jdm-otaku

Hello everyone!
I’m at that exciting stage of beginning my first ever build. That exciting moment of working hard and collecting parts is almost upon me. I’ve desperately searched far and wide for every piece of information I can find about doing an lsvtec build. Now since I’m new at this, I’d like to get the opinions of people who have actually done builds before as I’ve got no clue about what’s ahead of me. I’m going to list everything I’ve read and parts I’ve got in mind for the build, hopefully I’m on the right track haha.

I’ve read a bunch of threads about lsvtecs and all the theories behind how they work. In other words, I’ve done a bunch of research; I guess that’s how it is when you want it all to be perfect. I guess that’s also why my university professors get angry at me when I haven’t done the readings set for the week. But that’s not the point

Now the story is, I’ve got a Honda Integra GSI, that’s the same as an LS I suppose for all you American readers, it’s got the B18b2 motor, completely stock, besides Edelbrock extractors and some cheap ebay 2.25” exhaust system the previous owner installed. I was going to save up for the AE86 as its my dream car, but since I’ve already got the Integra sitting on my driveway I thought, Why not practice on this thing a little?

I always looked at buying a B18C or B18C7 and swapping it into the Integra. As I looked at people’s responses to such an expensive job, someone mentioned LSvtec and since then I’ve been glued to the screen reading ls threads and instruction manuals that people post.

I told myself that I wouldn’t go all out on this build, but, before I knew it I was looking at 10 grand worth of parts on my screen, and that was my first problem, when I opened my wallet to see how much I already have saved up, butterflies flew out revealing nothing. I guess that’s just how it is when your 17 hahaha.

So I’m already beginning the first stage by getting a part time job. Now mind you, I have every intention of putting every cent I receive into this car. I’m also in no mood to rush anything, so I guess you could say, the slower the income the better, more time to make sure the parts fit right and all that. Yeah I guess I’m not your average Joe when it comes to these sorts of things haha.

Now since I love my car more than my girlfriend.. Mainly because I don’t have a girlfriend, I want everything to be right, which is why I’m writing this thread to get some decent feedback on my build idea’s.

Now.. let’s get down to business.

My original plan is to keep the car running as it is, as I need to get to uni, work, and all those one night stands I don’t have. Now while the car is running, I plan to make an engine on the side and slowly build it up. My original plan was to keep it B18B, but people I’ve talked to have always claim that B20B’s are the way to go. So now I’m not 100% which to choose, but, I’ve read that they are the exact same besides bore size. I am probably wrong so please, for all you mechanical ****’s, please correct me if I’m wrong.

Now, I’m not going to write everything step by step, as I know you all know the processes of taking it to the shop and getting everything machined and what not.

I wanted to fill the block with X-style CP 81.5mm pistons with 12.5:1 compression. Yes I understand the block has to be bored, so I’ll leave all those specs to my fellow mechanic because he knows what needs to be done best. I wanted to connect the X-style CP pistons to Brian Crower I-type beam rods. While all that’s being ordered, I’ve planned to also buy ARP 2000 rod bolts so it all holds nice and sturdy, with new piston rings, pins, and locks. I’ve read on some thread about lsvtec reliability, that, with the ARP rod bolts, it’s best to get the rod's journals resized, if its best, I might have to look into doing it. I’d also be looking at buying some sort of block guards, and other reliability like parts.

Now this is where I’ve run into a bit of a pickle, I’ve read that Lsvtecs have absolutely disgusting engine stroke rates. If I’m not mistaken its rate is 1.54, now, I’ve seen people replace the 89mm crankshaft with the B16A 77mm crankshaft in for better reliability.

The thing is, I want a daily car, not a race machine, which is probably pretty contradictory considering the parts I’ll be listing, but what I’m trying to say is, I don’t want a power house, I want a car that I can drive daily with a bit of power and appreciation because it’s the car that I built.

So I’m most likely going to leave the 89mm crankshaft inside, as I don’t want to upset the horrible stroke rate any further by going out and buying a 95mm crankshaft. I’m looking at Eagle 4340 Steel Crankshaft. Like all of you lovely folks, I’m sure you all love forged things as well :3 haha.

Now once all that is put in and shining like a diamond, I guess I’d ready to buy my head along with my LSvtec kit. It seems the obvious way to go is with the Golden Eagle LSvtec kit, so I’ll follow the rest of the gang and buy their kit.

