Hey everyone. I’ve searched and searched and seems I can’t get a straight answer. Long long ago, 20 years ago, I was young and dumb. I had a stock LS motor. Car was only done up for appearance for car shows at the time. I ended up getting a turbo kit for my stock LS. This was so long ago that I don’t recall how long it was till my block cracked. Being young and dumb, I slapped the turbo on, no tune, no supporting mods, at all . Car was fixed then stolen.

But anyway, fast forward to now. My kids are older and I want to get a project fun car. A second car for me as I already have my daily driver. Garage ready, tool box too. So I’m in the market to get an integra. I’m not looking to go all out with a huge motor build. But I’m looking to have a fun driving experience when I take it out. 2-3 times a week. Looking to make 275hp maybe 300. The car is light so that should be fun. My question is I would like to force induction this baby. Supercharge or turbo. But want to do it safely. So my question is, can these motors (LS or GSR) handle a turbo/ supercharge without opening up the motor to do internal work. Would I be better getting another LS or a GSR and turbo either with supporting mods, such as an exhaust, fuel mods, injectors, pump and rail. Then follow it up with a good tune. Would I be safe to run it for goals of those HP? Or should I scrap the idea? I’m open minded. So feed me the info. Thanks!!

 

LS engine with a VTEC head or, LSV. Or a GSR if you can find one locally for a good price. While you can get some decent HP out of them on stock internals, just about anyone will tell you it's never a bad thing to reinforce that block with some forged rods and pistons.. You'd want to freshen it up with a rebuild anyways to make sure it is healthy for boost, otherwise, you run the risk of killing it at any moment. One doesn't usually boost a vehicle to make it more reliable. Lol! Turbo vs supercharged each have their own pros and cons that you'll have to research and decide for yourself on. This is a topic that is pretty subjective. Same as NA or force fed. You can make power either way, just depends on your budget and patience; how much you wanna spend and what headaches you wanna deal with.

 

There are some good threads in this section from a few years ago about turbocharging stock GSR engines (I think one was by LightningTeg?) - you can make 400 on stock B-series and have it be somewhat reliable, so your goal of 275-300 is surely doable. Now, as far as not opening the engine - I agree with Txdragon. Unless you luck out and find a low-mileage engine, you're at least going to want to do all seals and gaskets at a minimum. If the engine is tired, you may be looking at a minimum doing a hone/re-ring, inspect or replace the bearings, and re-lapping the valves. It becomes a slippery slope of once you've got it that far torn apart, why not just throw in good quality aftermarket rods and pistons. It's a call you'll have to make. But to answer your question - yes, stock B-series can handle what you're looking to make.