My friend had a jdm h22a swapped into his 98 civic lx sedan last weekend (local import shop)... Judging from a few races he's had and what I felt when I drove it, I'd say the motor is damn near 20whp short of what it should be running.

His mods:
jdm h22a
6 puck clutch
dc headers
2.5" exhaust
lightened flywheel
short ram intake
vtec controller set at 5300rpm engagement
17" wheels

When I got to drive it, the car was hesitating during acceleration, almost felt like it was misfiring too... so, my guess would be plugs/plug wires.

What are some other things to look for that could be causing such a low power output in a jdm h22? (common problems or replacements usually needed with the jdm motors?) Maybe the stock civic fuel pump can't handle the h22?

Also, the car drops out of vtec when shifting at redline... what are some ways to remedy this?

 

Very similar set-up to mine. first lose the 17 in wheels, set vtec engagement at 5k and get it tuned, mine made 185whp. As far as the driveability issue I don't know, never had any probs with mine...................John

 

h22s demand high fuel pressure. They just are built to run that way and is usually why they run richer than the b-series engines. If you are getting hesitation its because of this fact.. Either bump up the fuel pressure or for a temporary fix just uplug the vacumn line to the stock FPR..

Also which ECU are you using?

 

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Also, the car drops out of vtec when shifting at redline... what are some ways to remedy this?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ooo ooh, I can answer that... lol. Don't be afraid to shift a little past redline and shift fast. I thought I was having the same problem, but I think my tach is probably a bit off. I think my tach reads around 5200 in VTEC. If I shift a little past redline I stay in it the whole time. Since you've set your engagement point higher, you'll need to go a little deeper into the revs. If you set it lower then you'll be able to shift back into it without having to go past redline.

Also, check your distributor for any red dust, and most certainly change the spark plugs, spark plug wires, dizzy cap & rotor, & timing belt. You have no idea what the last person who had the engine did to it. By the way, if you have red dust, believe me, spend the extra $260 now to buy a new dizzy from the Distributor King and you won't be stranded two miles from your house like I was a couple weeks ago.

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Don't worry too much about this. It shouldn't have a huge effect on any of your races on the street. If you plan on racing at the strip, you might want to think about finding something a bit smaller like 15x7s.

 

i am having the same problem, and sometimes it is the ECU. my JDM ECU just doesn't like it here. no matter what i do.

 

compression test the motor.

 

i have heard from an article in honda tunning that the jdm ecu's need the highest octane gas you can get... they love it... that might be the problem? i'm gona get my swap "started" in a few days so i will find this out myself....

 

i tried that too. i ran that sucker on a tank of cali's finest (91 octane) and Turbo 108. still, nor running at full tilt. i even filled up on 100 octane from Unocal when i dynoed it.

 

yeah my friend is using 93 octane.. so far i really think it's the distributor cap/rotor & plug wires and possibly the fuel pump... how safe is it to shift at 7300-7400 rpm when racing... keep in mind these are ACTUAL rpms and not those listed on the inaccurate tach of the prelude - i ask because he is falling out of vtec when he shifts at redline, and it drops him to about 48-4900

 

yea i just had the dis cap replaced seems to be running alot better getting new plug wires soon