first off, no bashing. I'm slowly starting to understand about and continue to research and read about this.

at any rate, I was thinking of building an b18b1 block. for starters, i was thinking that jdm p30 pistons would increase compression to approximately 11.1:1. Now, from reading posts about this, without a more aggressive cam, that would not make a significant difference on a stock LS with stock internals other than the pistons. correct?
Which, if I am going to get, say crower 403's, then i probably ought to get upgraded valvesprings/retainers etc to avoid any valve float above redline...
it seems that at this point in the game, there is a decent amount of money invested in the LS head/cams and pistons (under 1k) + tune (500$) for a head that stil won't flow well and for what, maybe 160whp? the final stage would then be a pnp which increase flow and decreases budget funds...
It sounds that at this point, we are talking under 2k invested for an LS that ought to put down 160-170 whp... with a good tune...

So, being that the above numbers are gross estimates, is there any point in building such motor?

In other words, would you sugest to keep the LS stock and just be happy with it with basic mods (I/H/E) as it's an improvement from SOHC or what mods can be done to improve horsepower/torque on a minimal budget?

any thoughts? feel free to correct any erroneous statements above. Don't tell me I could get a boosted LS or SOHC or spend the money on a Gsr etc... this isn't the question at hand here.

thanks
opinions/experience/thoughts are welcome!

 

ARP rod bolts to control stretch and to make use of the 403's increased duration.

Enjoy the LS for what it is. Keep it simple!

 

In my opinion you should ditch the ls head for a vtec head.
If you insist on a non-vtec setup, go with 404 cams instead.

If you want to think outside of the n/a box... you should leave the stock motor alone & boost it making 250-280 reliable whp

 

i saw an ls running brian crower stage 2 cams making 170 hp n 150 tq with p30 pistons i belive. then the guy put it in a b20 with some forged pistons and crower 405 cams. he was using a gsr intake mani with butterflies (he had it made to fit) and used the nitrous control on hondata to control the butterflies opening. it was almost like vtec! search on ht for it. the guys name was b19 i belive or somethin close to that. hell of a setup. jscushing (forgive my sp) on ht also had a nice ls setup.

 

thx for the input

 

yes i will in the future, need money to do it properly though, so gonna have to save up


hmmm, can someone confirm or disconfirm that there is no benefit (power wise) to put p30 pistons in all stock ls... cuz i've found a set for $50... it'd b an easy upgrade but useless if there is no advantage to it by itself... thanks

 

more compression cant hurt, especially if you are planning on running a larger cam as well. go for it.

 

I own a Dc Integra Ls with the B18B1 engine also and yes it can get boring so be patient. I recently bought a set of used jdm P30 pistons and rods also but i will be going in the route of Ls vtec. I have read COUNTLESS threads and have heard/read many testimonials and actually driven some ls/vtec or just plain vtec all motor setups and the difference is night and day. In my eyes the B18A1/B1 engines were Honda's form of an economic Dohc motor that is potent but is also gas friendly. That being said your best bet is to get those P30's you've been thinking SO much about since more compression is better to a certain extent and get new piston rings since you should always replace piston rings and go with a good Intake/Header/Exhaust combination

 

I personally know very little about boosting a b18a/b but I do know that if you're going to boost any motor, boost the b18a/b because of its near ideal stock compression ratio for boost. that being said, I would boost your motor like mtber said but I would get it rebuilt first, depending on how many miles are on it and depending on how long you would like to use that exact motor. now as for me, if I would do anything to my motor now, I would boost it with a high quality turbo kit.

 

thanks for all replies. At this point in time, the LS is pretty much stock with less than 90k on it. I am gathering the pieces to make it run: water pump, timing belt, dizzy, mounts, spark plugs and other miscellaneous parts. I have purchased the p30 pistons so whenever i get those, i'll put them in. I have agsr tranny with a 3rd gear to rebuild. Once all that is done and ready, I'll swap the y8 for the LS and be happy.
Then, as many here have mentionned, the money from the y8 will help compensate the current expenses and start the turbo + tune fund.
COnsidering it's quite a bit of money and i don't have a job, that may take some time, but I'll try to be patient I may build or change some OEM parts before i boost in order to try and keep the motor reliable. at that time, probablt take out the p30's and put the stock ones back since, all stock, apparently the LS is indeed pretty close to ideal for boost

its a project hopefully will be done in a couple of months...