I recently bought skunk2 stg2 cams, valves, springs and retainers. One of my buddies is telling me to sell them and just get CTRs. I was like whoa...but he said he had skunk before in his b16 CRX and it was faster but the cams started to wear out. so he downgraded to CTRs. He said skunk isnt meant to last. This gots me worried. I want to be reasonably quick while keeping honda's durability. I plan on keeping my EM1 for a while. Has anyone else experienced problems with Skunk2? Is Skunk junk?

 

Just about all the aftermarket cams will wear out, especially the Skunk2. The life span is roughly around 30k-40k, depanding on usage and maintence (sp!). I've seen and hold a set of SK2 stage 1s that over 60k miles on it, there was a noticeable wear on the lobes, not even close compare to some ITR cams that had over 100k on 'em.

Keep in mind, race parts doesn't mean it will last forever. There's nothing out there has the same durability as Honda OEM.

 

Not to mention that the more lift and duration the cam has the more stress it puts on the valve train, so even if you have OE quality, the wear will still be more if you run more aggressive cam profiles, its simply the nature of the beast.

 

the seat pressure on the junk2 springs is WAY too high as well, you'll loose hp running them

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSRswapandslow. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the seat pressure on the junk2 springs is WAY too high as well, you'll loose hp running them</TD></TR></TABLE>

Compared to which other springs?

 

skunk and crower the worst from what i've been told

rlz springs are what i use obvioulsy, but rocket springs are designed well too

 

Skunks are good cams, any internial aftermarket part you put into your motor is going to put wear and tear on it.

 

omni makes a good set of sprigs for this.

 

ROCKET/EF-1 valvetrain

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by typeR 507 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ROCKET/EF-1 valvetrain </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeup, Rocket Motorsport Valvetrain kicks ***
I'm using them with Toda C's

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GSRswapandslow. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the seat pressure on the junk2 springs is WAY too high as well, you'll loose hp running them</TD></TR></TABLE>
dead on. skunk2 is bullshit. for one, its not their springs, it anothers. second, this company caters only to retarded engine builders who sit by dynos like its a stage at a titty bar.
ferrea has a single spring that takes a dump on 60% of all dual springs. its all about seat pressures and spring rates when running a particular cam profile. stage 1 or 2 dont need anything much stiffer than stock.

 

[QUOTE=RABHonda]
dead on. skunk2 is bullshit. for one, its not their springs, it anothers. second, this company caters only to retarded engine builders who sit by dynos like its a stage at a titty bar.
QUOTE]

LOL

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RABHonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dead on. skunk2 is bullshit. for one, its not their springs, it anothers. </TD></TR></TABLE>
yeah but alot of other people dont make their own springs.

i need to get my butt in gear and do the valve spring test.

it doesnt help that im moving twice in a month and have 2 big projects for my site going on at the same time...

 

anyone try Eibach valve springs ?

I've wanted to but never had a project for them I would imagine quality is going to be the best but how are the rates?

 

rocket valvesprings.


&lt;- see my avatar. thats my car gen1 springs. i have done that a bunch of times.

RM springs are guarranteed for life.

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by johnzm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">rocket valvesprings.


&lt;- see my avatar. thats my car gen1 springs. i have done that a bunch of times.

RM springs are guarranteed for life. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm sorry but WTF were you thinking !?!

 

apparrantly his engine is built to take it that high, and for another it is not your engine so dont worry about it

 

with the right engine setup those skunk cams are going to make a good amount more power than the ctr's. seems like any performance part is going to cause u to sacrafice something else, ex noise, durability, etc.

 

So has anyone her done a test before and after doing a valve spring upgrade. If so I love to see the dyno sheet. Are you serious in saying that using skunk2 valvesprings will cause a loss in hp? I'm not trying to stick up for Skunk2 but show me some proof of valvesprings causing a loss in hp...

 

if the spring's pressure is too high it will actually work against the engine in rotation

what does that equal=loss in hp

 

I understand that... You are right though by saying that....but has anyone actually proved that Skunk2 made a valve-spring that actually robbs hp?....Or any company for that matter. I mean would you manufacture and sell a valve-spring that actually took hp from a motor? Weather or not their stuff breaks or wears fast...they are still making parts so that you can go faster not slower

 

i currently own a set of itr springs and i was planning on putting stage 2 skunk2 cams with them. My engine is being built to only rev to about 8500rpms at most so what you guys are saying is i wont need to upgrade my valvetrain to the skunk2 springs or any other aftermarket springs for that matter but if i did i might actually end up losing hp because the spring rate is too stiff on most of the aftermarket springs and especially the skunk2 valvetrain.

also i would like to add that people have told me because of the lift alone on the cams you MUST upgrade your valvetrain and i have also been told that because im only reving to 8500rpms i would be perfectly fine running cams like the skunk2 stage 2 cams on the itr valvetrain.

 

If your only building your engine to rev to 8500, I think that the stage1 cams would be more effective than the stage2, because from the dynos i've seen posted here talking about each, the stage2 likes to make its power beyond that 8500 mark, white the stage1's make it within the factory set range. Thats why skunk2 says you should upgrade your valvetrain when buying the stage2's - because they're anticipating that you chip your ecu to take advantage of the power gains in the higher revs.

 

i loved my skunk stg 2 cams, but i was less than thrilled with the retainers. but in thier defense TI retainers are not meant to be used in daily driven cars. i returned to ITR retainers and never had issues after that