SOHC -or- DOHC

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

93AccordEX

New Member
Is either better i have a SOHC stock engine in my car now (93 accord) and i have a DOHC 89 lude engine layin around is dual cam better or dont matter im looking to go turbo but id like to know which motor to go with im pretty shure my engine has more stock HP
 
That Prelude motor won't easily swap into your Accord anyway. Pre-92 Preludes used some funky B-series motor that isn't compatible with much of anything.
 
Yeah it's compatible with basically nothing, but oh well I still like mine :). Keep your stock motor or get an H22a I don't think you'd ever be able to get that B20a Prelude engine in there.
 
It's really not worth it to even try... the 89 Prelude engine also sits backwards at something like a 20 degree angle, so it's going to create a lot of problems trying to put it into an Accord.

Plus the real point is it barely makes any more power than the stock Accord engine and has pretty much no aftermarket part support to go along with that.
 
Really depends on what kind of power goals you are looking for. If you only want to run a low amount of boost you can probably get away with a mostly stock bottom end, assuming your engine is already in good condition. First thing I would do is a compression and leak down test to determine what shape your engine is in currently. If anything is already starting to wear out a turbo is going to make it wear out much faster.

Another thing that's even more important than upgrading the engine is tuning. If you have a good tune, and don't run a large amount of boost, you can be reasonably safe with a stockish bottom end. In the end the quality of your engine management/tuning is what makes or breaks your engine assuming you don't do something crazy like trying to get 400WHP out of a stock engine.
 
hahaha i dont want anywhere near 400hp. i just want a bit more giddie-up :)
 
Then I would start by doing a compression & leakdown test to make sure your engine is in good condition first. If it's not within about 90% of OEM specs I would fix anything wrong before putting on a turbo.

Assuming the engine is in good shape you should be reasonably safe running a small turbo (5-7 PSI) on the stock block assuming you get some kind of engine management and a good tune.
 
I personally think you should go with the dohc as the dohc will hold more power then the stock engine but thats my opinion
 
Last edited:
I think it was already stated above though that the b20a isn't worth the trouble of trying to fit it with all the different crap. As far as D series vs B series, yeah B is more stock boost friendly but then again we're not talking about civics. Do what the guys up there said and stick with the SOHC, they know what they're talking about.
 
I personally think you should go with the dohc as the dohc will hold more power then the stock engine but thats my opinion


It is true that you can do better with a DOHC motor like an H-series. But that costs money. So unless you want to pony up for one of these motors, keeping the stock F22 is a better choice than trying to rig a worthless motor like a B20A5 into an Accord.
 
I think it was already stated above though that the b20a isn't worth the trouble of trying to fit it with all the different crap. As far as D series vs B series, yeah B is more stock boost friendly but then again we're not talking about civics. Do what the guys up there said and stick with the SOHC, they know what they're talking about.

B20A =! B20A5.

b20a.jpg


B20A

Picture042.jpg


B20A5

This is also a B20A

b20a-2.jpg


b20a-1.jpg
 
Thanks for the clarification Sabz, although it's not really all that relevant. He's asking about a motor for his 90 Accord. I wouldn't really recommend any B-series motor for that chassis.
 
I never said it wasn't possible, I was just re-stating that it was too much trouble to put into, especially with the assumption that he doesn't have a huge budget.
 
Thanks for the clarification Sabz, although it's not really all that relevant. He's asking about a motor for his 90 Accord. I wouldn't really recommend any B-series motor for that chassis.

I know it wasn't relevant, just wanted to clear up a common misconception. Hardly anyone knows about the B20A and usually call the A5 Prelude engine by that name.

It is, however, and Accord engine :)

As far as what engine to put in that car, drop an H22 in there.
 
There's also a JDM B20A that was made for the Prelude as well...
 
There's also a JDM B20A that was made for the Prelude as well...

That's the one :) They fit 84-87 Preludes and 86-89 Accords. 160bhp I think they sport.

As an aside, that Formula B20A will fit into those two cars :) There's one out there in the wild somewhere... sans the header.
 
Back
Top