Looking to build my first all motor setup. Car is going to be used as a Daily Driver so must be reliable. Looking to make a good amount of power for street use on 93 octane.


Not sure which route to go or what to do first. I am an all motor NEWB

Whats the first step in building a setup? What compression should i run if i am on 93 octane?


Modified by alscrx at 9:48 PM 9/9/2008

 

Depends on your cash flow and what kind of power you're after. I'm an LS-VTEC guy myself. I managed to build it on a budget to 180 WHP and I'm very satisfied with the power. If I had the cash I'd go with a K series. The K24 setups are deadly if you have the money and have lots of potential.

But there are many other options, H22, B18C, B16... all with there individual advantages.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by paton5g &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Depends on your cash flow and what kind of power you're after. I'm an LS-VTEC guy myself. I managed to build it on a budget to 180 WHP and I'm very satisfied with the power. If I had the cash I'd go with a K series. The K24 setups are deadly if you have the money and have lots of potential.

But there are many other options, H22, B18C, B16... all with there individual advantages. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well right now i have a stock b16a. Its decent in the CRX but it burns some oil. I figured i would do a build but its got to be reliable for a daily driver. Should i do something like oem pistons,rods,etc or aftermarket?
Looking to stay b series!
I would say 200-250 whp is decent for a street car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alscrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well right now i have a stock b16a. Its decent in the CRX but it burns some oil. I figured i would do a build but its got to be reliable for a daily driver. Should i do something like oem pistons,rods,etc or aftermarket?
Looking to stay b series!
I would say 200-250 whp is decent for a street car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you want to break 200 hp, you will need more displacement. B16's are great up high, and they make great power... but something with more torque and potential will suit you more. Not that the b16 doesn't have potential, but it costs a tonne of $ to get it there. I'd recommend b20/vtec at this point. Get yourself a b20 longblock, fill it with RS Machines 84mm pistons and put that b16 head on there. On this setup you could easily make 180-190 WHP. Fill the head with goodies and some cams, you'll break 200. At that point, an LSD and some good tires are your friends.

 

I heard b20/vtec setups are no good because the b20 block isn't rev high friendly!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alscrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I heard b20/vtec setups are no good because the b20 block isn't rev high friendly!
</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's more or less BS. While it doesn't have piston squirters, or as stout of rods as a VTEC motor it would certainly be fine to 8k.

If you're really concerned run ARP rod bolts.

 

as long as u built it right its fine. get a b20 block and bore it to a nice clean cylinder maybe 84.5mm and get some cp pistons they r designed for the b20 b16 head valve clearance. i would go with a nice set of rods mayb eagle with arp bolts. some ppl say block guards dont work and some say they do i have one and it was only like 70 bux grab one if u want. I would recommend some new crank bearings and a type r oil pump. then put that head on and built it up to wat ever u want lots of options... with a build head you can make 200-230 whp... it may get expensive...

 

and as for compression i run 12.5 all day on 93 octane and im about 10000 miles on my build but you can go with 12.1 to be safe.

 

aftermarket rods are unnecessary. save yourself the money and run stock rods. unless you plan to beat the crap out of it. it's a daily driver, ARP rods bolts on the stock rods are ample.

 

Well is it just more torque i am getting from a b20 block that i can't get from a b16a block?

I know the deck is taller and it has more torque. Any other benefits from using that block over the b16a block?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by alscrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well is it just more torque i am getting from a b20 block that i can't get from a b16a block?

I know the deck is taller and it has more torque. Any other benefits from using that block over the b16a block?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Also more potential for making more HP.

 

more displacement, more torque. a TONNE more torque. if it's power you're looking for, staying b-series and putting that b16 to use, a b20/VTEC is the route for you.

start your research.

 

identify mpg and hp goals. build accordingly. personally, i was in a similar boat. i wanted 180whp and 30+ mpg. it wasn't hard to pick parts and build that kind of a combo. the bottom end i went a little overkill on just for reliabilty's sake. i also have the feeling that this engine will pass 180whp but i won't know 'till it hits the dyno. let the guys know what kind of whp you want, how much mpg you still need, what your budget is and how strong of emphasis you want on reliability. do you need this thing to live like an endurance motor etc..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by idrivesideways &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">identify mpg and hp goals. build accordingly. personally, i was in a similar boat. i wanted 180whp and 30+ mpg. it wasn't hard to pick parts and build that kind of a combo. the bottom end i went a little overkill on just for reliabilty's sake. i also have the feeling that this engine will pass 180whp but i won't know 'till it hits the dyno. let the guys know what kind of whp you want, how much mpg you still need, what your budget is and how strong of emphasis you want on reliability. do you need this thing to live like an endurance motor etc..</TD></TR></TABLE>
SO which route did you go? Yes, motor must be very reliable!
I am getting around 250 miles per 12 gallon tank. I do need it to be good on gas but yet be a mean little street car!

 

i actually wanted more than 250 miles on a 12 gallon tank. the engine i just created should pull over 30 mpg on the highway and high 20s in town. it's designed like an endurance engine with pistons many would consider overkill for the given HP level. bearings clearances are being setup & machined for the exact fit that i'm after. piston to wall is going to be .003 which is as tight as i dare go with a 4032 forged slug. nitraded steel top rings are very strong, can be aggressive on the cylinder wall if not broken in properly. everything is being gram balanced and the motor should live longer than a stock one. i spent around 10hrs on the head getting the ports cleaned up and the shape where i wanted it. compression is going to be 10:8-1 to 11:1, depends on machine work. crower 63401-2 cams which are basically a type r + profile. p73 ecu which is tame in the tune department but does have uses for a street car. i am very firmilar with the ways power can be brought up in a tune. bringing the timing to the edge of detonation is not something i wanted to do for 5-8whp. my goal was longivity, a good auto-x design and great MPG. maximum power was not a goal. all in all it should produce 180-185whp, the dyno will soon tell. which brings up another good point about dynos and how it's nearly impossible for people on here to compare HP levels exactly. everyone knows mustang dynos will read lower than a dynojet for example. if i were doing an all out drag car and wanted to use the honda engine, the first thing i would buy is a dart block for the certain turbo build. racing gets expensive though. with my income level i've found it best to stick to autocross. it's fun and doesn't break the bank.

 

So please explain which setup you went with?
Block, head, etc!