I'm am interested in building a Honda drag car out of something like a 1994-2000 civic...but I have to admit I'm more familiar with V8's then with Honda 4 cylinders. So my question is what is the biggest motor that I can fit into that year Civic? I read and heard alittle about the H22 motor and the B18 motor...but I still dont know to much about them and which one would be better in building a serious drag car.

I'm basically starting from scratch when it comes to knowledge about civics so any help would be appreciated...and just so the responders know I'm planning on turbo charging and sticking a decent size nitrous shot on it as well.

Thanks

 

When choosing a Honda motor it's all about flow and compression characteristics. The H22 is not a really great choice. AAMOF, the H22 is kind-of a bad choice; not made very well IMO. Your best bet is using a B18C5 Type R head. These have very good flow. Put that head on a B20 CRV or B18 LS Integra bottom end and you've got a powerful combo. The great thing about Honda is VTEC which you can tune to get a much wider usable powerband. Hondas may be the most tuner-friendly motors with endless possibilities.

Honda blocks aren't like V8's. You're going to need to get some thicker ductile iron sleeves installed for high boost. There are many options here as well. Golden Eagle may be the best company that sleeves Honda motors. They offer closed and braced open decks. I'd go for the braced open deck personally because you'll get better coolant flow.

There's a million parts and configurations out there to go with.

The older Hondas are lighter and typically have more options, more specifically the 88 to 91 and 92 to 95 models. The CRX HF is possibly the lightest of these (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It's really awesome vehicle. I love them to death.

You've also got endless possibilites for transmission gear ratios and final drives. Many transmission gears from the same base design have different gears that can be interchanged.