Been looking for second car...Found, I think a pretty good deal on one...it's a 2005 Honda Civic 5 speed with 1000 miles on it...The owner lost his job when his company folded. He's asking $14k for it or may haggle down a bit(?)...Question...It has a short cam in it...is this good? bad?..what? Will it effect gas mileage?The stats show the 2005 get city 38 mpg highway 44mpg...does this ring true? Thanks! Liz
The engine number is the number that is stamped directly onto the engine block--it's located on the front of the engine. Write down the number and repost it.
What does the engine # have to do with my questions? Which are...It has a short cam in it ...is this good? bad? or what? and will it effect gas mileage....Honda says the 2005 5 speed gets 38/city 44/highway..Is this true?....Thanks
In this case--you are right. I have a book that has the engine numbers of lots of Honda vehicles and details about each engine. I checked the book only after I made the post and realized that the 2005 Honda vehicles are NOT included in the book so even the person had told me the engine number--it would not have helped me provide info. that would solve the problem.
I think the problem might be the that others are as much in the dark about what a "short cam" is as I am. I know about "hot" and "mild" cams, but "short"...? Mike
That's one of my questions...What is a short cam? I would assume, as the owner planned on making this car a performance or race type car that a short cam has something to do with that...Can't ask the owner about it...as he's off looking for another job, out of town and the wife is clueless on what it means...The dealership is as per a dealership...No help.... Oh, well... Liz
Maybe a short RAM?? meaning a short,low restriction air intake,a aluminum pipe with a conical air filter on the end,easily visible in the engine compartment. It probably would not affect gas mileage if you do not go harder on the gas pedal.
If he is planning to race the car--he should at least wait until the warranty runs out. Once he starts making major changes to the engine--Honda won't cover any repairs under the warranty program. Could he have been referring to BORE and STROKE? I recall reading in Honda Tuning that many of those people that race Honda cars prefer the older Honda engines from Preludes since the bore and stroke of the Prelude engines were higher than the bore and stroke of many of the older Civic engines. I know very little about this subject since I have never raced any cars.
This got my curiosity up too, so I Googled a bit. "Short cam" apparently refers to the DURATION, or TIMING of the valve opening. A "short cam" will increase compression, a "long cam" will decrease it. www.google.com type in (including the quotes): "short cam" duration Check out the Crane link especially. A "short cam" is definitely a performance modification and can cause engine damage if improperly done.
It's very possible that he was confused and used the wrong terms. I have done the same thing in the past when talking to Sarah so will not condem him.
I didn't know if a "short cam" was a item that was factory offered or it was a aftermarket personal add-on...Sounds like it's a add on...which makes me wary!...Even though it only has 1000 miles on it and looks beautiful and is being offered at $14k OBO ...I think I'll back away... unless I can get some better info on who and how and why The "short cam" was done...Thanks! Guys! Liz
(Jason) wrote in Well, a simple look under the hood would tell if its a short ram intake. I can't see any meaning to "short CAM",and there would not be any such performance parts made for 2005 year cars yet,and as you said,who would put them on a car still under warranty? Even a short ram intake would be enough to DQ the warranty,IMO. But short ram(intake) makes the most sense.
Try looking under the hood and see if there's a short ram air intake,an aluminum pipe and cone air filter that goes to the intake manifold. They generally are very noticeable,look much different than anything else under the hood. Then you will know whether that's what he meant.
It's aftermarket. If you buy the car, budget $500 or a thousand or so to fix mistakes or mismatches in engine components, just in case fixes are needed. You don't know the competence of the modifier, or the completeness of the modifications. If you're buying the car so you can have a daily driver that will run reliably for along time without needing more than basic maintenance, this is not the car for you.
