Good & Evil
I had plans to build a 300 wheel hp all-motor, daily-driven '97 Prelude, but after doing some research, I found that the only aftermarket company that could get me close to that number was Jun. I really don't want to turbocharge the H22A. Are there any other companies with parts to get this kind of power naturally aspirated? Armand Smith Muncie, Ind.
I'm planning to buy a late-'90s Accord and pop in an H22A engine and I was excited when I read the article on Mahle pistons and Crower cams in an H22A. Can you point me in the right direction to build an all-motor engine good for 200 wheel hp? Ross LiewMalaysia
A good 90 percent of reader e-mail starts similar to this: "I want to make (insert astronomical horsepower number) from a (insert any Honda motor here)." Then they add on impossible parameters: "Needs to stay all-motor," "Has to run on pump gas," or "I'm a college student, I don't have any money and I need to keep this budget."
Both readers are asking about power numbers, but we can see that Ross did his homework. Armand did not. The H22A can make 200-plus horsepower with the right combination of cams, intake manifold, throttle body, header, exhaust and tuning. But expecting an H22 to make 300 N/A horsepower on pump gas isn't realistic. If somebody out there has the dyno sheet to prove otherwise, send it in and I will bow down to your all-motor tuning expertise.Dr Barrios
Potential For Power
The B16A2 motor in my EM1 Si is a great, reliable motor, but 1.6 liters is a little small. Since I already have the B16, I was wondering if it's worth the trouble of doing an LS/VTEC. I plan to run a turbo in the future. I've heard both good and bad things about the LS/VTEC when used with a turbo and am hoping you can offer some insight.Matthew Roberts Bend, Ore.
We were talking about this exact subject the other day. Why don't we see more '99-00 Si's and/or Del Sol VTEC models in LS/VTEC or even CR/VTEC configurations? The B16's that come stock in these cars are already equipped with all of the important guts of an LS/V swap.
For a naturally aspirated example, you'd need a complete LS bottom end, a new head gasket, a set of oil lines and a programmable ECU. The rest is easy: Drill the head to accept the LS dowels, plug the oil passage in the head, bolt the head on, run oil lines and voila-LS/VTEC.
We can take this even further with the parts you already have. Add B16 pistons into the mix and you've got a high-compression, large-displacement B series for under $1000. If the 200cc bump isn't enough for you, grab a B20 block, throw RS Machines' new 84mm ITR pistons in there, then stick the B16 head on top. Now you have a high comp, huge-displacement B series for still under $1000.
The turbo guys have it even easier. An LS or CRV block with stock pistons mated to a B16 head puts compression right in the sweet spot for an OEM bottom end turbo setup. You don't have to change a thing. Bolt the head on after doing the same minimal mods you would have done for the N/A motor, bolt on a turbo and end up with dyno numbers just about doubling what your stock B16 put down-all for less then the price of a GS-R swap.DB
Fun in "The Sun"
I have a '93 del Sol with a '98 GS-R motor. Mods include intake, exhaust, header, underdrive pulleys, Exedy Stage 2 clutch and flywheel, VAFC-2 and a Zex 50-shot. I want an 11- or 12-second Sol, but I also need it to be a daily driver. I've heard that turbos are not good on Hondas and that superchargers don't make that much power. I just want a car that can take out some V-8s. Ken KwiatkowskiPittsburg, Pa.
Whoever's been feeding you this misinformation needs to be shot for leading you astray. Hondas love turbos and they love blowers. You might be better off with a turbo since it's better suited to get you 12-second slips. Most off-the-shelf supercharger kits only put down 11psi of boost with "race" pulleys installed. Try squeezing more out of them and they start losing efficiency.
Most of these kits are CARB-legal, which is good and bad. It's good that the Man can't screw with you since you've got an approved boost setup, but bad because of the inherent compromise, specifically, size. A stock GS-R can only use a supercharger so big, but a built GS-R can handle a bigger, badder blower.
You'll need to build your GS-R first if you're planning on running 12's in a daily-driver. Sleeving, forged pistons and forged rods are essential equipment. You'll also need to do some suspension work and probably switch to slicks if you're trying to breach 12.99 seconds. In the movies, 10-second drag runs seem easy. In reality, 12-second timeslips are harder than you think and require determination, work and, yep, cash DB