I have a 1995 4DR Civic LX.

I'm getting an engine swap in february and still concerned about which engine is more reliable. This is my first car and I plan on only using it for daily driving (work + school). I have read A LOT about the B16A and H22A and a bit about the LS. It will not be loaded with lots of "mods" but maybe just a couple of things. (intake, exhaust)

I just want to get some feedback on what people think would be the most reliable; mpg, cost of repairs, finding parts, etc.

The true dilemma is between the B16A and the H22A but the LS is still a competitor. Thanks.

 

everyone will have a different opinion about each motor. as far as cost/availability of parts, each motor will probably be about the same. ive heard h22's arent exactly the easiest thing to get into an eg, but b16's and b18's pretty much bolt right in.

personally. i like the best of both worlds. ls/vtec ftw

 

their all gona be reliable there just stock motors. ls is of course gona have the cheapest parts cause its the least desirable but a very good motor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crispy93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> ls/vtec ftw </TD></TR></TABLE>
thats gona be the least reliable.

 

cheap/ fast/ reliable pick 2

 

just get a b18b....you'll be good to go.............

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ZacCarter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">cheap/ fast/ reliable pick 2</TD></TR></TABLE>
very good quote that doesnt help answer his question

h22 is known for being hard to put in
therefore it could cost as much as a b18c swap
i could not tell you anything about the reliability of the motor
there is more that needs to be done allowing more to go wrong
this motor is the most powerful of the three roughly 200hp /148 tourque

ls is known for cheap power.
the swap is easy and it is cheap
it is however more unreliable because of the bad rod/stroke ratio
if you are not boosting this shouldn't be a concern
power is oh k 145 hp / 127 tourque

b16a... i never personally liked with this choice
it is rather pricey but an easy project
this motor is reliable from what i know
this thing revs high giving 170hp but crappy 117 tourque

incase you dont know tourque is power in low rpm's where hp is power in the high rpm's


if the engine's raced stock they would finish h22a,b16,ls

i have a 94 lx an im saving up for a spring swap
as of now my mind is set on the ls
hope i helped

 

the h22 is fun stuff in a hatch though

 

ive had all three in my hatch!

-B18B LS: lasted me about 3yrs (1.5 of the year it was boosted) But it was VERY reliable nop doubt about that it was a B18B JDM yo!

-H22A it was reliable until i couldnt stop my self from flooring it all the time! then it started knocking that lasted about 5 months.

-B16a/a2, this motor is still in my car and its been about 3yrs now ,and just now its starting too smoke etc...... from hitting Vtec so much LOL.....

So yeah i honestly think that the LS and B16 are the most reliable.

 

something about the h22a scares me
i'd rather go b18c5 if given a choice

if you boost a b18b id be scared to shoot a rod
but that's why sleeving = good

b16 isnt good for on the street, although it is very honda-like
waiting while revving the **** out of your car is embarrassing
those days are soon to be over

 

^^^What does sleeving have to do with throwing a rod? If you go with an lsvtec I would just reccomend a set of ARP rod bolts. This will help those with those higher revs.

 

im goin H-22 soon in my Ej so i would say H-22

 

If your car is a daily for work and school, I'd definately put an LS into it. First things first..finding parts if something goes wrong. With a b16 and b18 (ls) parts are everywhere so you don't have to worry. Not the same with an h22. Also with the LS you'll get great milage and you won't have to pump premium. The LS swap alone is generally cheaper than the B16 swap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EG8AI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have a 1995 4DR Civic LX.

I'm getting an engine swap in february and still concerned about which engine is more reliable. This is my first car and I plan on only using it for daily driving (work + school). I have read A LOT about the B16A and H22A and a bit about the LS. It will not be loaded with lots of "mods" but maybe just a couple of things. (intake, exhaust)

I just want to get some feedback on what people think would be the most reliable; mpg, cost of repairs, finding parts, etc.

The true dilemma is between the B16A and the H22A but the LS is still a competitor. Thanks.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

In my opinion and mine alone I believe that the H22's a **** motor.

The reason why they're so cheap is because there's so many of them and despite what Hasport has done to make them easy swaps into EG's and EK's nobody ******* wants them.

It's a totally crap motor, I'm sure hardcore H22 fans like o rly will kick my *** for this but it's my opinion, that's all. Funny as the timing is my friend IM'ed me last night or two nights ago telling me that he threw a rod in his H22.

