set of valvesprings.....i used ITR valvesprings on buddy club3+, but i kept the revlimit....u can buy the JG valvesprings for 300....rev limit 11K and max lift 13mm.....thats a good insurance...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by M Coop &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...So is my HP gain only really coming in the form of the ability to rev higher and get more air in at higher RPMs? I'm pretty shocked that it isn't going to be much of a gain otherwize but I haven't seen the GSR cams side by side with ITR cams so maybe it's not as much different as I'm thinking. I have an OBD 2 ECU, think that's going to cause me any problems?... </TD></TR></TABLE>

In part, yes, the additional HP comes from the additional revs. There will be some gains throughout the rpm band as well, and possibly some losses (like at the VTEC crossover). The only other mod I have on my internals is USDM ITR pistons at .50 mm over. Last dyno run laid down 160. Like I said, nothing to write home about, but better than stock. The OBD2 ECU should run those cams w/o any problems.

 

Cool, thanks again bro, I really appreciate all the info