ok so my b16a2 spun a bearing and i just finished swapping in a jdm b16a. i finally got it running with no CEL, (had the ECT and VTEC plugs reversed, maybe jacked something up?) so yesterday i decided to run it up for the first time. believe me, i know what my old motor sounded like at 5600, and this one doesn't sound like that AT ALL. it changes sound the slightest bit at 5600, but no more than it changes at 4500. i have a no-name short ram, and it's loud, so i should be able to hear it. i didn't think there was much, if any, difference between the two motors (i've heard different pistons for higher compression, i've also heard that 170 ps = 160bhp, so who knows). anyway, is it possible that the vtec solenoid isn't working? i checked the manual and don't see a vtec fuse or i would've checked that first. however, i can run it up to7500 (i stopped there) and it never stopped me (no rev limiter) and it didn't seem to stop making power, but it didn't feel right, and it certainly didn't sound right. any ideas are much appreciated.

 

Hows the oil level?

 

yeah that was one of my first thoughts, it's good. since i just got the motor running on sunday, i topped it off then and checked it once since. the oil that's in there now is cheap stuff, and a cheap filter, just to run out anything that might have gotten in there when the motor was open (cig ashes come to mind). this weekend i am changing the oil to synthetic, and a good filter. probably swap the solenoid too, unless someone tells me that a 92-95 motor would sound a lot different than my 2000 motor. i would expect them to be the same, since they have nearly identical specs, unless the vtec is different somehow, maybe not as aggressive. i don't know, i just know it doesn't feel like it used to.

 

yea bro...same here...i got a 2000 si. and my **** blew ..so i didnt have time for my friends to rebuild so i just sent the car with my uncle to do a fast rebuild.....i just got that **** today ....and i noticed it felt wayy different too.....and then i noticed it said b16a on the block...and nothing more...i used to have the 2nd generation and now its this.....but anyways bro i Feel the EXACT same, doesnt feel like it has the power as it did before...i know tha compressions are different but i dont know...im affraid to stomp to 8k Rpm cuz i barely got this crap like 4 hours ago...thats why im up on here trying to find out...but hey let me know if you find out whats Rong...i thought it was the vtec selenoid too but its not..i had my dad check it..i swear man i hate this new feeling

 

the B16a2 and the JDM B16a should make about the same power . The B16a should kick vtec just as hard if not harder so , i would advise that you first, change your oil, then check the vtec clynder wires and oil pressure switch, if those are good then take off you Vtec clynder and check if anything is plugging it . Also does your Speedometer/odometer work??? because if you have a vss problem it the ecu wont let the car hit Vtec.... hope this helps!

 

ohh ok cool...i will check it out thanks bro yes it helped im going to look into it and see whats up...hopefully it helps pacman....well see whats up

 

why would you be listening for things @ 5600 rpms? you should listen for VTEC around 44-4600 if im not mistaking. the JDM SiRII cams might be a lil different than the B16A2 cams. just a thought.

 

Well if im not mistaken the b16a should have a little bit more power because of less restrictions. What ecu you have? That might be the problem since the ecu is for b16a2.

 

slambedcivic, b series vtec engages at 5600, d series comes on at 4400 or so. the sirII cams are a little different, but the numbers would suggest they would be more aggressive. the numbers are all higher, lift duration etc.

p12 eg6, i have fesh oil in there, since i just finished the swap a week or so ago. it's cheap oil, but and i am changing it out again this weekend. i have changed the vtec oil pressure switch bcause i got a cel for it, but it turned out i had the ECT and VTEC oil swith wires switched around, so i thought maybe i blew a fuse. no such fuse listed in the manual though. yes, speedo works fine.