They don't hold up too well in terms of reliability...on the other end they ******* rule for naturally aspired horsepower due to their high tq. as they have a higher displacement than most honda engines.

I guess as much as I HATE that saying it goes back to it...

Cheap, Reliable, and Power - pick 2 - it's cheap and powerful.

So in my opinion that simply knocks it down to the LS (B18b) or the B16a. I would personall go with the B16 if you don't plan on boosting. The LS platform is nice for a few reasons, first off, it's more displacement, so it's torquier. Secondly, it's a VERY stable motor. Third off - it's cheap. On the downside it really doesn't have a lot of HP, but will pull strong up hills. I like the mecause they're good boost motors, in my personal opinion light B boost is LS-T because the blocks are cheap enough if you throw a rod + they make a good amount of power.

As far as that in correlation with the B16 it's pretty different.

The B16 has a lower displacement and less torque, but it's more powerful in the VTEC range. Some people complain the B16 feels like a D16 before VTEC though I disagree with that, I believe it does feel stronger. In VTEC though it's no argument, the B16 hauls *** in VTEC and is widely known for it's sound of "cracking VTEC." Once you hit VTEC it really takes off. Now I'm not trying to be a ricer ****** w/ somebody posting the "VTAAKKKKKKKKK" flash dyno chart, but that B16's VTEC is really great in my opinion.

Overall, I'd have to go with the B16. I like it because of its versitility. First off, it's very stable, I wouldn't say it's as stable as the LS, but pretty close. Secondly, it's a nice "around town" driver as it's not "hauling ***" in the lower RPM band which makes it very drivable (which is a good thing) on a daily basis. Though if you want to wind it out it still makes a considerable amount of power after VTEC which makes it more of a "challenger" type motor with a "race" ability - even though it's not exactly a CTR it can definitely be known for its versitility.

Though if you live in an area like my hometown where it's very hilly and **** - go with the LS - you'll appreciate not having to stay at 7k RPMs to make power up a hill. It's also a very cheap motor and parts are very cheap for it.

If you live in a city type area (or at least one where 2 lane 1 way roads are very common) I feel the B16 would be better suited for daily driving.

Hope that helps, you can PM me any questions if you have any though I won't be back until like...5 tonight, but I'd be more than happy to help ya out in any way possible.

 

Buddy and I installed an LS swap in his '97 hatchy. Swap was butt easy. Plenty of torque (as much as the B18C1/5). Around town it's great. Out on the race track it was fine till you hit 3rd then it fell on it's face. So, we swapped in a GSR tranny. Seems to have solved all of his problems. He dogged a race prepped 944 for an entire session out at Summit Point on street tires.

If I was going to go for a streetable torqy engine, I think I'd go with the LS. Torque is what you want for driving on the street.

I agree with the boosting comments though, I'd probably not boost a stock LS motor. Rods are pretty spindly.

I was thinking about an H22 myself but, I hear there are issues with the axle angles that can cause the axles to wear early. It's not really an easy swap either.

 

B16 gets my vote, you get a/c... p/s.... V tec
if you can, save up and get a K series.

the H series swap really isnt as hard as everyone says, then again, its not as good as everyone says either.
I agree with Syndacate, that boys got a good head on his shoulders.


Modified by SiRek4 at 9:08 AM 12/21/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MasterKwan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Buddy and I installed an LS swap in his '97 hatchy. Swap was butt easy. Plenty of torque (as much as the B18C1/5). Around town it's great. Out on the race track it was fine till you hit 3rd then it fell on it's face. So, we swapped in a GSR tranny. Seems to have solved all of his problems. He dogged a race prepped 944 for an entire session out at Summit Point on street tires.

If I was going to go for a streetable torqy engine, I think I'd go with the LS. Torque is what you want for driving on the street.

I agree with the boosting comments though, I'd probably not boost a stock LS motor. Rods are pretty spindly.

I was thinking about an H22 myself but, I hear there are issues with the axle angles that can cause the axles to wear early. It's not really an easy swap either. </TD></TR></TABLE>

thats almost impossible, an LS motor doesnt make as much torque as a GSR or TypeR, V-Tec is 30% of the power.
Unless its a turbo car, a GSR tranny wouldnt make the car feel much better if any... the B16 tranny would.
I also would turbo a stock LS motor, if the tune is right the car will be fine.
I pretty much disagree with everything you said but it is what it is. Dont go bustin a CAPS LOCK in me.

 

LS w/ b16 tranny FTW, no point in arguing anything else.

of the three choices you listed its the best daily driver swap avail.

