I am considering these engines to put in my wagon. I like the idea of the blue top intrigues me because it has a long stroke just like the F series and only came in the wagons in Japan. The bit of extra torque would be cool too. Plus you can get it for about the same price as the H22a.

The OBD II to OBD I conversion is not hard either, all I would need is an upper plenum from the usdm H23 non vtec, an obd I H22 ecu, H22 injectors, and an H22/h23 timing bracket for the engine mount. Other than that its the exact same as an H22a swap.

So should I swap the H23 Vtec or H22a Vtec into the wagon?

 

I say go h23a. It makes the same power at a slightly lower rpm. Also almost everything is the same as a regular h22 so it's not like parts are super rare to come by.
All I did for the obd1 conversion was use an h22a1 upper plenum and deleted the butterfly valves (which wasn't necessary, just wanted to do it) and use the p13 ecu.
Another plus is when people ask what you have, you can say it's just a stock Accord engine without lying

 

On for question number II. They are selling the H23 blue top vtec specific ecus at a certain place for good price... Could I use this?

 

Is your car an automatic? Remember the h23a ONLY came in automatic

 

It was an auto but not anymore. I don't know if these ecus work in manuals cause its obd II automatic ecu. Was just checking though if anyone tried to use these before in their obd I swaps.


Onto the transmission. Its working fine in all gears just what would cause me to miss or not be able to go into a certain gear (4th gear) at high rpms? All other gears go in just fine at high rpms but when I try to throw the shifter straight down into gear it won't move an inch.

 

H22 $900 H23 $700 F20B $500 no tranny all blue tops. they all have roughly the same power. The reason why the 22 cost more is because most tuners are buying them and you can find after market parts for it. I have a 95 accord ex 5 speed and i'm getting ready to install a f20b. the wagons that i saw in japan had 2.0 blue top in them. so did the SIR 4 door.

 

It was the wagons that had the H23 Vtec with the longer stroke in it, not the 2.0 engine. According to the information on wikipedia.

Actually the H23 Vtec uses the same parts as an H22a.


Anyways, I don't know if I will get the H23 blue top anymore since there's this H22a nearby for only $300. Needs a rebuild though possibly, we'll see.

 

I personally would get an H23A VTEC, simply, because there's enough dyno graphs to prove that it will make more power when using an H22 5spd trans along with a decent header, Euro R intake mani, etc over the H22s.

There's ton of ppl over at PreludePower that can vouch for the H23A blue top over the H22s. Yes, H22s have more aftermarket support but for some odd reason, the H23A VTEC makes more power when you bolt the same mods you have on your old H22 to it. I wouldn't mind that .3 liter either. As for the ECU, I wouldn't go with that at all, because it's an auto and you're 5spd. So no point in getting that. I would get either a P72 (you will have to wire up Knock sensor & IABs) or a P28 (bypass EGR, Knock sensor and IABs) chipped ECU and get it tuned. That's the best way to go IMO.

 

I just read that the P13 H22 ecu would work well with it, along with the H22a injectors and pressure regulator.

Tuning is not easy for me to do, unless maybe there is someone that has an H23Vtec basemap they can preload onto an ecu and ship it to me.

That ECU would work if it was OBD I ECU, I think the problem is that its OBD II and the OBD II ecus function in unison with the TCU. If it doesn't see the TCU it will fritz out. At least I think that's why.

 

A P13 ECU would work, but it has to be an OBD1. All you need is the OBD1 peak and hold 345cc H22 injectors. You don't need the pressure regulator.

Thats why you buy a already chipped ECU loaded with the correct basemap then head to one of your local tuner to tune it for you. Every engine's different, so even if someone preloaded you the ECU, you still need it tuned, so that it will run right and cause no engine damage.

It would work, but the engine wouldn't be running at it's best.

 

I'm using an obd1 p13 ecu on my h23a 99 Accord without any problems, so yes it would work. But I'd still recommend getting a chipped p28 and getting it tuned, doesn't matter which engine you get. HA Motorsports has them for $169, Phearable.net for $179.

 

Doesn't matter which engine you get you must mean which ECU right?

