I know that some of the questions I have will already have been posted up but I have used the search engine and there wasnt any real good answers to my questions.

So I am looking at putting together a B20 turbo setup over the winter but im still a little weary of what people say about the B20 cylinder walls being weak. Most people suggest going with a B20Z but im thinking get a 1998 (same year as my car) B20B motor because it will be cheaper and easier to find. Is there a huge difference between the 2 motors other than compression ratio (pistons) ? For the tranny I am not sure what would be best. The car will be a daily driver so I want to have a good balance in the gearing so I can get good fuel economy aswell as have quick acceleration when needed. So my choices would be between the LS/GS tranny or a GSR LSD, which would you recommend and why?

When it comes to the motor i was thinking of possibly doing the CRvtec conversion but I want it to be reliable which ive heard its not. IF I dont do a CRvtec conversion i was thinking of getting the head P&P, maybe some throttle body work, aftermarket intake manifold(suggestions), sleeve the cylinders, new pistons/rods etc. What would you recommend to make the B20B turbo very reliable but not get like $10000 deep into the engine.

For the turbo im gonna pick up a T3 turbo from precision or turbonetics most likely with a RevHard manifold so I can keep my AC and power steering. As far as the wastegate and BOV go I am looking for some suggestions on good quality products. I will probably run like 5psi daily and 8-10 when im in the mood. I will get the piping mandrel bent by an exhaust shop and all the other little fittings and stuff I can get at home Depot or some other places. For the ECU im guessing a Hondata unit would be best, which one would you recommend? Also for the actual ECU of the car which would I have to get ?

Thats all I can think of right now but i will have more questions. If you can give me an approx cost on stuff like the engine and turbo and tranny I would appreciate it aswell.

 

Oh yeha I will need to do an auto to manual conversion so if you can list what I will need for this conversion or if you have a link to the conversion done on a 1998 Civic that would help.

 

CRVTEC is reliable, its just the weenies who cheap out on parts complain later on when there motor craps out on them.

fast cheap reliable

pick 2

as far as motors, i can't tell ya as its up in the air about the b20, havn't hear alot of users turboing it and what results they have achieved.

are you keeping it auto or conversion

 

How do you make the CRvtec reliable? I know you have to drill some new oil holes but what else is needed?

For sure swapping to manual, I wanted to convert the car now but it wouldnt be worth it when i want a swap anyways. I have read of a couple guys making good numbers with B20's turbo'ed, some over 300whp on around 12 psi.

 

as far as auto > manual

your gonna need

shift linkage
pedal cluster
clutch master cylinder / slave (if your tranny doens't come with one)
clutch lines from m/c to slave
shifter for shift linkage

 

http://www.c-speedracing.com/howto/b20vtec/b20vtec.php

 

thanks for the link matt. I have a feeling the auto to manual conversion is gonna be a headache, luckily ill have all winter to do it.

 

if you need help come winter let me know

 

Will do matt, luckily I will be storing it somewhere with a LARGE air compressor, tank and hoses.

 

another good link


it can be a reliable engine... just get it built by the right shop and dont wish for miracles with the rev limiter... and of course dont go cheap on the parts...

or if you want another method of getting a 2.0L dohc vtec get a gsr and buy that crower stroker kit... not sure how much that kit costs but it'd be a nice little set up in the end too

 

on a another note with the b20's though... some of the b20b's have the higher compression... it goes by the year they were made... in 96 the b20b was 126 hp or the "lower" value... and in the end they were 146hp... the year that switch happened i have no clue... i remember reading that on honda tech a while back

 

A B20B vtec turbo would be crazy but probably not good for daily driving. So im looking for more info on turbo'ing the B20B and making it reliable. I heard having it bored to 85mm and then sleeving it would be the best way to make it strong but I dunno what kind of sleeves etc.

 

turbo generally isn't the greatest for reliability... cool factor is there but you know... why not look into the h22? dont have to build it or nothing and you get honda reliability to boot... plus a better shift mechanism

 

I want to keep my PS and AC, plus it does effect handling although some say it wont. Turbo isnt reliable if you use it unwisely and if your running like 10+ psi daily. I figure at like 5psi with a B20B built up I should be good. I want to get around 240whp with the engine and I think thats attainable if I take my time and get the best stuff I can.

 

yep no doubt... if you put good stuff in you'll get good stuff out i jsut want a car i can beat up and smoke most cars around with so the h22 is ideal cause its so over built for a civic chassis

 

yup an H22 in a civic will smoke alot of cars stock and if you do a little work on em it would be a nice setup but I like PS and A/C and also having a decently balanced car so i dont think its the engine for me. B20B torque is nice too.

 

personally Chris I think you should slow down... take one step at a time....

first do the B20 hell Honda wouldn't have placed it in the CRV if they didn't think it would be reliable...

leave it NA for now try it out see if you like it get it all working.. benifit to this is you know you have a stock engine and it's working within design settings....also you don't have to re-wire your car... (huge plus right there)

after you've tried it for a bit then add to it.. personally on the B20 I'd keep the boost low and I wouldn't add a VTEC head to it.. but thats just me...one step at a time...

 

crap as for trany LSD... get one you'll have alot more torque and therefore experence wheel spin like none before you

 

I am gonna be doing this over the course of like 6 months atleast and I wont be driving the car by the time the engine is in the car. I figure it will be easier to do alot of the engine stuff with the engine out of the car.

If I get the engine one month and then get the manifold the next month etc and piece it together it will be down by the time I can put the car on the road without getting it all salty.

For the tranny I would prefer to get the GSR LSD but I have heard the LS tranny might be better cause it has
"longer" gears?

If I do the B20B the boost wont go higher than 10psi and i am thinking of sleeving the block to make it stronger. Would you go with a B18b over a B20b just because it would be less likely to have an issue at 10psi with stock internals?

 

10 psi sounds a bit high for stock internals i think

definately get the gsr lsd tranny over the ls one though