I’ve had my ls/vtec setup for close to a year now. But this summer I want to do some building of the block to be able to rev higher
My question is whats the best to do to make the engine more reliable and put the revs back up. Keep in mind I did the ls/vtec because I wanted the torque. So i’m thinking of getting eagle esp H-beam rods, with JE pistons and arp bolts. I’m also thinking on picking up a gsr girdle to help with reliability. I want the b18ba/b setup as far as the rods and pistons go. I want to keep it the same lengths and i’m not going to bore out the engine…I have later plans once I graduate college to buy a dart racing block. I’m also planning to go with a turbo setup later on, maybe the summer after this Which is the big reason for me to stay with the ls setup for the lower compression.
Should that be a safe deal? I thought about the gsr oil squirters but i’ve heard on honda-tech that there more of a hassle than it’s worth. How well is the stock crankshaft going to hold up with this? I can get a setup of the crank, rods, and pistons for about 1k
From everything I’ve read, the stock rods will hold up fine revs wise, its the rod bolts you’ll want to replace with ARPs. If you know for sure you’re going boost later, then sure, might as well go with forged internals while its open. When I did my ls/vtec I had the rods shot peened for some added strength. One major point I have to add is to make sure everything gets balanced at a shop. I paid $800 at the machine shop… well worth my piece of mind.
stock rods do hold up well. ARP rod bolts are a must with any built motor. my CR-VTEC del Sol revved to 8500rpm perfectly fine with stock LS rods and ARP rod bolts. what cams and pistons do you have in it?
i still have the stock pr4’s pistons and rods, and a b18c1 stock head. I’ve been wanting to boost it with a stock eclipse turbo for some extra power for a while, but i know turboed ls/vtecs with stock internals are a timebomb waiting to happen. And having an intercooler sitting on a teg left alone on campus isn’t a smart idea, so i won’t be doing a turbo set up for another two years. I’m just trying to keep up performance wise since all my friends from highschool are buying new cars like the tc and an audi a4 turbo. No i don’t street race :fuckrace: , I go to an actual track for that. But if you guys are doing fine with the stock internals with just arp bolts then i’ll probably just save up and buy some other performance mod.
…another question i guess while i’m searching the internet for ideas. Is it smart to have the stock pistons and get the eagle rods…i’ve found a few good prices of the esp rods that include the arp bolts for $300. Pistons seem to be the killer from what i’ve seen.
I’m hoping to get around 180hp (not wheel) or so with the stock internals and n/a. So far all I got is Intake, Exhaust, High-flow cat. I’ve got a pair of Greddy gsr headers that i’m getting from a member on here and i’m looking into getting the skunk2 manifold sometime soon. Not sure what all that’s going to bring me up to. I’m thinking probably only around 175-177 if that
my only other problem is my bottom ends running close to 170k miles now
How long have you had your LSVTEC? I dont know the extent of your build, but if you built it to recent standards (new bearings, new pistons/ rings, new gaskets, etc.), the miles on the block shouldnt matter.
How long have you had your LSVTEC? I dont know the extent of your build, but if you built it to recent standards (new bearings, new pistons/ rings, new gaskets, etc.), the miles on the block shouldnt matter.
I’ve had the ls/v for about a year now. But I chipped it myself to keep the revlimiter to 6500, just to be safe. I haven’t done any bottom end work. So everything is original to the block(rings, pistons, bearings). That’s why i’m wondering what I should do to strengthen it. I’ve changed the head gasket but that’s it. I need to pull my oilpan off because it’s got a small leak and the car will be sitting since i’ll be carpooling with my dad. So I want to replace a few things to make sure I have a less chance of blowing my engine
Well then yeah, I would say some bottom end building would be in order for some reliability. Check my build as well as redlineintegra’s for some how-to pointers. Carpooling with pops is for the birds. Lol.
You kinda defeated the purpose of going LSVTEC if you set the revlimiter at 6500 rpms. So you change gears right after you here the VTEC crossover?
It has been said many times if you read any lsvtec thread, the stock LS rod bolts are the weak link in the bottom end. You will have to pull the head again and come up thru the bottom end pushing the piston/rod assemblies out the top. Then take them to your local machine shop and have them install the ARP rod bolts and resize the big end of the rods. I was quoted $60 from my local machine shop for this. This would be a good time to swap some higher compression pistons, like PR3 or P30’s, these fit with no modification.
While you have the rods out, you might as well swap in some new rod bearings, preferably some ACL bearings that have a tri-metal design like the VTEC engines have (they are also less than half the price of OEM bearings). Then use plastigauge to check for clearances to make sure they are within spec. If your piston rings have alot of miles, swap them out also. Hastings makes great rings at half the price of OEM. Good luck.
You kinda defeated the purpose of going LSVTEC if you set the revlimiter at 6500 rpms. So you change gears right after you here the VTEC crossover?
I only have it set at that rev limiter right now to keep the reliability. I really don’t go into vtec since i’m not a street racer, it’s there when I want the power. (I’m not one of those people thats going to go ls/v and expect b18c1 reliability at 8k and complain because they blew their engine, I’m keeping it safe till I know the bottom end can take it) She is my daily driver so I can’t deal with a blown engine. I am running on a college budget so it was basically put the head on for one summer then build up the bottom end the next summer. It’s hard to go through all this stuff with a daily, it took me 3 weeks to do my ls/v swap because I was in the middle of working sun up to sun down and waiting for items to come in.
And you also said that I change gears at the vtec crossover?? The vtec crossover on a b18c1 is 4400rpm, the secondary butterfly valves are at 5800, and I took those out, so its not really a problem…and I actually typo’d I meant 6900rpm revlimit
Which is the big reason for me to stay with the ls setup for the lower compression.