Last night I sold a set of Tuner 1 cams on Craigslist. I bought them brand new in 2004 from Rob at Robear Racing for $600. The Craigslist buyer is convinced that I sold him fake cams after watching this youtube video.

http://youtu.be/7yfAvpIzyIM

The cams have the "H01" etching on the distributor side, but apparently they also have that indent or hole between the lobes. Does anyone know if fake Skunk2 cams were being produced in 2004? Did the cams change between '04 and '10 where the indent was removed? *edit* They also have the raised "M" and "2" lettering.

I don't want to cheat this guy out of his money, but it's hard for me to accept that these are fake cams when I know they were purchased brand new from a legit vendor. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos at the moment. Can anyone provide some insight?

Thanks.

 

Call Brian at Skunk2. They changed their markings recently from hand etched to stamped. So your buyer may not be aware of the changes and thinks that he received fake Merchandise.

Here's the thread about the new markings for yours and his information
https://honda-tech.com/forums/all-motor-naturally-aspirated-44/new-skunk2-camshaft-markings-2957692/

 

Awesome, thank you for that. I came across a few fake cam threads, but not that one. Left a message with Skunk2, hopefully I get a call back.

 

You're best e-mailing Brian as opposed to a call w/ a voicemail during business hours. (Don't start any rants about calls/service with phones) just do both. Call and E-mail.

 

Yeah, I called and emailed. I told the guy I'd refund him, but I still want to get to the bottom of this.

Here's some photos I took for the Craigslist ad, if anyones interested.











Receipt


Tech Sheet

 

I bought some Pro+2 for h22 back in 2006. I was told mine are fake as well... But I haven't looked to see if mine has a hole like yours. Here Is a link to side view of my cams. http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...b/DSC_3165.jpg ...

Did you make good power on your "fake" cams?

 

It made power on these cams. About what I'd expect from a stock block 1.8 liter with the 1st gen Skunk IM, SRI, Stage 1's with the upgraded valvetrain and a dented 4-1 header.

I still have the dyno sheet from after the tune.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...T8CzG9iEON.jpg

I noticed your cams don't have the etching that supposedly appears on all Skunk2 cams. Is that why you were told yours were fake?

 

I was told that Skunk2 Never had anything written on the lobes like that(I didn't talk to skunk2 about it, It was a HT member that had similar cams like mine but for B series).

Btw your cams FS?

 

I got into a similar argument with an eBay buyer a bit ago....but this dude installed the cams AND broke them before making a claim they were "not as described". Some idiot at Paypal gave him his money back. After calling and raising 10 kinds of Hell, I got a person with 1/2 a brain that actually had a FUNCTIONAL bit in there that realized he damaged the item and couldn't possibly return the item as it was sent to him, and reversed the claim.

I can't tell from those pics...are those steel cores or chilled cast iron? Does the material look different than your OEM cams? AFAIK, Skunk2 are the only company that use those type of cores. Guys, correct me if I'm wrong on that. The alignment holes are a definite giveaway--Holes = NOT chilled cast iron cams. Also, the chilled cast cores that I've seen don't look shiny in the wear regions like the ones pictured do.

You've got all the documentation, etc to go with the cams.

As for power gains, the engine doesn't care whose name is on the box of the cams...just about the lift & duration. So, that is a moot point where "authenticity" is concerned.

Too bad noone knew all this back in '04, when you bought them.

If you don't mind me asking, for what price were you selling them?

 

I've read about the lettering too, but I've also heard the opposite. None of the threads I've seen have cams as old as mine. They're usually '06 and up.

Sorry, what did you mean by FS? For sale?


I've never compared these cams side by side to a stock set, but from what I remember, these Skunk2's are "rougher" and dark black in color. When I sold my original GSR cams they looked to be a dark brown color. When I get back in town, I'll try to stop by a local shop and see if I can look over a stock set of B series cams.

I was selling them for $150. I was told they worth about $250, but I couldn't get a local buyer at that price.

 

the cams in the pics is real, it just the old type from way back

 

robear racing that explains it. since the industry has shaken up i don't think it matters anymore it's 10 years later. robear racing = back doored skunk2 products by Z.SPEED. so essentially it's from the same factory in 2004... so they aren't exactly "fake skunk2 cams". and FYI Skunk2 successfully filed a law suit and won a large award for damaged caused by Z.SPEED.

 

You're a little late to the party, haus.... It had nothing to do with that other company in this particular situation. Yes, they won a lawsuit, but the issue of identification was already solved when the markings changed..

Here's the link for that for you, sir.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2957692

Old thread, but good that the new information is linked for other sellers getting rid of hand-etched camshafts from Skunk2.

 

Good info Frank! I had a set of similar camshafts and always wondered the back story, thanks.

 

those look like real S2 cams. i have a set of tuner 2's sitting on a bench and they have the same chicken scratch.

 

what? it has everything to do with the OP's cams. they was sourced from robear which either know or unknowingly bought these cams from Z.SPEED, which may or may not have been sent with original skunk2 package.

if it was sent with Skunk2 package then it was un-authorized back dooring... it's all technicality... despite what Dave Hsu wrote in his blog, according to the actual engineer Skunk2 did NOT own the tooling. i will write a blog explaining the chill cast history and what really happened.

 

Frank, no one reads your blog. Just post it here.

 

my blog gets decent traffic. 73k views in 3 years. and i had no posting for 1.5 years. it's doing okay.

 

i managed to wind up with a fake set of tuner1's a few years ago. it was a mess. it took like 3 months and tons of phone calls and documentation for my credit card company to finally remove the charge from my account.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced-induction-16/anyone-elses-skunk2-cams-fit-poorly-many-pics-included-3031696/

 

okie dokie.

 

damn

 

It was kinda funny reading this thread