I finally saved up enough to buy an engine and do a swap. Having trouble making up my mind between these two motors. On paper they look almost the same. When I ask people which one I should get, most people say the HiComp. When I ask why they cant come up with anything more than "it's better."

It's going to be a mild build. Just some Delta (271) regrind cams, bdl adjustable cam gears, skunk2 66mm throttle body, thermal IM gasket, gasket matched p75 intake manifod, Walbro 190, RDX injectors, catch can, try-y headers, cat delete, yonaka exhaust, 12lb flywheel, CC stage 2 clutch. on HonData


I know hicomp engines love cams but Im also thinking the big valves on the p8r head will go good with cams too. Was wondering if someone could help me out. the p8r is $250 cheaper if that helps.

 

Get the B20Z and buy a $300 B16 head. You'll thank me later.

 

Id get the P8R head. If you plan on runnning cams, then new springs should be used unless the cam specifies 'fresh oem spring set"

Its not that much lower compression, Barely enough to make a difference. So get the P8R head as it flows close to a B16 head.

Post up the cam specs. Im curious on what a 271 regrind is spec'd

 

Thought about it but it would be over $700 more.

$300 for the head
$250 more for more expensive motor
$150 vtec conversation kit
Plus ARP studs

 

I called up Delta and they assured me I could keep the stock valve train. I've searched for the specs before but I could not find them online. Maybe I can call Delta and they will send me the cam card

 

Or just get the part # and google the specs.

 

So will the p8r's have the knock sensor on the back?

 

Depends on the year made. Yes or No. Those are used in a few cars but no one knows for sure what car or what year. The P8R is rather rare. Im running one.

Your worried about the BS compression. I told you its .4 points difference. Not much of a difference. you wont even feel the difference. Just get the cheaper one.

 

lol then its not going to make much more power and probably not worth it.


im also running a p8r b20. its decent. with the intake header exhaust and good tune it was good and got out of its own way at least. i might go out and say that the better head cancels out the slightly lower compression. its not like the "high comp" is really high comp.

get whichever is in better condition/more accessible. a gsr trans will liven it up nicely if you can. for the cam, you can get the tool off ebay for like 75 bucks to replace the springs and retainers with the head still on, just gotta put air into the cylinder to hold the valve up.

for cams you got your usual suspects, 403's, 404's, brain crower's, i think rocket has a cam that outperformed the delta's 272 (search out slowsleeper, i think it was his brothers car there is a great thread about it somewhere)


you dont "need" the walbro and rdx injectors. 240's on stock pressure can handle the power this motor will make. id also pony up the 100 bucks for a bpi velocity stack they do work i had to add a fair amount of fuel after i installed mine.

 

What should I be looking for/staying away from when I pick the motor out. They said they would be glad to pull the valve cover and do a compression test for me.

 

are you getting it from a private seller or an importer? if an importer you want it to have a warranty of some sort. 30 day maybe. if something is really wrong you will know within the first few days. most of the motors from importers are in decent shape from my experience. make sure to change the tb/tensioner/wp on it. also not a bad idea to replace front and rear main seals they can dry rot from sitting for years and are a pain in the *** to replace once the mmotor is in

compression test is most accurate on a warm motor, but if they offer go for it. should probably be around 180psi (on a warm motor maybe a bit less cold) give or take. consistency between cyls is more important.

take the plugs out. do they have oil or detonation specs or deposits on them? any oil on the top of the pistons thru the plug hole?

the manifolds have to come off anyway, so pop them off and see how gummed up it is. check through the ports on the head where the valve goes into the guide for evidence of liquid oil indicating bad seals or worn guides.

if you are really picky and they offer, pop off the oil pan and look for metal shavings in the bottom of the pan.

 

Get whichever is cheaper, and get a B16 head. Even with stock cams, thr vtec head will out perform any cam combo in the non vtec heads. And then you have even more room to grow with the vtec head.

 

Are two 160lbs guys going to be able to move this engine from out of the back of a Tacoma and onto a dolly so I can roll it into my garage?

 

Bolt the rotating part of the engine stand to the motor while still in the truck. Then just stabb it in the stand and done.

 

Genius idea there. Then you only have to drop it a few inches vs a few feet.

 

I don't have a stand. Just keeping in my residential garage until my mech/tuner can fit me in his schedule. He doesn't have room for it now.

 

Youll need to port the IM to match the TB to get the benefits of going to a lager TB.

If you do swap to a vtec head, the P8R is quite rare and can get $300+ for it.

You also might have to grind down tabs on the block to get an aftermarket header to fit. Just pointing that out.. Depends on the flange.

Use the $$ u were spending for injectors and pump for a decent set of mounts. You old worn mounts wont last with the added torque.

 

Thanks a lot guys. You have been very helpful. I already bought the cams, pump and injectors. I have the cams in my b18b1 now and the idle is kinda lopey. My research led me to believe the rdx injectors would help with that specifically. I gotta great deal on the pump so I snagged it.

I have $75 put aside to port the intake manifold to 66mm to match the throttle body. I'm hoping a p75 intake manifold can be bored out that big. I noticed the holes in thermal intake manifold gasket was just a tad bigger than the ports on the spare p75 intake manifold. I'm guessing when I get them matched they will still be a little bit smaller than the ports on the cylinder head.

 

Other than an engine hoist, how else would you do it? Put it on the ground to pick it back up again? LMFAO!!!

 

I would also keep in mind that these rockers dont like to be revved hard. I set my limiter to 7200.

 

Very true. I heard somewhere around 8000 they start to want to pop out. Depending on power band most of my nonvtecs I set around 7400-7500 with valvetrain, 7000 with stock valvetrain.

Dsm 4g63's have the same style rockers and ive heard they don't like lots of rpm either

 

I do realize that this is a rather old thread. But since I have actually run BOTH motors in the same car, I thought I might comment. Honestly, stock for stock, you would be VERY hard-pressed to tell the difference between the P8R B20B and high compression B20B/B20Z. The performance of both (using the same I/H/E, intake manifold, and stock P75 ECU) is virtually identical.

As far as cams, this complicates things a little. i have never run aftermarket cams on either of my motors. But while in theory, the high comp motor should do a little better, the fact is that compression is not much higher on the high comp motor (9.6:1 vs 9.2:1). And the reality is that even 9.6:1 is not exactly ideal for most of the more worthwhile non-VTEC cams. So as far as compression, there is probably little to gain by going with the high compression motor - you will really want to increase compression on EITHER motor if you plan to run aftermarket cams. And the mere addition of PHK pistons to a P8R B20B with the stock two layer headgasket will get you around 10:1. Of course, aftermarket pistons (such as RS Machine) will get you even more.

With all of this said, I would go for the P8R B20B. ESPECIALLY if you can get it cheaper than a high comp B20. The reason for this is the better head - a head that can cost close to what you would pay for a low comp P75 B20B. And this head WILL be a better head to use if you decide to upgrade the motor internally. But even if you do nothing other than use bolt-on parts, you will do no worse with a P8R B20B than a high comp motor.