B16 is a revver = not good for around town driving.

H22 is a HAUS = doing general maintenance is a pain with this HUGE motor in your car, most requires you to drop the motor to do repairs.

LS is perfect = easiest swap in a non vtec chassis, awesome torque curve, which means good power down low that doesnt drop off too quickly, meaning you dont have to rev the **** out of it to make power. repairs are pie with the motor still in the chassis, parts are a dime a dozen, and it also happens to be the cheapest longblock.

so my vote is LS with B16 tranny. all the other garbage in this thread is just hearsay, most of it anyways.

the H motors are just as reliable as any other honda motor, the swap just requires more thought, work, and maintenance.

THE b16 shouldnt even be considered unless you just like blowing money, the tranny is what makes this swap so desireable in my opinion.

*thumbsup* to the LS swap with b16 tranny.

 

As far as reliability goes, I mean... they are all gonan be about the same if its all installed correctly and you don't beat on it all the time.

My vote is for the LS though. I have one in my hatch and i like it a lot, it has a lot of torque and its actually not too slow. Plus, its really cheap, the tranny and the longblock. I put the swap in about 40k miles ago and i havent had to do one thing besides change the oil. If i blew it up i could get another one for around $600 from any junkyard, not too bad.

If you want to go faster i would say look into the VTEC but for me the cost wasnt worth it for me.

 

You're going to make me look this up?

Integra-R
Horsepower: 195 hp @ 8000 rpm
Torque: 130 ft-lbs @ 7500 rp

GSR
Horsepower: 170 hp @ 7600 rpm
Torque: 128 ft-lbs @ 6200 rpm

LS
Horsepower: 140 hp @ 6300 rpm
Torque: 124 ft-lbs @ 5200 rpm

Civic SI B16
Horsepower: 160 hp @ 7600 rpm
Torque: 111 ft-lbs @ 7000 rpm

So the LS is not as much as the R/GSR but, it's not off by that much. The B16 is the weakling of the group though.

6 ft/lbs between the LS and R
13 ft/lbs between the B16 and LS
19 between the B16 and R

 

yep, and see where the PEAK tq for all is, that should end the arguement by itself.

MY ARGUEMENT IS BASED ON THIS BEING A DD CAR, WITH POSSIBLY A FEW RUNS DOWN THE TRACK NOW AND THEN, NOT SOMETHING YOU WANNA RACE ALOT.

 

Everything all of you just said could've been summed up in one easy suggestion:

Read noob: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/878010

for the record i agree LS w/ b16 tranny. i had that combo for a while and loved it

 

H22
Pros
200 hp
H22=156 ft/lbs torque
Great torque
DONT WEIGH THAT MUCH MORE THAN A B SWAP!!
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=684550

Cons
Harder to install than a B/D motor
transmission feel is vague IMHO
Less info out there for the swap (aka, less experience as they are less common)


I personally have had a b16 hatch, its ok but nothing compared to a h22. B16's are weak until Vtec then there is some power but not much.

Next is LS, I have been in a boosted ls hatch, NA ls hatch and owned a ls/vtec hatch. The only one that was fun was the ls/v but not reliable!

As for the h22, I own a h22 eg hatch that is daily driven and driven hard, I rev to 7.5-8k @ least once a day, the motor does not smoke or burn oil and runs damn good in my car, I did the swap myself, it takes about 3 hours more than a b swap.

Now the only downside i feel about my h22 swap is the transmission, my tranny is holding up fine, BUT I do not like the cable linkage, if it was solid it would be so much better!

Than you can consider H2b but we wont get into that...

overall I think any motor you choose you will enjoy

 

Another vote for a B18B with B16A transmission, use the LS 5th gear though so you're not at 5000 rpm on the highway.

 

something that people overlook is how the h22 was built. im not completely sure on what the cylinder walls were coated with..but it was something to keep them sealed good after a long time. like the nsx engine.

i have an h22 in my 96 ek, it used to be in my 93 accord...and of course it used to be in a lude also. my h22 has over 200k on it and still pulls damn hard. of course its the fastest in my ek hatch. i change oil every 2k since i've had the thing and its only seen synthetic oil. no internal mods to the engine. i/h/e 370cc injectors, msd with the msd coil and wires, and no catalytic. i got an apexi ws exhaust and i love the damn car. power everything (i converted it all).

ok now im rambling. but h22's last damn long when you treat'em right.