Hey guys, been lurking around for a while now, finally decided to join.

I actually own a Subaru but decided I want to have a cheap Rallycross build....like B16A2 in a CRX or something to that effect.

I've been doing a lot of research but I still wanted to get some fresh opinions from the humble members of this community


I've worked on cars for years now, but I am now just getting into building motor/etc. I am sure mistakes will be made, we all have to start somewhere haha.

What is the best (cheapest) route to go on about this? Purchase a not running motor and rebuild or buy a working motor and rebuild? This car will NOT be daily driven so I will barely put any miles on it. I am not looking to do any forged pistons or anything, just OEM performance will suffice.

I appreciate the feedback guys

 

its been a while since I do anything 100% OEM, total B16 or N/A. I would recommend a known working motor. since it sound like you don't plan to force any induction. but a cheap easy build would be a D series. perfect for autocross.

 

If all you want is OEM, I would stick to buying a known working motor. Also, for what you want to do with it, you might want to consider a different motor. The B16A2 is fun, revs to the moon, and makes good power while doing it, but it doesn't have **** for torque. Consider stepping up to a B18 variant, or even a B20, or B20VTEC hybrid.

 

What rules are you constrained by in your rally cross club? For autocross classing, you can stay in the same class with a 1.6L motor in a 96-00 EX, for example. So people use B16's instead of B18's to remain as a big fish in a small pond.

I find autocross mildly amusing. Not amusing enough to build a car around some stupid classing scheme that allows you 3 mins of driving per 8 hour day, though.

Rally cross seems like a lot of fun, though...mainly because I really REALLY like driving on dirt.

But...yes...use a known good motor and swap it in. Plenty of JDM swaps available all over the place...and you can buy one with a LSD trans option. If you need to stay within a class and a 1.6L is the requisite...then try a B16B swap instead. All of them come with LSD transmissions, and they make better power.

 

Do you know exactly which D you'd recommend? I talked to the Rally instructor and he did say more torque is ideal.

Even if I pick up the known working motor, could I improve the performance and the reliability of the motor by rebuilding it? maybe swap out a couple of parts/clean it out/etc?
Thank you for reminding me. I just spent a little while reading up on the rules. I do want to stay stock, but there' sso many restrictions. Maybe swapping motor is not ideal, i will just need to pick a good motor and go with the chassis that will come with that motor (so it's stock by the manufacturs standard)

 

is there a specific reason why B series are highly recommended? Why not H?

 

^^
Make sure you keep this thought in your head when you research the differences and what it takes to swap other engines.

 

Read your first post, search up on what needs to be done to swap an h22 in, compare the price to swap in a B/D and then you get your answer.

Look up pro's and con's as well.

 

I still think a d16z6 in a crx would do the job.

 

A ZC would be fun too.