i have a bone stock 98 Ex coupe and have about 2k to dump into it. now the car has 65k miles on it and has had nothing done to it, should i:

1. fully build the SOHC motor(intake, intake manifold, throttle body, cam shaft and gear, springs and retainers, headers, cat, exhaust and pulleys.

2. turbo the old motor

3. swap it out for a b16a2

the only problem i see with the new motor and turbo is that the car would no longer be smog legal and it would be a pain to make it legal again when the time comes. any advice is welcomed and i need help so please post away.

 

I think the best thing that you could do would be to get a greddy kit and turbo the stock motor. You can make really decent power with that kit and it is 50 state smog legal. You would not believe how low my exhaust readings when I had my car inspected. Every guy at the garage told me that there was no way that I would pass and I was well under in every catagory.

The greddy kit is a great bolt on first turbo kit. It makes great power and it takes alot of the headaches and guess work out of having a turbo car. I had a greddy kit, an intercooler, and apexi ws exhaust and my 4 door was a pretty quick car and I hadn't even had it tuned yet.

You won't be able to swap a b16 for 2 grand and building up the motor would be pointless unless you were building it for a lot of boost. With basic intake/header/exhaust you will not see the gains or have as much fun with your car as you would with boost.

There is my vote greddy turbo kit.. vvvvvpssshhhh!

 

Turbo SOHC!!

you can pick up a used greddy kit for real chip and its a great beginner turbo...they go from 900-1800 and usually come with extras...if you get a cheap one, you can get a nice hondata run the fuel...

IMO building the SOHC for all motor will, in the end, be fairly expensive and will not be as fun a turbo motor...

also, IMO, i'm not a b16 fan so i didnt choose that one...the b16, stock, just doesnt impress me...

EDIT: Beat me to it...damn you

 

where could i pick up one of these kits?

 

check out groupbuycenter.com, I believe Gruppe-S was hosting a group buy on the GReddy kit, not sure if it is still going or not. If memory serves, they had a pretty good deal going.

 

A b16 would be the cheaper option to save up for in the end. I say this only from experience, as turbo can become very expensive, esspecially if you dont know what your doing. The greddy kit is an excellent starter, it will get your feet wet without causing you to have to go out and learn turbo a/r, intercooler efficiency, stand alone programing, and the endless other headaches that can arise. I did it that hard way and honestly am glad, but it was hard as hell. I say the B16 would be cheaper in the end as there is only so much you would most likely do to it, unless you decided to build it eventually. With the Greddy turbo, after you get used to the basics you'll begin to want more. The kits is excellent and provides everything you need for your first set up, but its expandable and thats where it gets expensive. I'm not saying this to keep you from doing it, but I am saying it to make sure you understand that turbocharging a car has the potential to become very expensive. Fortunatly for you your starting with a low milage motor, its just nice to have that piece of mind. Though some people on here have done excellent with turbo motors in the 120k miles range.
There is no way to truely compare the joys of having a high power turbo car to those of a high power all motor car. If you go turbo, you will be corrupted. I bote turbo, as at this point, a turbo SOHC will wipe the floor with a B16 or B18 do to the ludacris amounts of torque this engine puts out when turbo charged(yay for rod length).

oh, and try not to grin too much when your blow off valve discharges, your face might stick..

 

i think u should work on ur suspension first. and then see how much money you have left.

 

hmmm...I say it's a toss up between suspension and boost. I think I would go boost...probably b/c I already have descent suspension.

 

BooSt.. because blown is better!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by photec2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">BooSt.. because blowen is better!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

...You suggesting you like to blow? You mean 'blown is better?"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by One Term President &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

...You suggesting you like to blow? You mean 'blown is better?"
</TD></TR></TABLE>

blow me homo!! you know i can't spell

 

That's why I was helping you?

 

I am currently building an all motor d series for now just to learn about building motors and have a little fun. Mine pulls nicely for a little all motor d . Honestly I would choose either one of the first two options, but I wouldn't even consider the 3rd. If your gonna shell out the $$$ on a B then at least get a 1.8liter.

 

go turbo. i passed my smog test with the greddy turbo on my 4dr. as somebody else stated earlier in this thread, my reading were very low in every category. u can pick a used kit with extras up for under 2 grand. i just sold my greddy turbo kit with autometer a/f guage, boost guage, guage pod, blitz turbo timer, turbo xs bov, turbo xs manual boost controller, and greddy intercooler all for $1600 shipped. it was hella fun to drive and could hold its on with swapped cars. the only swap i had troubles with were gsr's. b16a's and ls's coudlnt hang. it really transforms your car into something totally different. you will have to work on your car alot more when u turn up the boost past like 6psi tho cuz turbos require attention.

 

This is about the 10,000 time I've seen this same question and my answer is always the same.

Turbo the SOHC.

 

i agree with the same...either do the sohc turbo kit...or....find a jackson racing supercharger and put money somewhere else..i.e.nitrous,head kit, ect.

 

ah so there are other tom listeners out there (the buzz)

 

Turdblow is going to be your best bet for $2000.

The Greddy kit would be my choice...

 

Go Booost!!! You will thank me later.

 

i say boost.

 

boost it...you will be smiling

 

D Series Boost, East a Stock B16A2 all day,
@ 7 psi easy up the boost and take those gsr boys

But depends if the motor is about to go, run a commersion test on it and make sure it's ready to boost, or swap that ****

 

i would get the edelbrock kit, it comes with everything the greddy kit comes with but more. Supposidly it is a better kit, i don't know from experience but just throwin out my opinion. I think it runs about $2,100....good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slowdx9585 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think it runs about $2,100....good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

Really? $2100??? where? I haven't seen it for less than $3200!!

It will be interesting to see the new kits they are coming out with... have you seen the new Edelbrock catalog? They are coming out with some awesome parts!!! Too bad they are so expensive!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slowdx9585 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i would get the edelbrock kit, it comes with everything the greddy kit comes with but more. Supposidly it is a better kit, i don't know from experience but just throwin out my opinion. I think it runs about $2,100....good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

I have had a greddy kit and I am telling you that I had no problems.

Why would you tell a beginner to buy a kit you have no experience with just because you heard it was better? You saw his options and his budget, the greddy kit fit both.