1990 acura integra gs with 213k miles on it

overall, including costs, level of installation difficulty, reliability, power gain, etc. would i be happier to slap on some turbo or would i be better off going with vtec?

and if i take the turbo approach, would i be better off with stage 1 or stage 2? (at that point ive already spent the money, i should go straight for stage 2 i assume? get the extra bang for a little bit more?)

 

rebuild motor and add vtec

 

any specific reason why?

 

I would rebuild the motor for either an NA setup or a turbo setup, the engine has 213k on it so its time for a rebuild.

You, have to decide what kind of engine setup you would want more. Each setup has it benefits and its up to the person to decide which setup suits their personal needs.

If you want an engine to be very reliable and a little less maintanence I would go with an NA setup.

If you want a **** load of power then I would go with the turbo setup, and hell why not even do a LS/VTEC turbo setup.

Either way good luck with which ever you decide.

 

well id like it to be reliable, but at the same time i am looking for a shitload of power.

and also is it safe to assume that a turbo rebuild would require deeper pockets than a na rebuild?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BliZzArD599 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well id like it to be reliable, but at the same time i am looking for a shitload of power.

and also is it safe to assume that a turbo rebuild would require deeper pockets than a na rebuild?</TD></TR></TABLE>


Instead of having a "shitload" of power, you need to read a Lot.

Only need for speed games have stages.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BliZzArD599 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well id like it to be reliable, but at the same time i am looking for a shitload of power.

and also is it safe to assume that a turbo rebuild would require deeper pockets than a na rebuild?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you want a lot of power (shitload) and still want a reliable engine, then a turbo is probably the best and easiest way.

Also I've found that a turbo vs. NA engine build can sometimes almost equal in cost depending on how extensive you want to get with the NA build.

But if you want a lot of power then go with the turbo, just make sure you build it with all the right parts and most importantly get a really good tune on the engine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CleanLikeJdm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only need for speed games have stages.</TD></TR></TABLE>


lol


Vtec is highly overrated, turbo.

 

as powerlevels approach the "shitload" levels, so does your budget. And relialbitly gets worse with the more power you add

 

go all engine. Good hp and torque and derieability and enduarance. We're
almost done. Cost are reasonabe and the engine will last!

 

fast, reliable, cheap pick 2.

rebuild motore and add on a full race stage 1.

 

just buy a gsr swap. Decently fast, cheaper than a rebuild and proven to be more reliable than a turbo setup. If you want boost, go buy a dsm.
N/A is best for a daily driver

 

turbo all the way, you will have a lot more hp and tq at just 10 psi. alot of b18b's on 10 psi run around 240 whp and tq is up there too .. 180-200 wtq something like that... b18b with vtec ... full build on the motor will get you about 200 whp and 130 ish wtq

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kartman5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">go all engine. Good hp and torque and derieability and enduarance. We're
almost done. Cost are reasonabe and the engine will last!</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yea.....Turbo wont make your engine last

 

gsr swap is also not cheaper then a rebuild by far... maybe a rebuilt + turbo its cheaper and all i would do is new pistons, check the rods and crank, maybe get new rods... have the head ported and cams and valves/springs. all and all about no more then 2k. I would also go with a higher comperison ratio 9.5 to 1 or 10.5 to 1. You need low comperison pistons for boost unless you are running 25+ psi... in which class the turbo to handle that will cost alot 1500 or more just for a turbo nothing else. Plus you will have alot more power then when your not running much boost. You should be in the 140-150ish whp with out a turbo on that build. plus 10 psi of a turbo will run you 120+ more power. It will be very reliable if you spend the money and build it right over cost will be in the 5k zone. I wouldnt buy a full race turbo kit they are good but way to much money and you dont need 30 psi you only need 10 to 15. anything more than that and the reiable will go down alot.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BliZzArD599 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1990 acura integra gs with 213k miles on it

overall, including costs, level of installation difficulty, reliability, power gain, etc. would i be happier to slap on some turbo or would i be better off going with vtec?

and if i take the turbo approach, would i be better off with stage 1 or stage 2? (at that point ive already spent the money, i should go straight for stage 2 i assume? get the extra bang for a little bit more?)</TD></TR></TABLE>


If you can't decide either one to go with, do turbo+vtec, and have best of both worlds. But definitely rebuild the motor first, I suggest doing a compression and leak down test to see what the condition of the motor is. And rebuild the motor from there, depending on your route or goal. If turbo, rebuild the motor for a turbo application. If not, rebuild the motor and do an ls-vtec, power hungry frankenstein, but remember that it is very difficult to make it reliable as if it came from the factory, like the other mass produced vtec b-series; gsr's, b16's and itr's.

To the OP if you got the greens, go boosted on your LS motor, tune it and call it a day. But if your inexperience with vtec, don't do it save yourself the headache, pain and loss of $$ if not done correctly (speaking of Ls-vtec). Or sell the motor to buy either a gsr, b16, or itr, which are built with vtec from the factory.

 

It really has alot to do with what you plan doing with your car after you build it. Is it going to be your daily driver, or you weekend rag muffin? Because if youre going to rack-up alot of miles on your engine after you build it, then I would go with NA (vtec). Less stuff to break.

