B16, B18, B20
By frampo
#134425 looking at getting some stage 2 cams, with springs and retainers, just wondering if i can run them on my standard ECU untill i can afford to get a chipped ECU and it mapped.

also will it cause any damage to my car ?
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By That One Dude
#134472 Stage 2 what brand?

I wouldn't recommend running upgraded cams on a stock ECU. Too much lift, not enough fuel. Too lean. You run the risk of detonation, burning up your exhaust valve seals, burning your catalytic converter, burning your O2 sensor...

It's not a good idea, IMO.

It is totally possible, but not a good idea.

The valve springs, on the other hand. Go for it. You have nothing to lose by installing the upgraded valve springs, retainers and keepers.
By frampo
#134654 blox stage 2 cams, would it be ok to just drive it to the tuners on the cams then??
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By That One Dude
#134656 It'd be ok to drive to the tuner, but lay low. Don't tromp on it until AFTER the tune.

Blox 2s are decent cams, IMO. How much did you pay for them?
By frampo
#134665 not got them yet, still thinking about them :)
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By That One Dude
#134671 Ahh.

What is your engine, and what are your mods? Generally speaking, unlike our pushrod brethren, swapping cams in our cars shouldn't really be done unless you have a fair amount of supporting mods.

I/H/E/IM/HFC, you know the drill.
By frampo
#134673 will hopefully be running with a 68mm throttle body and intake manifold to match, along with a straight through exhaust system, carbon induction as well, but with a standard manifold to start with, unless i get some money first :) engine is a JDM B16a :)
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By That One Dude
#134686 JDM B16A is a very good platform to start with. I wouldn't upgrade the TB though unless you plan on some SERIOUS power. ChicagoMike, for instance, is using the stock ITR IM and TB and he is making 215hp without messing with the cam gears.

What do you mean by a carbon induction? Is that a carbon fiber IM? If so, run away from it. Go with either Skunk2 or ITR or something of the like. The stock TB will suffice for moderate power gains.

If by carbon induction, you mean a carbon fiber intake, go for it. PWJDM is a pretty good one.

What size exhaust are you thinking of? Unless you're going FI, I wouldn't go bigger than 2.5". Not much more power to be gained by a 3" or bigger.
By frampo
#134718 i already have a skunk2 68mm throttle body, that i got ages ago, which will be mated to a 68mm skunk2 intake manifold, already got skunk2 cam gears as well, will be going for a 2.5 exhaust to mate to my Greddy Evo2 cat back, its an invo auto carbon fibre induction kit, looks nearly identical to the top fuel power chamber intake.

with exhaust manifolds im not sure yet, was considering the Greddy one, but maybe a tri Y header or something along those lines, and as for serious power, im possibly looking for it in the long run, maybe do a b20 conversion and forge it :)
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By That One Dude
#134723 Well since you already have the TB, go for it, but don't expect huge gains from it and the IM.

All you had to say was power chamber. :wink:

I wouldn't get the Greddy unit personally. I've inspected one before, and I was not impressed by the welds. They looked similar to the DC header welds. A good tri-y won't be cheap. High-end has a pretty good tri-y, but I haven't seen dyno charts between it and other tri-ys. OF course, there is always the Hy-tech header...if you want to drop $1200+shipping from ENDYN.

B20/VTEC would be a hellacious combination in a Civic. I've driven a B20/VTEC Integra before...that was way too much fun for a street car...graned it was putting down 230hp and it was gutted with a custom aluminum gauge cluster for the dash, but still...