Guys,
I need your advice and wisdom. I purchased a 1990 DB1 GS back in November as my daily driver. It now has 223k miles. Original motor/tranny. See here…
http://forums.g2ic.com/showthread.php?214588-New-Integra-Owner-here
Since then I’ve done the following to the vehicle:
- Full ES & Prothane bushing install.
- Ground Control/Koni yellow suspension.
- Alpine bluetooth deck and 6.5 (front) + 6x9 (rear) speaker install
- Legend foglight capsule upgrade
- All dash lighting swapped to LED
- Civic Si wheels. (not installed yet)
Car runs nice and smooth. Engine is the bone stock 130hp B18a1. Exterior is about a 7/10 and Interior is a 9/10. Engine compression is 195, 193, 172, 183.
I like the car, but I wish it had more power. I wish it was quicker. What do I do? I have $2-3k to do more but not sure what to do? I do know the following…
It must be a reliable daily driver.
Whatever upgrades I do must be California Carb compliant and the vehicle must pass smog inspections.
I’m not looking to put this thing on the track. I just want more power for my daily driving. My wife has a 2005 Honda Odyssey that leaves this vehicle in the dust. That’s just sad. LOL!
Any suggestions on how to get a little more out of this motor? Is it even worth it? Is my budget unrealistic? Thanks for whatever help you can give me or direction you can point me in!
bro, with a 2-3k budget you can k swap your da if you wanted to… you can do whatever you want… the only thing killing you is the stupid california thing…
where and how can u k swap for 3 grand?
You can do a decent b16 or gsr swsp. I left cali when i was 17 so i dont know much about smog regulation personally. If nothing is wrong with the motor right now just roll with it and peice together a motor on the side. My car is basically cragslist built. If you cant wait just free up some ponies with basic upgrades like headers, exhaust, intake, intake mani, cams, ect… Until your side motor is built. Imo
For a freshen up and some more power. Purchase a b20z or jdm b20b with p8r head. Find a b16 or gsr transmission and you should notice a difference. Total cost of the swap would be around $1k (if you know how to pull motor out and replace). Leaving you with another $1-2k for headers,exhaust and anything else you wish to do.
There’s been debate lately of whether or not its legal now, but B20 blocks have been illegal in passenger cars as it is an “suv/light truck” motor.
LSvtec and B20 vetec motors are illegal in CA, period. As it’s not a factory-built motor, emission guidelines were never established for such motors, so they’re illegal.
Ouch sucks for you guys. Kelowna has no air care out here, but I know in Vancouver only a few hours away has smog control. Out here it’s called ICBC Air Care. Their specialty is robbing you lol.
I understand smog control, to a point… I hate seeing shit-boxes that smoke and put a bunch of shit in the air. Smelling rotten exhaust is nasty.
But if a motor is in proper running order, I don’t see the issue with it being installed in any given car.
shrug
you cant do a k swap for 3k? no way its that expensive… maybe if you buy ALL the parts brand new and at retail it could go over but theres no way it cost over 3k…
if you’ve never done one, then you really don’t know the ins and outs that are involved in doing the swap.
Read up on it man.
http://www.hybrid-racing.com/tech/k-series-swap-parts-list/
http://www.k20a.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87571
Look on HMotorsOnline, K-swaps sell for 4k, and that’s the RSX version… the Type-R swap runs quite a bit more, try 5k. And that’s not including the mount kits, shifter box, custom fuel lines (NEEDED, not cool-guy upgrades), KPro or Hondata (1k, this is a need, not optional), etc etc etc.
http://www.hmotorsonline.com/shop/sc2000search.cgi?what=category&keyword=JDM%20USDM%20Engines&hit=10
wow… thats wild… never would i have thought it would be that expensive…
now i think i need to do the swap. i think i can do it properly for under 3k… i dont see a reason for it to be that expensive… omg…
i see the motor is the bulk of the cost, but i dont think you need to spend that kind of money for a motor that is pretty common now. its not like back in the day when i saw them going for 6k.
If it were as easy and cheap as that, you’d see k swaps everywhere. And while they are a lot more common now, they are still far from cheap.
can get a k20 at a junk yard for under a grand…
but anywho just go buy a jdm b20 for 800, put some bolt ons on it, maybe a b16 head ull be under budget and have a nice amount of power
That’s already been covered, Bryan…
B20s and LS/B20Vtec motors are illegal swaps in California.
not if u go to the right shop lol…im sure the smaller shops will take a tip or not know that that motor didnt come in the car…i know where i live i slip $40 to pass my inspection
CA is much more strict on that type of thing. The EPA and Fed have a very close eye on smog stations.
This is why california is stupid. I could never live there. Florida resident until i die…
i live in texas but miss new mexico just 20 minutes to the west…they dont even have vehicle inspections lol…as long as u have 3 matching vins ur good to go
Thanks for the responses so far guys. I’m still looking for options that will work in California. I don’t want to play any games getting my car to pass smog. They’re very strict in this state on that kind of stuff. Either it’s legal or it’s not worth doing for me.