Here’s the deal. I’ve got a 92 RS, and am saving my pennies for some engine work to be done early next year. Not sure exactly what i’m gonna do yet, still need to research it a little bit. But i also have a 91 LS parts car. Just wonderin’ what the difference is between the engines.
Are the blocks exactly the same?
I would like to take apart the 91 engine, get a feel for what i’m gettin’ into, and balance the crank, and shotpeen the rods. I guess that’s all i really would use from the 91 block if the parts are the same.
Also, can anyone help me out with some terms here, and tell me what i should do to make some power?
#1 shotpeened rods- i think this make them stronger? #2 knife edging the crank- is this a safe thing to do? is it worth it. #3 balancing the crank- what exactly do they do to it to balance it, remove some material? Also, doesn’t it come balanced from the factory, and what makes it come unbalanced.
I’m not sure what needs to be done for reliability, and what needs to be done for power gains.
I’m kinda breakin’ it up into two parts here: block work, and head work. Any info on either would be helpful. Could i just do some head work, and leave the block stock? I’d almost rather just do some block work, and leave the head stock for now, since my car has a 150k miles. Get that part taken care of, and get to the head when the extra cash comes my way. But i want to hit up the track with some good times next year(mid 14’s would be nice:)). I don’t know, any info you have for me would be really appreciated. As you can see, i’m quite the amatuer at this stuff, but we have to start somewheres.
TIA
both engines are b18a1’s. the only differences are the cams, intake manifold and exhaust manifold—the 92-93 pieces are better (they are what account for the extra 10hp).
how much you want to build it is going to depend on what you want to run. Do you want to do just a simple rebuild? or do you want to build it for performance? do you want naturally aspirated? or do you want to go turbo? all these questions need to be answered before you start. Also, how much do you want to spend?
here is what i’d do:
-shot peen and shave rods $150
-arp rod bolts $40
-jdm itr pistons/rings $330
-all new bearings $200
-bore/hone/deck/balance $400
-gaskets/seals…
yes, shot peening makes the rods stronger. Shot peening is similar to sandblasting, except instead of shooting sand out the machine shoots out small round balls (called “shot”). These pieces of shot hit the rods and work harden them so they will be stronger.
some people say that knife edging the crank is to help the crank cut through the oil in the oil pan better (thus less resistance). But someone told me that the crank doesn’t even go down that far in our engines so the only reason to knife edge is to reduce rotating mass.
you’ll want to balance everything (pistons, rods, crank, flywheel…). To balance the crank i guess they actually drill holes in the weights to reduce weight where needed.
yes these parts are balanced from the factory, but to different tolerances. Due to differences in casting they can’t have super tight tolerances without causing production costs to skyrocket. When you have everything balanced professionally it’ll be done to much tighter tolerances.
I definitely want an all motor perfomance machine. There’s some kid up here with a H22 in his accord, running mid fourteens. I’d like to take him by surprise next summer at the track.
-bore/hone/deck/balance $400
could you explain this please?
this is what i think it means:
bore- increase the bore?
hone- smooth out the cylinder walls
deck- ? smoothin out the top of the block or somethin?
balance- crank?
Yeah, i thought that knife edging the crank was just for reduced mass- i saw a picture once, and the took a bunch of material off that sucker.
I’m also planning on getting some cams, springs and retainer, then i read about valve work(regrinding and some other things), and i just want to do everything.
I’d really like to know what i can do without having to upgrade other stuff. Like, can i get the cams, springs, and retainers, and just forget the valve work, and still have some good gains and reliability. This is also goin’ to be my daily driver.
I’m not totally certain on the other things, but usually decking the block means closing the deck on open decks. Basically that means putting some sort of reinforcement between your sleeves and the actual block, to decrease the likelyhood of the sleeves flexing and distorting. I’d assume boring and honing the sleeves is to fit and seat the new pistons and new rings. I’d also like to know exactly what is done when stuff in the engine is balanced. I mean, I’m guessing when they balance the crank, they are just rotating it and adjusting it so that it has close to zero runout overall. Anyone know exactly? I’m also wondering what balancing the rest of the components is exactly. I’m guessing that it is making all the pistons and rods and such the same weight, or making opposing pistons/rods/etc the same weight. Anyone know? I’m dying to know more, just haven’t been able to find much info on what is done exactly. I am under the impression for most mild cams, you don’t need to have a lot of headwork done, just basically new springs/retainers and the new cams will suffice for most applications, although I’m not 100% positive on this (only like 99% sure)
bore: yeah, increase bore size. the jdm itr pistons are the same price whether you get oversized or standard, so why not increase displacement a bit? can’t hurt.
hone: they rough up the cylinder walls. typically its a crosshatch type pattern. It helps the rings “seat” better.
deck: they just make sure the top of the block is flat, sometimes it’ll need to be decked to take out imperfections as well. How much or if at all your block needs this will depend on condition
balance: more than just the crank. as I stated before they balance all the things in the block that are gonna move. Crank, pistons, rods, flywheel, even clutch. I’m not sure if they do anything with the bearings or not. Usualy they even take into account the mass of the oil that will be on everything to try and be even more precise.
