da9 - best bang for the buck engine conversions?

So i have been looking into engine conversions for my 92 DA and have done lots of reading on the net about B16, B18c's, B20's, H and F 22's and 20's, mostly looking for lots a torque since its a daily driver...so no b16. It seems that the H and F swaps are overly complicated with axles, mounts and all, costing too much. The B18c looks like a good option but is quite expensive and i am not sure if it would fit within a budget of 2-3K. If i did get a B18c would it be worthwhile boring it out to 2 litre? Or just buy a B20b/z and build it up, to vtec possibly?

are there any other engines I have missed you can swap in?

Note that i don't want my car off the road so i don't want to we working on my gutless B18a

new to swaps so thanks for any help you guys give me.

ben11

With that budget you could comfortably pay for someone to install a B20 for you and then put a VTEC head on it down the track when more funds allow.
Or, you could put in a B18C (not R) if you did the install yourself.

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Originally Posted by mooshie

With that budget you could comfortably pay for someone to install a B20 for you and then put a VTEC head on it down the track when more funds allow.
Or, you could put in a B18C (not R) if you did the install yourself.

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yeah everything done will be me and by dad except for stuff like porting, honing, boring... so no real labor costs if its just a swap, we might do some engine work ourselves also. if i can get a cheap f22b how much would the rest be? the net says you can use the hasport h2b kit which is 600, new axle 400+? from the information i have gathered it looks as if i can use the ys1 cable tranny from the da but only if the h2b kit is used. thanks a lot though!

how much was your entire b18c swap btw minus the turbo?

I vote LS/VTEC. If you use B18C pistons in your B18A block and a B16A head you'll make awesome power, and do something a little more interested than the same old swap.

Otherwise message 'stevo716' he's building his B18A and can give you good advice on doing that. He's had good success from what I hear...

if u want bang for buck, id go turbo, unless licensing doesnt permit,
otherwise, ls/vtec is ur choice,
in contrast to wat dougie said,
if u put b18c pistons, ull lose ur lower down torque which the b18a has,
basicly dude if u want torque, u bought the wrong car, (as sad as i am to say that)
hondas are about revving, and high end power
u can build ur b18a i can give u advice mon it, but u wont pull any serious power with 2/3 g

just to add
u can get a b20 block for bout 500 bucks
and if ur lucky find a b16 head, for 500 as well
add all gaskets, new seals, perishables, bump to 1500, get a short ratio to suit, 2000g so far
then u got money to spend on mods and stuff ive missed, if u keep it stock, u can just plug in a stock ecu, and not need a tune right away

Well if you want low-down then go SC

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

Well if you want low-down then go SC

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blowers cost a butt load, on hondas lol

Such is Life. The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins.

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

Such is Life. The Troubled Times of Ben Cousins.

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lol....wow dude

so yeh OP, if u do want the torque, torquey as hondas get for the money
thatd be a b20 block, then for the power a vtec head, thats for unopening it anyway.
to answer ur other question, i wudnt bore a b18c, there actaully made diff to the b20s and ud have to sleeve it to get to a 2 litre, which is a bit of money.
and probs for doing own work, haha i do my own too and save sooooo much monies
any other questions feel free to ask.

ok thanks guys. turbo is not really something i am looking to do right now even though the power for money is the best you can get. Mostly because i want to learn more about engines first and also, half of this projects money is coming from my dad, who doesn't want me to kill myself/ruin resale value of the car.. h

How much power does a B20vtec put out, roughly the same as a B18c? figures are all over the place on the web.

And i am still confused to why a F22b (120kw, 200nm..round $500 with everything minus tranny) is a bad option? using a h2b kit $900 (which apparently will work with f engines) means you can use the same mounts (would buy new ones anyway...$300), axle and trans already in the DA... http://www.quartersportsdrag.com/FAQ.html

would certainly make it a unique DA.

