Worth the effort to turbo a b16a2
Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:49 pmHey I was wondering if it would be worth it to turbo my b16a2? or just go all motor
Cheaper to boost if you piece together a kit. Some would argue more reliable to boost, but that's a debate on tuning, fuel, and parts. The B16A2 is a relatively high compression engine, so you won't necessaily be able to pump huge boost numbers into it in stock trim, but you could get a respectable amount of power out of it. IIRC, Modified Magazine did a write up on building a 500bhp (horsepower at the crank) B16A3 (identical to the B16A2) with nothing more than swapping out the pistons for a set of 9:1 dish top pistons from Arias and some ACL bearings. The rest of the engine was completely stock.
NA tends to get way more expensive really quickly. After you add up pistons, rods, head work, valves, cams, intake manifold (or ITBs if you want to spend an extra $2500), and high end header, you run the risk of having spent as much as two turbo setups. And you might not get much more than 200whp if you're lucky. Especially out of such a small displacement engine like the B16A2. Although there are some people who have gotten 220whp+. Also, because it's a B16A2, you have a relatively short deck height compared to the B18C1, and even shorter than the B18B1. This limits you a little bit in piston selection, and you can't use a B18 crankshaft unless you notch the block and get custom length rods. So stroking the B16 is not completely out of the question, but it's a good bit more work than stroking a B18. An advantage of the B16 is that you have a very rev happy engine with a very good rod/stroke ratio. With a balanced rotating assmbly, you can easily take it out to 9k or higher if you want.