This is my second time owning a GSR. The first GSR I had CTR cams but this time around I would like to use a little more aggressive cams without necessary doing major upgrades to the head like valves, springs, and retainers. I did a little search but I couldn't find anything. Any help or cam suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

well, if you are going with more agressive cams, then you are going to have to upgrade your valvetrain.

 

Thanks for the response.
I would like something a little more aggressive than the CTR cams since I didn't have to upgrade the valvetrain. It would be ideal (to save some money) to use a little more aggressive cams than the CTR without upgrading the valvetrain and I was wondering if there was a possible option out there.

 

No

 

don't waste the money. without more compression gains are minimal. you can easily spend 2000 dollars for less than 10hp. cams, vt, header, intake manifold, tune

leave the engine alone, you'll be happy you did in the long run. all the aggressive cams will wear your valve guides faster and require more rpm which means shorter engine life.

if you want to do this in the best cash saving way possible. buy a jdm itr engine, spend the day installing that, keep your gsr motor in the corner of the shop and rail that itr motor for a few years. then, when you go to sell the car install the gsr motor again and sell the car as stock. you will also be able to get around 2000 of the 2500 you paid for that itr engine even after putting 50k miles on it

net cost $500

net gain 30hp and no miles on your gsr motor

 

Bro i think you should call up skunk2! im using there skunk2 tuner 1 cams!, much more aggressive than the itr/ctr cams, and you can use oem valve train AND there street legal!! they come with a carb sticker for smog!

 

I put the skunk2 tuner 1 cams in my jdm gsr motor and noticed a dramatic difference, like them a lot.

 

skunk2 would most likely recommend you upgrade your valve train with there cams. anything higher than itr/ctr its recommended upgrading valve train. dont have to upgrade anything, but its recommended

 

not on the tunner 1 cams!, on there pro 1 cams you do! trust me i had those last. You can use your oem valve train with the tunner 1, i am currently using my oem ITR valvtrain with the tunner 1 cams.

 

Itr intake springs are stiffer than oem gsr springs. You should specify what oem valvetrain you're referring to beforehand.

 

Thanks for the input guys. I was leaning towards the skunk2 cams as well. Also, I was thinking about installing CTR/ITR pistons to raise the compression a little to maximize the cams but I live in California and was wondering if the installation of these pistons dramatically imcreases my chances of failing smog?

 

the problem you will have in california is that you can't legally tune the car and you have to tune the car if you change the cams. on top of that skunk2 is just a **** business. google skunk2 signalpuke if you want to read the whole story. the short version is skunk has all their stuff made in the same chineese knock off shops and the rest of the ebay junk you see floating around. skunk actually put out a bounty looking for the addresses of a couple of the guys in GDD who exposed it all.

not a business i would ever recommend supporting

on top of that when you start adding up cams, ecus, pistons and the rest you start realizing 2500 for a jdm itr longblock is actually a good deal for 30 more hp. it's not hard to spend that and wind up with similar or less on a gsr. you will also have no resale since people won't pay jack for modded motors ........unless they come from golden eagle, endyn etc...

 

Duh! and it specifies all b series motors not just the b18c-5, so that means if you have a gsr motor, civic si motor ect.ect. IT will work with those springs, but don't take my word call and ask a skunk2 tech for accurate tech advise on there parts.
Acura B17A1
Acura B18C1, C5
Honda B16A2, A3



I agree and disagree! you can tune the car but when its time for smog some people pay to pass smog some just reset the motor to stock its up to dep on whats done to the motor.

About skunk2! I believe that's just rumor, company's over seas are mass producing copy's of skunk2 parts and selling them as real ones! Skunk2 is not the only one this is happened to. Many of the high end header company's like six sigma had there headers copied along with a few turbo brands. You can see on skunk2 website they show the difference between the knock offs and the real ones and what to look for. But its up to you everyone has a opinion just remember don't believe everything you read! the media is full of dirty tricks.

About just buying a jdm long block! that's a bad idea! it wont pass smog here in c.a! its too strict and JDM motors are not legal no more! i know boo!

Yes people wont want a modded motor so it wont be easy to sell it if you decide to some day to sell it unless its a quality built motor like he said by a reputable company, better off parting out that modded motor.

I support skunk2 parts all the way, But its just my preference.

