ok, yes I have been searching alot on these two swaps but cant find any info to help me with my current state of mind, so Im posting it.

alright, I used to own a 94 civic hatch, and ran through a DOHC ZC, B18, and a B20 in it. I am going to pick up another one when I can, and had decided to go with an H22, then had started reading about J swaps.

at first it sounds good, a J30 is less than 500 bucks, and a J32 ive seen form 750. of course I havent found a 6MT yet so I have no idea the price on one of those. hasport mount/axle kit is 720. of course there is a TON more wiring/hose routing, etc with the J vs the H. but the H22 is 200hp/161ft/lbs, J30 is200hp/195ft/lbs and the J32 is 225hp/217ft

so not much more hp, but with more torque and earlier, it seems that it should make a hatch MOVE. but ive read/seen (web and youtube so you never know truth or mods) that a H22 puts a hatch into the 13's easy. Ive seen videos on youtube of gutted hatches with J32's that run low-mid 13's.

so by the time youre done, you spent as much if not more than a H22, took more time to finish, hood wont close without mods, and you arent really faster? or is it just too much power to get off the line good, and a freeway race youd demolish an H22?

 

I think an h22 is more than enough torque.. try and run 1st gear full throttle and you wont get any kind of traction.. the j series are nice however, its a big motor.. bigger than the H. If you want to save your self trouble, then I say you go H2b instead.. You already have the B series accessories.. its a quick swap and its more than enough torque for a little civic.. if you want to be the first in your town to surprise alot of people then go J swap.. it would be pretty cool to open up ur hood everytime and just admire the beastly v6..

 

The J series are nice and all, but I'd go H2B as well. The actual J motor is cheap but the 6MT transmissions are incredibly expensive. Pretty sure they're up around $2000 or more. Not to mention the 6MT ECU is one of the hardest honda ecus to find. Anyone who has one is asking a very high price and any wrecking yard that has one is likely to sell the whole motor/tranny/ecu as a package. The 6MT was only produced one year so they are very hard to find. H2B ftw.

 

At this time the H2B setup has much more aftermarket support at this time. As I tell people in my area, the J series seems sweet, but unless you are a good mechanic with a lift and any tool you need at your disposal, you will most likely end up not finishing the project, and wasting a lot of time and money in the process." Also people running J series setups haven't put down what I would consider great times for the amount of time and money involved. Good luck!

 

well, no, no lift. but I got access to a cherry picker to lift out the D15/16(want to find the si) and lift up the J after the car is lowered around it. lifting the car would be accomplished by chains to the engine mounts and a big comealong to the roof of the barn... or I could do like I used to with my VW's and lift each side 1 4x6 at a time and keep stacking them up til the bumpers high enough to slide the engine under, and then jack it up in place.

so H it will be then. is a B series tranny better than the H anyways(well, aside from using direct linkage, because that is nice). because, sadly, no b parts laying around anymore. that hatch was about 5 years ago. sold a huge collection of parts (shortblock, longblock, vtec head, parts) for 150 just to get rid of it all when I moved to an apartment for a while....

even though Id get to use a direct shift linkage, stock trans mounts, have my choice of trans. Im going straight H swap. that adapter plate is pricey, then finding a custom header reveals an expensive peice as well. and then theres the fact my hood wont close, or I havent seen a kit that lets it close yet. and personally, I think the back of the hood propped up looks dumb, especially wouldn't have it on my daily driver.

I heard the evolution kit lets your hood close if you cut some of the webbing out, and this is on an integra, probably can be done with a civic, but no word on the header...

 

anyone have a ground clearance pic of a straight H22 swap?

 

just go H. J series are nice but they are not perfected yet. And the damn tranny makes it not worth the cost.

 

yeah, J is out now. I just gotta weigh the cost and the pros/cons of a H2B vs H22. H2B got me thinking of a DA9/DC4 so all I need to do is get an H22 and an ECU aside from the kit.

I remember reading my CX weighed about 2180 pounds, but if I was to get an SI hatch and swapped in power windows and locks, and kept the PS/AC, is it really any considerable amount lighter than a 2 door integra with all the options? I used to check all the weights on autotrader and now the site doesnt list them anymore.

 

 

h22 if its a dd imo
and j swap if its just for show

 

just go k

 

going straight H series is going to require more work than a straight h2b swap.. there are numerous ways you can make the hood close all the way.. you can actually had washers under the motor mounts and that will create some space and push the motor down giving you room to close the hood.. either way your going to have problems with the standard H swap... I hear the transmission always gives out and so does your axels.. You will have to drill a hole in your console for the shifter and too much to think about..

 

Im doing a J32a2 swap now out of a 2003 cl type S into an EK. The whole swap (motor, tranny, shafts, ecu, harness, shifter cables and box) cost me $2000. The only problem im having now is finding any wiring info.

 

but the H2B will cost more also, at least so far it seems that way.

so far the only difficulties ive read about with the H22 is

*shifter and cables- I am perfectly confident in my ability to do that without any problems

*losing PS and AC-theres a bracket out to bolt stock civic ac compressor to the H block. for PS maybe I could make a bracket that lined the pulley up with the alternator and get a long belt(if they make one that long) to run the belt around the crank,PS,and alt.

*slave cylinder line needs to be extended- simple

*fuel rail supply needs to be custom - simple

*wiring (H2B would be basically the same wiring anyways)

*trans chassis mount cut a bit and new hole drilled(havent heard that one does, but some kind of template should be included with the mount kit, to help you place the hole(and after I cut it I'd weld in a new piece completing the external rib of the mount like it had originally) and a bolt on the trans has to be cut short so it doesnt stick up past the nut.

*axles - 90-93 intermediate shaft, 90-93 integra axles

*radiator fan (slimline so the slave cylinder doesnt hit the fan)

*whatever else I cant think of right now.


I will admit being able to get an LS and then putting in the 4.785 FD to get the lowest first, very close to lowest 2nd, 3rd lower than gsr but not quite ITR range, tied with gsr's 4th, and highest 5th(other than LS) sounds nice, but not having to buy hasport B series mounts, and a H2B kit, space hood, custom header, etc, sounds better, maybe I still have to weigh both options.