I’m going to be looking for a B16a2 cylinder head and the first thing on the agenda would be to get it port and polished and whatever else needs to be done to make it new again. Once all that’s done, I wanted to begin filling in the head, with brian crower valve springs and retainers, I’m still unsure about milling the head surface as I’m not even sure if the pistons and valves will have clearance themselves. If someone could tell me some way I can calculate the clearance that would be great!

Obviously after that I would tap the lsvtec kit onto the b16 head.
I’d then put the ARP head studs on, as that seems like a mandatory thing when doing an lsvtec conversion.

Then comes the vtec oil pan gasket, oil pump, water pump, thermostat housing, fan switch, oil pressure switch, knock sensor, breather box, alternator brackets, tensioner pulley, and Drivers side engine mount bracket. I guess this is all normal stuff to install, so I won’t go any further into it haha.
Once I’ve put the head on the block and every things sitting nice and dandy, I’ll install the cams and cam gears. I’ve read into Skunk2 Stage 2 cams and I can’t really complain there with skunk2 cam gears. I’ll also install new extractors and a 2.5” – 3” exhaust system, I’m unsure of which brands I’ll use as that’s going to be far into the future. But I won’t go cheap on it. That’s one thing I promised myself at the start, I don’t want cheap parts, feel free to tell me if I’m putting any cheap parts on there that could be better.

I’m very interested in Individual Throttle bodies, it’s not a performance sort of decision, it’s more of a personal decision haha, I love the look of them. But non the less. These are the ideas I’ve got in mind for the engine.
No power steering, unsure about AC, AC comes in handy when it’s raining. Alloy radiator, some bigger injectors, im expecting somewhere around 550cc. Integra Type R Transmission, Lightweight flywheel, some better fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel rails, most likely hondata ecu and all the other bells and whistles.

Now I didn’t go too far into the brands and what not as I don’t want this thread to be 10,000 words, but, since im still in the planning stage I just want some opinions on whether or not this could work, and if there are some complications. If something isn’t right, please, tell me so I know. I don’t want to finish the build and the motor not start hahaha it’s the ultimate nightmare. Now as you can probably tell, I’m new at all this and don’t have as much experience. So any sort of help is more than welcome! Thanks for reading, and look forward to your feedback. Also, im not sure at how much hp I’d be putting down with this setup, but non the less, my aim is at least 180, anything over is a massive +!

So once again thank you for reading.

Just thought i should also post a photo of what it looks like at the moment It isn't a type R, but hopefully it'll beat one soon haha

mouab18c1

iTrader: (5)

Didn't read....do some research and don't cheap out. Good luck

jdm-otaku

Yeah, i've researched, i just posted this to verify if the research is accurate or not. hahaha and to see if anyone had anything to input. Thanks, i'll need it hahaha.

justin11

iTrader: (1)

You are off to a good start. I am close to finishing my ls/v I used this guide to help me http://hondaswap.com/general-tech-ar...ls-vtec-85477/


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

jdm-otaku

Thanks man! i gave it a good read, it was quite informative hahaha, cleaned up a bit of curiosity i had about some things. Are you going to be making some sort of build thread for that ls/v of yours? I'd like to see how it turns out when its done!

B_Swapped93

so what's your fine whp goal ? didn't read either. needs cliffs

jdm-otaku

Yeah i guess i went a bit over board with the whole word count hahaha

But, in the end i'd be happy with about 200-220, anything over that would be a massive +. Maybe I'm expecting a bit too much, but since its my first build and i haven't really been involved in any builds i have no idea how much power certain parts or tuning gains. I'm also worried about reliability and how much hp is going to be sacrificed, but i'll learn eventually hahaha.

But from what i've seen people put in their Ls/vtecs modification wise, I'd be more than happy with anything over 200.

JDMswagSerf

Why not just. Slightly build your bottom end and build a turbo kit, it'll cost less than 10k, probably same around LSV build and will get you the numbers you want plus more

jdm-otaku

I've thought about it, but in Australia, being 17 and all I'm on my Provisional license, and on your P's you can't drive anything higher than 6 cylinders and Turbo's and Superchargers are off limits. So in other words we are limited to N/A 4 and 6 cylinder cars. And truth be told, i don't want to receive fines left right and center hahaha.

I'm also more a N/A man myself though. i like high revving naturally aspirated engines.