B16 Build Project

[omalley_808]

Hey all, new to the site, just like to say i love the forum and it appears to be more friendly and informative than others.

Anyways I currently own a 1995 Del sol Vtec with a stock b16a3. It has a t3/t4 turbo on an equal length manifold into a 2 1/2 inch full exhaust. I am currently running about 7psi (bone stock engine except 8.5lbs flywheel) and I am looking to get more hp via increasing the boost. I have read the numerous options that can be taken to allow for more boost but I want to remain cost effective and reliable while getting more HP! I know some people say you can get a blockguard and can run your boost in the teens with this alone with maybe some rings/pistons. But agian I want to start a project that I can build on to ultimately keep increasing power and upping boost as the funding comes.

I am not necessarily looking for a drag car, this is a daily driven summer car that I want to potent yet not completely unreliable

So what is the best way to build the internals of the engine for boost?

[Smooth_Imports]

what are you using for fuel / engine managment?

[simplegreen]

is this your only vehicle?

[omalley_808]

This car is taken out on nice days in the summer so pretty much a daily driven summer car and is put away in the winter (I live in canada with snowy winters). As for fuel management I guess thats another question as i currently have a temporary setup using the vafc, 350 injectors and a FMU. My thoughts were to over the winter along with the build purchase the new HONDATA S300, upsize the injectors and get rid of the FMU.

[omalley_808]

Suggestions?

[Calesta]

More precise fuel management should be your first step. It doesn't matter how well you build the engine if your tuning is off. A VAFC will work fine for low boost, but if you want to go higher- you really should go with something better. Look to Uberdata or Crome if you want something cheaper than Hondata but a bit more "do it yourself" when it comes to getting everything working.

The next step would be to upgrade your pistons and rods to forged pieces. I would advise against the block guard unless you can get it installed CORRECTLY, and that means welding it in place, then getting your bores checked and maybe re-honed to the proper geometry after guard installation- and wtih all the cost that entails, you should just resleeve the whole block. It's better that way. With forged pistons and rods plus a qualty resleeving job, the sky is the limit when you're playing with boost. Just make sure to tune everything really well.

Tuning is key. You can make almost 300whp easily on the stock internals with a B16, and WAY more than that if you're running on forged pistons and sleeves.

If you're looking to run with a block guard but don't want to spend the money on new sleeves or "proper" block guard installation, look to the main page on HondaSwap- there's a good article about block filling that might work out for you.

[omalley_808]

Thanks for the info, When you talk about engine management and uberdata or crome being easy to use, do you mean as far as installation or tuning wise?

Also I know you can get alot of power out of stock internals but would it even last long at 300whp? I think im due for a rebuild anyways cause i did a compression test and got around 190,190,210,190

Can i run high boost on the stock head assuming that i have arp head studs and a good gasket?

How much boost approximately could i run with forged rods/pistons along with a block guard and arp head studs?

[Smooth_Imports]

uber is easy to install, and once you get a handle on tuning it's easy, but an ongoing learning process, 300hp on a stock motor will not last long, i don't care what type of tuning you have, you ringlands jsut aren't going to handle that type of presure. High boost really has nothign to do with the head holding, it's more anout your sleves, rods and pistons.

As for how much boost you biult motor can handle, it's really about the tuning, But if your goingot replace your rods , pistons, don't for get to replace all your pumps, seals, gaskets ect. Aslo when biulding the bottom end i would sugest getting new valve springs, selas retainers and keepers. Last thing you want to do is drop a valve in a newly biult block.

[Hybrid_Coupe]

the main thing in building a boosted motor, whether forged or not is tuning. a well built motor wont handle 300hp with shit tuning. a stock motor can handle 300hp for a decent amount of time on good tuning. Ring lands will not be the first thing to give out in a well tuned stock bottom end motor. generally it will be bearing failure, or the rings will just go bad(most common case) which will cause excessive oil which will throw the motor out of tune. Your best bet if you wanna take more boost, pistons and rods at the very least, better safe than sorry i say, valves, springs and retainers, theres absolutely no reason to replace the keepers, you can only get them from honda, no one makes after market keepers.

Head porting only allows the motor the ability to make more hp. Now, head studs are the almighty investment on keeping the head on the motor. that will be the first cause of blown head gaskets, stock head bolts stretch. Go with a cometic HP head gasket.

I could get into it a lot more, because this is my thing...building a high hp motor.If you need more help...pm me and ask me some more specific questions and ill give you all the info i can

[omalley_808]

What is the typical desired compression ratio for a turbo'd b16 and what type of pistons are best? Also could now be a good time to bore it to a 1.8 or 2.0? If so what pistons etc. would i require?

Thanks