500 bucks for a f22b?
well if u can get it for that, go for it, prob u will face i dont know of any mods for it, like aftermarket parts.

def unique, im all bout uniqueness haha

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Originally Posted by stevo716

500 bucks for a f22b?
well if u can get it for that, go for it, prob u will face i dont know of any mods for it, like aftermarket parts.

def unique, im all bout uniqueness haha

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yeah thats what i was thinking, cheers anyway. oh and i just got defected, 35mm to low at the front and 50mm at the back...:(. so anyone lowering your da take note, legal hight is 355mm for front and 340mm for the back (SA).

wat ? off the ground?

its 100mm of ground here (vic)
and im pretty sure im dumped as haha

don't really know haha i wasn't looking when he measured it. wouldnt be from the ground though its no crv. maybe from centre of the wheels to the guard?

thats screwed up lol
thats like massive gap still lol, idk no idea
ah well, u got coilovers or somethin? easy fix?

yeah, the raise i have to do is minimal so it makes little difference really, skunk2 setup and the wheels are pretty much tuckin

hahaha fair call
i cud tuckif i wanted but currently sittin on 17s so guards line up with tyres

Hey Ben, my install was just under 5g all up but that was 7 years ago when I knew nothing about motors etc. Included a B16 box instead of the B18C one and new clutch etc.

Thanks for posting that up about the ride height, I have been meaning to look it up. My car is still as high as it can go from the transport back from sydney 2 years ago.
Changed some suspension recently and gonna drop it back to legal height befor I get an alignment. BTW it is from the centre of the wheel to the top of the guard

you should low is a lifestyle..until you get defected. i have 17s as well and haven't even had my guards rolled, there is like 2mm between the tyre wall and the inside of the guard though haha. really want 15s or 16s of some rota track r's in white!!

haha my tyres hit inside of the guard , on a 3/4 lock :P
haha im changing to buddyclub p1s 16s

ben and mooshie, mini meet go!
or come drive to melb haha

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Originally Posted by mooshie

Hey Ben, my install was just under 5g all up but that was 7 years ago when I knew nothing about motors etc. Included a B16 box instead of the B18C one and new clutch etc.

Thanks for posting that up about the ride height, I have been meaning to look it up. My car is still as high as it can go from the transport back from sydney 2 years ago.
Changed some suspension recently and gonna drop it back to legal height befor I get an alignment. BTW it is from the centre of the wheel to the top of the guard

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ok cool thanks for that and that was with other people doing the work for you?

thats fine just trying to do my part for the honda community. Thats odd, 350mm seems a lot from centre of wheel to the guard.

yeah stevo i hate that sound of expensive rubber chafing

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Originally Posted by stevo716

ben and mooshie, mini meet go!
or come drive to melb haha

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i would love to drive to melb, adelaide roads are the worst

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Originally Posted by ben11

ok thanks guys. turbo is not really something i am looking to do right now even though the power for money is the best you can get. Mostly because i want to learn more about engines first and also, half of this projects money is coming from my dad, who doesn't want me to kill myself/ruin resale value of the car.. h

How much power does a B20vtec put out, roughly the same as a B18c? figures are all over the place on the web.

And i am still confused to why a F22b (120kw, 200nm..round $500 with everything minus tranny) is a bad option? using a h2b kit $900 (which apparently will work with f engines) means you can use the same mounts (would buy new ones anyway...$300), axle and trans already in the DA... http://www.quartersportsdrag.com/FAQ.html

would certainly make it a unique DA.

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B20VTEC with I/H/E tends to make about 110-115kw ATW from what I have seen done previously. Lots of torque too, spin into second, spin into third.

If you want torque for $3g max then this is probably a good option for you and it'll be plenty of power I assure you.

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Originally Posted by ben11

i would love to drive to melb, adelaide roads are the worst

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Our's aren't necessarily great either lol

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

Our's aren't necessarily great either lol

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yup there pretty shite

Trust me ben, I lived in Sydney for 2 and a half years and the roads there are far worse than Adelaide. We have it pretty good I reckon, just fkn manhole covers everywhere! Plus we have the hills only 6km from the city with so many great roads for driving its not funny.

