Hi everyone,
I am about to pull the head on my F20B2 (SOHC, non-VTEC) as I probably need to get the head shaved. I figure as it will already be off, I may as well get some porting and polishing done but I would like some tips specific to Honda motors..

Firstly, a regular stage 1 or stage 2 porting job is what I intend to do. Any particular tips about what to tell the machine shop/porter?

I will be changing the valve seals, but should I also change the valve guides?

I plan on polishing the exhaust valves, but should I polish the intake valves as well or will I be better off leaving those with slight pits or dimples.

I am hoping to portmatch the intake manifold to the head and run a bisimoto heat-shielding intake manifold gasket if I can get one to match the ports..
In this case, should I also polish the intake manifold or will it be better to leave it as is..

This is my first time porting a head and I will appreciate all the help I can get including suggestions as to which machine shop to use etc

link removed

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Appreciate the link.. While good, I don't think it is detailed enough to answer all of my questions sadly..

pm rado on the forums

Only if they showing wear or you have the cash and plan to keep the motor a while.



The valves can be smooth but I wouldn't polish the intake valves as that can encourage fuel to pool.



Port match, no polish... some turbulence can be helpful on the intake side.




Unless you particularly want to learn to port, it's best to leave port work to a more skilled person. I always tell people that a good radius valve job is a great benefit... port match the manifold and replace seals as necessary and it would be a decent job. Other than that, a little port and splitter work with a bit of polishing on the exhaust would be nice... you can do it yourself, but it's easy to screw it up.

good luck

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I'm not a Guru... I just know more than you.

The easiest way to win an argument with a woman... is to stop talking.

X2, that is precisely the sort of help I was looking for..

I put in a big order of parts from the states and I figured it was good insurance to order the valve guides while I was at it.. Came up to $30 USD for all 16 of them which isn't too bad I don't think..

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Concerning the intake valves, my research shows that unless you are swirl polishing its best just to clean them up but not smoothen them.. I'll probably just have the intake valves cleaned up but the exhaust valves polished.

Depending on the cost, I might consider a multi-angle valve seat job, but this comes down to price really. 3 angle is more than enough in this case.

Port matching will definitely be on the cards and it will also help if the Bisimoto gasket is a fit, but this has yet to be seen..

I probably didn't state it clearly, but I have no intention of doing the porting myself, I am just looking for a good machine shop competent enough to do the job at a price that I consider reasonable..

Rado is truly the porting guru but unfortunately his work is currently beyond my pricerange..