I know the OEM quality is what a lot of people are after when thinking about street setups with good power. Now I am making basically 190whp untuned on ITR cams and my car is my daily driver (only 5-6 months out of the year due to winter). I know that GSR, ITR and CTR cams all possess that unique OEM quality , which is the main reason I went with ITR cams (also because they make good power for the money, I should make 200whp off these cams once I tune and slap on my cam gears).

Now the main question:

I've been thinking about going with some Skunk2 Camshafts. More or less I think I am looking into the stage 2 cams because the stage 1's basically make the same power as the itr cams (a bit more, nothing spectacular). I've already gotten an upgraded valvetrain and some very good headwork (dpr stage 6, great for some really aggressive camshafts). My car can handle 9k shifts no problem, so I was thinking about going with the Stage 2's and making a good amount of power.

Now what is the reliability of these Camshafts? Im talking about long period of time, years and years? Are they anything close to OEM quality and what are my chances of snapping one? I realize these questions are tough to answer I just wanted to get a reletive talk going about it. Also, I have a stock bottom end, I was thinking of maybe getting a mugen headgasket to raise the compression a bit. Would that be a good move?I use 93 octane fuel only.

I am looking into getting around 210whp with the stage 2's. Thats a feasible goal correct? Is this a realiable street setup? or am i looking at trouble with idle and other things with these Camshafts? Anyone run the Stage 2's in their daily driver....

any info or advice is very beneficial to my winter goals (car will be put in the garage for the next 5-6 months in about a few weeks, and will be going under some drastic changes.)

 

I forget the Skunk2 warranty, but I think it's like 3-6 months on camshafts.

EF1 has a lifetime warranty on their camshafts when used inconjunciton with EF1 valvesprings/retainers.

As far as reliablity goes, I've only heard a few instances where someone has broken a Skunk2 camshaft. I personally think it was due to installer error, but some people claim that the cams are weak.

I haven't heard anything bad about EF1 yet. Few people on here have some M22 or M24s and they love them.

I would supposed that if you maintained your valve clearence specs and kept checking the retainers wear over time, you shouldn't have any problem.

I think 210 with tuning would be possible since you are pushing about 190 right now. Look into the EF1 M25s.

Agressive cams are easily streetable, but define streetable. I've seen some people get their skunk2 stage3's to idle correctly and some people have a horrible idle.

I've heard that EF1 cams idle hard, but they provide the most agressive VTEC crossover of any aftermarket cam. (m25's)

Look into that stuff and post up.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=622106

get your car tuned first with itr cams

what is your whole setup? there might be other things you need to do before gettign some bigger cams.

and btw, m25's are only if you are 2.0+ and 13.0 CR : +

 

Here is my setup: this is the setup I dynoed to run the 189whp. the fuel is untouched along with my ecu. also, I have STR cam gears that aren't installed yet. So, there is plenty of ponies kicking around. Ill post my dyno chart below too.

Power Mods:
DPR Stage 6 Headwork
Type R Cams
Toda header 4-2-1
Skunk 2 manifold
Type R CAI
Kakimoto 70mm exhaust
Carsound Cat

Tuning Device:
Apex-i VAFC

Other Mods:
Fidanza Flywheel
Exedy clutch
B&M short shifter
Underdrive pulley

Valvetrain:
Oversized ceramic coated valves
titanium retainers
ITR valvesprings
Titanium V-TEC cross-over pins

Transmission:
ITR tranny
JDM 4.785 FD
Kaaz 1.5 Way LSD

Suspension:
Koni double adjustable shocks
Neuspeed springs
front and rear sway bars

Here is my dyno graph:


If I do upgrade the Cams I will be going with Skunk2's.

 

I see that these type of questions definately need to be posted elsewhere. The only questions that seem to get answered are the newb basic answers. Are there any knowledgable posters out there besides the 2 that have posted?

 

well honestly, why do you want to go faster?

if you are making solid power with your setup right now. just leave it be. why risk having non-oem parts fail when they WONT cover you for warranty work.

get a hondata and get your setup tuned.

including myself, i know people that get trapped into wanting to mod their car and forget to just put the extra money into things like driving school or paying for a road trip.

you have a balanced setup besides the tuning, spend 2 hours on the dyno and put your cam gears in, then you should be fine.

its not your direct question, but it kinda answers it.

 

thanks for the reply. It definately does make sense.

How about this then......

What could I do to enhance the performance of my current setup. I know dyno tuning and install my cam gears. Also, Chipping my ECU will help a lot because I am making power at redline and I believe I can push out even more. Maybe that will push out around 200whp once its properly tuned and I will be very happy with that for sure. This winter I am focusing on the exterior a lot (ITR lip, OEM itr sides, ITR rear bumper pieces, Tint, ITR wing(already got it), Rota's with Falkens and possibly a carbon fiber hood(this would be the last thing I would do)

 

i would get some ef-1/rocket inner valve springs and keep your itr springs

stock retainers and fresh keepers are good.

if you are going to be seeing 8.5K+rpm then you most likely are seeing some minor valve float

the b-series springs (even itr) arent all that they are crack up to be

 

I wasn't aware that the ITR valvesprings weren't produced well enough to take anything over 8.5k. That means I am going to have to take apart the head this winter and upgrade those. If I shift at 8,500k when I race am I looking at any danger with valve floating? Because Im sure I can make power above the ITR redline, maybe just a bit more, because of the headwork. This way here maybe an 8.5k shift is going to be more reasonable anyway. So the ITR valvesprings will hold up for that correct?