Im looking into purchasing some cams for my Civic. I have a jdm b16a ..I/H/E i think the compression ratio is around 10:4:1 i was wondering what you all suggest would make decent power with a stock block and head with bolt ons. I was also considering going with a thinner head gasket to raise compression to run a better cam. Opinions??

 

I believe the general concensus is: The bigger the cam, the better the top end. I don't see enough all motor civics around here so good luck. Also, If you can raise the compression without having to run race gas I'd say go for it, IMO.

 

just make sure if u go with a decent size cam to upgrade your valvetrain as well

 

I am in the same boat as you are dude... Im looking for the best cam for my setup too. Ive been researching for awhile and it seems like Buddy Club Stage III's are your best OVERALL choice as they make significant power just about everywhere over civic type R cams. Another option would be the skunk2 stage 2's....Ive been in a car with these and they pull really hard up top, but before vtec there isnt much to write home about. Like JDM_EF8 said, valvetrain is pretty imporant. You will want to upgrade your valvesprings and retainers. I also recommend a VAFC, and cam gears to compliment your new bumpsticks as a tune will help you get that extra power. Im still shopping around at the moment, but im probably going to get the buddy club stage III's...especially since Terry (boostfed) is offering them with springs for DIRT CHEAP. When your head is off you might want to consider a Type R intake manifold and hondata intake manifold gasket too....youd be surprised how big a difference these can make. and as far as your head gasket goes, a spoon makes a good thin ass headgasket for your application...I recommend them. good luck

 

thanx for the input guys.

ive heard alot about the Buddy Club III's......they should give me a good power bump throughout the whole powerband, where as the Skunk 2's are predominantly engineered for only top end. Ill probably go with the Buddy Club III's as well.

 

nice choice

 

the skunk2 s2's WILL make more top end power, they didnt pull the best until 7k+ because my car wasn't tuned at all brad. stock cam timing will do that lol. anyways, i would recommend not going the skunk2 route now anyways because they will eat the hell up out of your rocker arms, and you are going to want to upgrade your valvetrain with the skunk2 s2's. another really good company to look at is rocket motorsports, i have seen/heard real good things about their cams. overall though since you are running a 1.6 block i'd really recommend a cam that makes more top end because thats what you are working with anyways, leave making midrange power up to the 1.8's.

 

well in yur opinion sk8rmike....which cams do you think would be best for my set up? I plan on going with a 2 layer high compression head gasket, upgraded valve springs and retainers, and adjustable cam gears. I want a good power increase but still have a good startup and idle. Also i do not plan on changing pistons or doing any work to the block, so i want a cam that will work well with stock to a slightly modified setup. And when i do upgrade my cams/valvetrain will i still be able to only rev to 8200 or will my motor be able to withstand higher revs? Alot of ppl tell me to get type r's or buddy club III's.....which would you prefer? buddy club's, type r's, rocket motorsports, todas....etc..

 

if you are going to pull the head to do a headgasket you might as well get it milled like .030 over to bring your compression up a few tenths of a point and get a valvejob done. if you are building the head as well a good combo with ~11:1 compression would be the CTR/ITR cams, skunk2 s1's (which are basically type R cams), or rocket motorsports m22's seem to be a good choice for a street setup.

 

the buddy club III +'s, are awesome cams, its just a little more aggressive than the ctr's. you will definitley be happy with some ctr's though, vtec hits hard!