I am looking to swap out my engine in my 93 RS. I have researched and researched what engine to throw in, and I can’t come to a conclusion. I am not one to do it myself, so the price is going to be anywhere from $2,800 for the B16, and $3,200 for the B18. These are the two engines that I am mainly looking to swap. I don’t have the kind of money to do the LS/VTEC swap, and have not read the best reports on that particular swap. Could anyone tell me what their reliability has been of an engine swap with any of these two engines? Will the engine last 50,000 miles? more than 50,000? Also I am curious to know someones best times that they have ran with one of these swaps, I know that the driver has a lot to do with the times but any times would be appreciated. What would you do with the $3,500 to spend on an engine? Any comments are appreciated!
A honda engine is a honda engine. It will be just as reliable in a go kart if it’s taken care of. What b18 are you talking about? Vtec or non-vtec?
I love thinking out loud so here is what I’d do with $3500:
1st gen b16a complete swap: $1400 shipped
GSR longblock: $1600 shipped
JDM ITR pistons: $300
CTR cams and valvetrain: $600
ITR intake manifold and throttle body: $350
sell the b16a shortblock: -$200
sell the gsr head and intake man.: -$600
sell your b18a, tranny and ECU: -$500
And now you’ve got roughly $500 left over to do regular maintenance on the engine and maybe chip your ECU for the new cams or maybe get a porting job on the head and intake manifold. Of course none of these prices include labor costs which it sounds like you want someone to do this for you. My suggestion is to make some friends in your area that know how to do this type of stuff. Don’t be afraid to kiss some a**, you’d be surprised what some friends would help you with for a few beers, it will save you a lot of money in the long run and you’ll know a lot about your engine.
Assembled correctly and everything torqued to spec I believe this build will be almost as reliable as a stock Honda engine(<—gotta give the Honda engineers some credit).