B16A, why not B18A?

[ICEMAN707]

has anyone ever thought of having a 90-93 2nd gen teg B18A swap? if the B16A swap is easy as shown by juan(oldschoolswap), why not the B18A? it's only a few liters smaller than the a20 but it's dohc. swap in a set of performance pistons and the b18 would more than make up for the displacement difference (power wise). i've seen the 90-93 teg sedans not the hatch, and they are almost similar in size and weight to the 3gee. i wouldn't be surprised if they are the acura version of the accord 3gee. if there are OBD issues or hydro tranny issues, what about the first gen teg's (87-89) B18A then? at least the b-series would be a better platform for mods right? also, would the b18c's turbos fit an earlier b18a?

[A20Accord]

has anyone ever thought of having a 90-93 2nd gen teg B18A swap? if the B16A swap is easy as shown by juan(oldschoolswap), why not the B18A? it's only a few liters smaller than the a20 but it's dohc. swap in a set of performance pistons and the b18 would more than make up for the displacement difference. i've seen the 90-93 teg sedans not the hatch, and they are almost similar in size and weight to the 3gee. i wouldn't be surprised if they are the acura version of the accord 3gee. if there are OBD issues or hydro tranny issues, what about the first gen teg's (87-89) B18A then? at least the b-series would be a better platform for mods right? also, would the b18c's turbos fit an earlier b18a?

B18a's come in 90-93 Tegs! 90-91 are OBD-0 92-93 are OBD-1. They come with Cable Trannies and it's just as expensive as a B16a Swap, because you still need the place racing parts.

[k-roy]

Whew, I'll try to crorrect this. I just picked up a 90 Integra so I have done some studying up on it.
Yes it would be just as easy of a swap.
Its not a few litres smaller, its only 2/10th of a litre smaller.
Pistons alone will no up the displacement, you will need to resleeve the block.
Yes it is about the same weight and size as a 3G.
But the acura version would be the first gen Integra form the 80s. It is similar though.
It has a cable tranny so the one from 90-93 would be easier than a hydro conversion.
The OBD issue can be resolved by swapping the harness or getting the Place racing wire conversion.
The first gen Integra motor has a ton of differances, you would be better of not using it, it lacks decent power.
Yes the B series has tons of mods available for a decent price.
Yes the turbo manifold will fit from a B18C to a B18A

In my searching I found another supplier of the Place Racing swap kit: http://www.fullthrottlenyc.com/mount_kits/place_racing_mk.shtml

[ICEMAN707]

thanks kroy and a20accord that helped alot. so why not do b18a with b18c turbo then? instead of messing around with a hard-to-find-parts b20a? also, perhaps even b18c1 vtec head swap on the old b18a? you'll get a more powerful engine with the turbo and all other performance goodies with an updated engine management to OBD2 right?

OR better yet, just get a b18c with the b18a cable tranny???

[k-roy]

thanks kroy and a20accord that helped alot. so why not do b18a with b18c turbo heads then? perhaps even b18c1 vtec head swap?

Thats all been done before. The 92-93 Integra had VTEC on the GSR model.
Check out the other site I joined a while back. Chroncho80 and kicker1_solo are there too, probably a few more. http://www.g2ic.com Kinda like 3geez, its only for the 2nd gen Integra.

[Blue Impact]

I'm also a member of g2ic, but I'm fairly new with G2 Integras.

Anyways, 87-89 Integras do NOT have B18's in them. They're D16's, but unlike Civic D16's G1 Integra's D16's are DOHC. If you're serious about swapping a G2 Integra motor, don't go with the B18A. Get the B17 (VTEC), but then again, it would probably cost more than doing the B16A swap. If you wanna stick with B18's then you might wanna just go LS/VTEC. I'm sorry if I can't explain anything. Remember, I'm fairly new with G2 Integras. Like kroy said, go check out g2ic.com for more info. Good luck with what you're doing.

[ICEMAN707]

yeah by the time im done with all my custom bodywork the car will look badass, but needs some more power. the a20a3 with the headers and freeflow catback is doing a pretty good job, but i think there's not much more i can do to this engine due to the lack of aftermarket parts. a new remanufactured engine is definitely on my list in the future to keep this car running for another 16 yrs. but due to the a20's lack of aftermarket goodies, i just figured i'd look into a remanufactured b18a swapped in....do an ls/vtec like blue impact mentioned..... if that's about as easy as the b16a swap. thanks for the info. i'll definitely keep that in the back of my head. as of now i still have to finish up on the body work in time for paint in a month or two. then it's time for some custom interior and fiberglassing and I.C.E. stuff (in-car-electronics). after all, i am the ICEMAN. hehe. (i install car stereos for a living) :D

[SteveDX89]

Deciciding which engine you want it a tough process. They are many factors involved. Cost, difficulty, how much power you want, availability. A B18A from a junk yard can be had for proabably less than a $1000. The benefits of this engine is the low-end torque. The disadvantage, if you could call it that, is that it doesn't have VTEC. This is why the B18A is a basis for alot of LS/VTEC swaps. If you go that route, it will be more than a B16A swap. Steve (88LXi68) has an LS/VTEC is his car. He completely tore that engine apart and rebuilt it, I think and he's pretty helpful. If you do LS/VTEC you want a B16A head not a B18C. The B16 head flows better than the B18C. Good luck no matter which you choose and keep us updated.

