c0alition

I guess it's time for me to pop in here, post a build thread and introduce myself.

I'm new to the Honda scene but have handled, tuned, and built a few cars. My biggest investment so far was my '00 turbo Zetec Cougar. It went from NA, to spray, and then turbo.. and then a blown transmission and sitting around.




My 2 other personal projects were my '96 Cobra and '93 wrangler (does that even count? rofl).

etc. etc. etc.

Onto my current project. I recently picked up a '99 CRV with a rod knock and in need of standard maintenance. I've always thought they would make a good project, and I'm generally a fan of a car or mod that isn't "standard".

My goals for this build:

*Learn about honda engines..
-I'll be tuning this, and researching the best methods
-Apparently these engines will respond to mods more than my previous projects
-enjoy not having to fabricate or mod every part for this motor

*High Compression Streetable NA
-non vtec
-b18
-fully built engine
_I will be spraying this engine
_Depending on what research turns, I may be looking into a low boost supercharged setup to replace the spray in the distant future.

*Decent suspension and a set of wheels
-I've never really invested in wheels or aesthetics, but I've got inspiration for the CRV to look pretty clean once it's finished.
-I'm not sure which companies have offered coil overs for this specific platform, but I'll be making a few phone calls to the normal companies to see if I can find any interest from them.



I've ordered everything for the engine and should be receiving parts early next week so I can start assembling everything. Right now I've got a set of Crower stg 2 NA cams, blox intake mani, and a b18 head headed my way. I'll be doing a bit of casting cleaning on this head and perhaps minor port work. I've ordered full top end gasket set. I'm driving out to pick up my bottom end parts this weekend. CP 11:1 pistons, eagle rods, mic'd crank, GSR oil and water pump, etc. I'm going to check over each of these parts to ensure they're spec'd properly since I'm purchasing the engine as a new build.


I'll be spending way too much time digging through some Honda resources to figure out all of this OBD0,1,2 mess. I'll also be on the look out for a different gearing for this transmission. I'm reading a bit of gear set swaps, or OD gear swaps at least. Maybe something is workable to overcome the extra weight of this thing. I'm a fan of the search button, so I won't need the standard flaming as the new guy, but I'll also take any advice directly related to my project. If you know anything about obd### and gear sets/trans swaps directly related to the CRV, I'd love to hear from you.

Oh, and my CRV (aka: Project Munchkin as my gf has named it) as it sits.

BitterTrigger

You need water pump that's for b18b b20z as the teeth on the Gsr pump has more teeth. For the money you're putting into the head you should of gotten a vtec head or just gone to a force induction.

What's your power goals and budget?

BitterTrigger

To tune your car also you're going to need a chipped obd1 ecu and an obd2 to obd1 harness. I prefer hondata but chrome is probably good for your na setup.

For your transmission I take it its an automatic since you're talking about OD gears. Just convert it to Manuel. Auto trannies are only good for 200whp.

c0alition

It is a manual rtawd, I'm normally used to 5th gear being some what over driven maybe that isn't the case here.

I'm aware of vtec and its cost to power ratio, but that simply isn't my goal for this build. I'm not setting a power goal as I doun't know how these motors respond to mods. Technically my only power goal is to break even or over power my stock b20z motor. Just trying to find a fun project with some modification. I'm just not in the mood to build that much power right now.

I'm not quite understanding the water pump situation. I'm not building a hybrid of any form, the block and head are both b18a.

As far as tuning, I've had my eye set on a hondata s300 down in Louisiana. I do at least understand the general idea of this. I've heard good things about it and you also mentioned it so sounds promising.

c0alition

Sorry, I'm mistaken. It's a type r oil pump and gsr water pump.

As far as a budget goes, this build will be pretty mild so it will be covered. I'm not a student or a parent and my finances are in order, what it costs to get done is my budget.

LDForget

I agree that for the money your throwing at this, you should have got a vtec head. The difference in price would have been minimal and performance as well as fuel economy would have been great. Another thing is your spending the money on doing a full rebuild with quality parts, you may as well have gotten some lower compression pistons and just turbo'd it from the get go. You'll be lucky to hit 200 hp after hours of tuning with your current setup. For the little extra money, you could have hit the 300+ hp mark quite easy. Id have to agree though, 5th gear is WAY too short. It needs a taller over drive gear.

c0alition

Thanks for the responses guys.

I guess I should clarify. I didn't want to build a vtec motor. I've built 2 turbo cars before. I'm aware of the standard cost to hp ratio that would be associated with these 2 setups. I've specifically wanted to build a non vtec NA motor for a honda for a while. Not with a power goal, just something I've wanted to do. I'm not squeezing every last drop out of this motor either, just looking for a mod project.

