What Performance Camshaft Will Work Best For My  Honda Acura?

Before you by any camshafts you need to now how the camshaft duration is measured by the manufacturer. There is no standardized way of measuring duration. The figure that is advertised is called advertised duration. Usually but not always that is the same as SAE duration. This is duration measured by a dial indicator and degree wheel when the indicator measures 0.003" lift. It is very hard to spot when the dial indicator first starts to move so the 0.003" lift is preferred because it is easy to see on the dial indicator. Some camshaft manufacturers will measure duration at 0.050". simply because they think it is more accurate point to measure cam duration. Honda Acura cam makers use 1 mm or 0.040" for their duration measuring. Remember when buying a cam, find out how duration is measured. For example, a cam with 260 degrees of advertised duration is a good street camshaft. A cam shaft with 260 degrees of duration at 0.050" lift is a race monster.  Here are some very general guidelines for a modern Honda Acura DOHC cars. All of the duration numbers are advertised duration.

• 240 degrees of duration, 0.390" lift, 15 degrees overlap - This is a stock cam. Works well from 700 - 6500 rpm with very good idle and pollution.

• 265 degrees of duration, 0.420" lift, 30 degrees of overlap - Good street camshaft. Works best from 400 - 7500 rpm. Slightly rough idle at about 900 rpm. Might pass smog test. Work well with bolt on modifications like header, cold air intake , exhaust muffler. More responsive than stock cam anywhere in the power band. Most street Honda Acura cars does not need any more than that.

• 280 degree of duration, 0.440" lift - A mild race cam. Works best from 4500 - 8000 rpm. Rougher idle at 950 rpm. Could pass a smog test with fuel and ignition management. Headwork and headers are a big help at this point. Stiffer valve spring are needed. OBD (on board diagnostic) system might have some issues with that kind of camshaft.

• 290 degrees of duration, 0.460" lift - Really wild street cam or mild race cam. Works best from 5500 - 8500 rpm. Poor idle at about 1200 rpm. Will fail smog test. Headwork, headers, racing valve springs and titanium retainers become a must. Compression will make the engine almost unable to work with pump gas. OBD will have a hard time keeping up with the cam.

• 305 degrees of duration, 0.500" lift - A full race camshaft. Works best from 7000 - 9500 rpm. Very poor idle at 1400 rpm. Smog Test? I don't think so. High compression ( at least 12:1), headwork, custom tuned header, bigger intake manifold, bigger injectors, performance high power ignition system, racing valve springs and titanium valve spring retainers are a must. OBD system will send failure codes the minute the car is started. The engine will not run on pump gas because of compression. The car will not be able to be driven on the street.

Some manufacturers like Skunk2 like to classify their camshafts in to different stages. Usually stage 1, stage 2, 3 sometimes all the way up to stage 5 or 6. Stage 1 camshaft would be form 245 to 260 degrees of duration. Stage 2 from 260 to 270 degrees of duration, stage 3 from 270 to 280, 285 degrees of duration and so on. It is also common to see a set of camshafts that have a different duration and lift for the exhaust and intake cam. For example, Skunk2 stage 1 camshaft set has 252 degrees of duration and 0.456" lift for the intake cam and 249 degrees of duration and 0.426" lift for the exhaust. That is because most Honda Acura have a different duration and lift on their stock cams. 

So when it comes to camshafts the important thing to keep in mind is that you need to know how duration is measured and what kind of a Performance Honda Acura you are building. You don't need a race cam shaft if you are going to do only street driving and you need to pass a smog test. If you have a VTEC engine you can stick to the stock cams and get a very good results from your engine. That is because the aftermarket camshafts are only going to benefit the engine if it is going to work in the 9000 rpm range. A common beginner mistake is to install too big of a performance Honda Acura camshaft. It is important when changing cam shafts to fallow the manufacturer recommendations about valve springs. Valve float and coil bind can result by using the wrong valve springs. This will destroy the engine's entire valvetrain. To get the most out of your performance Honda Acura camshafts you need to use adjustable cam gears and a dyno test will be worth the money. When it comes to camshafts the only rule is don't over do it. If you are planning on replacing the camshafts yourself a repair manual will be very helpful.

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