89 CRX questions, looking to do LS/Vtec or turbo

zrs6v4 · Post by **zrs6v4** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:16 pm

I have an 89 Crx with a b18A1(supposedly 65k miles) stock with exhaust and a header.. I want to do something for around the $1500 range give or take and am not sure what route to take. Id liek to do a turbo setup but have never owned a turbo car and dont know to much on what to buy.. I have have nitrous on a few cars, but I am not sure if I want to go that route again, or get a vtec head...

I was quoted $1600 for a B18c1 GSR head, labor, cam gears, oil pump, ecu, and all of the other oil lines etc... that sounds like a sweet deal to me..

What should I do??

5thgen · Post by **5thgen** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:29 pm

zrs6v4;23940 wrote: I was quoted $1600 for a B18c1 GSR head, labor, cam gears, oil pump, ecu, and all of the other oil lines etc... that sounds like a sweet deal to me..

What should I do??

1600 seems steep for a ls/vtec setup. And you "should" at the least get rod bolts if you are going to rev at a gsr redline frequently.

Power per dollar you can't beat a turbo on a 4 cylinder (besides nitrous), you should set up a turbo for the car.

zrs6v4 · Post by **zrs6v4** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:34 pm

hmm, yeah I just dont know anyone who can set me up wiith a custom setup at that price.. got any ideas? I tired calling a number someone gave me on stlsr but the shop didnt answer.. do you think I could piece together a decent turbo setup? how do ls motors hold up to boost from 8-10lbs.. It isnt my DD but I dont want to blow it up and have to fork out a bunch of money for a rebuild right off the bat.. what do you thing I should spend/need to make the LS/VTEC a good setup? sorry for all the questions..

5thgen · Post by **5thgen** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:44 pm

zrs6v4;23946 wrote:hmm, yeah I just dont know anyone who can set me up wiith a custom setup at that price.. got any ideas? I tired calling a number someone gave me on stlsr but the shop didnt answer.. do you think I could piece together a decent turbo setup? how do ls motors hold up to boost from 8-10lbs.. It isnt my DD but I dont want to blow it up and have to fork out a bunch of money for a rebuild right off the bat.. what do you thing I should spend/need to make the LS/VTEC a good setup? sorry for all the questions..

honestly you can find decent deals from sponsors on honda-tech.com.
Doing your own piping will save the most money (if you can use/borrow/rent a 110v mig welder with gas). Dsm injectors can be found for cheap. You can use turboedit to tune with....or possibly uberdata/crome. There is quite a bit to grasp, but just keep things simple and it should come out fine....look for used parts (i.e. cast turbo manifold...things that don't really wear too much).

As far as how much boost, it depends on the turbo....I usually run 15-17psi on my b18b1 with a decent sized turbo. Check your compression on the motor....possibly a leakdown test too.

On the price of a ls/vtec swap... I would think a little closer to $1000-1300. Unless the head has been milled quite a bit, you shouldn't need the cam gears.

DC_T · Post by **DC_T** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:02 pm

i'd tell you to turbo it. i've had an ls turbo, and they are a lot of fun. You can find good deals on used kits too. Search around the honda-tech classifieds and see if you can get a good deal on one. Or, wait a few months cause i plan to sell my complete setup for around $1800.

As far as psi, it depends on your tune. Stock B18s have been known to hold 300hp pretty well on a good tune as long as the motor is in good shape.

ls/vtec is a good motor, but after you spend the 1300 or whatever, your still going to want to get it tuned w/ some type of engine management, and you won't come close to the hp that you can put down w/ a turbo kit.

zrs6v4 · Post by **zrs6v4** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:07 pm

cool, well if anyone wants to make some money and help me out with getting it going let me know.. I would feel comfortable working on it by myself with the little experience I have..

DC_T · Post by **DC_T** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:19 pm

i'm sure a lot of people on this site would be willing to help you out, myself included, whenever you figure out what you want to do. Till then, check out some of these links and do some research.

honda-tech.com
homemadeturbo.com
beesandgoats.com (G2IC turbo guide)

zrs6v4 · Post by **zrs6v4** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 11:40 pm

yea I am going to do some research.. I am going to go turbo but I want to look around and read up before I say for sure..

zrs6v4 · Post by **zrs6v4** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:20 pm

would anyone happen to know why a radiator fan wouldnt kick on? anything I could check?