Honda/Acura FAQ (LSVTEC, Compression Calculator, ECU codes, etc)

[Vteckidd]

In an attempt to cut down on repeated questions, im doing a write up and gettign good info from other sites on FAQ about honda/Acuras. PM me if you want or see some info i missed.

LS/VTEC Information

Ls/vtec is the mating of the B18A/B to a B-series Vtec head like the B18C1, B18C5, B17A or B16A head. The amazing part about this swap is that the Ls blocks did not come with Vtec so there are a few mods you need to know to do the swap right.

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. The Down Side. The B18a/b has a low r/s ratio 1.53 which is not bad compared to the 1.58 of a gsr. The b18a/b was not made to rev over 7000 r.p.m's so it has poor lubrication, bad rod bolts, rods, oil and water pumps, and piston valve relief’s. You can fix all these problems, as you can install vtec block oil squirters for lubricating the rods and piston. This helps to save the pistons, rods and bearings at high rpm's. You can install ARP rod bolts. And get upgraded rods or shot-peined. Also some vtec pistons are recommended. An ls/b20 piston has a 31mm valve relief on the piston, a VTEC head uses a 33mm valve. so valve to piston contact is imminent if you use a big camshaft on a stock LS bottom end.

2. Oil lines. The Ls block does not have a Vtec oil passage (you need this hole to produce the oil pressure to lock the vtec lobes rocker arm) so you will need to tap the hole on the head or weld it shut. When threading it shut use a 1/8ntp fitting. Its best to have a machine shop thread it for the 1/8th fitting and then just screw it in. Next you have to make an external line from the oil pressure sender to the head. Use a 4an to 3/8th ntp plug on the head to a steal braided line to tee'd of to the oil pressure sender hole. You will need a 1/8th tee fitting, a 1/8th to 3/4th's fitting for the line to the tee, a 1/8th to 1/8th adapter to plug the block, and plug the oil pressure sender in the back of the tee. So it will look like this (the T will be used as the tee fitting) 18th to 1/8th adapter T oil pressure sender sensor oil line to head. A suggestion is to have the tee fitting so it is not directly on the block (especially if you are installing an oil pressure gauge) as it can literally crack the threads and you will shoot oil everywhere. So try to run ss lines to someplace that can support the weight. Contact GOlden Eagle Manufacturing to buy their COMPLETE LSVTEC conversion kit for under $200(comes with headgasket as well)

3. You will use the Ls head gasket.

4. Dowel pins: The head needs to be modified for the dowel pins to fit. You have to move and re-drill the dowel pins to be able to fit the head. On the intake side right below where you put the 1/8pipe fitting that plugs the vtec oil passage, you will drill and install one of the dowel pins and do the same on the other side at the exact same point.

5. Timing belt. You will use the Ls timing belt if you use the Ls water pump and the gsr if you use a vtec B17/16 or B18c1/5.

6. Head studs. You will use the vtec head studs for the ls/vtec set-up. I suggest ARP if you want to spend the money.

7. Oil Pump. The oil pumps on the ls's suck so you might want to upgrade to a vtec one or a b20 as they are same part number as the gsr.

8. Heads. There are many heads you can use and there are little differences between them.

First off there is the GSR head which give you a higher compression than the other b-series heads because of its 41.6cc combustion chamber. The smaller combustion chamber makes .2 more compression. Then there is the b16/17a head which are the same the only difference is that the b17a has a p61 stamped on the back of the intake manifold the b16/17a head is a better flowing head 5.25% in fact and a larger combustion chamber 42.7cc's. Then there is the type r which flows even better than the b16a head and has the same combustion chamber. To put this in perspective the b18a/b has a 45cc combustion chamber.

9. GSR Block Girdle. You can use the GSR block girdle on the ls. This will reinforce the bottom end and keep the moving parts in its place. All you need to get is the 3 main caps in the middle, bolts, windage, oil pan and oil pick.

10. Pistons. You can use any b-series vtec piston in your ls block. Any 1.6 b-series piston will be raised by about one full point in the ls block like the b16a(pr3 pistons will raise it from the stock 10.2 comp in the b16a to 11.2ish in the ls block so keep this in mind when building the ls block. Also keep in mind about the combustion chamber size (See heads) when building the motor. .

11. Conclusion. This information should help you get an idea of what it takes to build an LS/VTEC motor. As always, please, if you don’t know what you are doing, call a mechanic who can help you with anything.


B20VTEC is the same as LSVTEC except you use the B20 block instead of the LS block. what this does is get you Discplacement.

[Vteckidd]

A stock LS BLOCK with a VTEC head usually makes around 145-150WHP and 115TQ.

A stock GSR usually makes around 145-150WHP and 110TQ.

A stock B16 usually makes around 135whp and 100TQ

All B series BORES are 81mm STOCK. The most you can safely bore a STOCK UNSLEEVED block is 82mm or 1mm over. 83mm for a race application.

If you SLEEVE a b16 and bore it to 84mm you have a 1.8L now with a stock Crank.

If you sleeve a GSR and bore it to 84mm you have a 2.0L now with a stock crank

If you sleeve a LS and bore it to 84mm you have a 2.0l now with a stock crankshaft.

THe safest you can bore a SLEEVED motor to is 85.5mm on the street. 86mm for race applications.

