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Heya Guys,

I am the owner of a lovely 1998 Civic CX hatch, and i love it to bits. The engine has 210K km's on it, and it is burning a little oil. This, coupled with the fact that i like me some fast, means it is time for an engine swap.

I have been digging around here and a few other online resources, and here is what I have learned:

K series engines are too much trouble for the gains and cost
H22 suffers a similar problem
D16's are fine, but nominal HP gains over stock
Which leaves us with the B series of engines, and a couple questions

1 - which b series engine gives best hp/$?
2 - i am interested in minimizing custom mount/wiring/etc. headache
3 - are there places online other than "Tiger Japanese" to find these engines?

BTW - some targets I am going for are :

150+ HP
standard 5speed
less thank $2K for the engine/tranny/needed accessories

Looking forward to your feedback gents!

 
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Thats pretty simple, a B18 or a B16 will both put you over 150hp straight after the swap and have tons of after-market options. There are countless places online that sell JDM engines, it's a massive industry, but unless your buying a JDM exclusive motor or something very rare in Canada like a B18C5 its not the route I would suggest. Find a local club or search craigslist and you'll be able to find someone selling a north american B series motors fairly quickly for a lot less.

 
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Heya Mindbomber!

Thanks for the quick reply.

Alright, a B16/18 it is then! Any compatibility/install issues within in the range of those engines? Or are the distinctions more to do with performance than surrounding hardware?

Sadly, i am in a fairly small market here in the backwaters of Canada, so local sources for engines are meager. And I as told that a JDM source would be best for low mileage, and overall quality. I mean i do want this install to last for a 100K+.

 
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motor mounts, mating engine to trans (not likely on D-to-B, but don't know the 98 too well...) and wiring?

 
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I failed to mention that the clutch on the stock tranny is in need of replacing, so I am thinking it is time to replace the motor and tranny at the same time. They often come as a package no?

 
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for 100k+, give the engine/trans a through inspection before installing it in

 
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I meant that i would like what gets installed to be able to last for another 100K, not that it HAS 100K on it.

 
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? yes, that's exactly what i meant too. first timing belt is supposed to go in at 95k? similar applies to new cars as well.

PS: that's in 95 k miles - most of users from US, so english measurements (have been more than 20 years that canada change to metric, yes?)

 
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I see what you mean. But the majority of JDM engines are around the 30K mark, no? The timing belt should not be a problem in that case hey?

 
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just get yourself a b16a normally cost around $1500? this will give you 150+hp for sure..

 
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If the engine is out of the car, i would just do a through inspection anyways. It's easier to do when other stuff is not in the way, like hoses and suspension components, and your not crawling under the car. Don't even know why you upset/arguing about my comment? is there a point i am missing?

 
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this is a must...

if your planing any modification, do it first before you do the swap it'll save you lots of trouble and time

 
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Yeah good point. I will have to get my mechanic to have a poke around everything during the swap.

Sorry if my tone got lost in the replies. I did not mean to argue, simply dont know that much about this subject yet, so I wanted to clear up confusion.

 
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And then a B16 can take some further mods, cold air intake, heads, etc. to push it further hey?

 
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Yeah you can do that if you want lol.. but if you really want to push it, turbo is your best choice

 
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This is not a cheap pursuit is it?

A honda guru in town suggested that I look at dropping in a replacement stock engine, and then tacking on a knew header, and new intake, he figured that would be the most bang for my buck. What are your thoughts?

 
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when your concern about the money then stock engine will be your best bet, but why would you swap your engine with another stock engine?

and if you really want to gain power then i dont sugest modding the stock engine

let say B16a is about $1500 then add Intake and Exhaust with the remaining budget this for sure will give you a good run

 
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for 150 HP (if wheel HP), not likely, D are not that responsive to bolt-ons, unfortunately.
the best combo for bolt-ons should be intake/header/exhaust with a stage 1 Crower cam (requires a SOHC V-tec). likely 25 to 30 WHP? beyond that, too expensive - the setup listed is already expensive for the gains...
B-swap will give more if you want it later, but costs a lot to install now.

and to answer, the D-series can be found for dirty cheap and no special mounts or wiring, but likely will require some shipping to OP Few local stuff, i guess.

 
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Excellent. Now I feel like i know what I am getting myself into. Thanks for all the insights guys!

 
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No problem bro.. glad we could help

 
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If your going to upgrade the cam you MUST do a proper tune at a reputable tune shop. Otherwise its useless to upgrade.

 
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but this will cost him more his budget is only around $2000+

 
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I am not going to be doing any of this myself. I am pretty handy with cars, but this level of work is beyond me, so yeah, the pros will be on board, and they (hopefully) will make sure to take care of needed details like tuning.

 
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they say doing beyond your knowledge is a good exercise yourself
so if you decided to do it all yourself, dont be scared to ask

 
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If this was a hobby car that I could spare for a week of sitting crippled due to my dumb *** not being able to sort out the hell is going on, they yeah, i would be WAY into doing it myself. But as it stands... i think it would be cheaper to pay the day of shop time.

 
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hahaha i see.. fair enough.. well good luck bro..

 
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woops.
Unless its a stage 2 or higher, i believe the 6th gen stage 1 cam does not need a tuning, just drop it in, change the seals and stuff and good to go.
so stick to stage 1 cam, or else ECU will get reeealy pricey

 
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Stage 1 cam does not require tuning, it's a straight bolt on. I agree somewhat with what the local Honda tuner said, sticking with a stock motor and throwing some basic bolt ons would be a good options for someone without a big budget. You should be able to do do a B18 or 816 swap for under or around $2K though and that would put you over your goal immedietly with complete reliability and a something low mileage. A JDM motor would probably be around 60k KM.

 
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Stage 1 no tuning? sweet

 
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^Don't get me wrong, if I had a stage 1 cam I would want to do some tuning, but it's not required until you hit stage 2.