DragRace_Ray

B series

Big brother to the D series, you get plenty of choices. Unfortunately, they are all more expensive than the D series. And as in most cases, you get what you pay for. Most of these engines are larger displacement and the least powerful B series engine is a match for the best the D series has to offer.

Up until recently, the only way to get one of these bad boys in your car was to have custom mounts fabricated or turning your car over to a guy with a welding torch *cringe*. Well, there being a public demand for these engines, somebody was sure to come up with something to solve the problem. Enter Hasport and Place Racing. Both came out with a bolt in mounting kit for a reasonable amount of money. These kits will put any of the B series engines into a 4th gen civic or 2nd gen CRX.
That solves the physical installation. Now comes wiring. And it gets ugly. You have to switch your car to whatever ecu and wiring harness that came with the engine you get. On top of that you’re going to need the transmission and axles to pull this off. All these things add up and are what make the B series a more expensive swap.

* The B18A and B18B. From 90-current Integra LS/ GS
DOHC 1.8 Non VTEC. Hp from 130-142 and tq from 121-127 ft/lbs, all depending on the year of the engine. As with the some of the D series, these engines are available domestically and this makes finding one for a decent price and verifying the miles by VIN code a little easier. And when you consider, that most of the Integras sold here are with this type of engine, it only helps availability/ price. The larger displacement and lightweight of the CRX make these engines torque something to smile about. As far as the drag racing/performance import world is concerned, the Integra is king but these low-end model engines get no respect. Which makes them cheap. I’ve seen blocks go for $700 at the local salvage yards.

* The B16x. 90-91 JDM and Euro CRX/Civic, various JDM Integras, 94-97 Del Sol vtec, and 99-current Civic si.
DOHC 1.6 VTEC. This little gem has been around for awhile. It’s actually has several different configurations, like the B16A, B16B, B16A4, etc. Hp varies slightly but you can count on 160 hp, 111 ft/lbs of tq and an engine that loves to rev. Each configuration requires a little something different to make it work so it’s worth your time to do the homework.
Personally, I think this is one of the ideal engines to put in the CRX. It was designed for the car but never made it to the U.S. shores, so finding a complete package to swap (engine, tranny, ecu, axles etc) should start around $1600. The newer the engine, the more expensive its going to be though. I’ve seen complete swaps out of the newer Civic si going for 3500. Those people in Europe, Australia, Japan etc have no idea how lucky they are to be able to pick one of these up stock. The morons at Honda really blew it by not getting these to the U.S. and replacing the CRX with the Del Sol. *sigh* But I digress

* The B20B. 1997-98 CRV
DOHC 2.0 Non VTEC. 126 hp and 122 ft/lbs. (9.1:1 compression ratio)
The B20Z. 1999-00 CRV
DOHC 2.0 Non VTEC. 146 hp and 133 ft/lbs. (9.6:1 compression ratio)
Want big displacement(for a Honda, anyway) without abandoning the tried and true B-series? This is your answer. Note the difference in the B20B and Z models. The B20B is usually the cheaper of the two, being older and having less power. A lot of tuners usually don't care which one they get because they are going to custom build to their own specs. But if you're staying relatively stock, 20 hp and 11 ft/lbs is a big enough difference to warrant some extra attention.

* The B17. 92-93 Integra GSR
DOHC 1.7 VTEC. Hp is similar to the B16 at 160 but tq is better at 117. A predecessor to the B18C1, there aren’t many out there. If you do find one, they are typically with higher miles but they are significantly cheaper than the newer GSR engines

* The B18C1. 94-present Integra GSR
DOHC 1.8 VTEC. What can I say, this is the storm trooper of the Honda performance invasion. It makes 170 hp and 128 ft/lbs. It’s being swapped into all manner of civics, lower end integras, and of course, the CRX. It’s power output and closer gear ratio tranny make it quite a motivating force in propelling the CRX down the street. Because of its reputation and the lesser numbers of GSRs sold, this engine is a tad on the expensive side. You can count on spending 2800-4000 for a complete swap. There is also a JDM version of this engine simply called B18C that gets imported in small numbers.

* The B18C5 97-98, 00 Integra Type R
DOHC 1.8 VTEC. Imagine the GSR on steroids. Power has been massaged up to 185 hp. The tranny is even more closely geared than the GSR and comes standard with Limited Slip Differential to manage wheel spin. Very rare piece of engineering marvel. Expect to spend 4500-6000 for this complete setup. As with the GSR, there is a JDM counterpart called B18C spec R that finds it’s way to the US occasionally.

H series


* The H22x 92-00 Preludes
DOHC 2.2 or 2.3 VTEC. With a special mount kit, like the B series, this monster can go in your CRX. I wouldn’t consider this combination unless you are going to do nothing but ¼ mile this car because your handling will be shot. If you want to get an idea of what I mean, have a hefty friend sit on your hood and try driving around. Too much weight on the front will cause your car to have massive understeer. But if that’s all right, you won’t be disappointed. The most torque that you can shake a stick at.

Other Go Fast alternatives

Transmissions, mix and match for your application/taste. There are different gear ratio trannys for both D and B series engines. If you take an engine with same power and try it with a close ratio tranny and then the longer gear ratio tranny, you’ll see the shorter the gears, the faster the car will accelerate. You go thru shifting 1-5 sooner too. Problem with this is you end up in 5th gear by 45 mph and have to cruise on the highway at 4500 rpms. So the trick is to find the right balance between acceleration and cruising at highway speeds.

Head Swapping. Okay, why? Well, it’s easier than an actual engine swaps and is a good option if only your head goes bad and your bottom end is fine. While it’s fairly inexpensive to just strap a new head on an engine, it really pays to do the research on whatever your attempting.

D series

D16A6 block with D16Z6 or D16Y8 head. Referred to as a Mini-Me, you get to keep your stock block and bolt on a VTEC head. Hp is about 130 and tq is about 108. I say “about” because there are so many small variables that will affect results. You basically unbolt everything from the stock head, remove it and then drop in the new one and bolt everything back up. The Y8 head is the easiest and the Z6 requires some fiddling with the distributor. At this point you’ve got a stock si engine but the compression is higher, between 10.4- 11.1 vs the stock 9.1. That means you’re probably going to have to run premium unleaded or face detonation problems. There are ways to get the compression ratio down. Switch to a thicker head gasket and try aftermarket turbo pistons (expensive) or use D16Z6 pistons, that will lower it .6-1.0.
Now you’re faced with wiring up the VTEC to work. It’s either the switch mentioned in the D16Z6 swap above, a Field Vtec controller or a programmed ecu from Zdyne. Typically a VTEC head will go for $175-250

B series

B18B block with B18C1 or B16 head. Referred to as a LS/VTEC, you take a stock LS block and put the GSR or B16 head on it. The reason for this? The LS is actually a slightly larger block than a GSR, this makes more torque, but it doesn’t rev as freely as a VTEC head. So you’re getting the best of both worlds. One of the drawbacks is now you have a top end that’s rev happy but a bottom end that wasn’t designed to rev that high, so many people bulletproof the bottom end before tackling this.