Hello and thanks in advance. I am currently considering putting pistons in my car. I drive a 00 civic si. The current mods are toda B cams/gears/belt/springs Skunk2 IM, J's intake, Dc jdm header, testpipe, VAFC and a p-28 ecu. Before the new fuel regulator and intake my car put down 164/105 whp and (torque ). I know the cams need more compression than they are getting currently. My question is how much is to much compression, I only have 91 octane in my neck of the woods. I was looking at OEM Ctr pistons and a head gasket....yes or no.

 

11-12:1 will do those cams some good, big power increase on that set up, ctr pistons would work out fine.

 

Does anybody have experience with how much labor cost and time this will take to install? I sucks were I live I am going to have to take my car 3 hours away for a good shop.

 

DYI is the best bet, if thats not an option its gonna cost some bank. It all depends who and where though. Good luck

 

As far as DIY I don't think I would want to attempt it myself. I wish I could. As far as installation you have to pull the whole block correct?

 

Drain oil/coolant
Strip down head to pull
Pull head
Pull oil pan
Unbolt Rods
Pull pistons out though top
Press out wrist pins
Put new pistons on, Press in new pins
Drop in new pistons/rings
Clean off head
Bolt up rods
Install Pan
New head gasket
Drop on head
Install parts
Fill up


You pretty much take the whole motor apart.
The block stays in, i missed a few things, like pickup/windage tray and some other things that get in your way

A shop quoted me $550 (cnd) to do it.
If i supply all the stuff.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HamiltonRex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Drain oil/coolant
Strip down head to pull
Pull head
Pull oil pan
Unbolt Rods
Pull pistons out though top
Press out wrist pins
Put new pistons on, Press in new pins
Drop in new pistons/rings
Clean off head
Bolt up rods
Install Pan
New head gasket
Drop on head
Install parts
Fill up


You pretty much take the whole motor apart.
The block stays in, i missed a few things, like pickup/windage tray and some other things that get in your way

A shop quoted me $550 (cnd) to do it.
If i supply all the stuff.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Nice I thought the whole block had to come out----!!

 

i think you will have to take the block out so that the sleeves can be honed for the new pistons. Otherwise the rings prolly wont seat and id think the ctr pistons would work nice in your setup

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1BadCvC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i think you will have to take the block out so that the sleeves can be honed for the new pistons. Otherwise the rings prolly wont seat and id think the ctr pistons would work nice in your setup </TD></TR></TABLE>
I thought standard Ctr pistons were the same size 81mm as my stock pistons?? Let me know people?

 

they are, but when putting in new pistons its always good to get a good hone in there so that there is good ring seal, you could put them in there just like that tho, kinda intresting putting a crank in when you have the block in your car still lol, just take the motor out it will tkae you a day to do it all....

 

Thanks for the input peps. Will I need to upgrade my fuel any? My friend has some 99 prelude injectors and I have a walbro 255 fuel pump in the box. Currently I have a VAFC and a B&M fuel reg on my car.
Sorry yet another question, what kind of increase should I expect in a CTR piston install?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">they are, but when putting in new pistons its always good to get a good hone in there so that there is good ring seal, you could put them in there just like that tho, kinda intresting putting a crank in when you have the block in your car still lol, just take the motor out it will tkae you a day to do it all....</TD></TR></TABLE>

why r u take n the crank out anyway? if u r replace n the main bearings i can see why u would take the crank out, but if ur not do n that, then there's no need to do it. u can also hone the block with it still in the car. thats what im gonna do when i put in some PR3 pistons in my LS. i dont wanna pull the motor so im not gonna replace the main bearings.

also get some new head studs and arp rod bolts. u dont wanna reuse the stock head bolts

 

but what about the rod bearings? do you need to replace those once they are un-torqued?

