LS cable tranny with b18c1?

ASSISTANCE Hybrids & Advanced Aftermarket Engine Performance
1

i know this has been discussed before, but i can’t find the correct search term to find the posts. if someone knows, please just point me to there and i’ll be on my way…

i’m working on a 90 rs 5spd that has a brand new trans from acura (a mechanic screwed up the rebuild on the original trans, long story), but the engine is tired, and funds are low.

someone local is selling a jdm 93 b18c1 gsr longblock for cheap. i was thinking about swapping it into the car and keep the LS trans… is this good or bad? ie. is the gear ratios not good for a gsr engine? there are no plans to go FI.

thanks!

2

shifting to 4th and 5th kinda sux but awsome gas economy so ehh.

3

thanks for the response. i gather from what you said above, the first 3 gears are shared between the vtec and non-vtec drivetrains, but the gsr has a shorter 4-5th?

also, would you happen to know if the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel assembly from my b18a1 will work on the gsr engine?

lastly… will a non-vtec header work on a b18c1?

thanks in advance…

4

Gsr With Ls Trans

clutch and flywheel will work fine…the header will work too… the transmissions are different but the ls will work fine… the gsr has shorter gears 1-5 but the ls will be ok… I’ve run ls vtec many times with a ls trans with no issues gsr transmission will keep car in vtec more…

5

chris is right about everything. vtec trannies are shorter between every gear but shifting to 4th or 5th you really notice it.

6

so, by staying with the non-vtec trans, i’m basically hurting any peformance gains?

i have no plans to go turbo… i have to do mandatory emissions testing every year and few people who go that route pass where i am without great hassle and expense.

7

ls tranny will hurt performance a little bit, but if you aren’t racing the car i wouldnt worry about it. just keep all of your emissions crap and because you are swapping a newer motor into the car you should be fine. i dont know of a single state that doesnt allow a motor swap from a newer car. im guessing you meant you cant go turbo because of emissions tho.

8

I have a 95’ USDM B18C1 motor in my car with a 93’ LS YS1 transmission. Not a single problem. Its even better on gas. I raced a friend who has a B18C1 w/B16 cable in his hatch and kept up with him the whole way. Although there is a difference its not terrible.

9

was the b18c1 swap worth it, compared to what you had before? is the torque good?

i’m doing this in a 90 RS, so i weigh a little bit less than you…

yes it is because of emissions testing i don’t want to go turbo. they do both an idle test and a dynometer test.

10

alot of people are either lying or have never had a short geared tranny. the difference, performance wise is night and day. the ls 1st is fine but after that, its takes way too long to spin the motor. there is an obvious reason why ALL vtec motors have shorter gearing. the ls 3rd is terrible, performance wise. the motor will spin to about 180-190km/h in 3rd (ls gearing) whereas a short geared tranny will only spin to about 160km/h. its very noticeable, trust me

11

ugh… that’s what i was afraid of.

had i known of the GM synchromesh trans fluid trick to fix the synchro grind, i wouldn’t have wasted so much time and money fixing my ls tranny and ending up paying for a new one =(

i guess i should step back and wait some more to raise funds to get a vtec tranny as well, instead of just the engine.

thanks everyone for the comments.

12

if the gsr longblock is cheap, grab it anyway, then stack ur chips after for the tranny.

13

yes it was quite cheap, but i erred on the side of caution and tried to get a compression test done. the seller decided to sell it instead to someone else who didn’t need one, so i ended up losing out :shrug:

14

nas T nos… Yeah, there is a difference but it only matters on what you intend to use it on. If your track racing or even drag racing, then hell yeah, LS to VTEC trannys are hell of alot different. But if your daily driving and just cruising around, LS is fine.

15

thumper…Hell yeah, I definetely could notice a huge difference torque wise in the swap. I’ve heard some say that an LS motor has more torque and is faster off the line, but in all honesty I felt the B18C1 has way more torque and horsepower. I just really love the VTEC pull and the crossover. Dont get me wrong though… I miss my LS.

16

o.k., if you are gonna drive and not enjoy VTEC, or short gearing and just want to cruise, why bother swapping in a vtec motor? trust me, if you’ve owned a non-boosted B16a/b, b17a, b18C1/C5, 20V you can’t tell me that long ls gearing is good enough. i mean, it leads me to believe that you’ve never owned a vtec motor with matching tranny. my b16 da is slow as hell with a YS1 DB2 tranny. i could not even imagine it with ls gearing. i’d probably have a hard time climbing steep inclines. its simple, for the motor to perform to its full potential from 2K to redline…VTEC motor, VTEC tranny. end of story:pupeyes:

17

:iagree: I have to agree with you!! i just swaped a B18c1 into my 92 and i had the GSR tranny but didnt want to go with the little extra trouble of the hydro converstion, YEAH i wish i would have, the LS tranny isnt so bad but after 3 gear or actually towards the end of third you can notice the loss of power compared to the B16 or GSR tranny!! but its a good highway gas consumer over all and drive fine, but i’d suggest going GSR like he said VTEC motor VTEC TRANNY!!

SMACK ME PLEASE FOR NOT READING THE DAMN DATE!!!

18

Nas-T-Nos, I guess you got me there, I have yet to have a matching GS-R motor with a GS-R tranny. In fact I’m searching for a B16 tranny right now. All I was saying is that if they guy wants to be able to run an LS tranny on his B18c1, so be it.