Hello everyone, I am trying to build an all motor h23. I am new to an H series motor, and yes I have done my homework, and will not me swapping to an H22. I love my JDM H23 with only 30,000 miles, and I want something a little different than everyone else's vtec. (not putting down vtec here). But back to my question; I am starting this build with the head, as I wont have to pull the motor, and if money issues occur I will be able to still drive this car and not have a car without a motor. My plan was to take the head to a shop for a port and polish and a 3 angle valve job. Then once I get the head back, I am going to be installing the valvetrain from Crower;springs, retainers, and valves. I am going put the stock cams back in and drive the car to a shop to install the stage 2 cams from crower so I can get a proper cam lash. My question is, do I need to do anything to the fuel or ecu for my car to accept the new aggressive cam duration, and will the lower end of the car be affected by these new parts? Basically am I going in the right direction with this, and is it going to hurt reliability by doing this type of work? I am trying to do something different by building an all motor H23 and would like to know if this sounds like the right direction to take, any information would help as I now some people like Pirate have done some incredible work, and have some good knowlege on these motors, thanks guys, and any information would help!

-Drew

 

anything aftermarket has the potential to hurt reliability.

yes, you need tuning done. Look into Neptune, Hondata, EcTune, Crome.

go to your local tuner and find out what he likes using the most and go with it.

starting off with aftermarket cams is definitely a step in the right direction. But what about bolt ons? You are mechanically allowing the engine to breath better, but that doesnt mean it will increase much if the engine cannot bring in enough air for it to make a difference.

If you are going to put the stock cams in, why not put the crower cams in while you are at it? The installation process on a mild street cam is nothing different than the stock cams other than using the cam spec card to determine the correct valve lash.

what are you doing for the bottom end? you need added compression for all motor to make anything happen. Especially with the absence of vtec.

good luck

 

If you can do springs/retainers and head swaps yourself, I'd say you could install the cams too. Stage 2 is not so extreme that the car won't idle on the stock ecu, but you'll definitely want to do some tuning to get the most out of them. As far as affecting the bottom end, just don't go crazy with adjustable cam gears and you should not have any problems with the stock valve reliefs.

Also, I don't think it's much more difficult to pull an engine vs. just pulling a head. What you save in not removing motor mounts etc. you pay in removing IM, coolant tubes, etc. Just a thought.

 

i would build the entire motor all at once to make any gains. but if you are set on doing this, dont waste money on a port and polish at this point. and stick w/ the stock valves, just have them spun. clean the head and lap in the valves and install the valvetrain to match whatever cams you will be using (i would wait to purchase cams until the bottom end is built). look for a decent intake/exhaust manifold. then start saving your money to build the bottom end.

 

Well thanks guys, as far as bolt on parts, I have the stock intake manifold with a skunk2 68mm throttle body with an AEM V2 cold air intake. I also have a DC Sports 4-2-1 header followed by a OBX high-flow CAT with an Apexi-WS2 exhaust system. I think I can say that my motor breaths pretty well. I would say that I have some pretty decent mechanical skill, so Im guessing pulling the motor out all at once would be the best way to go??? My main point of working on the head would be just the start of my build. I want to make one hell of a top end of my H23 and then work on the bloc later. But I was wondering if the ecu and bottom end could handle the modded head? Thanks guys!

-Drew