MadCoder

Hi All,

Since this is my 1st post here I wanted to introduce myself and my project.

I live in Apex, NC and am a total car noob but I'm working to change that

So, here's my very 1st project car, a 93 Del Sol S



I think my biggest question is what type of motor should I put in the car.
I know it's all about budget but every swap guide seems to just rate the swaps based on their stock attributes.

I.e. would it be better, not necessarily faster, to fully build a D16 from the bare block using racing components or just dump in a stock H22 for example.

My primary goals are 2-fold:
1) Learn the inner workings / auto-mechanics at my own pace.
2) Have a nice sporty ride with a 0-60 in under 5secs.

Not even sure if #2 is practical or even possible, so please let me know if I'm way off base.

Thanks all!

Former User

Thread titles MUST be subject specific so that members browsing topics can easily understand the tech problem without reading the post -- title edited.

Please familiarize yourself with the stickies at the top.

MadCoder

Will do! Thanks for the update and I'll review the sticky's again.

Former User

The FAQs sticky has a section that attempts to answer the common question: How do I make my car faster?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Until you know what goes into getting to goal #2 I would not even attempt to do anything much less swapping engines since you don't list any budget or concrete goals. As far as engine choices you can swap in anything you want-B/C/F/H/J/K series engines are at your disposal.

List some realistic goals and you will probably get decent answers. My advice is to look at many build threads on many forums to familiarize yourself with what goes into what you might be planning. Also get a Helms manual.

MadCoder

Sorry for my vagueness, I'm a noob as I said.

My budget is around $2.5k - $3k for the engine & trany.

I have read the specs on all the series motors from wikipedia, read the del sol swap guide and other numerous write-ups on swapping.

From what I can gather you could get a B16A2 Vtec/dohc and it would have more power than an h22 unless you had a bigger/better head for the h22.

I also see that the D16Z6 is popular for the del sol but how much power can you get from that motor without dumping more money in it than it would to just get a B16/B18/H22/F20 stock.

My idea was to work on some of the more isolated systems like the brakes, suspension, etc and purchase a short block and build it piece by piece on a stand.

Again, sorry for the noobness, I'm not sure how to form my questions correctly just yet.

I'm really looking for a good direction rather than an exact answer.

Thanks

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

All-motor D-series. Fail. Too much money spent to maybe get 150WHP. Not cost effective.
Boost D-series on stock internals- Safe to maybe 220HP. On built block much more. Any FI build must be done right and tuned very well to be reliable. An incredible amount of research needs to be done on your part to insure that it's done correctly.

NOS. Fail. Who wants to keep refilling a bottle?

Swap larger engine.
The B-series are the easiest of all available engines to swap. The B18C would by my choice if I had the cash. My second choice would be H2B. The rest require more work/fabrication which equals more money. If I really had the funds I'd go J-series in a heartbeat.

A B16A2 faster than an H22? Not on it's best day. They couldn't even touch my H23 with the same HP (but more torque) and heavier chassis.

The preceding were the opinions of me and not endorsed by H-T.

Nooch

All good advise so far but to add if you want this topic to actually go somewhere then list:
A) Budget
B) Time
C) Is it your DD? Or are you going to track it?

To make it easier for a first time swap I would just stick with the same series engine (D series, your engine specifically is the D15B7 if I remember correctly.)

First.EG

stock for stock a b16 will never have more power than an h22. thats like comparing a ford fiesta to an ss camero. with that budget if i was you i would get an ls motor do some basic bolt ons and it would be tons faster then a b16.

Greenmonster138

b18c1, just first start out by doing the swap. Then figure out what mods you want to do later. Doing the swap alone will help you learn about the car and drivetrain.

DeLSoLRo

get a jdm b16a swap from hmotors and youll still have about 1500 to play with. Youll be getting the motor upgrade you want, plus you can spend the leftover cash to do a mild build on it. once its ready drop it in and get it tuned.

OR you can take the easy way out and sell your car and just get a car thats been swapped already.

OR if you have a recurring weekly/bi-weekly source of income, sell your car and put the 5.5-6k down on an s2k or something faster/newer.

just my opinions though


PS. Personally id go with option 3. But thats just me.

