ok well heres the thing iam looking for a daily driven 96-98 civic coupe...now money isnt the problem considering that iam been saving for quiet awhile to where either one can be done...now its time to put all the waiting in something thats reliable...so heres the two choices that i have came up with due to all the research that i did over the past year or two....completely stock k20 or a b18c supercharger they seem to be around the same price...but the stress and the work that needs to be put into the one of the these motors seem to more then the other...heres where you guys come in put your two cents....

 

if you want to be kool get a k20

 

b18c supercharger.. i got a b16a superchagered and i love it!

 

K20

 

IMO i believe the k20 is the way to go. If I could go back in time I would've now want with just a bolt on k20. Granted I have a gsr boosted its just no where as reliable as a stock k20 would be aka common sense. When you have a boosted car theres alot more then that you have to take into consideration.

 

well it wouldnt be like ill be boosting 15psi...it would probably be around 6psi on a stock block acourse ....but going through the hassle of trying to find someone to smog my car is a little difficult over here...so with a b18c supercharger could be a bit easier then a k20...but i here a lot of good things about these engines which makes me just want to get one..will be happy with either setup just wanted to make sure that i make the right decision...iam thinking more of the b18c because it would be california state legal...

 

B18C Type R? Or B18C GSR?
K20 is going to be hard to smog in Cali from what i've heard.

 

There is no question that K is the way to go. Reliability, 6 speed, power, (I could go on forever baby)!
That SC B motor will more than likely make the same or less power than a stock K with a good header and K pro. I'd rather have an N/A car making 230-240whp than a Boosted car making 250-300whp.

 

lol so you would like to have an s2000 over an sti?

 

man i wish i had the money like you to build a beast like this. either motor to me would be stunning. thinking about either one supercharged gives me chills. i'd do a k24 block w/ a k20 head and supercharge that sucker. if money isn't the problem i take that route. like i say there's no replacement for displacement. but the 6 speed is nice. good luck.

 

Like you said you want reliability and a k20 is harder to smog and to me reliability = reff'd/smogged so copps cant mess wit you and of course a stable motor so is the k20 worth the hassle thats your desicion main

 

what are your goals here? you said reliability is one, and it's not hard to tell big number performance is another.

what's the ballpark number you came up with for each build? have you factored in everything for a complete running swap, or are you just looking at pricing for engine/ecu/trans (and in the one case SC kit)?

how did you narrow it down to these two options and why?

 

yes. STI's suck.

What do you consider "big number performance"? Neither a K20 or a B18 Supercharged make very much power.

 

240whp on an N/A motor isn't that much power to you?

 

Was RWD / AWD ever a discussed factor? Cause I thought we were discussing FWD Honda's.

 

Supercharged isnt N/A. And a stock K20 doesnt make 240WHP. its takes alot of stuff to make 240WHP on a K20.

 

^^^I'm going to for warn you now not to argue with Jimster the dudes a tool and talks alot from his A$$(have a previous experience).

OP like I mentioned before I would go with the k all day. Even if you plan to run just 6lbs the force induction will make that motor 5x hotter then stock which in turn will make it wear faster. As a little add on the k20 is the king of motors for civics currently..

 

go b18c supercharged b series parts are cheap as hell compared to k series
swaping your car 2 a k is gonna be a bitch seeing as how u live in cali sure you will have more horsepower out of the box but the hassle isnt the same

 

F|_|CK you? Where has my information been incorrect? What previous experience?

 

Here we go. Nothing you stated was false, I have a dislike for you because your so quick to jump down everyones thoart. The experience I had with you was when you tried to talk a H-T user into spending 14k on a civic instead of a EVO or STI. Then you started to bash an EVO and compare your civic to it. But hey that was settled in another form and thats where will leave it.

 

ok fine. It was just an opinion. I dont like EVO's or STI's. But I dont want to revisit that. So lets leave it there.

 

oh, so what does? let the OP know so he doesn't waste his money on these weak motors...

 

K20 FTW

 

its not that they are weak. Its just that neither of those make alot of power. Built and/or boosted (turbo) they can make power. But a supercharged B18 or a stock K20 dont make much power. For you to be saying a "big performance number" I would say you would need to be making close to 300WHP to just barely be considered "big". There are many stock cars that come with 300HP or more so anything thats not close to 300WHP (a little more than a stock newer 350Z, etc) wont be able to perform like/out perform many midrange performance vehicles

 

Once again you did nothing more then talk from your A$$. Let me highlight and expand on your BS.

1. The two motors that you have commented on are some of the most well know and best performing engines for the money. For you to say that either of these motors(k20 or b18c1) make alot power just shows your either ignorants or just not every educated when it comes to hondas. I dont know how many others will agree but to but a motor aka stock k20 and run mid 13s on a HONDA MOTOR now thats pretty damn impressive. For the gsr I believe thats a mid 14s and even thats better good considering a type s runs low 15s.

2. Now this is where I'm going to get on you. DO YOU HONESTLY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN whp and hp? Do you know the percentage of power that you lose from the drivetrain? The difference between the two is whp is the horsepower that is from the wheels, hp or when they rate manufactured cars is from the motor. So do some math and you lose roughly about 15 percent of your power through your drivetrain. Ok so back to comparing a 300 whp civic which is slow to you to a 350z. Now do the math and you'll see that the z is about a 260whp car and then throw the weight into it and the finally resolute is the z doesn't stand a chance.