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Redstar · 07-24-2009, 03:21 PM

Other than some maintenance parts, I didn’t think there was any real headwork required to fit a set of cams. I haven't done anything with cams on a 5S yet so maybe I'm missing something?

I picked up a used greddy emanage and a wideband for about $400. Mrturrari is running a perfect power SMT-6, and Scooterman is running megasquirt. Someone else ( Karl I think?) adapted an easily tuned Honda ECU to a 3S successfully.

I didn’t find the piggyback hard to install, just had to be a little creative since there wasn’t a 5SFE option in the manual. I’m finding the emange pretty easy to work with, but others hate it. Some people also hate piggyback ECU’s in general. It really depends on what you have and what you’re trying to accomplish.
If you’ve never messed with any type of engine management you’ll probably want to do quite a bit of reading before you start tuning. Once you’re familiar with things, tuning is usually more time consuming than it is difficult.

I’d encourage you to figure out your goals for the project before going much further than basic bolt-on’s. “I want to push things” is really vague. Vague goals tend to lead to expensive, broken things that don’t run well. If you’re going to spend the money on cams and/or a piggyback, maybe look into turboing your 5S?

If you’re looking for free-cheap mods, start with making sure the engine is healthy. At least do a compression test. From there, there’s a lot of little things you can do. No, these will not make a very noticeable increase in performance, but you don’t need a dyno and they won’t hurt anything like advancing the timing too far can.
Some examples: Full tune-up, index your spark plugs, install a catch can, block off your EGR (I have a spare from my project, pm me if interested), bypass the throttle body heater, port match your manifolds, shroud your intake filter, lighten the car, etc.

07-24-2009, 03:21 PM	#15 (permalink)
Redstar My other cars are jealous Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 439 Thanks: 21 Thanked 40 Times in 29 Posts iTrader Rating: (12/100% )	Other than some maintenance parts, I didn’t think there was any real headwork required to fit a set of cams. I haven't done anything with cams on a 5S yet so maybe I'm missing something? I picked up a used greddy emanage and a wideband for about $400. Mrturrari is running a perfect power SMT-6, and Scooterman is running megasquirt. Someone else ( Karl I think?) adapted an easily tuned Honda ECU to a 3S successfully. I didn’t find the piggyback hard to install, just had to be a little creative since there wasn’t a 5SFE option in the manual. I’m finding the emange pretty easy to work with, but others hate it. Some people also hate piggyback ECU’s in general. It really depends on what you have and what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’ve never messed with any type of engine management you’ll probably want to do quite a bit of reading before you start tuning. Once you’re familiar with things, tuning is usually more time consuming than it is difficult. I’d encourage you to figure out your goals for the project before going much further than basic bolt-on’s. “I want to push things” is really vague. Vague goals tend to lead to expensive, broken things that don’t run well. If you’re going to spend the money on cams and/or a piggyback, maybe look into turboing your 5S? If you’re looking for free-cheap mods, start with making sure the engine is healthy. At least do a compression test. From there, there’s a lot of little things you can do. No, these will not make a very noticeable increase in performance, but you don’t need a dyno and they won’t hurt anything like advancing the timing too far can. Some examples: Full tune-up, index your spark plugs, install a catch can, block off your EGR (I have a spare from my project, pm me if interested), bypass the throttle body heater, port match your manifolds, shroud your intake filter, lighten the car, etc.