B20 VTEC or LS VTEC?

B16, B18, B20
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By That One Dude
- Fri Aug 27, 2010 11:40 pm #210868 Well, what kind of power are you looking for? What kind of reliability do you want? How will you drive it?

LS/VTEC is "more" reliable than B20/VTEC because the cylinder walls are thicker in the B18B1/A1 than the B20B4/etc.

B20/VTEC "can" produce more power than the LS/VTEC with the same parts and compression ratios simply because of the displacement factor.

There are pros and cons to both sides. Major deal is the oil plug in the mating surface of the head. It likes to leak if you dont seal it properly.

I've heard from a few people that they like to run warmer than usual.
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By Tonyp436
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 12:02 am #210870 im looking to build my coupe for circuit races. but for now its going to be a daily driver..
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By That One Dude
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:05 am #210883 Personally, for a DD, I'd stick with a plain LS or B20. You'll have plenty of power over stock with whichever engine you decide on. And you won't have all the issues involved with the +VTEC right away.

If you can afford the downtime if it breaks, by all means do the +VTEC. But if you don't have another car to use during downtime, I wouldn't recommend it.

Not to mention, you have to get it tuned. Running it on a stock ECU, even if you have a VAFC, can do some serious damage if you're not careful.
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By Tonyp436
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:10 am #210884 Tru. I understand where ur comin from. I have a p28 civic si ecu. And why do the break so easily? .... I have the harness for the vtec it should just plug and play, atleast that's what I was told.
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By chrono404
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:25 am #210888
Tonyp436 wrote:Tru. I understand where ur comin from. I have a p28 civic si ecu. And why do the break so easily? .... I have the harness for the vtec it should just plug and play, atleast that's what I was told.


you cant just run a p28 and have the engines run correctly. it doesn't have the correct fuel maps and ignition maps. You will need to have a tuning shop do a good job reprograming your computer. Dont just get a gsr p72 as that still wont work good.

physical install is pretty easy, put integra mounts(or delsol vtec if your rocking a sol) on and extend your si wiring harness o2 sensor wires and your good to go.

I agree with Suspendedhatch on if your just going to daily, a B20 + B16 Transmission (or gsr tranny if you do lots of freewaying) is fast enough. I have that setup in my Delsol. When you push your foot down your pushed back into the seat. Its quicker then GSR Swaps, at thats with a slipping clutch. You can run 87 octane fuel, and not worry about blowing your bottom end.

Nothing beats having a reliable Daily Driver. Whats the point of having the fastest car on the block if you cant do it day in and day out.

If I was going to do it agian. I would have gotten a b18b instead of a b20b. Stronger cylinder walls and more piston choices for when you wanna build it up.
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By Tonyp436
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 2:31 am #210890 Ok. So what's the differences between the different ecus... ? Like I sd I'm kinda new to the whole honda world. How much would it cost to have a shop reprogram my ecu ? And I totally agree on what u sd about the dd's u do need the power day in and day out. Exactly.
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By jayEGR
- Sat Aug 28, 2010 6:16 am #210916 honestly just go with the ls tony436 its the best thing to do learn as you go and reprogramming all depends all who you know and where to go, you have to go to a performance shop where its legit and good enough to run , plus like chrono404 said you dnt wanna be the fastest car on the block remember its ur DD,and for the ecu as that goes its just depends on the setup ur going to do i mean correct me if iam rong guys but the p28 wont be go enough for the setup for the ls vtec or a b20 vtec
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By 93hatcheg
- Sat Sep 04, 2010 3:55 pm #212153 buddy lsv and b20v are wayyyy more complicated than you thgink. go to the main page of the b-series forumn and read "how to build a reliable lsvtec/b20vtec" forum. that will tel you everything. from the sounds of it, it will probably turn you a different route with your motor.

personally i would do lsv i have seen those thing built and they do damage i am not a fan of b20v i know a guy with one and its a pos
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By Tonyp436
- Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:12 pm #212167 But if the p28 is chipped I should be able to get it tuned, correct? Its an obd1 from a civic si
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By Greasedmonkey
- Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:14 am #212281 If its chipped or not chipped, you dont want to run it on a LSV or B20v until its on a dyno ready for tuning. You raise the chance of it popping like a bag of pop corn if you do so.
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