Power Pages - 2000 Honda Civic SI

Pros
Dubbed as the refined version of the Skunk2 stage 1 camshaft, Skunk2 R&D manager Jeff Giovino states, "This cam is a lot more lift and duration compared to the previous version delivering better top end. We built this cam with concentration on improved midrange power." Skunk2 claims the Pro 1+ camshaft has the top end of their stage 2 along with significant improvement on the midrange power, which no cam on the market today can match. Note their previous stage 1 camshaft has smaller secondary lobes, which were created specifically to pass emissions and remain a CARB approved camshaft designed and sold by Skunk. When using Proseries camshafts, Skunk2 recommends using valve springs (eliminating valve float), retainers, and, of course, an adjustable cam gear.

Cons
This camshaft has a lot of overlap and a slightly rough idle. Because this is a race camshaft and not should be used for off-road usage only, there's a fallacy on the market that people can just throw the camshaft in and realize it doesn't idle due to the decrease in vacuum. In a domino effect, the vacuum isn't enough, which affects the map sensor, increasing the fuel enrichment. Without properly tuning the camshaft, the ECU is signaling a false code to the injectors, telling it to dump excessive fuel at idle causing it to run rough and stall. With a piggyback system like the V-AFC, you can modify the signal by simply tricking it. Standalone systems such as a Motec or AEM EMS unit give the tuner the ability to reprogram the ECU with new values to improve idle and throttle response.

Conclusion
Its hard to ignore the fact that consumers and performance fanatics of the B-series family of engines can't simply bolt on parts without relying on fuel systems or engine tuning. The new products being released today are more than a simple turn of the screwdriver-they require some research, knowledge, and understanding on how to extract the maximum horsepower potential. Out final numbers equaled a gain of 19.7 hp and 10.3 lb-ft of torque over our baseline part 2, a final gain of 26.3 hp over our stock baseline run. Now who says the B-series engine is old news?