Motor is a 98+ B18CR with a Comptech Icebox intake and a JDM 4-1 header with a 2.5" header back exhaust. I'm looking to make more power without sacrificing too much fuel economy. Sounds a bit ridiculous to be honest lol. Currently getting an average of 30MPG even with a 4.9 final drive! Reliability is what I am after and a huge amount of power to be gained is in the head. With that being said, what is my best route? Sleeve and bore or keep it a 1.8L, higher compression pistons and forged rods... or try to get as much as I can out of the head such as a port and polish since the factory one is just a slight port, and put in a good cam and valvetrain?

 

225whp is possible, a stretch though with the stock comp ratio.

Here is what I would do.

Skunk2 pro series IM
Hondata IM gasket
68mm TB (portmatched)
Skunk2 Pro 1 cams (you will need at least dual valve springs and upgraded retainers for these cams, however upgrading the entire valvetrain wouldnt be a bad Idea)
I would (your choice) invest in a small tube tri-y header, test pipe and you can use your 2.5" setup now.

This here will net you around 200+ whp (around 200-205ish) depending on tune)

If you want even more power:

Mild head porting
ITR pistons (should net a 10.8-9ish comp ratio)

This will net you around 210-220ish


At this point any further work will result in an aftermarket piston/bore and sleeve/more serious head porting work.

Granted all my estimates are not precise because everyone has a different tuning method. But those are solid numbers to base your build around.

BTW I would also consider getting rid of the comptech box and opting for a 3" AEM CAI. I am unsure of how well that box will move air. However you can try dynoing with the box and maybe later switch to an AEM piece if you decide to.

 

I greatly appreciate the response but it is an ITR motor with an 11.1:1 compression, and the Skunk 2 manifold is a copy of the stock R intake... technically I do have a test pipe because my exhaust is literally a 2.5" header back. 2.5" collector to a 2.5" resonator going back exiting a 2.5" muffler tip. I think there is definitely a better choice in header and as far as cams again there are so many decisions. Peak power isn't so much what I am after but I would like to shoot for the 215-225whp range.

 

Not an easy task with a 1.8l bottom end. You need to be more realistic. With everything you describe on your setup even with cams, I would estimate 190 to 200whp max. Look through the all motor dyno thread if you don't believe me. You're better off doing a b20vtec with what you desire.

 

Your best route. Is to up the displacement. If money is not the issue. I would keep that engine stock. Fiind a b18c1 block with cracked sleeves or the cheapest one u can find. Send it out to a reputable shop to get it sleeved. Get some 11.5-12.0 CR 84MM pistons. Find a mint 89 mm ls crank. Some eagle ls/b20 rods. Use your head of your b18cr with some skunk2 pro series springs. For cams i would get something that will go good with your CR. Or u can find a cheap b16 or gsr head and have it sent out to get ported etc etc. Theres are plenty of competent porting shops these days. With what i posted. U would have room to grow and a stout setup. Butt to each his own. Or like ^^^ above posted. A b20v. Cheap to build if you know what you are doing. RS machine ITR 84mm pistons. Stock oem rods with arp rod bolts.
GL

 

Yes as I stated it will be a stretch, Knowing that the motor is a ITR motor, I would still upgrade to Skunk2 pro 1 cams and 68mm TB, If you are keeping the stock IM I would get it port matched to the the TB and also have port work done the head. Hard to get 225. Also get a different header.

200+whp will be easy at this point, 225 eh.

 

Based on what you want, I would copy the Build Mikeyspec did on a 1.8L and go from there.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/all-motor-naturally-aspirated-44/attn-people-who-rebuilding-gsrs-hate-ctr-pistons-2931459/

very first post.

 

CTR pistons are whack for many reasons. Best believe if I pull the motor apart it is getting forged internals. That build put out some real good numbers though. I'd be tempted to replicate it minus the Blox cams and CTR pistons but I thought a ported ITR manifold was better than the Performer X?

 

You could spend more money and get the forged pistons and real Jun cams if you wanted but as you can see it's a simple combination of parts that works. I can tell you from experience that breaking 200 whp on a 1.8L isn't as easy as many people think. The ported ITR intake manifold is better than a performer X.....on a 2L.....not a 1.8L.

 

Also take into consideration the head work and tuner capabilities. Not everybody is going to put down what Mikey did. Too many variables to take into consideration. I don't know if Mikeys build would be within your budget, well, if that is any concern to you.

 

Yeah I just dug up the 1.8L manifold test and the Performer X put like 10whp more than the ported ITR which was 2nd best. If you look at the mods list though 218whp with almost the same setup as Mikey besides the header but not nearly a 232whp build. Would it be worth while to get the head full CNC ported or no? And my tuner is John Vega, stones throw away and is damn good at what he does. He likes to keep it safe and reliability is my biggest factor.

 

Is CNC porting worth while? HAHA, man that is the MOST expensive work out there. It is definitely worth it if you are truly after serious numbers, whether or not its worth it is up to you my man. How deep are your pockets? I see you talking about reliability, if you are really after that I would build an engine around the B18C5 platform. Larger cams are more wear and tear bro. I dont care what anybody says, if you want reliability... then stick with the oem specs.

 

I know, thats the thing though. Already have basically the C5. OEM cams are probably hindering power. In fact I've yet to really see a 200+whp on stock ITR cams unless maybe it was a 2L. Trust me I have deep pockets. It is more along the lines of is it worth it? How can I build around the C5 platform though? What is there left for me to do to really get a nice gain. Different header and maybe cam gears then a tune? Me picking out the right parts is like a woman trying on shoes. It takes forever and when you think you got the right one you start becoming unsure lmfao. People keep telling me to get a tune but talking to people they say without a different header I'd maybe get 6whp.

 

CNC can be some of the best head work you'll ever get if your budget allows. Get in touch with NAH2B on here as he gets them done at RLZ for an excellent price. WHen it comes to displacement, the smaller it is, the more money it takes to make it go fast.

 

As the old saying goes "there's no replacement for displacement", that's why they invented turbo's :p

 

we dont talk about turbos around these parts buddy

 

hahaha I knew it would stir things up. Rest easy though all motor is where its at and no way in hell will you see a turbo on my R.

 

I am back on the quest after tonight. Lined up against my buddies M3 and he slowly pulled on me. Maybe 2 lengths by the end of the 1/4. We ran 3 times and the same result every time lol. I bought a TODA header and still haven't put that on. I am looking to dyno the setup I have now as a baseline, then do the TODA header and maybe a Hondata or Outlaw intake manifold gasket to see what the gains are. I don't see a tune being worth it with just simple bolts ons but who knows. Do aftermarket cams really chew up valvetrain that bad? The only thing I have heard is larger cams needing more frequent valve adjustments, breaking timing belts, and/or eating the rocker arms. I'm terrible at figuring out cam specs and what they mean because bigger isn't better. The other thing I am wondering is how gas mileage would be effected if I have bigger primaries. Currently getting 30 city and 34 highway :p

 

Did you even bother looking at the dyno thread to see what people are making??

 

Yep but I haven't found anyone with the same mods yet. I lowered my HP goal and started spending money elsewhere. When you have the fastest all motor Honda in town and it is only bolt ons it is quite hard to get an idea of what a power level runs like and feels like. Everyone goes boost :p

 

You might consider some of Rocket's M22xx cams. It's a cam that would do well in your setup with a good ported head (Like one from RLZ as recommended).The power is in the head...

A good header to consider is Skunk2's. It's a high quality production header, falling in the price range between the common knock-off headers and full custom headers.

 

A Skunk 2 header over a TODA?