See Spot Run

First, yes, I am a n00b
Second, I have searched and gone many pages looking for an answer to my question, but havn't seen it.

In the VERY near future, I'll be taking ownership of a 5sp 4dr Civic, between the years of 98-02 (Now, I know that 2001 was the next generation, and not relevant to this board), but I'm thinking that it shouldn't really matter.

I'm thinking about getting an engine swap. Experience has told me that stock engines usually don't meet my requirements (listed below)

1) acceleration. No matter where in the world you go, there's stop lights/signs

2) power. I live in a mountaneous area, so I when I come up to a hill, I want to be able to continue my current speed (bout 110km/h), and then be able to pass other cars rapidly (the passing lanes are short)

3) torque. Where I live I get a lot of snow storms. There have been many times I've had to come home from work on uncleared roads, and drive up a mild hill to my house. So an engine with lots of power at low speed to get me through the snow is gonna be helpful.

I am NOT looking for speed (there's not really any place to drive fast around here), and I WON'T be driving at high rpm's (think the highest I've gone is 4000rpm or so).

So my question is, what engine would be the best suited to fit my requirements?

Thanks for your replies

Lewy. Dee Ayy

iTrader: (1)

h22

SwapShopR

If you end up with a 98-00 Civic then a straight B20B swap would probably work well for you.

cambopheonix56

b20 if you want torgue.

cambopheonix56

Well wait do you live in cali? If you do the B20 is out.

big-cat

b18b,cheap better power. its just nice

the soL that could

buy american and unregister your h-t account. welcome

See Spot Run

I'm actually living in Canada, just an hour away from the Rockies.

And thanks for the Welcome. I've bookmarked this site and plan to spend many hours reading up.

sicky

Most Honda's under 4000rpms will have no torque. Why don't you just get a V6 truck?

See Spot Run

Well...... although I realize that increasing engine power/torque is going to decrease my gas milage, I'm pretty confident that it won't decrease it as much as a truck. But the even more simpler answer is.....I don't want one.


I've been researching on the 'net (google is my friend), and I've read that a popular "mod" is to take the bottome half of B18/B20B/B20Z and mate it with the VTEC part (head) of a B16A/B18C. THis seems to have possibilities. What do you guys think of this?

I'm not worried about complexity to much, as a good friend of mine at work has a brother who's a mechanic at a Honda dealership.

BuiltforSin

you should be looking for a AWD vehicle if you have snow and mountains IMO

sicky

Instead of just searching "google" take advantage of this website. Use the search feature and you can read up on CRVtec and LSVtec, there's plenty of threads on it. If I was you I would get a Subaru or something that will handle those roads.

See Spot Run

Sorry, perhaps an explanation is in order. I'm currently living on a relatively flat plain, but am only an hour away from the Rockies. I plan to make many trips out there during the winter for ski trips, and during the summer for the view. Next year I will be moving to the East coast, where the Appalacians are. These, being one of the oldest mountain ranges, have worn/eroded down to mere hills to what the Rockies are. But there are still big hills to go up. These trips are highway driving, and I do a lot of city driving as well. Most of the people here drive family vehicles, however, I want something with good gas milage (Civic), yet something more powerful than the average family Sedan (engine upgrade). I'm not planning to go through 5 ft of snow, but I do want to get home when other cars are stuck on the side of the road. I love the Civic, always have, always will, and my old '89 Civic hatchback was the best car I've ever seen in terms of realibility. I want a Civic for wheels, but like I said orginally, I want some performance to meet my requirements. I don't mean to to be rude or sassy, but please don't recommend any other sort of vehicle.

handofgod

LS/vtec is more than you're looking for,at least by your description. This combination enjoys popularity because the B18/B20B/B20Z have more displacement, resulting in more torque at lower rpm. When this is combined with the high RPM breatheability of a Vtec head, The resulting motor will have strong power and torque throughout the power band. This makes it a good combination for an all motor racer, or someone who enjoys spirited driving and some wrench time.

