LS/VTEC RELIABILITY ??

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Hey everyone. I had a stroke of bad luck , I have 385 miles now.
You'll never guess what happened. I was running around(still havent got in it yet, cause it isnt past my routine 500 mile break in period)
and I get this awful noise on acceloration. so I pulled over and had it towed, thinking a rod bearing had spun. got it home and ripped into the thing to find out that 8 of the 10 head bolts had been torn from the block.
JUST MY LUCK!
Well I Spent 100.00 on a thread kit and I orderd some ARP Studs. I will get back on the road soon.
In the mean time, everyone remember Learn from my mistakes and add STUDS to your list and do it right the first time.
So you arent tearing it down to fix this crap..
(I GUESS IF YOU ARE STAYING WITH STOCK PISTONS YOU'LL BE OK WITH THE BOLTS)
Also keep in mind that the ls bolts(- the center 2) are around 1/4" longer than the B16A Bolts and they are the same grade, So you should use those instead ot the B16s cause you get more thread contact in your bolts.
But I guess it would be better to get studs and FORGET THE BOLTS!!
GOOD LUCK ALL

Later
 
Originally posted by intense1_4u@Apr 24 2005, 12:24 AM
Hey everyone. I had a stroke of bad luck , I have 385 miles now.
You'll never guess what happened. I was running around(still havent got in it yet, cause it isnt past my routine 500 mile break in period)
and I get this awful noise on acceloration. so I pulled over and had it towed, thinking a rod bearing had spun. got it home and ripped into the thing to find out that 8 of the 10 head bolts had been torn from the block.
JUST MY LUCK!
Well I Spent 100.00 on a thread kit and I orderd some ARP Studs. I will get back on the road soon.
In the mean time, everyone remember Learn from my mistakes and add STUDS to your list and do it right the first time.
So you arent tearing it down to fix this crap..
(I GUESS IF YOU ARE STAYING WITH STOCK PISTONS YOU'LL BE OK WITH THE BOLTS)
Also keep in mind that the ls bolts(- the center 2) are around 1/4" longer than the B16A Bolts and they are the same grade, So you should use those instead ot the B16s cause you get more thread contact in your bolts.
But I guess it would be better to get studs and FORGET THE BOLTS!!
GOOD LUCK ALL

Later
[post=490702]Quoted post[/post]​

i thought you were suppossed to use the b16 head bolts because the ls ones are too long so they won't torque down right and or strip in the block...correct me if i'm wrong but the 2 ls/vtec's i have put together are running good but i used ARP studs on both...i talked to Jeff at IB and he told me that GSR or type R head bolts are good up to 400hp so if your not going with a crazy build, you wouldn't need studs...just my take on it.
 
I measured the threads in the block and they are about 3/4 of an inch longer than the B16 bolts, and the ls bolts are only around 1/4 inch longer (EXCEPT FOR THE CENTER 2) so there is a lot of room . and as for the build I have pr3 pistons around 11.7:1 compression, (Pretty tight in there). I am not sure on exacts with the shaved head but I am sure it was too much.

The bolts go as follows, the B16A bolts are 6"
Three in the block and three in the head with only 3/4 of an inch of thread contact.
so the extra 1/4 inch would be well utilized.
 
my friend built his lsvtec the right way and he pulls to 8k and its running smooth with no problems.

itr pistons, itr cams, b16 head, ls block that were both rebuilt.
 
i used arp head studs/rod bolts in my lsv....and every other day i do multiple 8k runs with no problems....
 
A vtec head doesnt allow you to rev 8500RPM's.
 
you can rev a b16/gsr/ls/crv head up to 10k,if you want... but it wont make power and youll just float a valve and slam a piston....but the ecu is what doesnt allow you to rev past 8.2-8.5k

when i had no rev limmiter i reved the engine to 9.5k, during a miss shift and ive had no problems, i thinks its because i used ls pistons....
 
Its great to share your personal opinions and experiences, but that does NOT make them a fact.

Here is some factual information you should consider when building an LS/vtec

- The LS bottom end is NOT designed to rev like a VTEC bottom.
- The girdle is a good thing. It minizes the movement, but it is not
necessary (Which is why the b16 doesn't have a girdle).
- One 1.8 head does not "hold" a noticeable amount more oil in the head.
The LS oil pump does NOT move as much oil as a vtec oil pump, and that
why oil circulation is a problem on an LS oil pump.

And like it has been mentioned soo many times before the reliablity comes down to the quality of the build. To do a quality build there are a ton of things to be looked at; if you take the time to cover them all you, you will reap the rewards of you're hard work. If you just slap a vtec head on, add oil lines, vtec wires, and its a gamble. It might be fine for 40K or it might only make it 40 miles.
 
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I hear everyone saying that u have to use vtec spark plug wire is there any truth to this because i used ls wires, they were newer????
 
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