Before you get angry and say this has been answered 23 different ways by 44 different people, please hear me out. I have searched here and found a lot of different answers for the same question. If there is a tried and true post that answers my questions, please direct me to it. I haven't found anything that would make me feel confident that I know what I need. I know I can swap to OBD1 or 0 and get a tuned ECU. I am wondering if I can keep it simple and get 30 or so more horses at the flywheel with the basics.

I have a 97 Integra LS that my neighbor is helping me rebuild. I would like to know what it would take to put a GSR head on it. I have been told the B18B1 bottom end won't reach its full potential with a GSR ECU. Will it have as much power as a GSR though? I was curious if it is an option to rebuild the LS bottom and get a GSR OBD2 ECU and rebuilt head. I have heard B18B1 header/intake manifold will work with GSR head. I have also heard that it won't. Wondering if I can use my LS DC ceramic header still.

I also have heard different suggestions for other things that need to be replaced. Usually fuel related. Again, please point me to the right forum/post if this info is here and tried and true.

Hope I didn't stir up any trouble and one of you guys can direct me to the correct place, or answer my questions with your experience.

 

No you won't have as much power as a GSR with no tune.

B18B1 exhaust manifold WILL fit a GSR head.

B18B1 intake manifold WILL NOT fit a GSR head.

There's a thread that has been posted all over about how to build a reliable LSVTEC motor, go read that. Google "reliable LSVTEC" and it should pop up.

Bottom line: if you aren't willing to tune it, your results are going to be ****.

 

ls intake mani will NOT work on gsr head. entirely different bolt patterns being one reason
yes a p72 ecu will run an lsv for the most part. wont be optimal, or make use of the added stroke but it will run
nothing fuel wise needs to be replaced besides maybe the filter for peace of mind.
do more research on LSV builds in general and youll find all of your answers

 

All of your answers are available to you on this website. That being said, using the OBD2 GSR ECU will not get you any good or even reasonable results. Sure, plenty of people have ran these OEM ECU's with their frankenstein engines and that is fine and all, it fits what they want. However, don't expect the engine to last long and prepare for issues all over the place - driveability and gas mileage are some of them.

I suggest reading a bit more and listing out the cost of everything. All of this sounds like you're trying to save some money (which is fine) but this isn't necessarily the 'best' or most reliable route. For quick and cheap power, there are plenty of other options. Best of luck.

 

Basically I don't have experience or knowledge and am reluctant to try going OBD2 to OBD1. I have also never had a car tuned or had a custom chip. I have owned this Integra for a long time and wanted to add a little more power since it is being rebuilt any way. I thought maybe it would run like a GSR with a few mods to ls block with an OBD2 GSR ECU. If it was reliable and had as much power as a stock GSR I would be happy. However @ShinsenTuner it sounds like possibly it could wear the LS bottom end prematurely, if ran on GSR specs.

Appreciate all the responses.

 

you do also realize that using a gsr ecu doesn't mean its a gsr. completely different heads
your ls doesn't have vtec

 

Yes. I would be swapping the head, hence the need for a Vtec ecu.

@ MotorMouth93 I searched and found reliable Ls Vtec post. Maybe I'm being silly, but I was hoping to use/rebuild 97 Ls block and keep it obd 2. From what I saw in the posts I should replace everything. Sounds like the newer Ls bottom ends aren't recommended for vtec heads.

 

One of THE best mods I've ever purchased was an aftermarket ECU such as Hondata's S300. It changed the car a lot and it's one of those purchases that you will continue to use with anything and everything you would do to your B-Series engine. So, I'd look into it a bit more if I were you. You will also find that price-wise, it's not a bad idea to consider buying a complete engine swap all together. It's a very simple way to bolt on power while giving you OEM-like reliability.

 

This is as simple as buying the $20 conversion harness on Amazon and plugging it into the OBD1 ECU. That's it.

 

GASP

The mythical wagon....

 

Yeah I have to hold up my hand and cover that mythical wagon up to even see the Integra I have owned for 15 years in that pic. I would rather spend money on my wagon, so I don't want to dump too much in my Integra. I would like my Integra to be quick, but the big push for me getting it fixed finally, is so I have somethin to drive while working on my Accord.

