These questions are asked all the time but now it's my turn. I have been wanting to get a swap..for for 2 reasons I haven't
1) Don't have all the money yet
2) I cannot decide on my life what I want

So I am asking you're opinion to my problem. I have narrowed it down to 3 choices. What do you think would me the most effective smartest motor to buy? And please explain..this will help me determine my decison instead of going back and forth. I have done research to narrow it down to these 3 but if you feel there is something better..please tell me Thank you

B16B (CTR)
98+
DOHC, VTEC, 16 Valves
Hydraulic
1600cc
185 @ 8200rpm
118 lb-ft @ 7500rpm
10.8:1
9000rpm

B18C (GSR)
94-01
DOHC, VTEC, 16 Valves
Hydraulic
1797cc
170 @ 7600rpm
128 lb-ft @ 6200rpm
10.0:1
8200rpm

B18C5 (ITR)
96+
DOHC, VTEC, 16 Valves
Hydraulic
1979cc
210 @ 8100rpm
134 lb-ft @ 7500rpm
10.8:1
8900rpm

b16b-$3700
b18c-$2800
b18c5-$4200

 

go for the ITR if you can afford it. If not spring for the GSR

 

def. itr if you got the dough.

 

B18C5, hands down.

You posted the reasons already.

 

what are you goals and plans for the motor? NA or FI? if you are gunna keep it stock go with the b18c5.

 

yeah I know I did..but some people have told me that I would be dumb to pay that much for the b18c5, or that its more cost effective if I bought the b18c..and that the b18c5 is a hard install and I shouldnt waste mt time or money. But I have read up on these swaps and none of them seem really any different then the other. I could be wrong but that is why I am asking. I see that alot of people on this site have swaps..just thought I would ask

 

Anyone who says that you can do a B18C1 swap easier is lame. It actually has some extra wiring (no big deal) than the B18C5.

What year car do you have?

 

Buy the most power you can afford.

It can't get any simpler than that.

 

ITR, I doubt many here would disagree. If you choose otherwise, over time you may look back wishing you had waited enought time to save up the extra for the ITR swap.

 

1st choice.....C5

2nd choice....B18C

3rd choice....B16B with a GSR crank

 

you know the answer. the question is your budget.

 

If you can afford the b18c5, then do that, especially if you plan on going N/A. Just realize that with that same amount of money, you can get b16a/turbo, LS/VTEC, If you want torque, then you can even try for an h22a swap. It all depends on what you wanna do with the car.

 

i think it depends on how far you plan on going with your mods on this engine.

i went for the B18C (GSR) motor because i'll eventually upgrade to better parts anyways. why spend over a grand more for parts i'll end up ditching?

for example... the ITR no doubt has a better head than the GSR, but if i were to buy an ITR motor, i'd have the head removed and ported and polished just like if had a GSR motor.

- so much for the mild port and polish job the ITR head already has. if there is any price difference in getting this done, it can't be very much.

the ITR also has a better valvetrain/cams which would be pointless to have since i'd end up replacing these with Toda B's and a Toda valvetrain.

- so why pay the extra cash for something i won't use?

the ITR has a better intake manifold, but if you upgrade to a Skunk2 IM (which is supposedly better), you're gonna have another part laying around that you paid extra for and not going to use.

the only parts off a ITR motor i really want are the pistons and the tranny, but i already have the LSD. the only thing i'm missing are the closer gear ratios, which could be helped by getting a 4.785 final drive.

another thing you should think about is the condition the motor. the CTR and ITR engine's were built for a targeted buyer in mind. so you know they've probably been run pretty hard.
i rarely see an old man driving an ITR. they're usually owned by younger adults or kids, who have a heavy foot.
however, i do see a lot of middle aged men and women that drive GSR's.

if you do go with C5, you might be able to get some of your money back by selling IM, cams etc... but even then, you would have still spent about the same amount of money you would have, if you had gotten a GSR engine.

like i said, i think it depends on what you plan on doing with the motor. a B18C5 hatch is going to be quick... throw on some bolt-on's and you're probably gonna be a happy camper... it's all up to you.

i just wanted to give you an example of what my plans are.
and if anyone thinks my plans have a "flaw" or something, let me know.
but so far i think it makes sense to me.

