converting a B16 from timing belt to chain?

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kelsodeez

Active Member
anyone ever heard of something like this? as many of you know all too well the destruction a snapped timing belt can do. what if you replaced the cam gears with sprockets and ran a chain? no more bent valves or ruined heads. ive always been a fan of taking new technology and mixing it with the old. ideas like this make me want to buy another engine and experiment. does anyone have any objections to the feasibility of this idea? id like to hear some dialogue on this.
 
I really think It would be a lot more work than changing a belt every 60k miles or so.

First off you will need a custom chain and sprockets. then you will need a way to feed oil to the chain and cycle it back into the engine. Then you will need to build a case that goes around the sprockets and crank that dosent leak oil.

Plus a chain thats not inside of the block will make a lot of noise VS a belt.
 
i already thought about the lubrication. building an enclosure to feed oil from the top and drain back into the block with baffles that direct outward would be the easy part. finding the correct sprockets, chain and determining the correct tension it needs to be at would be the difficult part. also, the application would be for a race car, not a street car. noise and maintenance arent an issue. the end goal of this endeavor would be to achieve the highest standard in reliability for an engine that was engineered for economy and not high output.
 
what about adjusting cam timing? if its a race car, that would be important.
 
Custom Chain is no big deal (to source) but the machined parts for the spocket at the crank let alone adj sprockets for the Camshafts....not sure where that could be sourced....

But its out there...waiting to be custom made!

Although the cost might be scary!
 
chains can break and stretch just the same as a belt. its a waste of money IMO trying to source custom parts
 
Gear drive that shit! Then you'll have the whine of a supercharger AND the ITBs.
 
the good news i was looking at my import tuners mag and happend to run across what ur lookn for .. heres the site... www.todaracingusa.com
see if that is what ur looking for. i havent been to the site yet but it shows a timing chain on a dohc in the mag..
 
yea thats for K series. all of the new honda engines are timing chain. im probably not going to do this seeing that i could direct my efforts into more productive things, like getting around to building a K20 for my fit. but i still think that it is a good idea and if i was trying to build at 1000 horsepower b16, i would attempt to convert it but if i did it, i would have no use for it. i would just do it so i could say that i did it. haha.
 
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