Benny Honda

I am most likely going to utilize my neighbor-mechanic's friend rate to have him rebuild my f22b1. He rebuilt my b18b1 last summer and it has been running great. I wanna add some power while everything is apart. I know everyone is going to say "swap it", but this car is special (to me at least) and I wanna keep it fairly original. Its in the low 300's vin 1994 Accord wagon EX. Only year they made the CE1 EX with a 5-speed manual. I would be happy with a 20 hp increase, but if it is affordable I would like more.

So I'm 100% going to do a stage 2 clutch and 10 pound fly-wheel. Made a huge difference in my Integra. Right now f22 sohc vtec is completely stock motor-wise other than a short-ram intake. I plan on taking my head and block to a machine shop but don't wanna get too crazy. Bigger pistons? Port and polish intake manifold? Am I stupid to even consider? I really don't want to pay more than my car is worth (to others) to the machine shop. I plan on getting a ceramic header and sometime down the road see if I can get a custom made, stock looking, cat back exhaust and high flow cat. I have no experience with tuning or having any of my cars tuned, but Googling options is a lot less scary with my wagon than it is with my OBD2 Integra. I am cheap, but I am not poor. I love my car and want it to last. I also want to be able to tell kids in their Civic's too simmer down by showing them the wagon's rear end.

Any knowledge and experience is appreciated. I have read through the forums I could find and heard mixed things. Some say H22 pistons great. Some say Nippon pistons great. Others say don't over-bore that much or your engines longevity will be majorly affected. 187,000 miles in motor and has had a small rattle/tick since I bought it. Not the best place to start, but I am going to do my best to get it nice again. Open to chipping, bigger pistons, etc.

Chance EG

I'm not very familiar with this powerplant but with the displacement you have, even being SOHC I think you should be able to reach that power output relatively easily.

I wouldn't bore the engine out any more than is necessary for a fresh hone/seal on the rings. If you're open to running 91/93 octane in the car you could bump the compression up to 11:1 -> 11.5:1 safely with a good tune (possibly even 12:1, but once again I'm not familiar with the F22's). That coupled with the usual intake/exhaust mods should yield a fair bit more low and mid range. A +20hp increase should be achieved pretty easily/safely. A mild cam would be good too, but I don't think there are any off the shelf options for that engine so that's probably out of the question.

Someone more knowledgeable with these could definitely have more input.

Edit: Just realized the VTEC on those engines is geared more towards fuel economy (VTEC-E) as opposed to power. Not sure what impact that would have.

k20z1ej1

Im not a huge fan of Bisi, nevertheless he offers cams for your engine. As Chance EG stated above, 11.5:1 compression, premium gas, and a nice cam and spring package should yield a really fun street engine.

Level 2, F22B/F23/F20B SOHC regrind, vtec - $429.99 : Bisimoto Engineering - Reliable Power, Guaranteed

Benny Honda

I was actually lookin into Bisimoto. Have people had issues with the brand? Does anyone have 11.5:1 compression on their F22b1? What pistons work well and do I need new sleeves or will there be enough of my original left? Thanks for the responses so far.

Benny Honda

Here's what's bouncing around in my head. Feel free to encourage me or talk me out of it. This is new territory for me. I have already budgeted for rebuild and basics and would like to keep extra mods under $1,000, but I think I have already surpassed that. So:

- DC ceramic header
-Nippon racing pistons: This makes me nervous. Can't find info convincing me this will be a good/reliable choice for me. Pistons are 87mm and I am not sure if this will work with my stock rods or I need Prelude rods. Will the head need to be grinded to clear? Do I need to re-sleeve or will there be enough of the stock sleeves? JDM Nippon Racing Honda Prelude TYPE S Piston Kit Pistons H22A H22A4 87mm HOT | eBay
-Bisimoto level 2 cam shaft. Search Results : Bisimoto Engineering - Reliable Power, Guaranteed
-Bisimoto pro vtec valve springs F22B/F20B/F23 SOHC Vtec Pro Valvesprings - $179.99 : Bisimoto Engineering - Reliable Power, Guaranteed
-Do I need adjustable cam gears for this? Didn't find much for f22b1. This doesn't seem great but I found this from OBX: OBX Cam Gear 90-93 94-97 98-02 Honda Accord 4CYL NEW!!! | eBay

So that is already passed my planned budget, but thats life. That leaves ecu/chip/tuning. I am guessing fuel rails/injectors will need some help too. I would most likely get it tuned and drive it. I don't plan on too many more mods and shouldn't need to reprogram anything. I have access to and am ok with tuning for 92 gas.

Please tell me where I am wasting time, looking at crappy parts or missing a piece of the puzzle.

k20z1ej1

He has proven to be less than honest in the past and has also had quality control issues with headers. His headers have also been dyno proven to lose big time to off-the-shelf headers costing half as much, or less. I personally wouldnt buy a header from him, however, if i was building a single cam F-series as you are, i wouldnt hesitate to use one of his cam regrinds.

i would get a better header. maybe a Logic Tri-y or a skunk 2 alpha. I really liked my Logic tri-y on my H2B.

87mm pistons are too big to use without resleeving. Stock bore is 85mm. I would go to 85.5 and thatll leave you an extra .5 mm for anything in the future. i believe 86mm is the max you can go safely with stock sleeves (+1mm). k20a pistons are 86mm stock but im unsure if theyll work with the f22 rods. maybe something you could look into. Also, nippon makes good cast pistons.

level 2 cam sounds good to me. should provide a good bump in power with good mid range and shouldn't sacrifice too much streetability.

i dont know about bisimoto valve springs, i have no experience with them. probably fine though.

i would get an adjustable cam gear if your tuner will play with it on the dyno. it will allow you to take full advantage of your aftermarket cam. i dont know about using obx though, cam gears are are something i definitely wouldnt skimp on quality.

i would upgrade injectors to something more modern like RDX injectors or some bosch ev14s. Realistically 240cc stock injectors should be ok, but i would get something in the 300-400 range. factory 240cc honda injectors max out around 185-200whp

stock fuel rail is fine, no need to upgrade. keep it simple

Benny Honda

Ok thanks man. Maybe I leave exhaust/header stock for now and find something better down the road. Anyone have k20 (or similar size) pistons or know whats possible and/or required? Any decent adjustable cam gears that will work with f22b1?

Curlybandit

Love the EX wagons. I've seen some pretty awesome ones when they're done well.

As mentioned above, Bisi is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of SOHC F22's however I've also heard of some quality control issues. Not sure where the products stand now in terms of reliability.

I'm not sure if they had any products for the SOHC F22's but Rocket Motorsports makes some amazing products for d-series SOHC's. Their camshaft and valvetrain components are excellent.

Try giving then a shout through Facebook messenger. They tend to respond within a 24 hour period.

Good luck with your build!

Benny Honda

Did some research and it looks like k20 pistons should work with my f22b1 rods. Can anyone confirm this? Is there anything that has to be done other than boring the sleeves?

Thinking about these:
JDM NIPPON RACING FLOATING PRC ITR PISTONS TYPE R K20 DC5 NPR Standard 86mm NEW | eBay

DumpdEJ6

I know very little about the F22 engine so I can't speak to that, but I have NPR cast pistons I've been running in my LS-VTEC for the last few years at 200whp with zero issues. I do wish I gone the forged route, but for cast pistons it's hard to beat NPR's price.