I have a evo 9 and Im looking for some cams but im a total noob. Need your guys' expert opinion to figure this out. My mods list looks like this:
ETS UICP
ETS LICP
AEM Intake
Turbosmart BOV
Hallman MBC Set to ~19PSI
ETS 3" Intercooler (On its Way)
HKS TBE
Cobb Flash

My question is which cams should I get. My head is completely stock. I never track or race my car. Just doing simply mods to it. Also I live in Cali and smog regulations are tough. My friend has cams and he passes smog all the time. Thanks

 

GSCS2 CAMS and valve train.

 

This

 

New springs and lifters?

 

new springs, seats, retainers, and valve seals while its apart. GSC beehive or Kiggly beehive for the springs.

 

How about the GSC S1 CAMS and do no work to the head? Would I not get any power out of these?

 

why not do it right the first time? if your looking to cut corners then do not bother modding at all. Just my opinion. S1 will work but you wont gain much. your setup will be much better off with S2's or an alike set of cams.

 

I loved the s1 cams on my stock turbo setup. Picked up good power across the entire powerband

I wouldnt say running s1's are cutting corners at all

 

I agree with this I did notice a difference with my s1's with almost the same mods. But if you plan on upgrading your turbo and going for more power you may want to go with s2's

 

i just think the S2 cams are much better suited. granted you need valve train but IMO any cam upgrade should do valve train to be safe. that is what i meant by cutting corners. do it right. some people's ''right'' is different then others though

 

I absolutely love my Cosworth M2s and Supertech beehive springs and retainers. Great power with smooth idle and throttle response.

GSC S2s are great cams as well and a little easier on your wallet. I would highly advise you to invest in upgraded springs/retainers. Do not skimp out on this. Only upgrade the cams when you have the money to do springs/retainers as well. Your engine will thank you. In the case of springs, Beehive > Dual.

 

I got what you were saying now. I agree with you 100% with on the valvetrain comment

 

ill be the black sheep and say that a valvetrain upgrade isnt necessary. been running kelfords for over 2 years (along with other evo guys) on the stock valvetrain with no issues (i just dont rev past 8k).
heck dsm guys run kelfords on factory valvatrains that are 20 years old and have over 200k miles on them without any problems.
doing a valvetrain upgrade just to run kelfords to me is like doing internals just to run an fpgreen. just my .02 cents.
(dont want this to be another valvetrain thread like the one that is over 20 pages long lol)

 

on a stock turbo evo 9 at 19PSI and stock rev limit you will be just fine on an S1 with stock valve springs/retainers. You can always get a set of just springs(GSC5039 kit), and not worry about the titanium retainers on this set up. Will save you money and still offer better valve train performance.
S1s on a 9 for a street car are my personal fav set up, daily drives like stock but still makes good power all around.

 

i have the gsc s2 on stock turbo with seats, retainers, and springs. it makes a big difference. love the idle sound. a tuner and builder said if i dont plan on reving past 7800-8000 rpms then i dont need the springs and retainers. but i got them any way because it was cheaper to do everything at once and u will need them for the turbo upgrade u will eventually do.