[Justin86]

the prob with the LS/VTEC swap is finding the head for a good price. Then with the B17A1 in the 92-93 GSR, they are really hard to find. As for the B18 you can have them bored and sleeved up to a 2.0L. Price wise a LS/VTEC isn't a bad way to go as long as you can get a head for cheap so I would start looking for a head first then get the engine and everything else.

[Gregg86DX]

It seems to me that the easiest way to do an LS/Vtec would be to buy a B16A complete swap for around $1200-$1300 and track down a B18A short block. They should be pretty easy to find in the bone yards. That way you have all the pieces you need for the swap (cable tranny, axles, ECU, etc...) and you can simply replace the B16 bock with a B18 block. Any reason this would not work?

Gregg

[3rd GEN]

vtec is overratted...
just swap in a fully built b20 or b18b and you will shit kick alot of cars..plus b20s and b18bs are the best for turbo and make perfect sleeper engines..
b20's can be found for relatively cheap, compaired to a b18c
b18b's are pretty cheap aswell..just throw some cams, i/h/e and built it and you'll be flyin

[ICEMAN707]

thanks guys, you're all very helpful. this is what 3geez is all about. i guess a remanufactured b18a engine is on the list. but is the installation labor about the same as putting in a new remanufactured a20a3 if i get the placeracing mounts and harness?

[NXRacer]

i cant believe nobody has mention just turbo the damn a20. This whole b series crap is getting old. Why spend ALL that money on a motor swap that EVERYBODY has and instead go with a turbo a20?? You'll save a GRIP of money. Plus i can count on my fingers how many people have this setup so its different and everybody will be like WTF is THAT. But it'll be quick.

[ICEMAN707]

yeah that too. i want a remanufactured a20a3 with performance internals and turbo. im still waiting on a cleaner turbo setup though if im going to fork over $1500. i like RobT5580's setup. looks clean. but is it really wise to turbo an engine with little aftermarket support and hard to find parts due to its age?

[SteveDX89]

i cant believe nobody has mention just turbo the damn a20. This whole b series crap is getting old. Why spend ALL that money on a motor swap that EVERYBODY has and instead go with a turbo a20?? You'll save a GRIP of money. Plus i can count on my fingers how many people have this setup so its different and everybody will be like WTF is THAT. But it'll be quick.

You can probably count on your fingers how many people have a B-swap. If not, use your toes and you'll have them all. The most appealing part of a swap is that it's a swap. The engine wasn't meant to go in there. You spend more than putting a turbo on the A20, I'll give you that. However, it'd be a good idea to rebuild the A20 since there's so many miles on these engines. Also the A20 has little aftermarket support. With a B series engine, you can find many more parts that you can just buy and bolt on and get more power. It just depends on what you want.

[NXRacer]

Steve - the biggest reason for a motor swap is to get more power, not because its something different. Why go to the trouble of swapping in a motor thats not as strong as the one thats already in there??

Iceman - there is enough necessary part support out there for a high power build up. There may not be a ton of options, but thats not really necessary since the parts we can get are cheap anyway.

[SteveDX89]

Strength depends on what you're referring to. If you mean how much abuse the motor can take, yes the A20 is better. "Old Ironsides" will put up with anything. If you mean powerwise, a B-series is stronger. A swap is meant for more power, I agree. I think I worded my comment wrong. I mean it's different in respect to the 3g. You don't often see tons of 3g with swaps. That's usually reserved with civics and integras.

[3rd GEN]

a swap is also to complete your project car.if thats also why your after a swap.. thats why i want one..not only for the power, but also, it's another piece in the puzzle to my project car.

[Justin86]

The only thing that B-series have over the A20 is a better choice of parts and with the VTEC make more power in stock form. I've go through prices it would cost be about 6K more for a VTEC swap then doing the same mods to the A20. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money and I want to get my engine build up done ASAP.

[Blue Impact]

[QUOTE=Justin86]The only thing that B-series have over the A20 is a better choice of parts and with the VTEC make more power in stock form.QUOTE]

Well, I think DOHC is better than SOHC if both engines are about the same size. Also, not all B-series motors are VTEC.