So as my title states i'm stuck between what to do, and as of recently i'm kind of leaning more toward boosting the ls. it's going to cost me after shipping probably about $1800 from hmotors to get a jdm gsr b18c longblock. i figure for less than that i could probably boost the b18b. it would certainly be faster than an n/a gsr, and i think i may even be able to boost it for less than what buying the longblock will cost. i guess i'll figure that out here soon enough.

so far i've perused a couple threads in the f/i subforum, one in particular the damn near 500 page ls-t turbo b18a/b threads. from what i've read there are many many people running some pretty respectable times on completely stock bottom/top ends. some of which with high mileage. one guy had 200,000 miles on his engine if i recall. This would be my concern if i did boost it, is how reliable would it be. my engine has about 147,000 miles on it now, but it was mated to an auto tranny for 140,000 miles of its life to begin with. so i figure its not likely to be in as bad a shape as the same engine attached to a manual trans its whole life. either way i'm going to do a compression test and a cylinder leakdown test to see what kind of shape its in before i go throwing a turbo on it.

That being said assuming the motor checks out healthy enough to be boosted i'm thinking i'll want to run about 14psi. here's what i've come up with as far as stuff i think i'll be needing.

-ebay turbo kit (i know i know, but how bad are these really. from what i've read a few people have purchased similar kits, or pieced together their own setup, and its worked pretty good for them) one concern is whether the turbo and manifold will clear my radiator fine. since its like a universal kit its hard to tell from pictures if i'd be fine. i don't have p/s or a/c so all that shenanigans is out of the way. but i do still have a full size stock radiator. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/T3-T4...Q5fAccessories
-hondata s200 (would this be a good system to use?) s300 is uber nice but its also super expensive)
-fuel pump i think i'll be goin with a 255lph walbro, part #gss341
-injectors from what i've read i gather 440cc units would be fine. rc and precision make great injectors, but i think i also read about people using dsm 440's because they're much cheaper, feel free to share if you have more info about the dsm injectors being used.
-map i'm not sure what the stock one is good for but i doubt it'll register 14 psi lol. i found an omni power 3-bar map for about $100, but 3-bar is a tad overkill.. unforunately however i can't find anything much smaller.
-bov haven't decided yet, not really important
-tuning i would probably have it tuned by the guys at slowmotion motorsports here in columbus ohio. or possibly ips motorsports. slowmo specializes in honda/acura though so i'm leaning towards them.
-intercooler, piping, couplers, clamps
-boost gauge and an oil pressure gauge
-manual boost controller

I'm sure i'm missing something, but how does that look as far as parts and things needed. feel free to make suggestions or add things if i've forgotten. Also if you were in the same situation would you boost the ls, or just get a jdm gsr?

Oh and lastly when it comes to the tuning. lets say i get that s200, what do i need to do to my ecu to use it? i read on hondata's site about cutting jumper j12 inside the ecu, but other then that i dunno. currently i have a p75 obd1 ecu, so i imagine that would be fine with the s200 unit. anyone who knows more bout this than i do please enlighten me lol.

 

Well i think i may go with a diff kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Civic...Q5fAccessories

This one comes with a bov and manual boost controller. plus i like the cast log manifold better than the stainless steel one that stuck out farther, not to mention all the ish i've seen so far on ssac parts. i'm still in the process of readings through the 12 page thread on ssac turbos lol. just to be safe(r) i think i'll get one of those oil restrictors for my oil feed line as well to try and prevent the oil seals from goin out.

Now even with this manifold/turbo setup, is there any chance i can still run the full size radiator, or do i have to ghetto rig an eg half rad in there?

 

nothin huh..

man i guess i'll have to figure all this out on my own. sad face

 

Boost the LS and you won't be sorry. I love my boosted LS's as I have fabbed a few turbo kits myself now based around the motor. That LS-T thread is a prime example of what stock LS's are capable of!

Check out Treadstone Performance as they have full B-series kits that use real garrett turbos for pretty cheap. I used their TR8 intecooler and it is awesome!

 

why not pick up a us gsr?

