Questions on LS - LS/VTEC - LS/VTEC TURBO

[LSowner]

Welcome. Im have many questions but they all pretain to the same task. I own a 91 Integra LS4/dr and would like it to eventually be LS/VTEC Turbo. My first step would be to have an LS Turbo. this car is a daily driver and i would like that power and the reliability. Can i purchase a Generic Turbo Kit, Stiffen up my bottom end and with some tuning get considerable power and a safe motor. And if not that simple, what can i do. Next i would like to go Vtec. Ive read many of these forums and was lead to believe that the B16 head would probably be my best bet over the GSR. I also got alot of tips on that task but if i could get any help it would be much appreciated. I also would like to dress up the outside of my Acura with a body kit and i heard that body kits for a 4 dr were hard to come by. I would also eventually like to go Manual Trans. I read that i could take the trans out of a 97 GSR but wasnt completely sure. Any help would be great and thanks a lot.

Club: Pure Defiance
Mike R.

 

[BrutalB83]

Honestly I would work on swapping to a manual transmission before you do anything else. Honda autos suck, especially when you start putting a lot of power through them. Your LS slushbox is likely to break if you end up putting a turbo on.

After that, I would decide if you want to go VTEC or not. This will dictate your ECU and transmission choices. If you're going to stick with your non-VTEC setup, then you'll want the manual version of your transmission, as it will have the optimal gear ratios for your powerband. If you're going to add VTEC then, then you'll probably want to upgrade to a B16 or GSR transmission, which will have shorter gears and get you up to the higher RPMs where VTEC kicks in faster and keep you there during shifts.

You can use any B-Series transmission, but for the sake of making the swap easy, you'll probably want to find an older, cable-operated transmission. Using a newer tranny (like the 97 GSR that you mentioned) would require a cable-to-hydaulic conversion.

You'll also want to consider the ECU. If you're gonna stick with your LS, then the stock computer will be fine. If you're going to go VTEC, then you're going to need to either chip your stock computer to run VTEC, or swap to an appropriate ECU, like the P28 or P72. The best choice, in my opinion, would be to swap to a P28 and get it chipped. That way, whether you decide to add turbo or not, you can tune with programs like chrome or hondata.

I would decide on all of that stuff before worrying about a turbo setup. I think it will be easier in the long run to do the VTEC and transmission conversion prior to any kind of forced induction.

Hope that helps...

Oh, and I'd say skip the body kit, but that's up to you I suppose...

 

[hatukazi]

+1 on skipping the bodykit, even the best of them fit poorly. a healthy suspension drop and a camber kit trumps a kit any day, if anything just use a clean simple lip spoiler.
the only advice I can give you on your engine would be pick either VTEC or a turbo, if you are going to go forced induction anyway why complicate things and add more money for VTEC.
from what I have heard (not experienced) is that auto to manual swaps are a pain in the ass and it's usually easier to sell the car and get one with a manual to start with.