Soldierboy87

Hey guys. I want to know what it takes to do a B18 swap. Is it expensive? What parts should I use and what will I need? I would also like to know roughly how much I'm lookin at paying for all this. All options would be appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Soldierboy87

Or can I just turbo and cam the stock motor and get a decent power increase while still being reliable?

02civicsi02

The b18 should be pretty easy. All you should need is like motor mounts, ecu, wire harness, axles. There might be alittle more but the most expensive part is the motor, which b18 are you wanting to swap and what car do you have.

You can make some decent gains with turbo but it wont be realible.

Soldierboy87

I don't know what B18 I want yet. I want to have decent power but still be a daily driver so I'm not looking for anything with a whole lot of potential. I have a red honda but I am gonna paint it white. Do you have any suggestions on which B18 I should go with? I was also thinking of goin the Vtec option.

Soldierboy87

So I just did my homework on different engine options and the B18C1 seems like the best bang for the buck. 170 horses seems like a good start. I want to put a big cam, heads(if I can find decent ones for a decent price) headers, cold air, maybe a bigger throttle body, full exhaust, and definitely an ECU tune....maybe one of those chips that have different modes(fuel economy, power). Tell me what you think.

02civicsi02

The b18c1(gsr) is your best bet though there is the b16a2 from the em1. The b16a2 is a powerful little motor. There is also the b18b1 (ls) and it is basically the gsr but doesnt have vtec. Vtec isnt everything to.

For the b18c1 the mods would be aem cold air, kiddracing header, and what ever exhaust you prefer. Then of course get a new ecu (you want need a chip if you get a ecu cause that is your power gain and your engine management). After that maybe some cams. With this you will be producing alittle over 200 maybe.

Soldierboy87

That's good for me. I'm not looking for too much power but I would like to have the option of having either fuel economy or power at the flip of a switch. I do wanna put a cam in the B18 before I put it in so I don't have to pull the engine later. I think I wanna do a stage 1 cam. As for exhaust I want something with a really deep sound that's not too loud.

Soldierboy87

Does the 96 civic EX come with vtec? I sent money home to a friend and had him buy the car from a used car sales place. I've never driven or seen the car in person yet.

02civicsi02

She will get good fuel economy either way you go, honda motors are good for it even if modded or turboed really. And it would be alittle easier for the cams to be put in with the motor out but you can do it with the motor in no problem. And there are some good deep quite exhausts out there. Apexi has some and greddy has some to. I have the apexi noir on my ep3 and you cant hear it till you get on it and it sounds great. I like my apexi noir. The other quite on from apexi is the ws2. It is the newer version of the noir and it is chrome instead of flat black. But i like the flat black better though.

And yes it has vtec.

Soldierboy87

Do you lose vtec when you upgrade your cam or do they make special cams for that engine?

02civicsi02

No you do not because when you get the aftermarket cams they still have the 3 lobes on them that engage vtec.

Soldierboy87

Well that's a relief. I know vtec isn't everything but I like the concept. I would like to be around the 200 horsepower mark......maybe a little higher and still have reliability.