Best Cam Upgrade for a B18c2?

Hey Alex,

BC Spec III cams need to be tuned, it takes at least 3-4hrs to get it tuned. On that, thats $150-$250per/hr on a dyno. First they will make a base line run, then adjust the cam gears then make another run. They will continue to do this until the car reaches peak power.

My close freind told me he spent $1,400.00 and that its not worth the money unless you going to track, these cams you can tune them to track spec to reach them to its full potential, or just a street tune which then people start complaining "oh I didn't feel $hit".

Good luck Alex,

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Originally Posted by Vvvtec

Thanks man, this is the type of answer I was hoping to get.

My goal, and why I was looking into doing this, is I'm after abit more sniff in the mid range. I would just like abit more power for those drives through through the mountains. Im not looking to build a straight line warrior. Anything that can put me close/equal to a stock Type R I guess?

As for Headers and Exhaust, no I do not have a good set up yet. The more I research the more Im realising I should probably get my engine breathing properly before upgrading camshafts. I think I'll finish off the I/H/E combo, then think about swapping these cams.

As for building the bottom end, I'm not sure if I'm prepared to go that distance just yet. That's why I was looking at the Skunk2 (and now Buddy Club) cams because they are designed specifically for the C2. The Buddy Club cams infact look like the best option.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BUDDY...Q5fCarQ5fParts

Along with another $150 for OEM Springs and Retainers.

Realistically, would I expect to see a vast improvement over the stock cams?

Also thanks MikeyG for your input too!

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I strongly recommend just finishing the I/H/E first before you turn to the cams. A good 4-2-1 header, hi-flow cat and a 60mm pre-fab exhaust would be a good option. I say this because modifying the head is something you should only really do once, rather than keep opening it up again and again. So I would say when you do the head, get a port job done, do the full valvetrain and cams.

As for cams, I'm using the Skunk2 Stage 1 cam shafts in my JDM B16A CRX with the Skunk2 adjustable cam gears. Although it needs a proper tune I've found that I have some more responsiveness down low, but the power has mostly shifted to the top-end (6500-9000 RPM).

I'm also using Supertech springs which were measured to fit by a machine shop, and Supertech titanium retainers. You can probably make do with OEM springs/retainers but you should upgrade them for reliability when you do your cam shafts because of the resulting extra strain. But the springs can't just be thrown in - they'll need to be measured to within a thousandth of a millimeter or so.

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Originally Posted by Vvvtec

And as for budget, considering the AUS $$$ being so strong, I was hoping to spend somewhere around $550 shipped?

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$550 I can't believe they're so cheap, but stage 3 won't give you mid-range power. That'll be top-end power for sure and probably at the expense of low/mid range.
For street driveability and some entertainment stage 1 is a great idea from my experience - don't be tricked into thinking you're not hard enough because you only went stage 1 instead of stage 3 or stage 6 etc. The higher you go the less practical your car becomes as I'm sure you already knew :)

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Originally Posted by DC2-PWR

BC Spec III cams need to be tuned

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Not true. BC Spec III can be run safely without tune. Of course, you will get more out of it if you take the time and effort to do so.

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

$550 I can't believe they're so cheap, but stage 3 won't give you mid-range power. That'll be top-end power for sure and probably at the expense of low/mid range.
For street driveability and some entertainment stage 1 is a great idea from my experience - don't be tricked into thinking you're not hard enough because you only went stage 1 instead of stage 3 or stage 6 etc. The higher you go the less practical your car becomes as I'm sure you already knew :)

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*cough* Buddy Club Spec III+ is their entry level cam and the least aggresive of its range. Just because it says Spec III does not mean it equates to Skunk2 Pro Series 3 or TODA Spec C or JUN Type 3. Please do your research on cam profiles first before providing misleading information. BC Spec III+ was designed for mostly mid-range with improvement up top without sacrificing too much low end. It is essentially a street spec cam, and thus probably perfect for the OP as he's not a serious racer and the cam does not require extensive supporting mods.

To the OP: Good work on doing your research and coming up with the conclusion to complete your header and exhaust setup :thumbsup: Let us know on what you choose.

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Originally Posted by NSPYRE

Not true. BC Spec III can be run safely without tune. Of course, you will get more out of it if you take the time and effort to do so.



*cough* Buddy Club Spec III+ is their entry level cam and the least aggresive of its range. Just because it says Spec III does not mean it equates to Skunk2 Pro Series 3 or TODA Spec C or JUN Type 3. Please do your research on cam profiles first before providing misleading information. BC Spec III+ was designed for mostly mid-range with improvement up top without sacrificing too much low end. It is essentially a street spec cam, and thus probably perfect for the OP as he's not a serious racer and the cam does not require extensive supporting mods.