Gutso00si, i bought this motor knowing it was a JDM b16a, not an a2. the jdm b16a sirII motor should be nearly identical to the a2 from everything i can find online. cams are very close and compression is higher, so the jdm motor should sound very similar. check the number on your block, if it starts with a 1 then it's a b16a that is weaker than the sirII and the b16a2. if it starts with 5 then it's an sirII motor, should be very similar to the a2.

willyxxl28, i have the stock p2t ecu, and i swapped all my obd2b sensors, etc, from the old motor over to the new one. the only thing i changed out was the block and head, the ecu should have no way of knowing it's any different.

so here's the kicker, the other day it wasn't warmed up all the way and i ran it 6000, and i for sure didn't hear any difference. warmed it up a bit, and i could hear a change at 5600. but it is not anything like it used to be. i mean it used to sound like the gates of hell were opening when vtec came on, now you can barely tell.

thanks again for everyone's input.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by packman5280 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">slambedcivic, b series vtec engages at 5600, d series comes on at 4400 or so. the sirII cams are a little different, but the numbers would suggest they would be more aggressive. the numbers are all higher, lift duration etc.

p12 eg6, i have fesh oil in there, since i just finished the swap a week or so ago. it's cheap oil, but and i am changing it out again this weekend. i have changed the vtec oil pressure switch bcause i got a cel for it, but it turned out i had the ECT and VTEC oil swith wires switched around, so i thought maybe i blew a fuse. no such fuse listed in the manual though. yes, speedo works fine.

Gutso00si, i bought this motor knowing it was a JDM b16a, not an a2. the jdm b16a sirII motor should be nearly identical to the a2 from everything i can find online. cams are very close and compression is higher, so the jdm motor should sound very similar. check the number on your block, if it starts with a 1 then it's a b16a that is weaker than the sirII and the b16a2. if it starts with 5 then it's an sirII motor, should be very similar to the a2.

willyxxl28, i have the stock p2t ecu, and i swapped all my obd2b sensors, etc, from the old motor over to the new one. the only thing i changed out was the block and head, the ecu should have no way of knowing it's any different.

so here's the kicker, the other day it wasn't warmed up all the way and i ran it 6000, and i for sure didn't hear any difference. warmed it up a bit, and i could hear a change at 5600. but it is not anything like it used to be. i mean it used to sound like the gates of hell were opening when vtec came on, now you can barely tell.

thanks again for everyone's input.</TD></TR></TABLE>

But-Dynos are not a good estimate

Vtec isn't meant to be heard or even felt, its supposed to be a smooth transition to the next set of cam lobes. just because it 'feels different' and isn't as loud, doesn't mean its any slower.

You haven't mentioned anything about 'power loss' or check engine lights, so your Vtec is fine, but as far as the P2t ECU not knowing any difference I'd disagree on that and convert to chipped OBD1 ECU with a jumper anyways. (The ECU will 'know no difference) but again, thats because its programed to handle the B16A2, so the ECU never has any idea whats in the car, same reason why you could run that car with a P2P ECU, it'd just run lean as hell.


Modified by Dasfinc at 6:36 AM 2/22/2008

 

hmmm, well, my butt dyno says it feels less powerful, but i didn't drive it for two months so it might be out of calibration. the motor sounds differnet, so i guess it could just be all in my head, i dunno.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by packman5280 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmmm, well, my butt dyno says it feels less powerful, but i didn't drive it for two months so it might be out of calibration. the motor sounds differnet, so i guess it could just be all in my head, i dunno.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't mean to sound like a jerk or anything, just kinda making you think about other possibilities.

 

check your oil pan see if its dented? if so replace if its slightly dented pull the pan and check the clearence from the pan to the pick up with a piece of clay.....and check the oil pick up for gunk if bad clean and make sure to replace the gasket on the pick-up

 

pan is good, pickup is clean, and i replaced all the lower end gaskets when i swapped the pump. so new front main, o-rings, pickup gasket, etc.

dasfinc, thanks, that's kinda what i am looking for. nothing really seems that wrong, it just doesn't sound right, or not like it used to anyway.

 

same computer and wiring just differnt long block correct

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by packman5280 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pan is good, pickup is clean, and i replaced all the lower end gaskets when i swapped the pump. so new front main, o-rings, pickup gasket, etc.

dasfinc, thanks, that's kinda what i am looking for. nothing really seems that wrong, it just doesn't sound right, or not like it used to anyway.</TD></TR></TABLE>

think of it like this:

No CEL light, so all sensors are working and within acceptable voltage ranges.

