4doorsi

Is it worth swapping a '91 Prelude 2.0Si motor into my '93 civic dx 4 dr?

ekekek

no. i said this in another post that asked the same thing. the stroke is way too long. get the cr-v if your set on a 2.0L.

Kamin

yea the 2.0 si motor is a peice of ****.
b20 or better yet. b20vtec. if you want torque.

4wsB21a

disregaurd what they said about that motor being crap. there is no reason for their comments. however, with the amount of work you would have to do to get the prelude motor to fit your civic you would be better off doing the crvtec motor. even though it is only a sohc it at least has a bolt up kit that you can use and the wiring is compatible. go with that for an EASIER swap.

Trey

CRVtec is DOHC dumba$$

Just drop the 88-91 Prelude idea. No bolt in kits available, it's SLO and No performance parts available.......

Why bother, save your money and jump on the bandwagon.




[Modified by Trey, 11:41 AM 3/22/2002]

maxxdout

definition of worth: creating a personal value for YOU. If this idea has a high enough value to you the consumer then the worth property has been satisified. However if you are talking about the best idea or the best results, i would probably not recomend it. As mentioned earlier, i would probably upgrade the D series motor that is currently in the car, maybe swap trannies if you have an auto, or start researching a B series swap, weather it be VTEC or not. Again, refer to definition of worth and go from there.

4wsB21a

well, the b20b is sohc, isn't it? so the vtec conversion makes it dohc? ok. i didn't know that. and as far as being a dumbass, you shouldn't be calling the kettle black *******. there are plenty of performance parts for the b20a5/b21a1 motors. you just have to look a little harder. there is a turbo kit that gives you almost 100hp to the wheels just with the turbo kit. and that motor is not slow. if you put that motor in a car that doesn't weigh 3200 lbs then it would be much faster. that motor, if you wanted to take the time would be a good step up from the stock civic motors. but, there are easier conversions to do that will get you the same and more hp and tq then those motors.

5gen-hybrid

The b20 is dohc non-vtec.making it vtec is just like doing an ls/vtec conversion.To my knowledge you cannot put a dohc head on a sohc block.The civic weighs 2,450lbs or less depending on the body and model.There are some parts for the prelude engine but you have to remember if you installing a turbo that will give it 100hp more then you have to then worry about reliability.An 11 year old engine that is stock will not last long with 10+psi of boost no matter how good the tuning is.
Either way your better off doing a newer b-series swap.

4wsB21a

i checked it out on the honda website, and it is dohc. sorry, my bad. i do agree that a newer motor would be better to install in a car, however, the prelude motor would be easier and cheaper to find at a junkyard. so, for example, if you found a 90 prelude motor with 80,000 miles on it, and you find a 97 crv motor with 80,000 miles on it, why not start with the prelude motor and get 10-15 more horsepower right from the getgo? if you were interested in taking the time and effort to put it in there, that is.

just to make sure it is clear, i am not saying the prelude motor is better than the crv motor, or that it is easier to work with. i know first hand that the prelude motor is hard to find parts for. however, there are parts available and the motor does put out a lot of power for a 4-banger. also, i totally agree that the crv motor and the other b-series motors are much easier to install in a civic. but, sometimes people want to be different. we are here to help each other out, not to call each other names and say they are stupid for wanting to do something different.

Kamin

im all for being diffrent but for christ sake. for what he is going to spend on custom mounts and axles (maybe) be can BUILD A b20 VTEC and outperform alot of cars. the prelude (b20) motor is a waste of money to put into a civic.

StorminMatt

There is more to power ratings than meets the eye. The 1997 CR-V is rated at only 126HP crankshaft (which, by the way, is only 9HP less than your beloved B20A). But this is with the B20 ECU, B20 intake manifold, and B20 exhaust manifold. AL of these parts are crap. And it is a WELL KNOWN fact that power output rises considerably if you use non-VTEC Integra components in their place (Check hybrid.honda-perf.org to confirm this. Also, the B20 intake manifold won't fit under a Civic hood). In fact, power output rises to around 150-155HP crankshaft with a numerically similar amount of torque. And let's not forget that the 1998+ B20Z puts out 146HP stock, or 11 more than your beloved B20A. With the Integra parts, power output rises to B16A levels with TONS of torque. You would have a VERY hard time getting this kind of power and torque from the B20A. And let's not forget that a B20B/B20Z swap is only a Hasport or Place Racing kit away. The same cannot be said about the B20A, which will be a cut and weld swap in ANY Civic.

There is another thing for anyone who is even thinking about this swap to consider. In some places, emission laws state that the motor must be of the same year of newer than the car it is going into. This will create definite problems if you swap a 1990 Prelude motor into a 1997 Civic.

Let's face it, the B20A and B21A are probably the WORST motors EVER produced by Honda. And I'm not the only one saying this. The pros agree as well. An 81mm bore and 95mm stroke with a dismally short rod is NOT the way to make a 2.0 liter motor. Honda apparently found this out the hard way. But at least they learned, as this motor was basically an evolutionary dead end. So do yourself a favor and learn from their mistake.

Oh, and if you want to be different, maybe try an H22A swap or an H22A/H23A hybrid.


[Modified by StorminMatt, 3:12 AM 3/27/2002]

4wsB21a

i'm not saying the prelude motor is better than the crv motor, just saying that the motor is not as bad as everyone seems to think. and just out of curiosity, which experts say this. i would like to know what is so bad about this motor. i have not had anyone come up with real proof that the prelude motor is as bad as everyone seems to think. and if you were going to spend the time and effort, i would not use the b20a5 motor anyway, i would use the b21a1 motor. there is a much better power band in that motor. but, to all his own. put whatever you want into the car. just remember, if you don't like it, sell it.

B18C5-EH2

I work at a shop that has been in business for over 10 years, with the owner doing only Hondas and Acuras for 30+years (since the motorcycle days of Honda) and guess what everyone in the shop says about the B20A1 and B21A1:

THEY SUCK DONKEYBALLS

Out of all the Honda motors we could think of, the shittiest by far excluding the Acura Vigor 5 cylinder was the **** 1988-1991 Prelude motors. Hell I didn't even bait them or ask them what they thought about the Prelude motors from that era. All I asked was what the shittiest motor was, and they all said 1988-1991 Prelude.

Those motors blow even with normal people driving easlily on them, so what do you think about them being revved to the limit all day? Or boosted on?

Let's also mention that it does NOT bolt in at all, and would probably cost more by the time you added up all the parts and labor bullshit.

DR. ON POINT

iiiiinnnndddddeeeeeeeddddd

StorminMatt

I could not tell you the names of all the experts who say this. But I can at least give you two: Brian Gillespie and Joe Locash of Hasport. If you don't believe me, give them a call at Hasport and ask them.

As for why the B20 and B21 are so bad, it is the super long stroke and super miniscule rod ratio. These two factors greatly increase internal stresses. Especially side loading of the cylinders.