MadCoder

1st off, thanks a ton to everyone for all this great info and advice.

A) approx. $3k
B) Nothing set currently, just in the planning phase.
C) No track or daily driver, bought it for the sole purpose of working on it.

MadCoder

The H22 looks cheaper on eBay and has better stats than a b18?

Also, is starting with a bare block and building it up better/worse than just buying the complete engine?

This doesn't need to be a 7sec car or anything crazy. I would however like to put a turbo in, just to get experience with it.

Thanks again everyone.

Red_Army

if you want to turbo it. id say throw in a d16z6 or b16. get it from hmotors.

if no turbo get a b16a head from somewhere and a b18/b20 bottom end. call it a day.
oh and if at all possible don't buy stuff from ebay. especially the whole motor.

sdobson910

Dont get a B16 unless you like no torque. Id say boost the D before even considering wasting the money on a B16 swap. Go with the B18C1 its a lot more fun and has more torque, if your going to swap. I got my complete longblock (95 JDM GSR) disassembled with new valve stems for 750. I got a good deal just look around your area or online and wait for a deal to come up.

prjoker81

bumpssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Libertariat

For $3,000 here's what I'd do.

1) Good turbo build

If you want a 0-60 in under 5 seconds you're going to have to turbo it or dump a lot of money into a big displacement all motor build. You're talking Porsche/Corvette acceleration.

If you got a good deal on some local engines/trans you could get a solid b18c in there. For not much more you could get an ITR motor/transmission in the car also.

You'll find that with a limited budget time is your only consequence. Would you rather half-*** your engine now? or wait 4-5 months and get a solid engine you'll be happy with for years.

A b16 isn't much of an upgrade from a good z6/y8. More revy, more fun to drive, realistically not much faster. If you don't want to turbo, you should ignore anything smaller than a b18.

If you want to get some good n/a performance, a b20vtec would be pretty cheap to do. Pair it with a solid b16 or gsr transmission.

h2b (h22 with a b-series transmission) can also be done for $3,000-$5,000 depending on where you get your parts. And that's including $1000 for labor on the car if you pay a shop to do it. A regular h22 swap isn't worth it when an h2b isn't much more expensive. The cost is exponentially more worth it.

How important is air conditioning to you?

There are a number of facets of car building that need to be addressed before you can seriously get into this.

The most important piece of advice I can offer you is to be like me. My budget is pretty limited since I'm engaged, have a new house, save for my retirement, and I only make about $9 an hour working 50 hours a week and go to school full time. If I'm diligent I can save about $400 a month for my car and still buy organic groceries and little sacrifice on my standard of living. My suspension/brakes/exterior are done for now. So next summer I should have the $5,000+ I'll need for my h2b swap. And hopefully my stock portfolio will be looking better by then too.

EJ1civic coupe

I think YOU should give us YOUR money and WE can buy stuff for it..dude its your car and its your money..do what you want..hey what kind of wheels should i put on my car? or what kinda exhuast is the best for my car? seriously do your research and see whats all in your budget and buy sumthing that you want..its not up to us..its up to


and dont think about a b16..waste of money and geared way to short and only thing good for them is a high comp build..might as well get a z6 if your gonna waste the couple grand on b16 IMO

Libertariat

There's nothing wrong with short gears.

EJ1civic coupe

good for you to think that..im not a fan of b16s at all..like i said there good for high comp builds..thats why the short gearing is good for them

Scott.

iTrader: (1)

f20c

fonkernuckle

iTrader: (5)

gsr

NACvicSi

D series vitara build then boost.

Red_Army

shorter gears are for mpg in city driving. not for high comp. but whatever you believe.
and it'll make for quicker accell. thus why h2bs were made.

Deetz

From myself with loads of experience, first hand, and for the money and performance, i say source out a B20Z swap!!

Why?

- engine is under rated, makes more power than the 146hp and 133ft lbs
- it's inexpensive
- works great with any b series hydro tranny
- power right from idle to redline, not just a spike like the B16
- "much" faster than a B16 stock for stock

The swap is easy, treat it like any other B swap. Just need any 94-01 integra transmission and axles. You can reuse your existing engine mounts and will just need a del sol b series shift linkage and obdI Pr4 or P75 ecu