Current setup:
Stock B18C1 block
GSR head with Portflow head work
Ferrea valves
Portflow spings/retainers
Buddy Club III cams
GE cam gears
Skunk2 pro intake manifold
Tri-Y replica small tube header
3" intake with K&N filter (Has built in V stack)
OBD1 Prelude H22 injectors


Problem - Rings are on the way out, time to freshen up the bottom end as I rev to 8900 and it smokes pretty good from about 6500 on up and uses about a QT every 1000 miles.

The car is my Daily Driver 2000 Si with A/C and everything

The car makes 186whp the way it sits with about 150k on the block. I would like to get in the 200whp range. I have a good LS crank I can use.

I am debating on if it is worth it to go forged or use a OEM style piston/rod.
I was looking at a set of Eagle Rods and CP X-Forging 81.5mm 12.5:1 pistons but do I need it? Would I be better off going with a set of OEM rods shotpeened/resized with ARP bolts and like a PR3 Piston? I would be putting about $200 into the stock rods so it almost makes sence to buy the eagles but then I can not use them with stock pistons without modifing them.
I will probably change out the cams for something a little bigger so will stock LS rods with ARP bolts support 9-9500rpms (Or I should say whatever RPM my engine makes peak power at)? I want a nice reliable engine and that is the most important thing. What would you guys do?

 

I know you've been around for a while so you must know that all this topic has been thoroughly covered right?

A little reading and searching goes a long way and will help you make up your mind.

 

I know I have done a few all motor builds but I am really a boost guy. I see alot of people making good power on RS Machine pistons and so on so I doubt I really need to go forged but I am just worried about the rods.

I mean looking at other peoples dyno charts and stuff it does not seem like many people get over 200whp on a 81/81.5mm bore so it does not really seem worth it to spend 800$ on pistons/rods when $300 will do the same thing but then again I don't want to cheap out if I am going to kick myself in the *** later on.

Ahh its so much easier telling people what to buy and building there stuff then your own lol.

 

your stock rods go to 8900 now...right? why wouldnt stock ls rods with arp rod bolts? dont worry bout shot peening them.shot peening is good if its done right but most machine shops just glass bead them. just make sure you resize the big ends per arp instructions. piston/ring choice is up to you,there are many options

 

correct, unless you're running boost or nitrous, you really don't need to consider using forged pistons/aftermarket rods, for most street applications. Very common LSV builds use the RS pistons, stock rods with ARP rod bolts. S2S2, S2 pro1, M22x, BC 4, etc, style cams will give you good results. What you have already for cams are excellent street cams.

 

Exact answers I was looking for guys!

Should I stick with the BCIII or switch to something bigger?
I kinda wanted S2P1's but I hate to keep investing money into things that may give small gains. I run a 2.5" Mendral bent exhaust with a Magnaflow cat and resignator and a OEM Mustang GT500 muffler so that will probably hold me back a little when trying to go for bigger numbers.

 

Just to make sure I would be better off using the LS 89mm crank correct?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by N20civicB18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just to make sure I would be better off using the LS 89mm crank correct?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes.

Pro 1's will give you more top end for sure but probably similar low and mid range to what you have now.

 

Ditch the BC3's , and run either BP STG2 cams, or SK2 PRO2's, Shoot for 12:1 compression(which will be just fine with 91 and a good tune). Go LSV, bore it over .5mm, and get it honed by a good and reputable machine shop(ring seat here is critical with high compression) and get them to do it to HONDA specs. Going lsv will give you more baseline tq which is fun, and youll have slightly more displacement. And you will hit your goal of 200whp, thats the setup im going with and I will be hitting 200whp even if it takes hours of dyno tuning time. Dont listen to uneducated wags about LSV not being reliable, its reliable as long as you build it AND <U>TUNE </U> it properly, there are plenty of good threads around honda tech dedicated to LSV buildups aswell as many reputable sites on LSV build ups so I wont go into detail on what you need to make one reliable.


Modified by Mike995 at 5:50 PM 9/24/2008

 

Well I have all the LS internals and such and S2S2 cams but I also good a free K24 donated to me so I just picked up a Type-S tranny and I will be attempting this expensive waste of time/effort swap in the next few weeks. 87x99 &gt; 81x89 (hopefully )