this is till now my planned lsvtec setup.
anything that I should add on the list?
what times, HP can I expect?

b18b1 block
usdm ITR pistons
LS rods
new oem rod bolts
b16a oil pump
b16a head
ITR cams
ITR manifold
new oem GSR head bolts
oem head gasket
supersprint header
custom CAI
custom 2.25" exhaust
removed cat

 

you should definetly do arp rod bolts, cause my lil sis' car spun a rod bearing and now i got a headache in my garage cause her stupid boyfriend over revved the engine
OEM rod bolts=sadness

 

Def. get ARP rod bolts if you're going with a LS/VTEC setup, I've been doing my research lately and it seems like a LS/VTEC setup is not the way to go, read a lot of stories about spun bearings & breakin rod because the LS rods were made for the 9 grand shiftin, if I were you, you should look more into it or get GSR or Forged rods of some kind to handle the 9 grand shiften

 

i ain't going to rev to 9k.
max about 8300

 

If this is the first engine you're building, I'd think twice about doing an LS/VTEC.

Bad components (ie. stock rod bolts) + bad, poor build (sloppy) + abuse (9k revving) = disaster.

Do it right (search for what that means, you're on the right track though) and you'll be fine as long as you shift reasonably.

 

Be sure to have the bottom end balanced before you do anything. Also, don't waste money on the B16 oil pump, go ahead and step up to the ITR oil pump. And invest in a GSR/ITR water pump as well. Consider getting ARP/AEBS/GE head studs as well as the ARP rod bolts.

Finally, this combination should yield about 11:1 compression, so ITR/CTR cams would do wonders for the setup. Just remember that even with a balanced bottom end, don't rev above about 8500 rpms.

 

why on earth do you want to keep your ls rods? and you're a fool for thinking oem rodbolts will do the trick.
at the least, get some arp rodbolts, but you might as well just get some forged rods, they usually come with arp bolts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSvtec03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why on earth do you want to keep your ls rods? and you're a fool for thinking oem rodbolts will do the trick.
at the least, get some arp rodbolts, but you might as well just get some forged rods, they usually come with arp bolts.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LSvtec03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why on earth do you want to keep your ls rods?

but you might as well just get some forged rods, they usually come with arp bolts.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The stock rods are plenty strong and reasonably light, their only real downfall is their lack of balance from the factory and the weak OEM rod bolts. Plus, You would have to further modify ($$$) the rotating assembly to allow ITR pistons to work with forged rods, or buy ($$$) a set of forged pistons. Proper balancing and replacement of the rod bolts has done wonders for LS rods in the past. There are even several cases of stock LS rods holding up to over 400 hp in some turbo applications, with nothing but balancing and upgraded rod bolts.

 

The Ls/Vtec in most cases is not reliable, because people like to take short cuts. when done properly you've got your-self one kick *** motor! And Hp results vary depending on which vtec head you use and which mods you have done. a local guy is running a b16a1 head with these mods: ITR Pistons .50 over, ITR Cams, ITR Valve springs & retainers, AEM Cam gears, AEM Short Ram intake, DC 4-1 Header, DC Cat-back exhaust, Hondata Stage 2 with P28 ECU....and hes pushing 182 WHP/129.9 TQ. Just over 100 WHP per litre.

 

Sounds like you have exp with lsvtec. How much does a typical balance job run. I really need my lsvtec to be reliable as its a daily driver. I have good retraint when it comes to revving too. So whatever the rev limit i'll stay with it.

 

getting my whole reciprocating assembly balanced cost me just under $300,

and also its worth mentioning that if you want to put ITR pistons on LS rods, you will have to have the rods machined down to fit... at least I had to do it when I put CTRs on LS rods... my friend is running a very similar setup... he's lucky that I was working at a machine shop at the time

good luck... for the mods he did, his hatch pulls pretty well...
-Mike