So how many of you daily drive your car with pro 1 cams? I know they cause more wear and tear on the valve train, but how much exactly? Would like to discuss and gain some input from experienced users.

I do have ferrera valves and retainers and using brad penn motor oil, but still want to be a little cautious.

 

What is your power goal? If you are under 500WHP GSR/Type-R cams will do the trick.

Do you have just aftermarket valves and retainers? What about aftermarket springs? Stock springs will not be able to handle the Pro 1 cams. If you do have aftermarket springs make sure the spring rate is within the Pro 1 specs.

The Brad Penn will help but regardless the life span will be longer with a less aggressive cam.

How many miles do you plan to put on the engine per year?

I originally planned on using Pro 1 cams but my tuner suggested I use GSR for my power goal. I'm currently making 400WHP.

Also, the Pro 1's are not a drop in cam, they will need to be degreeded.

 

The Pro1s are in there now. The goal is 500whp pump gas and 700 on C16. The turbo is S366ETT and it seems a little laggy on the street even with the Pro1s. I know this is expected given the turbo Im running though.

The valvetrain is all ferrea (valves, springs, retainers)...

I think Im just going to keep the Pro 1s in there and keep a close eye of valvetrain wear.

 

There are turbo specific cams that preform alot better than itr or gsr cams. Take a look at GSC cam thread https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced-induction-16/gsc-turbo-cams-vs-01-itr-cams-better-spool-30whp-gain-3042127/
I currently have pro1 cams w/GT35R and just like you Mike, my car is laggy. I once dreamed of 600hp and dragstrips but that time never came and now I just want something responsive. I'm going to remove the pro1 cams/GT35r in favor of GSC cams and GTX3071R or GT28

 

my roommate had pro 1's in his b16 making power to 10k sk2 valvetrain. when he took the valvetrain off the retainers where chewed up around the edges

 

so far 20K miles, w/ Pro1s and Valvetrain and no problems. If the valvetrain isn't by the right seat pressures and measurements, you could chew them up quick.. but that's with any big cam and valvetrain.

 

Although true, not entirely always the case. My Skunk2 Pro2's with all "Pro Series" valvetrain (valves were stock diameter) showed beginning signs of retainer wear at 5k miles; barely able to be felt/seen, but there none-the-less. Given Pro1's are more street friendly... Seat pressure has a lot to do with it as well. Regular 1,500 mile oil changes with ZDDP additive on top. I do inspections every so often on all of my equipment. HAH.

OP - If you have the money to daily drive at those power levels, you have the money to accept some parts changing/wear and tear. A set of retainers every so often is cheap enough - the PITA part is actually inspecting the wear.

"TheShodan" - Have you ACTUALLY inspected a retainer or three for wear recently?

 

I inspected them in Project SHE in Feb. Looks good so far after over a year of VERY hard use.

Slight wear on my own personal Jun Valvetrain and retainers from about 30 events and 40K, still good so far.

Will be checking Project NA Buddy Club valvetrain this Fall.

 

would those gsc's be a good choice to use with a bw s362?

 

Which "type" Jun retainers do you have Mac ? Are they the coated one's ? I've had a set of both there retainers in the past and have found the "type 1" retainers to show wear pretty fast. I think i removed mine after 8,000 miles or so and they all had nice indentations of the valve springs underneath of the retainer. I didn't get chance to test the "type 2's" out fully as i had a cam snap on me...

Also did you find your JUN retainers to be a Snap fit or not ??

 

Yep.. those will work as well. Valvetrain is required, and there is a specific Break in procedure. I'll post up a video later about the differences and similarities of Skunk2 and GSC Power-Division.

 

^awesome. I thought that might have been too much turbo for that cam.

 

I have the type 2 retainer. I originally installed them in 2005, seemed to fit like any other retainer.

 

Im with you on that. Big power was always on my mind, but in hindsight, I should have opted for a fast spooling 400 - 500whp set up. I would have enjoyed daily driving more. And I daily drive more than I drag race, lol.

I saw the GSC cams but I dont think they would have been better than the pro1s for my setup. They're definitely a good cam though. Im interested in if they would make a stage 2. Might be fun.

 

The only issue you might run into is that the titanium retainers will wear out. They aren't designed for.high mileage street use. It would better serve your purposes to pick up tool steel retainers. They weigh just as much as titanium but are a lot more durable. We switched from titanium to tool steel on our ls7 since its a dual purpose street/road race motor and we haven't had one issue vs. The titanium ones.

 

I found them to be quite a loose fit compared to the retainers that generally come from the US which are the snap fit design. I've always sworn that those snap fit retainers last a hell of a lot longer..