Alright guys I just recently traded my gsr for another long block. So instead of taking the previous owners word I tore it down to see what I had. Turns out I made a decent move...or at least I think.

B18C block
LS rods and crank
PCT 81.5mm pistons
B16 head
CTR cams
ITR intake and TB

That was the basic setup. I sent the head and had a valve job done. The head had already been ported. Valve springs and retainers appear to be supertech, as I can't see any markings to tell me otherwise. And the ecu is a chipped p28. I plan on re tuning ASAP because I'm not sure who previously tuned it but it runs very rich especially in Vtec. But my question is before I re tune where would be a good place to start as far as upgrading to see some power gains? I'm gonna be good with the numbers it puts down regardless I'm just looking for a fun but reliable daily driver. So I'm not looking for anything extreme, just somewhere to start so that I will notice something.

 

3" Short ram intake (properly tuned length) with a velocity stack at the end. Also, good headers, either Toda or RMF reps should work

 

I have a short ram but it only has a come filter. And also I have a PLM big tube header. Not sure the exact style of the header but I had to trim my fan shroud for it to fit if that helps.

 

Exhaust

 

Those pistons
I'd swap those out (get P73-A0's 12:1ish) so you have more cam options later on. Your motor will like pump gas MUCH more too.
BPi Vstack on the SRI. And like F22 said a good header. Toda rep is hands down the best budget header on 1.8's
just my .02

 

I second the p73-ao piston option. If you do the piston swap you might as well go .5mm over and get everything machined to avoid any surprises of barreled or oval cylinder walls. If you do that you might as well install arp rod bolts now you have a dependable engine with a nice powerband.

 

Sorry guys I didn't wanna get into a post that just seemed to rattle on about my setup but it does have arp rod bolts, full 5Zigen fireball exhaust, and the PCT's are already .5mm over. But i do like the recommendtion of the piston swap bc I'm running a cometic gasket thats .049" thick to keep compression down and I've noticed it seeping some oil out so I'd like to go back with OEM. But if I do swap pistons will it be a good idea to go another .5mm over on stock sleeves?

 

I wonder if your oil seeping is because of warpage of head or block

 

I've wondered the same thing. I didn't resurface the head or anything after I tore it down only because the previous owner claimed that both the head and block had been milled but he didn't know how much. So I was afraid of too much compression and didn't bother with it.

 

82mm is safe as long as you get a good tune along with it. I ran my last 82mm GSR for well over 20k miles, daily driven and trips to the track, and had no problems. The car was stolen but I'd bet that motor is still out there running strong somewhere.
That motor w/ a set of Skunk2 stage 2's, or RM22's will put out a great usable power and be as reliable as stock.

Get the head checked. Blocks are extremely hard to warp unless you're running high boost making alot of heat. you can get the block checked but I would be willing to bet it is fine and the head just needs a resurface.

 

You can go to 82mm bore but if you are not comfortable with that you can get in there and measure the bore for out of round and barreling if the bores are straight you can simply get a light hone and stay 81.50 with new pistons and rings. That will drop your compression considerably but since you mentioned the block and head being milled you should measure your deck height and cc the head to see where the p73 piston will land you in compression.

 

Yea that's gonna be one my next moves is to check the head and block to find out exactly how much if any milling has been done. Again, according to the previous owner this setup currently is at 13:1 compression. It runs strong but I am used to it now and want a little more lol. If I decide against swapping pistons and keep the PCT's where would you guys say the limit is as far as cams go without p2v issues? Of course I will clay before I run it, but I'm just trying to get a feel of where my limit will be with the current bottom end.

 

lower the comp a bit and do pro2 cams, close gear ratio with 4.7 or 4.9 fd, sticky tires. Should haul.

 

Yea my current tranny is a 4.7 LSD and I love it

 

To be honest OP I don't think anyone will make a comment on what cams you MIGHT be able to run. Everything is so unknown and up in the air. That 13:1 CR is based off if the block and heads are both virgin (highly doubtful). Only way to give suggestions is to clay and measure clearances. Fix-all is different pistons. Frees up a lot of stress and headache.

 

Your right. Too many unknown variables to give an accurate recommendation. Looks like I'm about to go through the tear down and measure the head and deck height just so I'll know where I'm at. And I think I'll check into some P73 pistons to make room for better cams down the road.

I also have seen mention of a toda rep header...should I be looking into a different header now or will mine be sufficient as I plan to upgrade cams after the bottom end is all worked out.

 

Maybe I'm missing it but what header are you using?

 

It's a PLM narrow

 

The difference in the PLM narrow and PLM Toda will not be worth the difference IMO. MAYBE 3-5whp. Unless yours is all beat up I'd roll with it

 

Mine is in pretty good shape, just one small dent on the bottom but I doubt it is affecting anything.

 

I meant work the price in my previous post. I would run the Narrow and if later on you wanna mix it up and have some spare cash, check out the toda

 

And just so I'm clear you guys re recommending usdm itr pistons over the Jdm itr...correct?

 

Yes the P73-AO are the usdm type R pistons.

 

yes go with the jdm itr pistons and clay your motor with the pro2, like someone said if your surface are virgin youll be fine, but I doubt it. just clay it to be safe.

 

Not trying to argue, but he won't be able to find the JDM R pistons in anything over a 81,25 so the USDM pistons are the best option. RS machine makes them in 81.5 or 82 for less than $200.Those will provide more than enough compression anyways. I like to see 12:1 as the max for pump gas motors personally. Leaves more room for tuning IMO.