Places that do sleeving:
Golden Eagle
Darton
Benson
RS MAchines
AEBS
expect to pay around $1000 for a SLEEVED block

Compression Ratios:
Here is a good site that does compression ratios for you, its not 100% accurate but gives you a good idea what combos do what for your D and B series.
Compression Calculator

ECU Codes and Trouble shooting:
ECU Thread and wiring for Swaps
1 O2A - Oxygen sensor #1
2 O2B - Oxygen sensor #2
3 MAP - manifold absolute pressure sensor
4 CKP - crank position sensor
5 MAP - manifold absolute pressure sensor
6 ECT - water temperature sensor
7 TPS - throttle position sensor
8 TDC - top dead centre sensor
9 CYP - cylinder sensor
10 IAT - intake air temperature sensor
12 EGR - exhaust gas recirculation lift valve
13 BARO - atmospheric pressure sensor
14 IAC (EACV) - idle air control valve
15 Ignition output signal
16 Fuel injectors
17 VSS - speed sensor
19 Automatic transmission lockup control valve
20 Electrical load detector
21 VTEC spool solenoid valve
22 VTEC pressure valve
23 Knock sensor
30 Automatic transmission A signal
31 Automatic transmission B signal
36 traction control found on JDM ecu's
41 Primary oxygen sensor heater
43 Fuel supply system
45 Fuel system too rich or lean
48 LAF - lean air fuel sensor
54 CKF - crank fluctuation sensor
58 TDC sensor #2
61 Primary oxygen sensor
63 Secondary oxygen sensor
65 Secondary oxygen sensor heater
71 random misfire cylinder 1
72 random misfire cylinder 2
73 random misfire cylinder 3
74 random misfire cylinder 4
80 Exhaust Gas Recirculation insufficient flow detected
86 ECT Sensor (Engine Coolant Temperature) circuit range / performance problem
90 Evaporative Emission Control System leak detected in the fuel tank area
91 Fuel Tank Pressure Sensor low input
92 Evaporative Emission Control System insufficient purge flow

Types of Honda MOtors available to Swap into your chassis:

Possible Swaps

Now before someone jumps on me and says anything is possible with enough time and money, I know. These are going to be fairly straightforward options with the pros/cons.

D series swaps
These are fairly inexpensive and come in a variety of Civics. IMHO, these are the easiest swaps to drop in. I also don't want to hear a bunch of whining about the opinions on power levels. Of course there are going to be some exceptions to the rule.

Pros
Inexpensive
Decent potential (200 whp or so on stock internals)
OEM parts are cheap
More than enough for most people
The best D series come with ~130 hp tops
Optional factory LSD in the JDM D15B

Cons
Not as much potential as some other motors
Transmission not geared for accelleration
Don't respond to bolt ons well
Only way to get real power out of them is FI

B16
These can be found in the JDM SIR and SIRII (among other JDM cars, which I don't claim to know all of which it came in) as well as the USDM 99-00 SI (EM1) and the 99-00 Canadian SIR.

Pros
160 hp stock
High RPM power
Fairly inexpensive
Good transmission
DOHC VTEC

Cons
113ft/lbs torque (very little more than a D16z6 stock)
Without knowing what you're looking for you can end up with a high mileage JDM model
Under 4k or so it feels just like a D16

B18B
This is the motor in the non Type-R and non GSR Integra.

Pros
Good torque for a 1.8L (127 ft/lbs)
Inexpensive (even cheaper than a B16)
142 hp (more than any stock D series)
Boost heads love them

Cons
No VTEC
Longest B series transmission

B18C1 (or JDM B18C)
These come out of an Integra GSR.

Pros
Good Hp and TQ numbers (170, 121 ft/lbs respectively)
DOHC VTEC
Tons of potential
High revving

Cons
Expensive
Becoming moreso as people keep scooping them up
Slighty longer tranny than the ITR and B16

B18C5 (or JDM B18C)
This is found in the Integra Type-R. IMHO this is the best swap for a Civic.

Pros
GREAT HP and TQ numbers (195 and 134 ft/lbs)
High revving
Hand built motor from Honda
Optional factory LSD
Best transmission for a B series from the factory
Red valve cover

Cons
EXPENSIVE
If JDM ITR is used, the 36mm axle 32mm hub problems occur

B16B
This is the motor found in the Civic Type R found all over the world.

Pros
185 hp 117 ft/lbs
High revving
Good top end power
Red valve cover

Cons
Expensive- almost as much as an ITR for lower performance
Very little torque still, have to rev the motor to make power

B20

Pros
Great torque (133 ft/lbs)
good boost motors
inexpensive
B20z=146hp

Cons
Thin cylinder walls
Have to peice together a swap for a Civic (can't drop it in with a B20 tranny)
Won't pass BAR (light truck motor in a car)
Low hp in the B20b(126 hp)

H22/JDM F20B

Pros
200 hp
H22=156 ft/lbs torque
F20B=145 ft/lbs torque
Great torque
DONT WEIGH THAT MUCH MORE THAN A B SWAP!!
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=684550

Cons
Harder to install than a B/D motor
transmission feel is vague IMHO
Less info out there for the swap (aka, less experience as they are less common)
Price of swap is comperable to a B18C5 after everything is said and done (mounts, etc)

K20
This can be found in the new EP3, the RSX (base and Type S) as well as other cars across the world (RSX R, etc). This is the future of the swap IMHO. There is a writeup on installing one of these in one issue of Sport Compact Car magazine (June 2004 I *think*)

Pros
200 hp 158 ft/lbs torque (RSX R)
I-VTEC
Respond VERY well to bolt ons
6 speed transmission
Most have very low miles

Cons
Still super expensive
More difficult swap than a B or D