I am getting an EK hatch thursday from a fellow H-T member that has a JDM GSR but has a B16A2 head on it. I can get a P72 head from a friend, but at the moment all I can afford to do is port the head (gsr head) or build the block (ctr pistons, and all the rebuild stuff; bearings, seals, etc.) So my question is what would net me the most power? Building the block? or porting the head and getting some cams? I plan on getting a thinner headgasket to get a little more compression (~10.8:1) if I port the head. What cams would be suitable for that compression? If I build the block I would use the B16a2 head and cams and regular head gasket (~11.8:1). The car already has an intake/test pipe/exhaust (No header, but I am getting that first, most likely and AN-R) and 65mm TB. Thanks in advance, Anton.

 

no doubt about it, blockwork.

 

well I have decided after reading this thread ( https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=717928 ) that I am getting either p30 or jdm p73 pistons for this motor. Would you still recommend getting the block done or head work? The reason I ask is because with a thinner headgasket CR on a jdm gsr is ~10.8:1.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1 2 NV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no doubt about it, blockwork.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

cool, thanks.

 

Youd make way more power with a ported head, cams and tuning...then with CTRs.

 

the power will come from the head. you wont see hardly anything if you just bump the compression a little and do nothing else.

 

block work.

head makes the most power but if you dont have a healthy block or high enough compression all the head work will be of no use.

its up to you

 

if your looking for more power go with head work more air flow equals more power and a better power curve as for block work you wony really see to much of a gain unless u bore to a bigger size and i dont mean .040 im talking about a couple of mm and that means more cash than u plan to spend i port heads for a living and i can honestly say that you will see more gain with head work .so with that said with ported heads

 

head...if the block is holding good compression definately do headwork. if it's one or the other i'd only do the block if it was blown/not holding compression/burning oil etc...

stock 10:6 plus alil mill of the head and nice cams/valvetrain would work a wonder. then port and polish if money is left over

 

I recommedn head work first.
a good flowing head will get you more air into the engine and with the combination of the cams and headporting, you can achieve that goal. higher compression and bigger bore is nice on the bottom end. but with a stock headsetup. that bottom end isnt working to its potential.

Lets say you have a GSR motor, you build the bottom end to an 84mm bore with 12:1 compression pistons. YEs thats a good block setup, but how are you going to make more power? compression will help, but not without letting more air into the engine. you need to work on air flow first before you build a bottom end.

and head packages usually last longer and dont wear out as easily as a bottom end would.

 

I think porting the head would get you more hp, but doing the block work will help your engine last longer and run better in the long run. If you eventually plan on doing both I say you start with the block first.

 

the opinions are already there... and for the most part it's a consensus that power comes from the head, but reliability comes from building block. my question is why are u changing out the b16 head for a gsr head. they're almost identical, and somepeople including I would argue that a b16 head is actually better than the gsr head. i know the difference is minimal, but don't waste the $$$ on the gsr head. get p30 pistons, ctr cams and an itr IM and TB and you got yourself a poormans r.

 

Head work. You say you can get a gsr head. Well then you already have a running car. Get some good head work done to the gsr head, then you can swap out the heads and have almost no down time. NA is all about air flow, imo. Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91’ LS-VTEC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Head work. You say you can get a gsr head. Well then you already have a running car. Get some good head work done to the gsr head, then you can swap out the heads and have almost no down time. NA is all about air flow, imo. Good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I have a 00 B16 head on my jdm gsr block in my ek hatch. So the head would be a spare, but my 2 problems slowing me down:
1) Still wanna do a leak down test to see how my rings are (If they are bad I will build the block for sure first, if they are still good my second problem still makes deciding on the head/block difficult).

2) What IM and cams to use with the GSR head. I want so pretty aggressive cams but the lack of compression (~10.8:1 w/ mugen headgasket) kinda limits what cam will work best.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bogus_ek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the opinions are already there... and for the most part it's a consensus that power comes from the head, but reliability comes from building block. my question is why are u changing out the b16 head for a gsr head. they're almost identical, and somepeople including I would argue that a b16 head is actually better than the gsr head. i know the difference is minimal, but don't waste the $$$ on the gsr head. get p30 pistons, ctr cams and an itr IM and TB and you got yourself a poormans r. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I already have a JG 65mm TB (Came on the car) and a skunk/ITR intake manifold. I really like the gsr head but you have some good points and I already have some of the parts too.

 

JDM GSR CR 10.6:1
JDM GSR CR w/ mugen head gasket 10.8:1
JDM GSR w/B16 head CR 10.2-.3:1
JDM GSR w/B16 head w/ mugen head gasket 10.4-.5:1
give or take

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1 2 NV &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">JDM GSR CR 10.6:1
JDM GSR CR w/ mugen head gasket 10.8:1
JDM GSR w/B16 head CR 10.2-.3:1
JDM GSR w/B16 head w/ mugen head gasket 10.4-.5:1
give or take </TD></TR></TABLE>
and thats why the gsr head is better

 

do head work

 

do bothi say do the block work first...u can do the head work later and not have 2 wory about taking the block out of the car....

 

port the gsr head and get some omni power flat faced valves for around 200 bucks you add flow and compression. of course this assuming the block is still healthy.

 

gsr head will give you .5 more compression but if you say you have both heads use the gsr sell the b16 you really dont need to get stainless valves but if you must get a set of dish valves get valve train for sure the reason i suggest dish valves is because flat face valves add more wieght to your reciprocating assembly plus its not all about compression keep in mind u really dont need a ton of compression to make good cylinder pressure . remember good flow can fill a cylinder just as good .good flame travel also makes power as long as your block is healthy you will not be dissapointed. plus you can use factory pistons to up your comp ratio p30's p73's will be nicefocus on rods and bearings no point on building a motor with monster power if you cant be confident it will get you from point a to point b ..good luck