I can get an H22a ecu for about that much but that's the things they're not cheap ecu's. A JDM engine supplier online had the 2.3L blue top ecu for only $40. If I could find a way to use that it would be great. Nusdog you didn't seem to give me a very detailed answer as to why I couldn't use that ecu. With an OBD II to OBD I jumper harness for the ECU I do not see why it wouldn't work right... Unless because its trying to find the TCU like I said. Please elaborate on why the "engine wouldn't be running at its best." Are you saying that only a tuned ECU would be the best for power purposes? Thing is I want to stock setup, it doesn't have to be the best possible ECU just factory performance with no engine codes being thrown. The stock ECU seems like a great idea. Will it work?

 

No I mean it doesn't matter if you get an h22 or h23, I'd still recommend the p28 because of its tuning capabilities. If you manage use the h23a's automatic ecu, it most likely wouldn't let you rev above 5k or so. Plus you'll have to convert it, and the only obd1-obd2 jumper I can find is Rywire's for $120. At that point you might as well just use a p13 and be sure not to over rev.

 

Ah okay. I know a guy on ebay who can tune an H23 Vtec basemap onto an ecu and ship it to me, I would rather have this over the H22a simply for the fact the lower rev limiter and practicality of it. He said it would work but I don't know. Using an OBD 2 basemap for an OBD 1 converted engine, would that work? Or should I just get him to put the H22a basemap on it instead? I could even get him to lower the rev limit if I asked him to. But if the H23 Vtec ecu would be better suited then yeah. That's why I'm asking about it.

 

What I'm saying is, why would you want to run an auto ECU when you're a 5spd? That just defeats the purpose of converting to a manual then.

I bet the engine will perform crappy, because you'll be running on a set of peak N hold 345cc H22 injectors, and the ECU you wanted is programmed to run the OBD2 saturated injectors which will also be why you won't able to run it. And, the way the stock 3-wire IACV is wired up will also be looking by the ECU, but it can't since you'll be replacing it with an H23 upper plenum to retain the stock 2-wire IACV. It's just no point at all for the ECU. With the auto ECU, I don't think you'll be getting the power you wanted which will be a drawback. You can go ahead and try it, but there's no point of getting it. Once you're swapped, it's best to get a chipped ECU and get the car tuned for your altitude, etc for its maximum performance.

 

You seem to drift in and out of H-T. He doesn't tend to do anything properly, let alone spend any money on anything.

 

Let the man give advice. This is an interesting discussion. Doesn't matter what i've done wrong in the past, its in the past. Now I am going to move on and do things the right way.

And about me not wanting to spend money on anything that is simply not true, i'm just not the kind of guy that will empty his bank account to build up his car. Remember the saying, "waste not want not". If you don't waste/spend excessively your money, you won't end up wanting any. I don't have much money to spend on my car anyways. I'm the kind of guy that goes slow and steady winning the race. That's why I don't wanna spend everything, you never know when you're gonna need money anyways so I always have it stored up. I'm not an idiot who spends all his money, that's what drugs addicts do.

 

Yup, got two little Irish twins now. Lol.

 

Good for you!

 

OP sorry to thread jack, just been curious about something. Nusdogg were you able to keep your cruise control? My 99 has a separate wire so I has to lose it after my h23a swap which sucks. But I think the 5th gens and earlier only had one cable to the TB which was for the throttle and cruise. Just been wondering about that for a while

 

I can vouch for teh torque.

 

*Thumbs up*

Some say it ain't much compared to the H22, but they wrong. Night and day difference.

 

That long block H22 I would talking about was taken apart by the owner. You can see oil starvation in the bottom end. I don't know why he didn't take pics of the cams either maybe cause they were too messed up.

Looks like the cylinder walls got trashed,

 

Guess that's why they put them in the wagons only up there, since the extra weight needs the extra tq.


Think is I don't really get why I would want to put an H in my car when the F series has 145 ft lb from the factory. With a little tuning I could make it just as powerful as the H. 20-25 ft lbs of torque is not that much. However the HP in the H series is much greater. Thing is I heard you want tq not hp, hp doesn't get you moving tq does. So that's why I think maybe its not such a great idea... Unless the 60 HP increase really does make it go that much faster than the F series and if its by HP alone it does this.

 

Haha.

The H22 is way faster than the F22. You can even cammed out the F22 with decent bolt-ons and a good tune, it still won't be able to take it. You may be able to keep up with the 97-01 Preludes; since, they're heavier but still. 20-25 ft lbs is a lot, doesn't seem like it when looking at the numbers, but in reality? It is.

Trust me. DOHC has alot more advantages over the SOHC.