There are drawbacks too. The B18A/B get their increased displacement from a longer stroke, which puts more stress on an engine at high RPM. They do not have the block girdle or the oil squirters that the Vtec motors do.

You indicated that you wanted good power/acceleration and strong torque, but are not looking for high RPMor high speeds. I think you should consider a straight up B18/B20B/B20Z swap. All these motors will be strong but not fast in a Civic. They will also be cheaper to purchase and maintain. If you want more, consider an H22 swap. Power should be similar to a basic LS/Vtec, torque should be greater, and the engineering was done by Honda, not some guy you met on the internet. It will cost more than the other three.

As far as your goals, I would search here on H-T for engine Hp/Tq specs, and pick the motor that you feel best meets your needs.

xtreme26

^^what he said pretty much sums up everything. or you can just get a whole ls motor an drop it in without the vtec head, since u said u don't even think you went past 4000 rpm, and vtec crossover isn't anywhere near that.

CardDealer

Modified by CardDealer at 9:39 AM 11/16/2006

Orangedragone

^^

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by big-cat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">b18b,cheap better power. its just nice</TD></TR></TABLE>

no really. You could probably relate complexity with price. from my standpoint what your describing i'd say a b18b is just right.

now your next question would be what kind of transmission do you want

thahuhstunna

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WhiteOut &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">h22 </TD></TR></TABLE>

egcivicdelsol

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Orangedragone &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^^

no really. You could probably relate complexity with price. from my standpoint what your describing i'd say a b18b is just right.

now your next question would be what kind of transmission do you want </TD></TR></TABLE>

u want the low torque, get urself an ls, want something that is a little bit of this, little bit of that, get urself a gsr... u want urself a powerhouse in the strip... get the h22... u want the bragging rights and the power, get a type r. ill let u kno... i had a b20 vtec in an 94 civic ex coupe... and an obd1 type r swap in my 94 del sol... del sol out performaned it in every attribute... and its way more reliable... b20vtecs are fast... and have torque for days, but if ur looking for reliablility... look further than the b20.

egcivicdelsol

i didnt mean low torque btw, i meant torque in low rpms, get the ls.

thahuhstunna

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by egcivicdelsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> u want the low torque, get urself an ls, want something that is a little bit of this, little bit of that, get urself a gsr... u want urself a powerhouse in the strip... get the h22... u want the bragging rights and the power, get a type r. ill let u kno... i had a b20 vtec in an 94 civic ex coupe... and an obd1 type r swap in my 94 del sol... del sol out performaned it in every attribute... and its way more reliable... b20vtecs are fast... and have torque for days, but if ur looking for reliablility... look further than the b20. </TD></TR></TABLE>

bragging rights??! hype-r's blow for that much money

egcivicdelsol

hype r?? nah they dont blow, dont blow about the money unless you've owned one.... what you buy is what u get... obviously... my type r has handed it to b16's, gsrs', ls-vs, and b20/vs, the only thing stock to stock that i couldnt beat is an h22 swap... its not an over hype... and no point in arguing about it either. this isnt about arguin about type r... he wants the torque... and doesnt use his top end.. he should get an ls / b20.

thahuhstunna

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by egcivicdelsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hype r?? nah they dont blow, dont blow about the money unless you've owned one.... what you buy is what u get... obviously... my type r has handed it to b16's, gsrs', ls-vs, and b20/vs, the only thing stock to stock that i couldnt beat is an h22 swap... its not an over hype... and no point in arguing about it either. this isnt about arguin about type r... he wants the torque... and doesnt use his top end.. he should get an ls / b20. </TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly, couldn't take a h22 (which would run you close to $2500 less)... wouldn't trade any of mine for a type-r

JdelMsolG

sounds to me like you need a ******* tahoe.

Syndacate

I would go with the H22, obviously the most displacement creates the most torque and that's the biggest displaced motor, only downside to it is I hear you have to do some fabrication to get it to fit in your car alright...