Anyway, back on topic, if you are up for a bit of modifying your engine and can do it yourself, as the guys have said- B20VTEC would be the way to go for torque

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Originally Posted by mooshie

Trust me ben, I lived in Sydney for 2 and a half years and the roads there are far worse than Adelaide. We have it pretty good I reckon, just fkn manhole covers everywhere! Plus we have the hills only 6km from the city with so many great roads for driving its not funny.

Anyway, back on topic, if you are up for a bit of modifying your engine and can do it yourself, as the guys have said- B20VTEC would be the way to go for torque

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fair call, and yeah how much does a B20VTEC set you back if you got the engine from a wrecker?

anyway now i have to go to regency and i have a hole in my exhaust, split cv boot and the smallest oil leak from my sump. anyone with experience tell me do they check the whole car or just things you were defected for? i would expect they only thoroughly check old cars in bad nic and not good condition ones like mine..

You generally wont find a B20VTEC from the wreckers. A B20 block will set you back up to about $800 max and a vtec head, usually B16A about the same, you should be able to get them a lot cheaper if you buy off these forums though. wreckers dont like to split up engines so you would need to buy the 2 separate motors and pull them apart.

here are a couple of places that you could check for parts-
http://www.japaneseimportspares.com.au/home/
http://www.woodvilleautowreckers.com.au/index.html
http://www.japco.com.au/contact.html
http://www.startlocal.com.au/auto/wr...rs_396299.html
http://www.adelaidejap.com.au/adeljap/home

All of them can do Honda, but Woodville motor wreckers would be guaranteed to have the parts you need, pretty expensive though and bad customer service, but that is motor wreckers for you! I would keep an eye on the for sale section on here as well.

As for regency, I have never been but I believe they check everything from an ADR standpoint, ie- ride height, rim size, structural integrity etc. all of the things you mention are just maintenance issues, but why not just get them fixed before you go since you are gonna need to do them all at some point.

i didn't mean get B20vtec from the wrecker that would be an awesome find, i meant get a wrecked b20 for $300 from wreckers, vtec head from ebay or something and what else to you need? like oil lines and vtec ecu? cheers for the links

i would but i don't have the time and money at the moment sadly..

Mmmm I'm gunna end up with a spare b18a1 , makes me wanna do sumfin awesome like this,

He's worried about resale value on such an old car? It isn't worth selling! Run it into the ground yourself.

so true

sorry for my ignorance fellas but im kinda new in the game and learning but is a b18c a straight fit for a da9 ? how come h22a's are not that popular in engine conversions? what should i go for guys? if I do the b20 thingos with the head and block I reckon im gonna be having a hard time finding all the seals and gaskets and shit. i wanna find the easiest way to slap a vtec engine on my stock da.

H22A isn't as popular because it has less aftermarket support and isn't as easy to fit in as a B-series, but otherwise is a very solid and powerful engine.

B18C should be pretty much a straight swap since you're already rockin' a B18A.

B20VTEC isn't as hard as it sounds. The gaskets and seals are easy to acquire. Only major things you need to acquire are a VTEC engine head, a B20 block, and a good gearbox (B16A with 4.4 final drive or B18C with 4.7 final drive).


One of the easier ways for you to get VTEC will be either a straight swap with a B18C2 or B18C7, or if you can find a B16A head you could do an LS/VTEC swap (basically a B20VTEC only with a 1.8L block instead of 2L block).

thanks so much bro appreciate your help!cheers

this is what i paid for my B18c2

$1200 for motor (73 000k's on it) and box, ecu and loom .. my cousin road the ass end off in his dc2 so got cheap.

around $400 for hasport mounts

around $2500 for a full no problem conversion, me and my dad done it ourselves and just took it to a shop to get all tuned up.

there was other little things i got for it aswell but all up under $3000 for mine