B18C vs B16 2nd Gen in DA

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boostpyro90

New Member
So im bringing up the big heated discussion - B18C vs B16A in the DA. B18C with 180 hp and 128ft pounds vs the B16A 2nd Gen with 170 hp and 116 ft pounds. (10hp and 12ft pounds difference) drrrr

Jdmtigerjapanese.com has the B16A 2nd Gen w/cable trans for $1751 which comes with the engine harness and ECU. The GSR long block is $1690 without trans (i would use my ls trans for the time being), but i would have to buy the P72 ECU and GSR harness (for the vtec plugs)

I dont know what to do! I want vtec - bottom line. And for reliability sake, ls/v isnt something i want to embark on.

So with that said... my thinking is, I could either get the B16, put some bolt ons on it and be up where the B18C is, but I still cant justify putting such a low torque motor in and making up the power difference to the GSR. Or I could spend $2500 on the GSR long block with wiring harness, P72 ECU, and jumper harness/vtec subharness/o2 sensor.

Any ideas? ...im kind of scatterbrained at the moment - as the above shows so. haha let me know what you guys think:ph34r:
 
It IS possible to build a factory reliable ls-vtec https://hondaswap.com/general-tech-articles/how-build-reliable-lsvtec-b20vtec-70187/

IMO a stock b16 doesn't have enough guts for anything bigger than a eg hatch. While the power/torque numbers may not appear to differ much from a b18c, there is much more usable power at lower rpms with the 1.8. The b16 makes what little torque it has a 7000 rpms! The GSR makes it and maintains it considerably lower.
 
Very good input.

As far as the gsr swap goes, my parts list is as follows: gsr long block, p72 ecu, obd1 jumper w/vtec subharness and o2 sensor, gsr wiring harness, 92-up clutch kit since im using my ls trans still. That sound about right? Im might bet a new IM in order to use the ls throttle cable. Ill be using my stock mount and possibly using energy suspension inserts and probably will need to do a short test pipe to meet the gsr manifold to the cat since its shorter. anything im missing?

Also, with a jdm motor, would emissions be something I would need to worry about? As long as I kept a cat and all the random emissions garbage?
 
Well putting the Gsr in the da should be fine...most smog shops just make sure that its still a 1.8 liter motor...u should be fine...but I'm not sure if there gonna run an evap test since your da is older than an 95 but ur motor may be 95 or newer...
 
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