building a b16 head...

[mal2000si]

alrighty fellas, just started my new job, im 16, i dont have much else to spend my money on other than my girlfriend so i had a thought...

i was gonna go with turbo, but 126xxx seems risky for 8lbs of boost. so i looked into building the bottom end... and i was shocked. i would want to have the turbo kit while the engine was being built so i didnt have to drive a low compression engine everywhere.

then i looked for building the top end and a set of cams... and i was surprised at how cheap it was. skunk2 valves retainers and springs are like... $900 ish and supertech has a kit for $600ish. i was thinking of getting the supertech and then some stage 2 cams and all the bolt ons and having a decent car that i can count on for not much money. any thoughts on this? safely reving to 9k sounds awsome with a good tune..

input and criticism appreciated!

 

[Hecz]

alrighty fellas, just started my new job, im 16, i dont have much else to spend my money on other than my girlfriend so i had a thought...

save it. it'll come in handy with you least expect it.

So, that turbo idea is out of the picture?

 

[maximusmda]

alrighty fellas, just started my new job, im 16, i dont have much else to spend my money on other than my girlfriend so i had a thought...

i was gonna go with turbo, but 126xxx seems risky for 8lbs of boost. so i looked into building the bottom end... and i was shocked. i would want to have the turbo kit while the engine was being built so i didnt have to drive a low compression engine everywhere.

then i looked for building the top end and a set of cams... and i was surprised at how cheap it was. skunk2 valves retainers and springs are like... $900 ish and supertech has a kit for $600ish. i was thinking of getting the supertech and then some stage 2 cams and all the bolt ons and having a decent car that i can count on for not much money. any thoughts on this? safely reving to 9k sounds awsome with a good tune..

input and criticism appreciated!

building the top end on a higher mileage motor without supporting bottom end components is just asking for your bottom end to blow out.. if you really want reliability save till you have enough for bottom and top end... rebuild the bottom with at least new oem stuff before head work.. just my .02....

 

[charlie brown]

agreed with above. it may suck waiting, but it will suck more replacing you motor! save, save, save.

 

[mal2000si]

hmmm! thanks guys! im thinking maybe a little bit higher compression pistons and still the head work.

but no, turbo is not outta the picture

im gonna get all my maintenance done, drive for a little while then ill decide.

i dont wanna make any quick decisions, but thanks for telling me that about the top end being bad to build with the bottom end having high miles, well, i guess i dont have "high miles" for a honda, but im kinda overprotective haha

its a daily driver, thats why i dont REALLY wanna turbo it. a built supercharged engine seems more daily driveable, anyone agree?

 

[99CivicSiBrian]

I'm not against a bootsted, high mileage engine BUT you better have an idea what you're gonna do if stuff goes horribly wrong. I recommend having a spare engine that is either ready to go or just about ready to go. At the very least, research some vendors that you could use to get yourself a new engine. If you do blow it up, can you be without the car for a week, 2 weeks? a month? Those are all factors to consider. If you can't be without it for more than a day, you better have a complete engine and all the gaskets, fluids, etc ready to go at a moments notice. The other option is find a $500 beat-beater and keep that on stand by.
I never had a supercharged car so I can't speak to drivability, but with a tuned turbo setup, and also with choosing the proper turbo size, you can have a very driveable car. Think of your end goals NOW. Do you want 600hp? If so, you won't have a drivable car. On the other hand, if you want 250-350, you can have a very pleasant, driveable car that will also be reliable. In general, as power increases, reliability goes down.

 

[mal2000si]

alright man, im just looking for 250-300 hp, thats probably the maximum id ever want in a daily driver for a car this small. BUT... my brother has a b18 in his integra and he said if it blows its all mine, soo ill boost the balls out of it if so ;D

 

[95coupeEX]

You should be fine with a turbo set up only pushing around 8psi as long as you make sure you have the ARP studs. I probably wouldn't boost over that very much though without atleast building the bottom end.