I will be the first to admit I knew absolutely nothing about Honda motors when I started my swap from my D15B1 to my B16A.

I have a very nice sounding exhaust on my D15B1. In reality it was a stock header to 2.25" crush bent exhaust with a flowmaster muffler. It was deep, no drone, not very loud, and it appeared stock. I swapped the D15B1 to a B16A not too long after that.

I noticed the most annoying rasp around 2,000 to 3,000 RPM (common RPM range for my DD). It was loud and annoying and I hated the sound of it.

Note the difference:





TL;DR

The D15B1/B2 have the catalytic converted built into the exhaust manifold while most other motors do not. The catalytic converter was the difference in the sound of my car. Without it, and no resonator to compensate, the car sounds awful. I just wanted to put that out there for people about to do motor swaps. Definitely think about your exhaust because no one likes the cherry bomb ricer sound.

 

Strange... I thought the HF D15 was the only one that placed the cat there. I've never seen a D15B1 or B2 with that setup before. Was this by chance a California car or something?

 

I believe my ED6 was actually Canadian in origin? I am not sure. It was most definitely a D15B1. I had previously thought the cat was under the car.

 

I have the venerable D15B1 and my cat is under the car. Weird.

 

It could have been a different exhaust manifold on this motor than what the factory installed. It could be due to being Canadian. I am not sure. Just something to look out for. If you are removing the catalytic converter, rasp is sure to follow. I thought I had retained the cat until recently.

 

the d15b8 engine in the 92-95 chassis also has that style catalytic converter.

 

Could have been swapped onto this car sometime in it's life span. Would easily explain it.

Basically, for anyone swapping out their D series engine, check the placement of the cat. It makes a world of a difference in the sound.

 

most definitely.

 

Aftermarket catback is the way to go with any swap. I am a big fan of Thermal R&D.

 

So am I, but the price is why I have steered clear of them. $600... It's a large chunk. My complete swap was only double that installed.