brandonw95

I have a 93 Civic Ex that I am going to do an ls swap to and I was wondering what people have done with ls engines on a budget. I am just wanting some ideas of what I can do with the engine on a budget that can give it a little extra horsepower without it being to expensive. I already have apr headstuds that I am going to put on it.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Jeez. Do a search already. LS swaps are far too common to have to wonder about them on any level.

On top of that not even mentioning the actual budget doesn't help to answer your question.

Emeraldbomber

Do you have a set horsepower you want to reach? Goals?

brandonw95

I am on like a $800 budget and I have done research but I was just wanting some new ideas because this is my first build / project that I have ever done and I want to do it right.

brandonw95

I mainly want to spiff up the engine to a little over 200 horsepower but I am not really looking to straight build the hell out of the motor

Emeraldbomber

You could get an Itr tranny with lsd or b16 trans if you want to go cheaper.

Do you do a lot of highway driving?

kyden

800 dollars isn't gonna get you anywhere near 200hp.

doctorake

Save for a turbo and put a GSR or type R transmission in it.

jbpnoman

$800 will get you the swap. That's it. The cheapest way to get power after that is a turbo, and a pieces together setup will run you a minimum of $2000. You could also raise your compression with new pistons and rods, but after the required tuning, you'll still be spending almost as much as you would on a turbo, with less power gains.

brandonw95

Well here is the thing, I am new to the whole engine swap stuff. I am still learning and i am looking for help from people that already know what they are doing. i have a friend that knows a good bit and he is helping me through the whole thing. my situation is that i bought a b18b head from my friend and i bought a b18a block from the salvage yard (the man mall). i plan on bringing the block to the machine shop to get either acid dipped or hot tanked and get it all cleaned up and looking brand new. i know the block is not cracked or seized. i am going to replace all of the gaskets which is a given seeing as the engine is apart. im not sure how much money it is going to cost to do what i want to do but that is why i am on here asking questions so i can learn. i have thought about putting slightly high compression pistons in the block but not too high of compression. i am going to put dual valve spring from a b16 head on the b18 head. i want to do little things like that to strengthen up the motor but i really dont want to go and sink $3000 in the motor because i dont have that type of money. i am just looking for little things that i can do that are not going to kill me in money. i know some things are going to cost a little extra to have done but i want to do this right and not screw anything up or go broke in the process.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Past the swap and with your meager budget, don't plan on doing anything. Drop in the motor and enjoy or save up for something bigger with more power.

jbpnoman

B18A, or B18A1? There's a HUGE difference.

I think you should use this as an opportunity to completely overhaul the engine, rebuild it, and learn. Don't worry about going fast, just worry about getting it running perfectly.

doctorake

If you do not already have the swap and only have 800$ then you are getting a swap and that is it.

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

^ IDK why people get unrealistic goals in getting 200 hp out of an LS with out some kind of forced induction.
Why is 200HP even necessary?
Rebuild it from top to bottom and you'll have reliable transportation.

In the chassis of a hatch or coupe the LS is pretty peppy.
The stock engine for an ex is 127hp anyway so a bump to 140 is just that much more nicer.
Unless you are running light to light which is illegal.. that 140 is plenty of power.
Most monkeys on here have no earthly idea how to drive with less power anyway.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

800 will get the engine.

now the trans, axles, clutch, ecu, manifold, fabbing the exhaust, rear mount, etc etc will cost more.

keep your money. your not ready to swap anything. buy a nitrous kit for 400