Hey guys I just swapped a b16a in my crx and am a little dissapointed with the results. What do you think...

Car 1: My brothers 1999 Honda Civic Si (b16a2) with an intake and 195-50-15 tires (slightly smaller then stock) and rota slipstreams

Car 2: My 1991 CRX Si with

OBD0 b16a engine swap with S1 Tranny and Pw0 manual ecu
Skunk 2 Intake manifold and Skunk 2 cam gears
AEM fuel rail and AEM FPR (set at 40 - 45psi idle, i forgot what it is exactly)
AEM Short Ram Intake
JG bored Throttle Body 62mm
GSR cams
Act clutch
Tanabe Super Hyper Medallion Catback Exhaust 60mm
Rota Grids
Khumo Xcsta SPT tires 195-50-15

Heres the deal. We did some pulls on the highway. From 60mph (3rd gear), the cars are about the same speed but the crx is slower by about 1/2 to 1 car length.

It should definately be faster. It is easily 400lbs lighter. They are both same tire size, transmission and engine. What could be the cause? Does this sound normal or is something wrong?

The CRX runs fine it just feels weak. Feels like the rpms dont climb as fast as they should.

Is it maybe running rich? Fuel pressure set to high?

Could the timing be off? It just had a brand new timing belt, water pump, ect put on. It runs fine, idles fine ect just feels a little slow so im not sure if timing is a possibility. Cam gears are set 0,0.

Please help me out as i am dissapointed in the performance of the car. It should be able to beat a near stock civic with the same motor that is 400+ lbs heavier.

Thanks

 

how is the distributor timing? could be retarded?

also, 40-45psi is too much fuel pressure. does the AEM unit come w/ a vac hose for the top so it increases upon WOT? id say put the stock unit back on.

have u done a compression check ?

 

Any CEL codes for a bad oxygen sensor? Do you know the last time it was replaced? One of the signs of a bad oxygen sensor is the car is slower than usual. I have a bad one right now and have definitely noticed a decrease in my performance after VTEC kicks in. It is a lot slower to respond. You might check that out, you should be able to put 1/2 to 1 car on him, not the other way around.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crx_88_si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how is the distributor timing? could be retarded?

also, 40-45psi is too much fuel pressure. does the AEM unit come w/ a vac hose for the top so it increases upon WOT? id say put the stock unit back on.

have u done a compression check ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The timing should be good. I did not install the timing belt i had a reputable place who deals with hondas do it.

I am thinking it may be running to rich and i should lower the fuel pressure a little. What is stock pressure? It does have a vacuum hose on top of it going to the intake manifold. I dont have the stock setup.

Compression test is next.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mzaner &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Any CEL codes for a bad oxygen sensor? Do you know the last time it was replaced? One of the signs of a bad oxygen sensor is the car is slower than usual. I have a bad one right now and have definitely noticed a decrease in my performance after VTEC kicks in. It is a lot slower to respond. You might check that out, you should be able to put 1/2 to 1 car on him, not the other way around.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

No CEL's for anything. I dont know the last time it was replaced but i have another brand new one. Maybe i should throw it in just incase?

I agree i was hoping to pull 1/2 to 1 on my brothers car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboEM1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I dont know the last time it was replaced but i have another brand new one. Maybe i should throw it in just incase?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah you might as well put it on and see if anything changes, won't cost you anything except a little bit of time, especially since you have another brand new one, just start there.

 

obd0 b16's are a lot older than your brother's 99 si. you could have a tired engine...

Jeff-

 

i agree with jeff

 

Do a compression test.

 

I will do a compression check later.

any other ideas?

Possible to be spark plugs/wires?

What should the FPR be set at?

 

i think stock they run about 35 psi of fuel. umm try to advance ur timing a little. change the plugs wires. do a complete tune up and put some octane booster in it to clean it out.

 

I would also recommend the compression check 1st, to make sure you have a decent engine.

Unless you REALLY had bad plugs or wires, swapping them isn't going to make a noticable different.

Since you have different cams, you might want to make sure everything is adjusted properly.

You mention you have an S1 transmission.. what is it out of? 90-91 LS/RS/GS Integras used an S1 transmission, which have a long 3rd and 4th gear, could definately be the issue right there.

At 80 mph, what RPM are you turning?

 

yeah agreed and where did u get the motor.

 

You put the cams and gears and all that but did you get the car tuned. All that stuff is just about worthless without the tuning.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by haggar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You mention you have an S1 transmission.. what is it out of? 90-91 LS/RS/GS Integras used an S1 transmission, which have a long 3rd and 4th gear, could definately be the issue right there.

At 80 mph, what RPM are you turning? </TD></TR></TABLE>

80mph is 4500rpms in 5th. Its not the s1 out of the ls integras it is the s1 out of the jdm crx/civic.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pooper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You put the cams and gears and all that but did you get the car tuned. All that stuff is just about worthless without the tuning.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I will be converting to obd1 soon and i will also be going turbo. I will eventually get tuned i was just going to wait for the turbo so i wouldnt have to pay twice.

 

dont bother changin your o2 man. the ecu runs in open loop at wot. it doesnt use the o2 sensor when you floor it so changing it wont help anything. do a compression test, also im betting all those mods might hurt you if you dont tune them right. spend the money and get your ecu chipped by someone that knows what theyre doing

 

compression

 

A lot of good advice there young Jedi,

1-check compression

2-get it tuned by someone you trust or your mods will hurt the performance

Or, like already said, it could be a tired motor. Your engine is ten years older than your bro's.

 

datalog your engine and dyno both you and your brothers car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by michaelOlson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">datalog your engine and dyno both you and your brothers car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That would be the best answer but i dont think its going to be possible.

Anyway I did a compression test. From drivers side to passenger side...

220, 225, 225, 230

Seems good to me.

Maybe the first gen b16a's are slightly slower then the newer ones?

I also replaced the plugs (needed them anyway) and adjusted the FPR. It runs smoother but not faster.

 

try to advance the timming a little

 

i dont think thats the case(Maybe the first gen b16a's are slightly slower then the newer ones?). i have b16 in my rex with basically tha same mods. when me and my friend do some pulls i beat him by like a 1 1/2 car lenght. when my s1 tranny took a **** i swapped in an ys1 ls trany(just to get to work and stuff) i still beat him by like a little less than i did before. i think you should be beating him, even if it is by a bumper. who put your motor together?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xownsx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont think thats the case(Maybe the first gen b16a's are slightly slower then the newer ones?). i have b16 in my rex with basically tha same mods. when me and my friend do some pulls i beat him by like a 1 1/2 car lenght. when my s1 tranny took a **** i swapped in an ys1 ls trany(just to get to work and stuff) i still beat him by like a little less than i did before. i think you should be beating him, even if it is by a bumper. who put your motor together?</TD></TR></TABLE>

What do you have and what does your friend have? my crx is a 91 Si so its the heaviest of them all but still.

What do you mean who put the motor together? who put the mods on or who installed it?

 

i have an 91 si model. and yea i mean to say who put mods on, like the cams? sound like your motor is the problem.

 

Sell the b16, and get a k20a. You will never see the back of your bros car again!

 

very true ^^