 

i guess i could. but i kinda liked the warranty deal, and the low mileage, and the higher output of the jdm gsr. but at this point i'm really kind of leaning toward boosting the ls anyway. just trying to figure out some things i'm unsure of.

i've searched all over for anything pertaining to running full size radiators but i'm not finding much of anything that says yay or nay. i really hate the idea of having to ghetto rig a half rad. in there :/

somethin else i'm confused on. the s200 sais it works with a modified stock ecu. well what do you modify other than cutting that one jumper. again i looked around everywhere for anything with hondata AND modified stock ecu in google but came up with nothing.

 

Boost the LS. You will like it. Trust me. Get some good parts and a good tune, destroy GSR's and smile. The marketplace has some great deals on parts. I've been looking in there alot lately and have seen some reallly nice things. you could definitely piece a nice kit together for 1800. To save some cash, see if your tuner tunes Crome. Sure the Hondata is nice but if your tuner can tune Crome you could maybe save some cash to get better quality parts. Either way, good luck.

 

thanks, i appreciate it. i think i may end up just getting my ecu chipped through phearable and then have my tuner go about it that route. i'm pretty sure they can anyway, i'm still waitin on a email reply.

so i found these ford slocus injectors, and they look very similar to rc's injectors. they are 440cc units, so would they work? its only $148 shipped for em so if so that'd be a killer deal lol. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-42l...Q5fAccessories

on the left you'll see the rc 440 unit, middle is the focus 440 injector, and on the far right is a ford racing 440cc injector. i threw that in there as well because i have 2 of these left over from my mustang, and was wondering if they might work. they all seem pretty similar but whether the RC is my only real option or not i'm uncertain.

 

Not sure about those Focus injectors. I have no experience with them so I can't comment on them. Alot of people use DSM injectors which are 450's I beleive. Since so many people run them ( myself included) and they are proven to work I would go with something like those. They can also be had for pretty cheap. They should be good for around 300whp.

 

jdm gsr motors make a couple/few more hp because: 1. japanese pump gas is 97oct. thats what they are tested with. 2. the P72 piston they use has a couple more cc of dome. the us version uses a 0cc piston, which is actually, IMO the best B series piston, as long as you can do motor math (milling) when you build a motor. better to shrink the combustion chamber than stuff it full of dome. the higher output is basically propoganda used by the "gee whiz jdm" engine sellers to get uneducated buyers to pay 4500 for a 15 year old motor. now, i dont know about you, but regardless of where my motor comes from, i would be rebuilding it before it went into my car. having said that, you can put whatever pistons you want in it, correct? its a little off topic, i know, but i just hate seeing people assume the "jdm" version is better. its all the same ****. the differences are so so so minute. couple cc of dome. / naturally aspirated rant

 

Use whatever is the cheapest for you (engine wise anyway). If you have an ls, just boost it. Whats funny is the ebay kit with the hondata.

If have absolutely have to use the ebay kit crome would be a better choice (from a monetary standpoint) for you. Use the dsm injectors (they are 450cc/min) but they are peak and hold so you need a resistor box. Do a search and you will get the vast majority of the the answers you need. Most of this has been covered many times (especially the parts you need to turbo your car) and is in the faq's. Maybe you should take some time to read those and then come back if you have any more questions.

Oh, and motorola makes a 2.5bar map sensor that can be had for ~$15 if I remember correctly. GL.

 

good to know. i didn't realize the higher hp/tq numbers quoted are simply because of the higher octane. although i know they use it over there, i guess i never put the 2 together.

and to KeyserSoze. i appreciate the info. i've been through the faq and tried to read through basically anything i wasn't already sure on in hopes to better educate myself on how to do this as cheap and reliable as possible. i did run into the motorola map while lookin around, however i really like the ease and cleanliness of install for the omnipower 3 bar map. of course its 3 times more expensive than the motorola route :/ guess i'll have to decide on that one of these days.

i was lookin around ebay and the going price for new rc 440's is about $320. and $200+ atleast for used ones. then i stumbled upon these 2 sellers. bout $200 for all 4 new. worth it, or would you be concerned about their reliabilty :/ ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AFI-4...Q5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PRECI...Q5fAccessories