Is there a power LOSS at 5600RPM or does it keep pulling fine? Vtec can't 'partially' work, and if its not working, the car will fall flat on its face after 5600RPM as it will starve for air.

Is the intake manifold from the JDM motor, or from your old B16A2. If I were you I'd see if your old intake manifold works and try that instead of the JDM intake manifold (Maybe there are differences in the flow of the intake manifold causing the sound difference?)

 

What ECU are you running? Any CEL?

I have the SiRII Engine in my car and
1) VTEC pops hard at 4800
2) I'm running a J-Spec P30 ECU
3) When I first swapped it, I had a broken VSS which didn't let VTEC engage.
4) Also the engine makes 170 HP @ 7800 RPM and 116 Ft-Lb Tq. @ 7300 RPM
5) Compression is 10.4:1

Honestly, everything should be plug and play with that car, considering its basically the same engine you swapped in. Make sure you have everything plugged in properly. Good Luck.

EDIT: I read that for JDM Engines, its necessary to run the highest octane to get the best performance out of them because of the higher compression ratio. Maybe that could be it too...

 

same ecu, same wiring, different longblock is correct.
no CEL, no obvious power loss at 5600. in fact, it seems good to about 7600 when it starts to lose a little.
intake is from the a2, as the jdm intake was different, the sensors were different and the a2 intake had more of them.
i may have too low octane fuel in there, i'm really not sure. since i live at high altitude, i don't always run 91 octane fuel when it gets $$$. in the past, when running 87 or 85 octane, i noticed a performance loss, but never any knocking. i will be sure to fill it with 91 next tank and see if there is any difference. running stock p2t ecu, stock everything really, the only thing that's changed is the block and head.

 

its a fact the 2nd gens b16 vtec is louder and harder than a 1st gen.. get some buddy club cams youll be happy again

 

if vtec didnt work than you would get a cel and the ecu would throw the car into limp mode and it would not redline. it usually stops around 5500-6000 when its in limp mode. this is a fact. its also a fact that not all vtecs have the same high pitched sound like something cracked open. my old y8 you couldnt hear at all and my buddys was loud as hell and his car was a turd and mine ran strong. but that is erelivant. if u are running the stock ecu and you have no cell then my bet would be vtec is working.

 

i don't have a 1st gen b16, mine is a 2nd gen sirII motor from a 92-95. this page lists cam specs for the usdm b16a2
http://www.briancrower.com/mak...shtml
and this page shows the specs for the jdm b16a
http://g-speed.com/pbh/b16a/index.html
everything i see says the jdm motor should be more aggressive than the usdm a2. the numbers are all higher, lift, duration, etc. everything i find says the cams on the jdm motor are more aggressive than the usdm motor.

 

I was thinking along the same lines, if VTEC isn't working it would throw a code...
This is weird...

 

boosted92hatch, that's what i am thinking too. no cel, so it muct be working, i just don't hear it like i used to. it used to be much louder, maybe my old motor was really worn out and that's why it was so loud.

thanks again for everyone's help.

 

listen, jdm b16's and b18's came witha 4 chamber vtec selinoid were usdm's came with 3 chamber selinoids. there is a difference. if u are that worried about the sound then find a usdm selinoid. the engines are both b16 but there are differences between the engines. my buddy has a h22a and my car is a h22a4. are cars are neck and neck when we are at the track. his vtec is not noticeable and u can not hear it at all. mine is loud as hell and sounds like something just opened up. i dont know and cant tell u why the jdm versions are unnoticable that i have seen but they seem to be queiter than usdms.

 

yea i use to drive a 1999 civic si with a b16a2 and i spun a rod bearing too so i swap a obd0 89-91 civic jdm b16a long block in it(change the vtec selinoid from old b16a2motor,has type r intake manifold, hondata gasket, I/E, stock p2t ecu, gsr cams, and change oil pump to b16a2). the b16a motor i swap when vtec engage i don't hear the vtec like the b16a2 but i can feel its pulling plus if you have the 89-91 b16a i heard that the camshaft it has is the weakest cams for the b series vtec motor.