Thread: BC stage 2 or Tomei poncams

Good morning,

I recently purchased a 99 SE-L for my new DD. Car is solid base, and VE will be in my future plans, but I would appreciate a little more pep in the meanwhile. I am looking at these 2 cams as choices.

The cams will be drop in (no plans for the added expense of cam gears/tuning for a temporary set-up). I have a lowish mileage (84K) DE and don't want anything extreme (no springs/retainers). Just a little more fun and oomph for driving the car as I begin to piece together VE swap parts.

I would ideally get a set of S4s, but they appear to be rarer in used form. I am also not inclined to spend the $550 new as that is nearly the cost of a JDM VE motor. So my 2nd tier choices are Tomei poncams or BC stage 2.

I have done extensive research on both. I am not a dyno guy, so numbers are not the entire picture for me. I am looking for the best overall value and driving experience. From what I can tell, the Tomei's seem to have liner increases across the rev range while BCs on the other hand, seemingly have varied results. Some people had moderate success as drop in cams, some not so much. Everyone agrees that cam gears are the way to go to get the best power/power band out of the cams.

Both, are evenly priced, used or new. Any input on these from the forum. Please base opinions on documented or first hand knowledge, try to limit personal opinions.

Car has NX brake upgrade, some suspension bits, and an ebay header.

Have purchased, currently en route, or planned:
- cold air intake
- brake pads
- new(er) ignition parts for tune up
- 96 m/t g20 ECU
- engine/trans fluid
- exhaust - has aftermarket OEM style unit on there which is fine for now. Will eventually look for something in between the 2.25-2.5" (too old, don't want the noise)

Input? Ideas? Cams for sale, lol?

Thanks guys

@Prodrifter has some s4 cams for sale

LG G2

BC cams are hit or miss at best. Brad on here had several issue with the cam profile being off by alot! Some may need degreeing, while others don't. In all honesty, go with the Tomei setup

My personal opinion:

JWT S4s (used or new)
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Tomei
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BC stage (anything) cams

Wait for a S4 set.

I say try out some Tomei cams from @GregV

I have had success with BC Stage 2 camshafts as I have been using them for many years with good results and they did well in a turbo car as well we dropped straight in (but as most camshafts, a degree wheel would be more ideal to gain all the powah out of any individual engine.

I did not like the JWT S3 camshafts I used. I would try Tomei next just to increase my portfolio of bumpsticks.

Congrats on the car, Hank took great care of the car for you. I hope you enjoy it.

Poncams are awesome drop-in cams.

Your BC cam results were straight up or with cam gears? The gears are a non option for me.

Currently the Tomei's are in the lead. If I could find a set of S4s for a little less used, I think I will go that route.

The BCs are by far the cheapest, but the results vary too much based on the research I have seen on the forums.

S3s are not really an option IMO.

Car seems great so far. Have not had an opportunity to drive it much yet, but I will update with pics and progress as I make updates.

<----Had the Tomei cams on my 97 SE-R. I've also had S3's and S4's on other SR20's.. I'd say go with JWT instead.

I have S3r cams in my p11,great drop in cams !!! Pulls like a train from 3.5k to redline.

I agree for S3R camshafts. They are a very nice grind for the RR (Roller Rocker) engine.

I used the JWT S3 in a non RR engine and compared to the "lowly" BC Stage 2 cams, I enjoyed the small addition to the low-end but it did fall off rather quickly, came with a desired or not idle, and other various quirks. Since the non RR engine can go up to 7500 RPM "stock", that was the buzzkill for I. And I cam from the BC Stage 2 cams into the JWT S3 and later put back in the BC Stage 2. I wanted to try some other cams but never got to it.

In the end, I vote for S4 HL cams.

Either way, it'll be slow. Just how that slow is dished out will change.