Jdejesus01

Good afternoon Ht, so I'm in the process of rebuilding my b16a2 and i had a thought cross my mind. I was looking into the b20vtec setup which from my understanding a lot of ppl don't recommend boosting because of the cylinder walls that are prone to crack. I was looking into darton b20 block which is supposed to be stronger than oem. So if I was to get a darton b20 block b16a2 head and a good turbo kit i shouldn't have to worry to much about the cylinder walls correct? My power goal is 500whp. Thanks in advance for the input!

Chance EG

Dry or wet sleeves? Do you know where/who installed the sleeves? The installation of the aftermarket sleeve is more important than the sleeve manufacturer themselves, generally.

Generally speaking though, dry or wet if those sleeves were installed correctly they'd be an improvement over the stock B20 walls.

Jdejesus01

No not talking about the sleeves im talking about the actual block they sell on there website

solo227

you should probably inquire with them to see if they modified the block in anway and what level of power they hold.

I dont think Darton is selling stock blocks. There should be some type of description on the website.

Jdejesus01

Jdejesus01

i meant dart sorry seems like it would be better for turbo application especially with the cylinder cracking in b20vtec

Chance EG

Note that if you get the Dart block, you'd need a competent machinist and builder to prep it. It's not a small task, they come with a lot of rough edges from the factory. That being said, if they're put together right they're absolutely bulletproof.

Don't get the tall deck block, they tend to cause issues with leaking and belts.

2kdrift

I would be looking at a open deck design for a street car, closed decks can have cooling issues

IMO if you really wanted something with higher displacement do a LS vtec setup with open deck sleeve design . more info would be needed to help you better...street car? what type of fuel will be used?

Chance EG

The Dart blocks have enlarged water jackets which seem to work very well for cooling. The main issue I've heard of is moreso leaks than overheating, and once again that's with their tall deck design.

But, just to re-iterate strongly, do NOT underestimate the prep work needed to assemble this block.

My personal recommendation is if you're on a budget, use a B18 block and get the Cylinder Support System installed (CNC Werx, CSS). Or lower your power goals a bit.

2kdrift

good to know I do not have experience with them. I was gonna get to the power goals part once he tells us hes using pump gas lol. sounds like the typical I want 500HP street car thread, but if he is using better fuel then it could work....still a terrible powerband for a street car.

Not a big fan of CSS as it still uses stock sleeves but I dont have experience with those either. At the end of the day its still just a block guard

Chance EG

CSS has nothing but vouches on this forum, and I'll eventually be going that route with my current build. Technically it's a block guard, but it properly closes off the deck and supports the cylinders. The same concepts with critically different executions. I wouldn't have any second thoughts using these systems at 500WHP or lower on a B18. 4Piston also offers this as a service when ordering street engines from them, and if Luke approves of the process enough to do that as well then I'm sold.

2kdrift

I hear ya, they do have good results. for me once I factor in the cost of having the block built at local machine shop ~2500 before the cost of CSS. its just not worth it when I can get a fully built block with aftermarket sleeves for around $3500. Id rather pay a little bit more upfront for aftermarket sleeves and know I wont have to worry about it

gorillaglue#4

I picked up a CSS's GSR block for 400$. I still have to get it bored and honed but for the price of sending mine off. You can get a sleeved block for a grand sometimes. The kid I bought it from had a kid the week before hand.

2kdrift

goodshit, I just wouldn't push it too far, remember you still have stock sleeves. I recently cracked a sleeve @430 Hp. It had a GE block guard which may have hurt more then it helped.

Dont get me wrong I am not knocking CSS and it is definitely not a typical blockguard, just saying we all know OEM sleeves have there limitations. I do understand the CSS CNC procedure and it will be much better then any other block guard.

if you search enough you will find 500 HP builds with no blockguard at all..........the question is long term. again like I said I dont want to redo my block in the future........CSS would most likely work for my usage just not willing to take any chances