 

in this order ITR-GSR-CTR

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pho Real &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">in this order ITR-GSR-CTR</TD></TR></TABLE>

what he said. But money is ofcourse a huge factor. If you don't have it you don't have it. Not to mention, what are your plans afterward, such as forced induction or NA. Good luck, B series rock!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thehatchninja &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">1st choice.....C5

2nd choice....B18C

3rd choice....B16B with a GSR crank</TD></TR></TABLE>

Better yet, with an ITR crank They`ll never see you coming, that along w/ some spec B`s, you`re in the high 12`s all day...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blazin Si &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why spend over a grand more for parts i'll end up ditching?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's how I see it too...

 

I would go h22 which is what i'm doing and cost's about as much as the gsr and will be faster than any of those swaps. But if its just those i would go c5 for FI or NA. Oh and the jdm type R is 200 i belive not 210. Could be wrong though

 

There is no replacement for displacement. Go 1.8 at least.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tonesdef &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would go h22 which is what i'm doing and cost's about as much as the gsr and will be faster than any of those swaps. But if its just those i would go c5 for FI or NA. Oh and the jdm type R is 200 i belive not 210. Could be wrong though</TD></TR></TABLE>

Funny, I didn't see H22A as a choice up there.

Also the bolded text is totally debatable.

 

y0 Eh2, Id really wanna know your input on what Blazin Si said. Soon Ill have an EG and enough money for a c1. Why would I fork over a grand and some for a c5 when what im buying it for is getting ditched or done better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WAFFLES &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Buy the most power you can afford.

It can't get any simpler than that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

itr

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tadeh &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">y0 Eh2, Id really wanna know your input on what Blazin Si said. Soon Ill have an EG and enough money for a c1. Why would I fork over a grand and some for a c5 when what im buying it for is getting ditched or done better.


</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah you guys say that it'll all get ditched when you "upgrade" but nothing is certain when it comes to spending money on these cars.

You will NEVER be able to top an O.E Honda build in terms or reliability and quality.

Once someone tears into any engine to "upgrade" it you are opening it up to human error.

Plus if I ever go to "upgrade" I can sell off my ITR stuff and make over half the money back that I'm spending on parts.

I've owned both the B18C1 and B18C5 and the B18C5 is hands down better. there is no qiestion about it.

I have gone into GREAT details plenty of times here on why you cannot duplicate B18C5 performance with a B18C1 plus the difference in price from an ITR swap. It will not happen.

I'll give a quick rundown as to why, and then I'll go and look for my very detailed list of why it's not possible.

B18C5 has these things that the B18C1 doesn't:

Better cams
Higher CR pistons
Better intakle manifold
Hand P&P'd head even though it's mild (still outflows the GS-R head)
Moly-coated pistons
Lighter flywheel
Bigger throttle body
Blueprinted bottom end (much more precise tolerances in bearing choices, etc.)
Better rods
Closer geared and LSD-equipped tranny

So tell me how you're going to duplicate all of those things with maybe $1,200-$1,500.00 tops?

Hell that will maybe get a used ITR tranny not installed!

When comparing the costs don't forget to add in labor too. You might be a do-it-yourselfer, and that's great, but again remember that rebuilding an engine is not something you can just bust out tools and do with precision. It requires some skill, speciality tools like torque wrenches, ring clamps, honing equip, etc. and that **** costs money too.

If you have mad loot and plan on doing a full engine build then yes the B18C5 is not necessary. Buy a B18C shortblock and go to town, add in a P&P'd B16A head, pistons of choice, rods, ITR tranny, etc. but don't even think it will be anywhere near as cheap as a B18C5 swap.

If you're going boostb then I'd also start with a B18C1 or even an LS block and go from there.

Bottom line?

Think about how molg it takes to save up money for a swap. If you're complaning about the price of an ITR swap over a GS-R swap then I doubt you'll be upgrading that B18C1 swap any time soon to outperform an ITR swap because it will cost more money that the sheer difference in swap prices.

IMO the B18C5 is a much better buy than the B18C1.

 

By the way the specs on the ITR motor are wrong up on the first post...

11:1 is the JDM CR and they are rated at only 200hp.

10.6:1 is the USDM B18C5's CR and they are rated at 195hp.