okay, so i have a stock B18B head casting (better ports than early B18A's). i also currently have a stock intake manifold and stock 60mm t/b. i installed Crane valve springs and retainers and Crower 62404 camshafts with Skunk2 cam gears. it was also rebuilt at the time the valvetrain was installed, ~10k miles ago. that's it for the head. 2.25" collector DC 4-1 header, full 2.5" cat and exhaust, stock LS bottom w/ 185k miles on it.

budget: ~$1000, although less would be much better.
options:
1) get a whole CRV from a good importer and use the shortblock as is. possibly mill the head a little for better c/r and hope to god i get the later model B20B/JDM with 9.6:1 c/r and not the 8.8:1 or 9.2:1. milling on the 9.6:1 will yield a little over 10:1 c/r, which is still low for these cams, but higher is better and milling is cheap. MAYBE new rod bearings and ARP rod bolts because i won't go over 7000 with stock rod bolts, and these cams in B20's need 7500rpm minimum.
2) rebuild the LS bottom to 1.87 or 1.9L depending on overbore, go with ACL bearings (much cheaper than OEM Honda, and lots of people use them no problem), VTEC oil and water pumps, ARP throughout (mains, head, rods), and ITR pistons or the like. i could have my pick of c/r this way, and ARP goodness to make me feel safe with 8000rpm, and still pick up a little discplacement although that is negligible.

once the motor is finished i may go ahead and go for a 62-64mm t/b and Skunk2 IM or clone, but probably not. gains from those are minimal from what i've seen except in the very highest regions. not worth the money unless somebody can prove me wrong here. but the header will probably receive a 2.5" collector and then it will be VERY well tuned on a dyno under all conditions. i'd like to see 170whp after tuning, although 165 probably would be a more fair guess. but of course tuning is god.

i've seen stock B20 bottoms make 170whp with cams and a few bolt-ons, and i've seen LS bottoms make 170whp with cams and pistons and bolt-ons. of course these are very well-tuned numbers, but i expect to have very good tuning. of course, the B20 is larger (more torque), but higher c/r also increases torque, so it's a real toss-up here. bonus, if i go with the B20, i'd have a fresh B20 (LS) head and an old LS bottom when i'm done, so i could make back some money.

so, any opinions on which is better?

 

I vote for choice 2...

but I COULD be a LITTLE biased . Use the ITR t/b to save money

just do something easy...nothing hot...you don't want the problems on a daily...

LSV

get that **** done by the end of Oct...I'll see you on the 29th Jason...you better be ready for my stock cams!

 

i know i want this done by the end of october for that meet (or was it the one before that one) but i many not be getting a paycheck until the end of october so it might not happen. i'll see what happens with my fiancee's new job. she's going to pitch in a little since it's her car now. i know, my woman is hot. regardless of how she looks she's into fast cars . and besides, she is hot.

 

ahhh...a girl who will buy parts for my car....

she got a sister?

it's good though that she'll get in on it with you...maybe she could learn a thing or two. I'm sure she'd enjoy learning.

make that thing a lsv...you won't regret it.


Modified by DAantagonist at 3:22 PM 9/29/2005

 

well she's helped me with other stuff, like putting the transmission together .

oh, i won't regret going LS/VTEC, huh? is that why you say your power drops off after 7200? my motor pulls HELLA strong the way it sits with stock LS bottom right up to 6900 and it wants to break that needle off! i think i'll be happy with a stock LS head casting.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95lstegman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well she's helped me with other stuff, like putting the transmission together .

oh, i won't regret going LS/VTEC, huh? is that why you say your power drops off after 7200? </TD></TR></TABLE>


whaa...now you gotta make this personal? Shame on you! Stock cams suck . I'm making a change here shortly...and then we'll see what happens on the dyno.

seriously though, why not go LS-T or B20-T. you know you want another turbo car....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DAantagonist &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">seriously though, why not go LS-T or B20-T. you know you want another turbo car.... </TD></TR></TABLE>
f*ck yeah i want another turbo car, but remember i'm not the primary driver on this one. i finally convinced her to run premium not regular (dynamic 8.6:1 c/r, don't worry, regular is fine) since the stock ignition map is TOTALLY insufficient for these cams. it seems too far advanced by a lot between 2000-3000 and still a bit advanced from 3000-3500, through almost all MAP readings. but again, after the new shortblock it will be tuned. god i WISH i could convince her to boost. then again, she's a female, and she's a stereotypical one in that she has a right foot made of lead. she already drives about 90mph on the highway as an average. she doesn't need mega power here, although she's gonna get a good chunk of it. this motor is intended to last a long time, get good mileage, and still produce plentiful power. not plentiful like a turbo car, just a nice honda. then when it's done it might actually be able to keep up with my stock 240 . then the 240 will get further boosted to make up for the advance .

so come on, only my main man chris here has a brain here on this forum? i know he's not the only one who kicks @$$ enough to talk about mild bottom end building. come on, there have been 52 views! somebody else with a brain please post!