Ludeman5

Hey all you prelude owners.

I have a 96 prelude si h23 5 speed that has recently spun a bearing and developed a rod knock under acceleration. Was doing g a lot of research about what to do with this prelude. Kinda settled on doing a h23a blue top engine swap.

The specs
H23a vtec blue top
Ballance crank and clutch
New clutch
H22 Megan header
Delete cat with test pipe
Wide band o2 in rear o2 hole
Gasket match intake and exhaust
Adding oil squirters? If possible
Stage 1 camshaft 'not sure what ones yet'
Duel valve spring upgrade from cower
Manual pcm w/ tuning ability hondata?
Obd2 to obd1 conversion
Wet nos kit small 25 hp

Does anyone know if oil squirters can be added to this block with out piston interference.
What kind of pcm would I need for this set up?
Is there anything that need to be done to cylinder head to accept nos.

Am I missing anything critical.

HondaTechMan121

make sure your state does not have emission testing or u will fail thats ofc if u are keeping it on the road

Ludeman5

Live in a area that has emissions but won't have it registered in that area anymore. Won't have to worry about that.

snobordboy

I wouldn't open the block up to balance the crank or attempt to add oil squirters, I would just do the general swap maintenance and let er' buck.

The tune part will depend on your tuner, but I like Hondata, and it is well known all over, so pretty easy to find a competent tuner.

If you are buying a header, spend a bit more than Megan, and buy something like a Logic.

Aradin

No need to completely open the motor just to balance the crank. JDM H23A already has one of the best balanced bottom ends with the lightest H/F crank available.

Doubt you would be able to add oil squirters. The 95mm stroke would likely cause clearance issues.

If it were me I would get a set of Nippon Racing Type-S pistons for the slight bump in compression and better valve reliefs. Both of those things will go a long way with aftermarket cams. The H23A pistons have a poor valve relief design and P2V contact is pretty common with high revs/more aggressive cams.

Balance shaft delete kit and lightweight flywheel would go a long way for engine response as well.

Be wary of the stock H23A rods if you plan on doing any substantial amount of nitrous. They're pretty weak.

ESP.net

Do not waste your money on time on Tuner 1's or 2 cams or Crower Stage 1s... just not a worthy investment. They usually loose mid range power and torque... it's a fail.

Buy a decent flowing header. A header that flows is the Highend Tri Y header not 4-2-1... but Tri Y good for 240+ whp builds

I hate it when people spend $1000 on cams such as tuner 1 or 2 or crower 1s and expect results... and valve train upgrades...

Tuner 2's are almost similar to TypeS/EuroR cams specs so that tells you the agressiveness of them...

Spend the money wisely. DDtech has come out with some cams that do not loose torque like like Skunk pro1s etc... He also has recommended valve springs and retainers to go with. Contact them...

On stock bottom end this is what I would do.

Do not take bottom apart to put in oil squirters a waste of time...and yes you would have to alter them to clear which becomes an issue of why go to the effort if in not ideal position....waste of time and money... Do not take apart just to balance the whole assembly waste of time and money.... Leave bottom alone and do the head with some decent cams that will work well with the stock bottom. Yes stock H23AVBT crank is the lightest out of all F/H it weighs in 34 lbs. Next up is F20B at 36 lbs then H23A1 at 38-39 lbs. Then H22 is 44 and 46 lbs.

The reason the H23AV Blue Top may have not as good V2P clearance for big lift cams... is the valve reliefs may be similar to an H23A1. Also the piston sits more to deck level 0 versus 6k in the hole like an H22. So I would compensate with a thicker headgasket 35k or 40k thick cometic. Yes this would bring your compression slightly down tiny bit... but will give you better P2V clearance.

Ludeman5

With the Nippon Racing Type-S pistons are you saying that oil squirters would work or are you saying that the pistons along with the added bump on compression.

Aradin

In no way did I imply anything about oil squirters working with Type-S pistons. They are merely an upgrade over the stock H23A pistons in terms of compression and valve clearance.

I already said you will likely not be able to use oil squirters because of the long stroke. There's a reason Honda didn't include them in that engine from the factory.

ESP.net

Nippon is not an OEM Honda piston. Does not have the skirt patch of special unicorn tears to last in the FRM cylinders.... Funny but true... you need OEM TYPE S/Euro R pistons. Or expect a rebuild lot sooner....

Ludeman5

That is what I was thinking but just wanted to get clarification.

So nippon pistons don't have the patch on them.
I can find nippon pistons made with Teflon coated skirts are those considered the special coating equivalent for the cylinder walls or just as bad as forged pistons.

snobordboy

Nippon is trying to sell them as an "equivalent" but they are more of a cheap alternative. If looking to stick with the FRM liners, either find Honda pistons, or Mahle golds, or Jun if you can find them...

Aradin

Wrong. Nippons are not OEM but they are replacement pistons with a few upgrades. The "special skirt coating" isn't needed on a cast piston, which both Nippon and OEM are. Cast pistons don't expand like a forged piston so it isn't needed. No OEM cast H series piston has a coated skirt that is required. A "friction reducing" skirt may be a different story - but that's a moot point since that's exactly what the coating on the NPR pistons is. The Nippon Type-S pistons work just fine with the stock FRM sleeves.

They don't need any skirt coating as they are a cast piston. The Nippon Type-S pistons are basically just a "drop in and go" upgrade. No sleeving or anything needed. It's an improved design over the OEM Type-S. The teflon coating is a performance upgrade, not a mandatory one like what would be needed with some like a forged Mahle gold series.

I wouldn't say cheaper alternative. More of a replica. They sell more of them than Honda sells OEM Type-S pistons so they can sell theirs at a cheaper price. They improved upon the original design of the piston for more performance/reliability.

However Mahle golds ARE in fact junk. And will cause an early rebuild. Because they are entirely reliant on maintaining the integrity of the skirt coating since they are a forged "band-aid" piston. As soon as the skirt coating is gone on those, a full rebuild would be required. Such is not the case with the NPR Type-S pistons.

Ludeman5

So npr type s pistons are truly the best for sticking with oe design cylinders. Do they hold up well with small amounts of nitrous? I know the rods are weak because of the oil gally drilled in them for cooling and lubrication of the piston.

Aradin

They would fair just as well as any OEM piston, probably a bit better because of the anodized deck and hardened pins. I'm sure they would be good for at least 400whp with some H beam rods in a turbo setup, less on a nitrous setup. If you plan on going over a 75 shot I would gap the rings a little wider.