I was under the impression dyno and a custom chip were pretty expensive. I wasn't sweating the $20 ebay plug. It would be a lot easier for me (mentally) to put a H22 into my OBD1 Wagon. Maybe I will just have my neighbor rebuild the LS, but I was hopin to add some horsey sauce.

 

You're going to have to switch over from OBD2 to OBD1 for a chipped ECU or a Hondata s300 system. All you need is a jumper harness and be able to pin/de-pin your ECU connector to wire up VTEC. To pass emission testing you'll have to keep your OBD2 ECU and use it whenever you have to test. If you want to save money, I'd recommend just saving up for a B18c1 swap or maybe even a B18c5. I had the same mentality, I wanted my car to be faster without spending much money so I went LS/V but I still ended up spending a lot of money in the long run.

 

ls/vtec and sticking with obd2? Try to find an p73. If you're just going to slap a vtec head on the LS than no a p73 is not the ecu as you'll probably end up throwing a rod if you keep hitting the ecu's rev limiter when using a vtec ecu (p72/p73/p30). OBD1 would be a start and a dyno tuned map would be best.

 

your only other option would be a apexi VAFC vtec controller to semi street tune the stock obd2 ecu. Or have a repudable tuner burn a map to run your setup and mail you back the ecu and just plug it in and go and it should run pretty good not as good as if it were tuned on the dyno but its what allot of people do that live no were near a tuner. But you cant be cheap and cut corners especially on the most important piece of building a performance engine the tune...

 

Okay. So I have decided not to do the LS Vtec. I was gonna just have LS motor rebuilt, but then a GSR motor, tranny, ecu showed up for a reasonable price on Craigslist. 1.8 miles from my house. Took my neighbor. He checked the compression. 130-130-180-180. Check engine light is on, but neighbor forgot his OBD2 scanner. ECU is p72 a4 which online says is a 98-99 GSR. Couldn't find the vin on the motor. Motor sounded good, didn't run 100% smooth though. Had a little vibration, but not horrible. Didn't appear to have any mods other than a short ram intake, but looked like they had done some custom (jimmy rigged) wiring to the o2 sensor. The clutch is 100% gone, so the car can't be driven. It is in a 98 Civic. Is this gonna be a mess? I'm trying to talk myself out of it, but I really want this. Does it sound like a bad idea or should I go for it? What is it worth if just needs a clutch and a bit of head work? Guy says he recently bought Civic for his niece but doesn't want her to have that much power.

 

130 to 180 is a big difference. Don't buy that unless you plan on rebuilding it.

 

^
Don"t buy an engine that looks like it"s been mistreated

 

Back away from the sale. Those compression numbers are off. Find a b20z, or a jdm high compression b20. Enjoy the torque.

 

Okay, thanks for the logical responses. I'm not buying the gsr swap. Sticking with B18b1 and having it rebuilt. I currently have a cheap short ram intake, DC Sports ceramic header and a Greddy cat back exhaust system, muffler replaced with a shitty Magnaflow. I was thinking about putting on aftermarket cams and intake manifold, but I do not want to throw any codes. Is there a mild cam that will add some HP without a check engine light?

 

Don't build an LS engine unless you're planning on doing a low boost turbo build, they're garbage engines. Just save up for a nice c1/c5/16a2 swap

 

lol why are they considered garbage?

 

I also had the idea of building a B18B1 instead of going through the hassle of LS/V or and engine swap. There was a thread (which I'm looking for ATM) in which a member completely builds a B1 and shows the dyno graph and it seemed pretty weak for the amount of work and money put in to it. The same amount of money spent on the B1 could be put into a C1/C5/B16 and you would have much more power.

 

All B motors are very intelligent motors, what I meant is there interchangeable with other B motors. LS crank is always good for boosted due to the longer strokes and being an LS motor the compression is low but still need to upgrade your rod bolts. I know allot of boosted GSR, swap out there crankshaft for a LS.

It all depends on how much power you want out of it if and if you have the right amount of money. Just remember money talks. If you have the funds I would consider going K motor.


Benny, are you running manual or automatic? This will determine if you need to run OBD2 or OBD1. Never run OBD0.

By the way HR did you ever solve your oil leak issue? How is CI?

 

If OP wants to focus more funds to the wagon, my suggestion still stands.

 

It's all based on what you're trying to use the car for. There's so many flavors of builds out there that saying one engine is better than another, especially because of a detail such as horsepower, isn't really true.