 

i've seen copies of the shipping invoices going from tawain to skunk2. it's quite true, so were their threats. they actually have decent cam profiles, they just happen to be a very unethical company that glory markets to the consumer. they aren't jun, they aren't toda and they aren't endyn. they are just another knock off company that runs a marketing campaign saying that they are the real deal. plenty of proof on the net

making a jdm engine legal in cali is as simple as punching a 1 or 5 after the C and converting the oil pump and vtec solenoid

 

Thanks for the input guys.
Well my plan is to not build a powerful N/A setup or anything like that. I had a GSR before, years ago, and in my first setup I had IHE, ecu, CTR Cams, and blox intake manifold and it ran like a 14.7 in the 1/4 which wasn't too bad considering it was my first time at the track. Then after a few months I came across a cheap greddy turbo kit that I purchased from a friend and that turned out to be a decent setup as well. This is my second time owning a GSR and I for sure don't want to go the turbo route as i just want a reliable N/A car for commuting to school since i went back to college. I would like to have a nice little reliable n/a setup to cruise around in and I enjoy the vtec sound of the ctr cams but in this setup i would likea little more agressive cam and a little more power than the CTR and a louder vtec scream just for the fun of it. I really don't want to spend that much money and change the whole blueprint of the stock gsr motor ie. valves, valvetrains, springs, and etc and have problem with smog down the road. I've tried searching the site but the search comes up with all sorts of weird threads that doesn't give me much information. Again any input is greatly appreciated.

Also, if I were to install ctr/itr pistons (pr3?) would that cause any smog problems?

 

yes. the stock ecu is extremely picky. anything more than a header and higher flow air filter and you're re programming.

based on what you're saying...honestly. leave the engine alone and just do a quality tune up and higher flowing air filter. you could run a smog legal eldelbrock header IF you can find one that's a solid 3-5whp over stock. greddy also makes a decent smog header. beyond that you're into doing a tune and there goes emissions..

even a type r swap will run you nearly 3500 just for the engine by the time you convert it and source the hard as f'lk to find p73-a02 ecu you will need for the ref plug in. you also won't get the full potential of that since you'll have to use your gsr downpipe and gsr cat.

honest to god modding these cars in cali is a complete waste of time and money. leave it alone, drive it and save for a faster car. you can usually get a nice theft recovery title s2000 under 10k. the 5th gen corvettes are also pretty affordable.

 

you can choose to stay naive or educate yourself. in this day and age there are many, many better options for everything junk2 makes. of course the cheapass fanboys will still buy junk2 because they think they're the **** and dont know any better.

 

is more like it

fanboi: man i love me some skunk2
reality check: see this shipping manifest from tawain?
fanboi: man that has to be fake
reality check: see the freight carrier stamp and skunks address?
fanboi: that has to be photoshop
reality check: ever see all the snapped skunk2 cams?
fanboi: man that fool didn't install them right
reality check: ever see the skunk2 cam gears slip and grenade a motor?
fanboi: yea i bet they weren't torqued right

 

kids like skunk 2 because of the catchy name and logo.. I know that all the crap they sell is made in china,..MADE IN CHINA.....nuff said

 

Thanks for your input.
Like i stated earlier i don't plan on making a tremendous amount of power, just a decent setup for a commuter. Something a little more aggressive than the ctr cams that i had in the past.
I had a s2000 and sold it to go back to school. I am just aiming for a little nice setup to commute to and from school and have a little fun in. I also like the sound of the vtec every now and then adn would like an opinion on what cams have the "louder" vtec crossover.

 

Then just get itr/ctr cams. Tuner 1's not even that much more aggressive. The fact of our cars is that it takes a lot ($$$) to make a little (whp). Youre asking for max potential with the least amount of invested work when the options out there are minimal in difference. Every single bolt on part by itself does not gain you much. Its a combination of parts that see more power. Get itr/ctr cams, leave if you like but i recommend upgrading at minimum the intake side of the valvetrain, leave or upgrade your exhaust flow a bit and call it a day. Those cams are probably the single biggest and cheapest drop in gain you can do and sit on stock map. Following that would be to upgrade exhaust flow, assuming you already have a intake like most do. This will see 15-20whp. No other drop in/bolt on combo on a gsr will see that much on the cheap/simple end. Although i have seen someone claim they gained 20whp stock cams/comp with just skunk2 mani, intake and rep hytech with exhaust.

Edit: that was 170 tuned, 161 without tuning.