b16a2 head b18a1 block

16 or 18?

  • 16

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 18

    Votes: 0 0.0%

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    0

CuteMustangBro

New Member
Got a new toy! Yay me! So the engine is a stock b18a1

I found a cool built b16a2 head for a cool price. There is NOTHING wrong with the engine currently in my car, but things can always be better right? So... should I keep the stock head or make the (up)grade to the 16? Would it be an upgrade?
 

CuteMustangBro

New Member
According to Wikipedia, the b16a2 complete engine puts out 160hp and 111tq whereas the b18a1 puts out 130 hp and 121tq. Pairing a vtec head which has a 10.2:1 cr and 8200 redline to a non vtec block with a 9.2:1cr and 6800 redline... Which comptession ratio should I use? And which redline? Also was toying with the idea of turboing t he b18. Could this still be done with the 16 head? I've heard 'frankenstein builds' and 'difficulty' used in the same sentence... What would I really be getting myself into here? Keep in mind I am not the most experienced with this stuff.
 


mc360

boosted hx
Registered VIP
5+ Year Member
You won't change the compression except by changing the head, your compression will be that of a b16 or maybe somewhere a little lower. Rev limiter you want somewhere between the two limits but idk where because I have done very little research on lsvtec. You do realize your going to need a lsvtec conversion kit and some work done on the head for oiling purposes then you need a chipped ecu and a tune to make the car run proper, or you could do a hack build and just run a b16/gsr ecu
 

CHILD

All Day, All JDM
Registered VIP
Registered OG
5+ Year Member
10+ Year Member
According to Wikipedia, the b16a2 complete engine puts out 160hp and 111tq whereas the b18a1 puts out 130 hp and 121tq. Pairing a vtec head which has a 10.2:1 cr and 8200 redline to a non vtec block with a 9.2:1cr and 6800 redline... Which comptession ratio should I use? And which redline? Also was toying with the idea of turboing t he b18. Could this still be done with the 16 head? I've heard 'frankenstein builds' and 'difficulty' used in the same sentence... What would I really be getting myself into here? Keep in mind I am not the most experienced with this stuff.
The compression ratio will be a bit lower than the b16 stock ratio with those b18 pistons. The redline is based more off of the stroke...the longer stroke of the b18 will have a higher piston speed compared to the stock b16. How high you can, or should rev, will depend on the engine internals. If you use all the stock b18 block components, I wouldn't rev much higher than the stock b18 rev limit.

yes, you can still turbo the car with the b16 on it. The b16 head flows much better than the b18a1 anyway, so it'll help with top end power. I believe Golden Eagle has a LS VTEC conversion kit, so the materials to get the job done are readily available, but the installation, along with a proper tune, is the key to having a reliable LS VTEC swap. This has been done for years and years, so you should be able to search and find out all the details you need to properly do a VTEC head swap
 




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