Hello im new to the forum here but i just purchased a 98 prelude knowing it was going to need some work. The car came with an h22a block (jdm) it would need machined and put together its currently all apart.

My question would be what would you guys recommend? Spending the extra money to get the jdm motor up and running or purchasing a jdm motor from Hmotorsonline or just sticking with the usdm motor?

Also this motor will be turbo charged shortly after install. what do you guys think about sleeving the block before boost?

 

How much money do you have? Whats you're HP goal? Are you set on a turbo?

It would be easier to help knowing those.

If you're not planning on fully building the block which would be a few grand by itself. But still are boosting Id suggest getting a F20B- manual version "type-s cams". They are maybe $1k shipped and come sleeved already. It will mount up to your current transmission as well.

If you are are staying N/a get a base h22a-black top or a SIR H23aV-Blue top.

 

I have 7k available for the build about 5 to 6 is going to be used for under the hood. This will be the first build I am doing but my father has 40 years of mechanic knowledge. I am just trying to get some opinions on what people have done and what you would do. I am hoping to get around 300whp when it is done. I'm thinking of a smaller turbo. Somethibg that will start to spool around 3k rpms. Would you recommend a kit or getting the parts piece by piece? All opinions are appreciated

 

For 5-6K you could have a decently built motor. I would sleeve the h22a block, then get forged rods and pistons. All balanced with new OEM bearings, little head work, and fuel management could get you 400whp+.

Sticking with a all stock h22a as is you can get about 250whp maybe 300whp pushing it.

The only kit i would buy is a charge piping kit. basically all the intake piping and the intercooler. The rest I would piece together separate because better parts and not buying something you dont need.

 

if your block is a jdm h22A, it is going to be a closed deck which is a good and a bad thing. if you are going to sleeve a closed deck be prepared to spend a pretty penny because the machine shop will have to mill out the coolant jacket to get the sleeves out. if you get an open deck block, it will be much cheaper and faster turn around time to get it sleeved. I recommend golden eagle, as they are rated to 1000hp and 60psi of boost which is outrageous for a street car. however darton and benson are phenomenal companies with a great background as well. if you leave the stock sleeves on the closed deck h22a it will hold boost a tiny bit better and you can drop in mahle gold series pistons as they are compatible with the FRM cylinder walls our h series motors come with. in my opinion malhe pistons are kinda ehhhhhh and wont hold much boost. but I have seen h motors hold 500 on that setup. depends how bullet proof you want the block to be. remember the ring lands on stock h series engines are the weak points, not the cylinder walls.

 

Not necessarily, regardless of where the engine is from 97+ are all open deck usdm, jdm, edm, ect...

 

In my opinion, the first thing to do is check the condition of the engine you have, i.e. is the crankshaft in good condition, are the main caps all in good shape? If you spend the coin to sleeve the block and then have an issues there, it would be a waste.

If that engine is in good shape, get it sleeved and build it with forged pistons and good rods, and build a turbo setup for the power you want, which is easy to make with an H motor.

If you are doing the assembly with your dad, one thing that I have found is that it is worthwhile to spend the money on OEM Honda gaskets and seals for the engine, aftermarket kits just don't have the perfect fit and end up leaking very quickly. using bearings such as ACL or King is fine, as long as you get the clearances to the right spec.

 

I'm thinking of just using the original h22 that is currently in the car and just scrapping the jdm block. I just contacted graveyard motors ports about an engine sleeving and stage 2 build. What do you guys think about that route? Wasted money? Overkill? We're all in this build together because quite frankly I'm a rookie