To the OP: Good work on doing your research and coming up with the conclusion to complete your header and exhaust setup :thumbsup: Let us know on what you choose.

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anybody got the lift and duration spec's on the skunk2, toda or jun cams i'd really like to compare these to the buddyclub cam's? as every where i look on the net it seems to me these other cams have less duration. as it is the duration that affects bumping up the rev range, which interests me.

whats best cam upgrade for stock b20 vtec, with b16 head, will getting getting bigger valves and springs also

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Originally Posted by Touge Tom

anybody got the lift and duration spec's on the skunk2, toda or jun cams i'd really like to compare these to the buddyclub cam's? as every where i look on the net it seems to me these other cams have less duration. as it is the duration that affects bumping up the rev range, which interests me.

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Off the top of my head, all three of those cams have a lift value greater than 12mm. I see where you're getting a little confused. The duration value advertised on Buddy Club sites and quoted elsewhere is the duration spec at full lift (INT 296, EX 290). Other cam manufacturers such as Skunk2, TODA, and JUN advertise their cam duration spec at 1mm lift. Therefore, the BC Spec III+ cam has a duration spec of INT 250 @ 1mm, EX 245 @ 1mm

Hope this clears things up for you :)

i just checked out skunk2 pro series 3 cam specs and they are:intake is 277 duration/13.mm lift and the exhaust is 284 duration/12.4 lift

where as the buddyclub spec 3+ intake 296 duration/ 11.4 lift and the exhaust is 290 duration/ 11.8 lift

seams to me that with the higher lift of the skunk2 pro 3's would make more mid range and less top end cos there's less duration thus having less affect on widening the rev limit of the b series engine?

am i right or not. please let me know?

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Originally Posted by Touge Tom

i just checked out skunk2 pro series 3 cam specs and they are:intake is 277 duration/13.mm lift and the exhaust is 284 duration/12.4 lift

where as the buddyclub spec 3+ intake 296 duration/ 11.4 lift and the exhaust is 290 duration/ 11.8 lift

seams to me that with the higher lift of the skunk2 pro 3's would make more mid range and less top end cos there's less duration thus having less affect on widening the rev limit of the b series engine?

am i right or not. please let me know?

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Refer to my post above yours :)

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Originally Posted by NSPYRE

Off the top of my head, all three of those cams have a lift value greater than 12mm. I see where you're getting a little confused. The duration value advertised on Buddy Club sites and quoted elsewhere is the duration spec at full lift (INT 296, EX 290). Other cam manufacturers such as Skunk2, TODA, and JUN advertise their cam duration spec at 1mm lift. Therefore, the BC Spec III+ cam has a duration spec of INT 250 @ 1mm, EX 245 @ 1mm

Hope this clears things up for you :)

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i was just looking @ the BC site and weather i could be reading it wrong or what? but it states on the intake cam at 1mm open @ 25 deg BTDC/ 1mm open @ 45 deg ABDC. surely this means the valve is open 296 deg between these two points? right?

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Originally Posted by Touge Tom

i was just looking @ the BC site and weather i could be reading it wrong or what? but it states on the intake cam at 1mm open @ 25 deg BTDC/ 1mm open @ 45 deg ABDC. surely this means the valve is open 296 deg between these two points? right?

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BC Spec III Plus

Intake: 11.4 mm lift - 25 BTDC (1mm open) - 45 ABDC (1mm open)
Exhaust: 11.8 mm lift - 45 BBDC (1mm open) - 20 ATDC (1mm open)

http://www.wallaceracing.com/camcalc.php

Input these values into the calculator to get your answer

Thus, at full lift:

Cam Lift: INT 11.4mm | EX 11.8mm
Duration: INT 296 | EX 290


EDIT: Re-written values to how it should look.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NSPYRE

BC Spec III Plus

Intake: 11.4 mm lift - 25 BTDC (1mm open) - 45 ABDC (1mm open)
Exhaust: 11.8 mm lift - 45 BBDC (1mm open) - 20 ATDC (1mm open)

http://www.wallaceracing.com/camcalc.php

Input these values into the calculator to get your answer

Thus, at full lift:

Cam Lift: INT 11.4mm | EX 11.8mm
Duration: INT 296 | EX 290


EDIT: Re-written values to how it should look.

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ok thanks mate. if so what is the cam with the greatest duration on the market?

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Originally Posted by Touge Tom

ok thanks mate. if so what is the cam with the greatest duration on the market?

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All good :)

AFAIK, off the shelf would be Skunk2 Pro Series Stage 3, but dont quote me on that...