But if you want *****-out, hair-on-fire, HOLYSHIT kind of horsepower, then turbo is the way to go. Thats how I'm going with my teg, but I'm going to have it set at 12-15psi (on my built block) for daily driving so I don't break **** all the time. If you do go turbo, remember that hondas weren't built for 400whp and 250ft/lbs of torque. NOTHING in them is built for it, the trannys, the axles, the ecus, the fueling system, they are all just not enough to handle it. Thats where it starts getting expensive-building up the rest of your car that your motor keeps breaking. After you drop $3k on your turbo system (if you put it together yourself), go ahead and figure another $1000 for race axles and cvs, and thats not even counting the trannys you are going to go through every 2 months. And thats if you do all your own work.

 

im not asking for some kind of supercar to come out of a 1990 acura integra, but id like to be able to run a respectable time at the track, as well as be able to drive it on a daily basis. right now i guess im gonna have to start saving my pennies to rebuild my engine for a turbo setup

 

I'd recommend not even doing a rebuild on that engine. LS longblocks are cheap. You could get a low mileage one that is 100% guaranteed to work from HMO for $750 before shipping. I'd say do that and turbo one of those. LS-T isn't that bad of a setup, and you're young and an inexperience driver so 250hp/190tq is fine for you, trust me. You also don't need a VTEC and Turbo setup as that will just add more headaches, just get a little headwork done on your LS head so it will flow a little better.

And to the guy who said a rebuild and a GS-R swap will be about the same... I want to live in your market please.

EDIT: These replies made me chuckle and there is also some truth to them:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dsnyder305 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But if you want *****-out, hair-on-fire, HOLYSHIT kind of horsepower, then turbo is the way to go</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SleeperGSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">as powerlevels approach the "shitload" levels, so does your budget.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ABCVTEC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'd recommend not even doing a rebuild on that engine. LS longblocks are cheap. You could get a low mileage one that is 100% guaranteed to work from HMO for $750 before shipping. I'd say do that and turbo one of those. LS-T isn't that bad of a setup, and you're young and an inexperience driver so 250hp/190tq is fine for you, trust me. You also don't need a VTEC and Turbo setup as that will just add more headaches, just get a little headwork done on your LS head so it will flow a little better.

And to the guy who said a rebuild and a GS-R swap will be about the same... I want to live in your market please.

EDIT: These replies made me chuckle and there is also some truth to them:
</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol yea those quotes gave me a good chuckle myself. anyway, i understand your concern about me being a young driver and all, but i honestly dont feel like putting a bunch of work into my car and only getting 250hp. maybe im jumping to conclusions, after all im not even sure how much hp i have right now. i guess i dont want to spend the money and then have to turn around and rebuild my engine to be satisfied later on.

although it does sound like a much more reasonable budget for me, considering i am completely broke as of right now, and im only 16 still looking for a summer job.

i might just delay the turbo for when i can better afford it, in which case, would i be better off just rebuilding my engine and calling that that until i can afford a turbo setup?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BliZzArD599 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lol yea those quotes gave me a good chuckle myself. anyway, i understand your concern about me being a young driver and all, but i honestly dont feel like putting a bunch of work into my car and only getting 250hp. maybe im jumping to conclusions, after all im not even sure how much hp i have right now. i guess i dont want to spend the money and then have to turn around and rebuild my engine to be satisfied later on.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you know how much 250whp is in a honda? that's plenty for a street car.

 

Right now your motor is ~130hp, which is only about 110whp and that's being generous. I'm only a few years older than you and I remember the first time I drove a GS-R which is about 170hp. I nearly creamed myself before I got out of 1st gear, and I did cream myself when I ripped it in 2nd. 170hp felt a lot to me back then, 250hp still feels good to me now, and will feel like a lot to you. 250hp in a 2,500lb grocery getter is a good amount of power.

And a lot of people on here are saying an LS-T setup is good because its "cheap" and reliable and semi-fast. Now I know you are young I used to be in your shoes and your version of cheap is probably not the same a lot of our versions of cheap. I remember my wake up call on what "cheap" is when I was 16 or 17.

A decent LS-T setup is still going to run you anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000 since you need either a new engine or engine rebuild, along with 3" exhaust, bolt ons, turbo kit, yada, yada, yada.

The good news is: You're young! I'm sure you will change your mind ten-fold but it also gives you time to get everything right on your motor before you slap said turbo kit on there. Cheers.

 

im only 18 so i know how it feels to not have much money to spend on the car lol. well i have a pretty good job for my age and can afford things most younger people cant. before i had a car i thought it wouldnt be too expensive but now that i have one than i realized how much more it really does cost. you have to keep in mind the suspension, tires, maintenence, and than worry about the turbo afterwards.

i drive a '94 gsr and to me it feels slow...it was a nice upgrade though after driving a sentra and galant around for awhile.

but for a 16 year old i think 250whp is plenty

 

if you turbo charge it your might need to rebuild the engine. alot more $$$

 

his motor has 213k miles on it...the price for rebuilding for boost and the price for rebuilding for n/a is not much different