My decision went from building an all out race (stipped, turbo, high boost) down to a peppy daily driver that I've built to my desires. I began to weigh the costs of vtec vs. ls realized vtec was cheaper per hp, but just never really something I've wanted. After deciding against vtec I began my LS search and found a price that I'm certain no vtec head/cams/springs/intake mani price could have touched. This project isn't about money and it isn't about power.

I'm building a non vtec b18a that will be sprayed. That's where my money has gone, and that's where my mind is set. If I hit 200hp, I'll be ecstatic. I'll have a bottle to feed any extra cravings I get.

LDForget

well, best of luck. If you've got any questions dont be afraid to post em up. In a NA setup your part choices and matching needs to be very specific. Equal length headers will be important for ya.

c0alition

Thanks!

Equal length header brings up an interesting point actually. I was looking in to finally getting a custom header made via stainlessheaders.com. I've wanted to try this out for a while just for the heck of it. I've been trying to find measurements that seem to be optimal for the setup I'm running. Any ideal size, length, etc of primary tubes and collector?

LDForget

The go-to place for headers or exhaust in canada is Weir Tech. Heres his facebook page. Check out his work and send him a message if your interested in ordering a head from him. His work is amazing, heres a few pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weir-...37961856274947

c0alition

haha, I ship to Canada far too often with my job.. I think taxes and customs would probably over shadow any price or performance difference from someone in the states. That being said, I'll check them out either way and see what they can offer.

shermanyang

iTrader: (1)

If you're using a GSR pumps, just get a timing belt for a GSR motor. No need to go back to non-vtec pumps.

c0alition

Thanks for the info, and sorry for the ignorant previous posts. I wasn't putting gsr and vtec together in my head.

c0alition

So, couple questions about an ECU setup. First, what's the chances of my stock OBD2 ECU being able to run this motor? Generally I'm all about doing it right the first time, but I'm building this CRV off site, and would like to get it off of their property ASAP. Would I be able to drive this vehicle with the current ECU?

My guess is it would at least run a bit rich. I guess I'd have to crunch some numbers or see what the fuel tables look like at what pressure or duty cycle of injectors etc. to really know exactly how bad it would be. Can I skip that and someone possibly have an answer?

Secondly. With hondata, I'm imagining I'll be able to disable features of an ECU that wouldn't be in use, AKA secondary o2's, vtec, sensors that are cleared from the motor? This would make use of a p28 possible from what I'm reading?

c0alition

Picked up the template for my build this weekend. CP Pistons, eagle rods, water pump, oil pump, etc. I took quick measurements of 2 of the cylinder tops, seemed to be just a hair over 81mm. I was in a rush, trying to get home for work (3.5 hour drive out to the engine) so I didn't measure all 4. Checked a 3rd top for oval shape and they looked good.



Got the engine home and for what reason I didn't check this there I'm not sure. Cylinder 3 had about 1mm of left to right play. The vertical (on axis) movement was minimal, but for whatever reason, this cylinder was 1mm over off axis. I'm wondering if maybe the machine shop just really messed up on the work they did for the guy.

Also, while removing the pistons cylinder 2 dropped the top ring out of the block in 2 pieces.



I guess it's a start to say that the trip wasn't what I had hoped for, but at least I have most of my parts sourced. My new plan is to get this block sleeved so I can run these standard sized pistons. The block seems to be in decent condition other than the one cylinder.

c0alition

Ordered new rings, bottom end gasket kit, and still trying to find a shop around here to sleeve my block. I also received head, cams, springs, and intake mani yesterday. I started cleaning all of that out and will be hitting it with the grinder through next week.



I'm also throwing the idea around of bigger valves if I can find a decent shop.. might as well go for that since I'm already in here.

c0alition

Any info on running b18a with b20z stock ECU? Just need it to get home (78 miles), not looking for long term. How rich/lean will it be?

LDForget

It really depends on how high your compression is going to be. It will likely run, but not very well.

c0alition

Hmm.. guess I'm more curious of how the fuel would work. With compression worst case scenario I clock global timing back. I'm curious what the b20 runs its afr at and duty cycle of injectors at what pressure.

LDForget

Ill throw my scanner on my CRV later today and get all the info i can. Keep in mind that mine is running a bit rich. You might be best off putting a AEM fuel regulator on it and just running it super rich if your going to drive it. Better rich than lean. Just remove your cat for the drive.