I have an 00 Em1 and the b16 in it just doesn't cut it for me anymore plus it could use a refresh. I have a spare B18C1 block I'm looking to put together in place of the b16.

I'm looking to build a mild street setup with compression to be to be around 11:1 - 11.5:1 if possible with the gsr block and a b16 head. I'm trying to make it as reliable as possible since it is my daily and now that I'm older (and have done my fair share of breaking/building engines lol) would like to have a decent setup that would last daily duty without any major failures or issues. Would like to see at the very least 50k miles out of this build. I'm not trying to over rev it to 9k or make 230whp or anything spectacular that would push this engine to the limits of failure. I want it to start up easy, idle normal, not overheat or have any other strictly purpose built race/drag engine. It will be run on 93 octane and with a conservative tune and mild/med cams.

I would love to just use stock OEM jdm itr pistons since they are 11:1 and will work fine with the stock rods and have no questions about if it will last but all I seem to finds are Usdm itr (10.6:1 compression) and the knock off that everyone sells that are replicas of them and not the jdm.

A year or so ago I bought some used JE forged pistons off of ebay that were listed with the info for the full skirt 11.7:1 info. Upon receiving them I immediately noticed they had an odd floating pin setup. Short pins with no locking rings, they used what is refered to as "buttons" to secure the floating pin. I looked and found no part number on them anywhere. Figured these were probably some custom or early production gsr pistons. I emailed JE and they couldn't really give me any definitive info on them and told me to cc them to figure out the dome. I don't have any tools to do this nor have I worried about it to much as this setup was on the back burner for prob 2 yrs now.

Question is will these Je's hold up to daily use for the long run with these button locks and unknown origins? I would prefer to use stock non floating pins and rods and Je said that it would work but they recommend the full floating setup. I asked my machinist if the stock pressed rods would work and he said no problem as well. Only thing that concerns me about the non floating setup are there are no oil reliefs cut horizontally along the bore of the pin passages like the stock gsr pistons, only the 1 verticle that go out to the oil ring passages in the bore. Shouldn't there be some relief for the oil to find its way around the pins and keep them coated at all times? The second would be the thermal issues with running a stock press pin in a forged piston, would there be any problem with clearance as the pistons expand ect?

I know the stock rods are good enough for my goal and don't really want to shell out another $400 for some eagles or something when they aren't really needed plus my budget is rather tight. I guess I already know the answer to my questions and should just find some jdm itr pistons but I don't even know where to look. All I can find are usdm and that compression ratio just seems like its a tad lower than what would be ideal. Should I look into pr3 pistons? I imagine that would send the comp ratio into dangerous territory though. Should I just get usdm itr and use a gsr head to get it up to 10.8:1??? I'm hoping for around 200whp with most bolt ons and intermediate cams.

 

 

 

 

No one has any input?

I could've sworn last time I researched pr3 pistons in b18c's there where in the high 11's low 12's compression wise but I guess I was wrong. It seems as there are varying numbers and calculators floating around with bad info. Any know know exactly what pr3 and p30's end up being in a p72 block,crank rods with pr3 head with stock headgasket and cams?

Seems that would be a better option for me since I don't know the exact specs of these JE's for piston to wall clearance and don't think it sounds like a good idea to run them on pressed pin stock p72 rods. The p72 rods need milled slightly to have pr3/p30 pistons on them right?

 

There should be a number on the pistons somewhere you can search to figure out what they are.

Pr3's on a 87mm crank in a b18 block will be 11.5:1ish.
Pr3's on an 89mm crank in a b18 block will be low 12's

That is assuming the block/head aren't milled tons.

If there are no markings on the pistons the only way to truly figure out what they are is to measure compression height and CC the domes

 

The only marking on the piston's are on the underside of the crown, old school JE logo and the typical 81m. I contacted them and they said to be sure I would need to cc the domes. Thinking these pistons are super early production/prototype or custom made. Their site states that pistons before 2004 didn't have the laser markings for part/job numbers.

 

My je pistons that are 11.5:1 in a gsr have slightly higher domes than those

 

So does anyone have anything to say about running press fit wrist pins/ stock rods in pistons designed for floating pin? I guess there really shouldn't be any difference in these pistons as there are no bores or cuts for spiral locks, guess the main thing would be the inside diameter of the pin bores on these to make sure they aren't a different size from the stock pressed pin.

JE and my machinist said it shouldn't be a prob but recommended running a floating setup. I just don't see the point in shelling out another $3-400 for aftermarket rods that will be overkill for a 200whp motor with a stock redline. p72 rods and the stock 9mm bolts have been proven to handle and hold up with no problem under these conditions.

 

hi all please dont flame me for posting here i havnt posted on this forum in a few years since i sold my teg and didnt mean to hijack the thread i just didnt think u wanted another thread on something that has probably been asked a million times but i bought a 97 ls 4 dr in feb and in march came across a b18c1 long block with a spun rod bearing and ctr cams for 350.. it came with a used b18c1 crank that he purchased but never installed.Anyway i was gonna do b18c1 crank p72 rods and head ctr cams and p30 pistons b18c1 block which would have given me 11.5:1 but the p30 pistons i purchased 3 came in cracked so i only have 1 good 1. so i was thinking mayb doing pr3 pistons with b18b1 crank p72 rods and head with ctr cams and b18c1 block but the calculator turned red at 12.78:1 compression and i think that will have serious clearance issues now using everything above and b18b rods vs p72 rods yields a compression ratio of 11.52:1 my question is is this something that is doable without clearance issues and reliable for a DD? Thanks in Advanced for answering

 

I daily a B20/VTEC at 12.5:1

Absolutely doable.

 

ty 2lem1 i guess its time to source a ls crank and pr3 pistons.. i wish i could find some p30's instead