ive been tryin to figure it out wats the difference theres none that i can notice right off the bat and my friends been tellin me to get the a2

 

Same engine, same power. Only differences are date of production and the OBD designation, but that can be switched over very easily.

 

b16a3's have an extra coolant plug in the back of the block.

 

so now i shall go smack my friend upside the head and told him i was right

 

do the a3's have duel valve springs on the intake side like the a2's?

 

Internally and performance-wise they are the same.

The differences come in the form of OBD1 (B16A3) or OBD2 (B16A2) type plugs on the alternator, distributor, injectors, and the B16A2 locates it's IAT sensor on the intake tuning itself rather than the number 2 intake manifold runner like the B16A3 does.

The electronic idle air control valves might be different too, but again this is more frivilous stuff rather than hardcore performance differences.

 

I thought they made a big difference like hp an tq????

 

The B16A2 and B16A3 are USDM model engines, and are both rated at 160hp.

The JDM second-gen and up B16a engines were rated at 170hp - that's probably what you're thinking of.

 

huh ok well that answer my question

 

the words MORE TORQUE dont belong with a b16.

 

well since we on the subject of b16 anyone know where i could get a b16b in california? or am i gonna hafta import one? tho im quite happy with the b16a3 in my del sol

 

I might start a war with this post, but oh well.

IMO the B16B is over rated/touted for a daily driven, street driven car.

First of all let me say that if I were building a true road race car (NOT auto-X!!!) then a B16B would be an ideal choice because of it's ideal R/S ratio, freer revving in the higher rpm, and overall best high rpm reliability of any B series engine, ever. It is quite literally a B18C5 block only destroked so it revs amazingly well and as durable as can be.

Having said that for a daily driver/street car it's a turd. Anything below 6800rpm or so and it is no more remarkable than a B16A or worse, D series SOHC honestly. It lacks *****. If one were going from a B16A to a B16B then he'd be a disappointed dude unless he lived in the 8500rpm range all day, every day. A trip down the block would be not much different than a trip down the block with a B16A.

I honestly think a regular B18C1 is a better street engine than the B16B. Whilst the B16B might barely edge the PEAK whp out over the B18C1 it will get murdered everywhere else under the entire powerband/rpm range. From idle to 6800rpm the B18C1 will pull harder because it'll easily make +20whp/+20ft-lbs. of torque to the wheels in the midrange over the B16B.

I have driven a B16B at length - this isn't some regurgitation of what I read somewhere. A friend of mine from Macon, GA had an actual RHD CTR back in 2002 or so and I got to drive the car for a while and it just did not impress me any more so than a 99-00 Civic Si with it's B16A2.

I've also own/owned a B16A2 swap, B18C1, B18B, B18C5, and a semi-built D series so it's not as if I'm unfamiliar with how those drive either.

If you really want bang for the buck get the B18C1 or better, the B18C5 - you won't regret it.

Oh and lastly before anyone jumps in with this, because it always comes up in the B16B vs. the world topics:

I'm completely aware that a person can buy a B16B and tossing a B18C crank and rods in it and have better-than-B18C5 engine because he'll then have the same displacement (1797cc) as the B18C5 AND the higher CR pistons and better intake camshaft, but who in his right mind wants to buy an engine only to tear it apart? IMO the factory build is what sets the Type R engines apart from all others. My factory-built B18C5 has been serving me well for over NINE years now without a single issue - ever.

 

I don't know, but in basketball terms you pretty much slam dunked it right there.

 

so totally buttkiss on the b16b is wat ur sayin unless u plan to drag a whole ton

 

I'm not sure how you got where the B16B is better for drag racing out of what I typed earlier. I specifically said the B16B is awesome for outright road racing. A 1.8L B Series VTEC, B18C1/B18C5, would be better for drag racing IMO than the B16B.

 

you can find anywhere really. youre local "jdm" shop could tell you or they might have em there. you can try craigs list. b16s arent hard to find the only thing is the right price is hard to find

 

ooh lol ok well the decision im tryin to have is i need something thats half daily half weekend/night warrior i live around enough mountain passes to have some fun so im tryin to figure out wat to get but i currently have a stock del sol vtec so it mite do me well for the time being

 

I'll give you my baseline dyno numbers from me own engines - all same dyno:

B16A2 - 143whp/102ft-lbs. of torque to the wheels
B18C1 - 150whp/122ft-lbs. of torque to the wheels
B18C5 - 175whp/122ft-lbs. of torque to the wheels

Note the extra 20ft-ls. of torque to the wheels that the B18 engines offered. Also noteworthy, but not visible because I don't have the charts, is the amount of midrange and overall better whp/torque across the entire rpm range that the 1.8L engines had over the B16A. It's quite literally a night and day difference.

The B16A comes to life at about 6800rpm and is great fun up to 8200rpm or so, but try pulling/passing at 4500rpm in 4th gear with it, then try the same with the GS-R or ITR swap - no comparison at all.

 

so u sayin b16 totally useless unless vtec kicks in?

 

would the b16 do better if it was boosted?

 

B18C5-EH2, I want to thank you for your experience and sharing. I don't post much. I try to read and learn. I planned on the gsr swap into my EM1 anyway. You make me really feel it is justified. You are my Honda guru of the day. peace

 

I own and run a B16B and the motor outright ****ing rips if your auto x'ing. Other than that, its basically worthless. the 1.84 factory rod to stroke ratio in it is wondrous. Safe to rev over 10k all day, and not worry about it. But if you want torque, get a 1.8 or do a k series. K swaps aren't that expensive anymore. If you want to drag race displacement is your friend. If you want to road race then get something you can rev and have a seriously useable powerband. If you dont you wont be happy. Get a b18c or a c5.

 

lol if you're wanting to just drag race a ton you need to steer clear of 4 cylinders...


(puts on flame suit)

 

Just a quick question. I am from South Africa where Hondas are not as popular as Golfs. There are not too many choices in terms of engines. My 1999 facelift SO4 Civic Sedan (Ballade in SA) has, I would assume, a B16A. In SA there was only a 1600 Vtec ever on offer. The rest waere 160i's & 150i's. Then the, in my opinion, useless 170i Vtecs came in the 2001 models. My question is: have I wasted my time on my Turbo conversion, or would a B16B, or B18 have been a better bet? I wanted to keep my original engine & any other engine would have been an import. The older generation SR4 came as a non Vtec 180i. I was also told that a set of GSR cams would work well for my setup. Is this true?

 

I'm going to go ahead and do a little butt smootching myself. That was an excellent post B18C5-EH2. These past couple weeks of browsing HT I just haven't seen the quality in posts the old HT was known for. Great job and keep posting for my sake.