by Dan Ponze

I wanted some nice camshafts for my 1995 GS-R so on my mechanic's recommendation I went with Toda Racing billet camshafts from Japan. They will fit B16A, B16B, B18C, and B18C4 engines although some mods are required to fit the non-Type R engines as I will elaborate on later. Please keep in mind that these are brand new billet cams and not regrinds so their cost is much higher than American made cams. They cost approximately $1400 US a set so start saving now. They can be ordered from Yoshio at Japanese Automotive in Toronto, Canada (416) 781-1179. Please don't call unless you're serious as he is very busy. He also does the ROM tuning for the cams but at an extra charge.

There are other costs you need to incur if you plan on making serious reliable power with them. Firstly you'll need more fuel either by way of an adjustable fuel pressure regulator or a custom ROM chip like I did. Secondly, if your car is not a Type R, you'll need the Type R intake valve springs (inner and outer) and will need to transfer your stock intake springs to the exhaust side. For those of you that don't know, the intake valve springs on the GS-R are the same as the exhaust valve springs on the Type R. Titanium retainers would be a good idea as well but not necessary. These cams are already set up from the grinder to make the most linear power curve without using cam sprockets, however, if you want to move the power band you may want to consider getting a set. I have mine both set at 0 degrees for now. Also, you will need sprockets if you have had your head shaved (such as a JG port job) since this throws off the cam timing. As DPR doesn't mill the head on their stage VI (I measured it), sprockets weren't necessary in my case but I kept them on anyway in case I'd like to tinker with it in the future.

Power with the cams is nothing short of spectacular. Low end is great and power really starts coming on line at 5000 RPM's. Top end from 5500 RPM and up is fierce and doesn't let up 'till well past the 8600 RPM shift point I use. The curve is extremely linear and smooth with one minor problem: the stock VTEC switching point is too low as there is a hesitation at 4400 when the big cam comes on line. The fuel curves are good so I suspect that these cams were designed with the Type R's higher VTEC switching point in mind. I will have the VTEC switch-over point moved in a week or two after I dyno the car and know what the power curve looks like. I think about 5000-5200 RPM is probably best. Those of you with VTEC controllers can play with it but I'm not sure you will be able to get enough fuel in there with just the controller. I had to reprogram the computer extensively to get enough fuel in there. Overall I'm really impressed with these cams and they even raised my highway mileage by a point to 30 MPG. I would highly recommend these cams to those that are serious about making power the all-motor way and particularly to Type R's who benefit the most from these cams from what Yoshio has told me.

Copyright 2002, Temple of VTEC