 

you only need to replace he bearings if they look worn. And honing can be done with the block still in the car, with that swirly bal thing. Its not hard to do it, but you gotta know how to take the head off, how to reset timing, how to re-install distributor, how to install piston rings, which way to point them, you will need a good tourque wrench, a piston ring expander, and a ring compressor. puting pistons in is not brain surgery....550 sounds like a ripoff. theres no more then maybe 5 hours of labor. I would do it for 200. but im not a shop....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1BadCvC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i think you will have to take the block out so that the sleeves can be honed for the new pistons. Otherwise the rings prolly wont seat and id think the ctr pistons would work nice in your setup </TD></TR></TABLE>

why would the block have to be removed to hone the cylinders?

 

it just makes it a lot easier. However like they said you can do it yourself just get the right equipement and take your time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HamiltonRex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

why would the block have to be removed to hone the cylinders?</TD></TR></TABLE>.

i though that it wouldnt be a good idea to hone the cylinders yourself, i would just be on the safe side and take it to a machine shop

 

u dont really need to take it to a machine shop if ur just doing a slight hone to remove the glaze from the cylinders. just use one of those hone's that u attach to a drill.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spooncivic1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but what about the rod bearings? do you need to replace those once they are un-torqued?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No. How do you think you would ever measure bearing clearance.

And you just hone with a hand hone in a drill to break the glaze and etch the walls so the rings can seat.

 

My car has 40,000 miles on the block, don't reallly think it will need to be honed do you?

 

When you replace the pistons(or just the rings for that matter) its always a good idea to hone them. It doesnt really matter how many miles are on the engine...its done to allow the new rings to seat themselves properly. Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sCeRaXn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you replace the pistons(or just the rings for that matter) its always a good idea to hone them. It doesnt really matter how many miles are on the engine...its done to allow the new rings to seat themselves properly. Good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks, I guess I thought honeing was a much bigger deal...

 

i would take the block out just makes it easier to work around the block. up to you.

good luck with that setup. i have toda b cams in my b16 but never put pistons in it.

I was always concerned about clearance issues with CTR pistons. I would love to see how much more power you can extract with 12:1 compression.

 

with 91 octane gas i would suggest staying under 11:1 compression and running some hondata. you are going to run into detonation problems running much higher than that on 91 octane in New Mexico heat. you could probably get away with a bit higher if you had an experienced tuner and good management, but a vafc isnt going to cut it. check out this thread. i realize it is long, but note the comments made by omniman and B20vtec, who actually have assembled numerous high compression motors and driven them reliably for 1,000s of miles. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=535569 like stated above you can install new pistons without pulling the motor. you will need to take your existing pins/rods to a machine shop to get the new ones pressed on, which would be an ideal time to install some new rod bolts, since they are the most stressed fastener in your motor. this way you arent retorquing the stock ones. i am sure you could find someone local that could/would hone your block for you. it takes about 4 minutes to do. good luck with your build

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lohatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">with 91 octane gas i would suggest staying under 11:1 compression and running some hondata. you are going to run into detonation problems running much higher than that on 91 octane in New Mexico heat. you could probably get away with a bit higher if you had an experienced tuner and good management, but a vafc isnt going to cut it. check out this thread. i realize it is long, but note the comments made by omniman and B20vtec, who actually have assembled numerous high compression motors and driven them reliably for 1,000s of miles. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=535569 like stated above you can install new pistons without pulling the motor. you will need to take your existing pins/rods to a machine shop to get the new ones pressed on, which would be an ideal time to install some new rod bolts, since they are the most stressed fastener in your motor. this way you arent retorquing the stock ones. i am sure you could find someone local that could/would hone your block for you. it takes about 4 minutes to do. good luck with your build </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the link....I think my head is going to explode after reading that damn thread. I am now more confussed.
Yet another question...Will I run into any clearance issues with the Toda B's and the Ctr pistons?
I am having a hard time figuring out what compression I would be at with CTR pistons in my 00 b16 block? Should I run say a mugen gasket? Or will this be too much....