i have the option to get a JDM h22 swap for my 97 civic coupe. i heard some bad thiings about h swaps. what swap would be the most practical for a dd and to hit a 200 hp goal? i want power steering and i herd u cant have power steering with the h swap. i dont care about a/c though. what are some peoples thoughts about the H swap

 

1997 civic 2-dr DX Hatch and JDM H22a OBD1 (92-95) conversion with posi-traction transmission. My son & I did the swap about 5 yrs ago and the car is a blast to drive yet still returns good fuel economy. (daily driver) The downside is NO Power Steering. If I had it to do over I would find a way to add Power steering though. It's a little inconvenient. I think it can be done just nobody has really tried to solve the problem. If there's a will, there's a way. Get Honda's "big block" as for the street your'e after Torque not HP. There's no substitute for cubic inches. Keep it simple = reliable
My son put a 150HP Nitrous kit on it and drag raced for (2) summers and didn't seem to hurt the motor. It's plenty fast stock for the street. Good Luck

 

My son's friend has an integra gsr and you have to shift every 5 seconds. You spend all your time shifting back and forth to keep the motor in the power band. Not a good car for a daily driver. Probably a better race-only engine.

 

only problem ive heard is its heavy. also idk if it applies to normal civics but you need special axles.

beyond that id take the h22 hands down. should be able to find an obd 2 one too.

thats because of closer gear ratios. and its better for fuel economy even though it is a pain.

 

You can definitely keep power steering. You need the '92+ Prelude steering pump, and then you need to find a place that will make you a custom power steering line. The line will obviously have to attach to the stock Civic rack at one end, and then have the correct end of the Prelude pump. It may even need to be lengthened; that I'm not sure on. I've also seen someone cut off the end that attaches to the pump and weld it on to another line, on an Accord. As far as I know, it's still working leak free 5 or so years later. Obviously that not the best way to do it.

Other than that, just get some good suspension and don't lower your car too much. That's where most people have issues with understeer and replacing axles constantly; respectively.

 

id go with the gsr, easy to maintain your PS and you don't have to shift that much, i had a eg gsr with a b16 trans and it wasn't bad at all great for the city and still got 30 mpg, the h isn't that much heavier than the b, maybe 25 lbs difference, you wouldn't even feel that

 

my biggest dislike about the h swaps is how shitty the shifting feels compared to a b series. its like a hot knife through butter compared to an ax to a log. Also H22 potential can become more limited with aftermarket parts availability and how much they cost.

 

get the JDM GSR. ive heard bad things about H-Series transmissions. (everyone mates B-Series Transmissions to them anyway)(A.K.A. "H2B") but if u do get the H-series, do all of your research as far as mounts/shift linkage/axles and all that.

 

The GSR is More expensive Initially than an H22a. We used Hasport motor mounts, and we bought custom axles 350 HP maybe "GATOR" ?? The axles are huge and bullet-proof. You can get some "other" honda axles and do it on the cheap but I forgot what axles you need. Seems to me the axles were about $350 ??
The car is lowered about 1 1/2" and if you don't go below that you won't have any problems with the axles. If you go "in the weeds" be very careful of axle length, angle and fit in general. We have a camber kit for the car but never installed it yet. This is just my opinion but, I would still take the H22A over the GSR anyday. Like I said you have to keep the GSR wound up and I don't think it has the seat of the pants grunt of the H22a. If you get an OBD2 H22A the wiring should be much simpler.

 

do your research before you post....

1. an H22 weighs almost exactly the same as a GSR

2. there is no need for special axles

3. if you are on a budget, there are H22 mounts for $80 (for a set) on ebay. They are just as strong as any other mounts

4. there is nothing wrong with H and F series transmissions. They can handle 600hp+

5. H22 = cheaper and puts down better numbers than GSR

 

I agree about the torque. Its up to personal preference. I would rather have a simpler swap (GSR) Even though its a little less hp and far less tq, its still a massive upgrade. Also there are tons of turbo and NA options for B series. I prefer a high revving engine that requires shifting.

 

Ive heard bad things about the h22a4 auto tensioner for the timing belt going out but I hear you can swap it out for the earlier generations manual one. I went ls-v walks on gsr's havent tested her against a h22 though wont matter once Im boosted

 

i say go with the gsr, simply because the swap will be more straight forward than with a h22. also, if something unexpected happens, its easier to find b series parts than h series parts. i love the f/h series, but only in the chassis they were designed for.

 

 

I would go with a b if it is your first swap. there is less wiring that u have to do and finding bolt-ons is a lot easier because the delsol vtec and the 99-00 civic si came with the b16. but i will add my first swap was a g23 and i love the power and tq i have not heard it called the k killer for no reason but u do use k pistons in it inless you are boosting

 

^^ truth! i only had to wire vtec (im sure the same with the h) but it was drop in and bolt up, couldnt ask for much more.

 

I used to have a jdm gsr in my civic and now I have a jdm h22 with a B series transmission. For daily driving I would prefer the JDM GSR because it gives better gas mileage. with my h22, Im only getting around 22mpg.. which sucks compared to the gsr. But the power of the h22 is incredible. With an h22 swap you can actually keep the power steering. But with an h2b you cant.

 

id say go with GSR you can use STOCK mounts and axles and its plug and play for the most part

 

U cant used stock axles or stock civic mounts.. unless you had a B series to begin with.

 

my bad thought he said it was an eg

 

lol even if it was an eg they dont come with a B series motor. They come with D series here in america. Unless you thought he had an integra then it would make sense

 

GSR

 

H22 hands down
Go H2B best of both worlds

 

that is odd i have a 94 eg1 that i just picked up it cam stock with a b17a1 here is the honda part number for u 11000-PR3-030 from my research at the dealer the other day they all so came in the 96-97 del sol wich was all sol an eg.

 

^^this guy is correct. DEL SOL VTEC's came wth B16's. but when people talk about "EG's" it usually means Civics.
and once again, get the GSR lol.