I currently have 00 civic ex with a jdmb16a motor. I eventually would want to run a turbo set up and was wondering which way would be best for me to go. Stay with the b16a, beef up the internals and strap a b18 tranny for the longer gears...orrrr take a b18b (integra ls motor) and use that for my base and build that up?

OR, if you have any other ideas please feel free to share... Thank you

 

I would stick with what you have. both motors can be alot of fun but they both have their ups and downs. if your doing a low hp setup keep the si tranny and just have fun with it. the only thing that really sucks about b16's if they'r huge lack of low end power. if you go ls tranny on it it will suck. gsr at the tallest.

the thing that sucks about ls turbos is you can't really rev them so you have to run a longer gear ratioed tranny. Iv had both and liked both alot.

the tranny is going to make all the difference in the world on that b16

 

depends on what you hp goal is.. id personally sell the b16 and get cheap b18a/bbare block and build it..

 

I'd build the B18b bottom end with around 9.5 - 10:1 compression pistons and forged rods, port and polish the b16 head, and finally slap them together to have the best of both worlds.

I will admit after blowing my boosted/built b18b and swapping to a stock GSR with the same boost that top end is a lot better, but the low end grunt and torque is missed very much.

 

so how then, if i build the b16, would i lower the final gear from running at 4k while cruising at 70mph?..

Thanks for all the help already put in....

 

I currently run a boosted b18b and love it. My buddy that helped me build it had a boosted b16 and it was a dog in lower rpms. To get any kind of power out of it, you had to wind the thing out. If you plan to drive the car as daily driver then I would say go with the b18b due to its' low end power. Also, using an LS tranny in a b16 set up will not make for a good build. Those motors need the shorter gears to rev through through them quicker. Stick with a b16 tranny if you plan to go that route.

 

With a boosted setup, the gearing is less of an issue, especially if he intends to up the boost down the road with a built motor...ect/whatever. If it were me I would go the cheapest route and prob do a simple stock LS with a good turbo kit, and tuning. That will net you good power and one hell of a street car.... then in the mean time, try and pick up a b16a block, gsr block, whatever you can find, and slowly build that on the side. Then once you blow up the LS, get rid of it, get bored of it, whatever the case may be, swap in the new motor and your ready to go.
Bottom line, LS make great street setups and are cheap and readilly available. My best advice would be to spend your money in the turbo kit now, boost a stock LS, have fun, then look towards a VTEC setup down the road.
GL

 

A big name (Evans/Palo?) posted a rough back-to-back b16 vs b18 deal. Same turbo kit on two bone-stock swaps, obviously tuned by the same t00ner.

B16 made more power, but the B18 was faster at the track. Not 100% sure if they used their "stock swap" trannies or were same. However, that'd only make the b18 better if you had traction.

 

Thank you for the help!

 

For a basic build street car setup go B18B.The top end is not a issue unless your planning on running slicks and big power when gearing becomes a major issue.B16's are just really limp motors.

 

As i see it, you have 2 options: keep the B16a or build the LS and use the B16 head on it as an LS/VTEC. I would prefer the latter if it was to be a built engine, but if you're running stock, there is no point to frankenstein something when the B16 will work just fine.

As for the tranny aspect, i would never swap an LS tranny onto any boosted B series...especially a B16 where torque isn't exactly abundant. The LS tranny on your B16 would be awful. If you were to build the LS/VTEC and wanted something other than the B16 tranny, look into the GSR. I think its about the perfect tranny for a boosted street/strip car. The gears are long enough to be drivable while using the torque of the engine but its short enough to not bog. For me, my GSR tranny is just right

 

so the general thought here is to keep the b16 and beef the internals up, boost it, and have a sick street machine?

 

if you're going to build a motor, might as well build the ls bottom end. just not really a fan of b16's.

 

i'd say just boost what you got, and if you want more, build an ls bottom end on the side, and then you can go ls/v when you're ready, if the b16 doesn't satisfy you.

i don't see any point in going through the trouble of selling your b16 and buying an ls. because if you get an ls you'll probably end up wanting the b16 head anyways.

 

depends on goal...a sleeved 84mm 10.0-1 compression b16a with a gt35r on 25 psi of boost reving 9500 rpm would be pretty nasty. But i would do with a LS vtec and only rev 8100 and you will be pretty quick also. I dont know about the b16a but i do know that the ls does not have a crank girdle. The GSR on the other hand does have the girdle, I guess you could always buy one during the build.

On the tranny issue i make 379whp with my gsr and i am on a gsr tranny, its ok but personally i am a fan of the ls for the long gear ratio. Which means less spin and longer in boost once you get there before you shift. If you make a ton of power you will most likely break a tranny or 2 just try them

 

if your going to run the b16 stroke that bitch out and you'll see power off the charts compared to a b18.

 

Honestly, as everyone has stated, it depends on your power goals, as well as your budget.

I agree with most, to boost the b16, and build a motor on the side. But my suggestion is a little different.

The b18c and b16a have oil squirters in the block, thus they are a bit safer in the high revving range. I would suggest going with the B18c block and a B18b crank. It's basically like an OEM stroker kit (This does not work for the B16a, as it has a shorter deck height). The B18c has an 87mm stroke and the B18b has an 89mm stroke. You'll be forced to bend the oil squirters due to the fitment of the crank, but you do not have to block them off, so you can still benefit from them.

You'll have to use rods for B18b fitment and B18c fitment pistons.


Build ^ until you blow the B16!
But this is just my opinion.

 

Thanks again for all the help, you guys have some awesome ideas and I will definitely take into consideration and most likely follow.

 

Yes I agree. I think you should build that up. I use b18b and I think it is effective.

 

ls/vtec with the b16 or gsr tranny just change the 5th gear to lower the rpm for cruzin. from swapping from a ls to a gsr tranny netted 3 tenths off the 1/8th mile. the shorter gears puts you in your power range sooner. the b16 can make high hp but sucks off the line. like of tq thats why alot of people call the b16 the torqueless bastard

 

like stated above if you want to rev over 8500 rpm's safely you going to want the oil squirters that the b16 and b18c has so that leaves you with building a b16 with a stroker kit or get a b18 block ls crank and your b16 head
if you don't plan or necessarily care about high revs then build a straight up ls motor and you could use your b16 stocker for 300-350whp while your building the ls motor and when you get it built you could put the b16 head on there

just some options to think about

but to me if it was a daily driver i would definately want more low end than the b16, its just annoying to HAVE to rev to atleast 7k rpms if you want to get going pretty quickly and don't even get me started on dealing with big hills and having to rev like a mad man just to maintain speed on a big hill

 

Stick with the b16 I ran a small t3 running 19lbs made 338whp and was running 11.80s in a full interior civic...as far as a transmission goes stick with the b16 the shorter gears rock with the ls there going to be to long and laggy. and of course you will always have the option to push a b16 where at 570whp with 357tourque right now and its a fun car to drive.