Aerospike

Hi guys.

I've read around here a little, and read the swap sticky somewhat, but I'm still a little confused about a few things.

I'd like to pick up a new project car, something under $5000, and pull the engine for a conversion which I will turbocharge. Do you guys have any year recommendations for a Civic that complies better with the swap? 1992-1994 etc? Once I figure that out, I'm going to go find one to buy this week. I do not need to meet any emission requirements.

My second question concerns the B series engines for the swap. Ok I plan to get the engine on a stand, bore it, rebuild it, new cams, valves, and rods, and install a moderate size turbo for around 415hp. Do I want V-TEC or no V-TEC? I want a broader mid-range to top-end transition with good amounts of torque to match the horsepower, rather than a thin top-end power only.

And my final question concerns transmission. I need to choose a manual transmission that will work best with the top-end power. So whichever transmission keeps me in the top-end better through the gears is what I seek. Will this effect my engine choice for the swap, or will I simply choose the appropriate transmission for my engine?

Sorry about all my questions, I'm just getting into the Honda scene and I'm trying to learn quickly. I own a '91 Nissan 300ZX twin turbo as well, which is getting a long-term build in my garage, so I am anxious to get something else in my hands that is a little cheaper for me to work on in the meantime. The Z is a pain in the butt for labor, let me tell you that you Honda folks have it made actually being able to reach things in your engine compartments.

994door

Welcome For the car I would say 95-92 so you dont have to convert it to obd1.
for the motor thats up to you, but imo i think it would be easier to hit your goal with a vtec motor. and for the tranny, a gsr tranny has longer gears than others, but is still pretty short. An ls tranny would be my choice for tranny with that amount of power because the gears are really long, which means less chance of wheel spin.

ek9JDMGSR

I agree the 92-95 is much simpler because of the odb converson.

Luis998

I definitely agree in getting a 92-95 which are already OBD1.

The engine is your choice though. You could choose to spend a lot of money and build an LSVTEC or you could just get a B18C1 (GSR) or a B16. Then again you could also take the B16 head, work on it like a champ, put it on a B18C block and have a poor man's Type R.

With the work that you're willing to do, that "could" be the best choice. Mind you this is only an OPINION and nothing else.

As far as the car, the weight of a 2-door and 4-door is very close ( I can't for the life of me remember the exact weight) and the hatchback, of course, is the lightest of the three.

As far as your transmission goes, for high revving engines, like the B16 or a build similar to it, you could use the B16 transmission. It likes higher revs. Then again, you could always get a B16 tranny and switch out the final drive. The possibilities are ENDLESS! Gotta love Honda. :D

I wish you the best on your buy and build my friend. Keep us posted.

Aerospike

Ok guys, I'm beginning to think that maybe I need slightly larger displacement for my horsepower goals. I've been studying dyno charts, and the B18's don't seem like they come on at all until nearly 6000rpm. Do you think a 2.0 engine or 2.2 would get me a more usable power-band with a large turbo? Because that is what my experience is telling me to do. I just don't know about the support for those engines, or the little things I do not know about which may make them a bad choice for me.

I basically need an engine that responds better for large boost.

At the same time I have been browsing ads and looking for something possibly already done. It's tough to decide if I want to go that route, because you never really know how hard some kid has beat the crap out of a high-HP engine.

jerryegk24

if money is not a issue k20a swap and a good tune and slicks, you'll be looking at high 12's on the 1/4 mile

Rok_Stok

what ^he said. Get the K20A and six-speed if you can, so also find a non-abs 92-95 civic to put it in so there can be clearance for the header. I have a Si w/ ABS so I'm going to the B-series route instead... someday

McLarenv3

i say built B20 and tune it to rev to 9k

Aerospike

What are the main differences between the B20 and K20A? Do both have the exhaust header facing the front of the car? Are both somewhat simple swaps, or does one involve more work etc?

Can you also tell me why the vehicle cannot have ABS?

Money is not so much of an issue as having the most capable powerplant to start is. I can always just take a little longer to build it, but when it's done I want it done right so that it can spool a large turbo well without incredible amounts of lag.

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

<FONT COLOR="red">https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1274311</FONT>

The K20A is much more of an engine than the B20 is. IIRC the JDM K20A-R puts out 220hp at the crank and is much more expensive than the B20. The exhaust manifold is at the back of the engine as opposed to the B20 which has it's mani up front.

Aerospike

Ok, thanks for the info.

Is there any differences in tuning ability having the exhaust manifold at the rear? Will I still be able to find a good amount of high-flowing turbo manifolds, and not run into any mounting clearance issues with a larger turbo? Equal length turbo manifolds perform best, is there any available for the K20A?

Dasfinc

Hey their Neighbor.

Your 300ZX wouldn't happen to be red would it?

a quick run-down for swaps in MY personal opinon:

K20 (RSX-S or civic SI): Responds well to bolt ons, VERY complex swap, the most expensive by far, good hp/tq

H22 (Prelude): GREAT torque, great stock HP, not too expensive for the motor, but the mounts are fairly expensive, as is a H2B kit to stuff a B16 trans onto it, another fairly complicated swap though *cable shifter, axles, motor mounts etc*

*From here down are basically bolt-in swaps, no body modification or custom pieces needed*

B20 (CRV): the B20b is crap, B20Z is the only one worth picking up, good torque downlow, fairly cheap, no Vtec, not much uptop, good for boost, but thinner cylinder walls than the B18.

B18B (92+ Teggy LS): the B18B is probably the CHEAPEST by far of the swap motors aside from a D-series, 142hp/127tq, I've seen stock block B18b's hold 400hp (not for very long, but the point is they respond well to boost) but redline at 7K and without boost run out of steam at about 6200RPM anyways.

B18C1/C5 : Forget the ITR, Rare/Expensive/Probably beaten on, the GSR is a good grunty motor with good midrange and uptop power, more expensive than the B18b by a fair amount, but land-slides cheaper than a K20.

B16's : not TOO hard to find, and not terribly expensive, but will require quite alot of work to handle 400hp, and will still have very little torque.

For everyone else, please don't comment on this saying "I'm all wrong" above are just MY OPINIONS from what I've personally experienced and personally seen.

Dasfinc

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Aerospike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes, I own the red Z. Greetings by the way, I never expected to run into someone from Ottawa, so quickly at least. Do I know you by any chance? Send me an email at mmarshall304(at)yahoo.

I would send you a PM, but I cannot send any because I just created this account. I cannot not even talk to any sellers of cars I would like to look at here, which is killing me!

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Lol, "Small World"

You got Email.

Aerospike

Could be server lag, but, no email yet.

Dasfinc

Go ahead and give me a hit on AIM then, I see you have it too

Dasfinc is my SN

Dasfinc @ hotmail.com is my Email

.Radical_Edward.

IMO, I would say the B18A1 or B1 would be a great choice. It's a squeeze to pull out 400WHP from an LS engine, but you only need about 300WHP to net 11's consistently with good driving.