a few things to chew on

[El-Stupido]

heres some things honda builders are checking into.
using a small pump or other source to create a vacuum in the crank case, this keeps air out of the pistons way and shows a HP or so. i'd imagine its better for oil control, not having so much wind in the pan.
also pumping just enough oil for the motor, this is supposed to reduce parasitic losses.
anything light weight is a good thing takes lees power to move.
they also say stiffer valve springs eat power.
they say a key to making power is timing the maximum cylinder pressure to occur at about 12 degrees ATC.
they also say that for every 11 degrees you drop the intake charge in relation to the undehood temp gives a 1% increase in HP.
they also install velocity stacks in the intake plenum to smooth airflow through the runners.
then you have normal crap, headers, underdrive, etc.

[SappySE107]

stiffer springs where you dont need falls under frictional losses. I dont think any of that stuff is really honda based. Ive heard 10 degrees = 1%, and that getting a large oil pump when you dont need it causes losses because the oil pump puts more resistance on the engine. The stock PCV setup creates a vacuum in the crankcase as it is.

[GPXSS]

vacuum in the crankcase also makes it harder for the oil pump to suck the oil out of the pan and distribute around the block.

[Guest]

Racers have been doing the positive crankcase vacuum pumps for years, and I will be installing one on The Raven. There is more benefits than just having less pressure under the piston, the rings seal better, oil control is better among many other things.

In a test that was done years ago on a stock 302 SBF a 15 HP gain was achieved by using a crank driven vaccum pump.

[El-Stupido]

thats interesting, adding yet another pump for the motor to drive adds hp.
as far as the stock pcv, it looks like air is drawn in throught the air duct and sucked through the case by a spot on the plenum the plenum via the rear valve cover, i think if you put both lines from the valve covers to a common point on the plenum, after the TB, you can get more vacuum. ive seen kits to use the exhaust to evac the case for escorts, to bad mine was totaled.
i got my info from the honda builders handbooks. re-reading it says that they time for 12-14atdc. i'm 2-faced, i have an '88 teg thats going to end up faster than my cavi, according to the "mr. gasket's destop" programs.

[Anonymous]

I have an idea for people serious into racing who would remove their heater and a/c. They could make a pump that would fit right in where the stock a/c compressor would be.. but make it lighter if possible and would solve the solution of the empty compressor spot.