Matt-PearlCivic7790

alright ive heard this is possible, and ive heard this is a myth. but i wanna pick up a B20B non vtec motor and make it vtec by putting a B16 or B18 vtec head on it. ive heard it wont line up for oil feeds and stuff. is this bull or will it actually not work?

teg

hey this does work, there is an oil feed line you have to plug believe. I should really know this seeing as how i have a B20 vtec with a B16 gen2 head. I would suggest that you upgrade your oil and water pump to either a GSR or Type R. You should probably upgrade your pistons as well because the B20 pistons won't last too long with the compression you will get out of it.

D.T.P

It is a simple swap. Sort of haha. You will have to get an oil galley welded on the head since the block does not have such oil feed. Then what you do is buy an oil line kit online and that will allow you to run oil from the oil pressure sensor to the head. Now with that you will have to drill into the head to feed the needed oil. Other than the welding/drilling its a straight swap. The pistons will hold with the head no problem, but should consider a b16/gsr transmission. Will really help with the acceleration since those have shorter/tighter gears.

Only thing I'm wondering is why b20vtec and not ls-vtec[b18b1 mated with a vtec head]. Same proceedures for both but with b18 bottom its easier to build/upgrade the block. I believe the p30 out of b16(?) fit on the b18 rods which will yelled about 10.5:1 CPR with a vtec head.

Also if you will be doing all that it would be smart to change the water pump and timing belt, just make sure if you end up using vtec motor water pump, you must get timing belt for the same engine.

If you have any more questions, I would be glad to help since I was thinking of doing this myself with the b18a1 and I have spent countless hours doing research about it [I get bored at work haha].

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

of all of the b20 and LSvtecs i've done i've never once welded or drilled anything.

You just need to tap the little vtec oil feed hole in the bottom of the block and put a little plug in there. For the oil feed into the head you just need to remove a plug in the side of the head and install a fitting into it, so that the new oil feed line will attach to it. No drilling or welding required.

If you buy the Golden Eagle LS/B20vtec conversion kit it comes with everything required, including the tap and plug, all fittings required, the oil feed line, the conversion dowell pins (which you would otherwise have to drill the head out for the larger b20 dowell pins), a headgasket and even a sandwhich adapter plate for the oil feed line (so you don't have to "tee" the stock oil pressure sensor). You can even get this kit with ARP head studs, which I highly recommend using.

The thing a lot of people overlook is tuning. Since there isn't a b20vtec ecu to use, you need to get the car tuned. A lot of people just use basemaps or random chips from people and wonder why the car only made 160whp or why it doesn't run so great.

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

I'm sorry, i mean, "you just need to tap the little vtec oil feed hole in the bottom of the head (not block) and put a little plug in there".

F8i

iTrader: (10)

Check out Lightning Motorsport they have a perfect kit for such application!
Lightning Motorsports - It's All Good, we're still gonna have the after party ! AEM-ARP-Competition-Skunk2-Walbro-more - Homepage
@OP:
I have B20VTEC Turbo Charged
I use a b20b block from Tiger Japanese ($420 cash)
and a B16A1 head. A vtec conversion kit from lightning, and you're ready to go.
NOTE: After everything I've read, I would use a GSR crankshaft setup instead.
Andrew, I'll take you up on your offer for a 'break in tune'

Matt-PearlCivic7790

thanks alot, this really helps.

Matt-PearlCivic7790

alright so ive decided to go lsvtec instead.... B18B with a B18A head. But for the tranny i know any b series tranny will work. But what about the B20A transmission out of the 88-91 prelude. The reason im asking is because its only $300 as opposed to a $900 b18a tranny. Is theyre any weaknesses or anything, like will it not work or something? Cuz if it will, without problems. im gunna use that motor. Cuz im only 19 so moneys not exactly flowing like it would be in 10 years.

rojai

900 for a b18 tranny sounds a bit pricey... if u browse around the forums im pretty u can find one cheaper.

seanv98

The B18A head is a non Vtec head. You wan't a B16 or B18C (GSR) head. You could also do a Type-R head if you wanted, but the the other 2 will be much cheaper for you.

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

the b20a prelude tranny won't work.

$900 for a b18a tranny is REDICULOUS...I can get you one right now for $200

You can buy a Type-R tranny with LSD for $900.

A GSR or B16 tranny typically goes for about $400-600 for a non-LSD and $700-800 for a LSD tranny.

Honestly, if moneys tight, keep saving. Swaps like this will nickle and dime you to death. Running out of money would suck, but it happens all the time, then you see people selling their stuff off for less than they paid for it b/c they're hurtin for cash.

F8i

iTrader: (10)

I Second that. The heads to use are: B16A1, B16A2, B16A3, B18C, B18C1, and B18C5.

The OLD preludes have a B20A block, which is terrible! It's known to cracking. A B18B (LS vtec) has a 1797cc(or close to it) block, same as a B18C5.

Getting off topic...

b20 conversion

I hate to say it, but Hond.atech.com has a full build up on b20/lsvtec's.
also, check out: www.gordbushperformance.com I got my engine built there, I also used the conversion kit mentioned above.

Honduh*

so if you wanna do this you can do b20z with lets say type r tranny and head with that vtec kit and everything will run good? "new too honda motors lol"

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

provided you get the car tuned properly it will run awesome.

There isn't a stock b20vtec ecu you can just plug in and go, and using a "basemap" or someone else's program just doesn't cut it with these engines.

chris_v2

There's a little bit more than that to it.

You will need to convert to obd1(if not already done) and get a custom tune on the dyno by zeeman(the best around). Also, there will some machine work involved on the cylinder head. At the bare minimum you can just get it re-surfaced and use the v-tec conversion dowel pins if you want (however I machined the dowel openings in the head to accept the non-vtec pins.

Besides that, yeah.. all you really need is a block/trans/head with some machine work, a v-tec kit with oil lines and a good solid tune and you should be ready to go.

Be aware though, this is not a cheap process. You will have to purchase a new clutch kit, timing belt, water pump, etc. All those parts will add up very quickly/.

F8i

iTrader: (10)

No need to buy the b20z. A B20B will work. (A B18B will work too!) Just make sure it's not a B20A from the prelude. Any B series Transmission should work, I have a YS1 for my B20, and a S80 for my Type R.

You'll need to look into a New computer, new axels (to fit b transmission), Possibly mounts, New wiring (for vtec, or OBD0/1/2), possible rad hose fittings... there's a lot! Kind of an ambigous question.

I think the lightning link above explains more.

Honduh*

thanks for the info guys!

Clarkee

I would love that. haha. I'm slowly gathering parts for my auto to manual swap. I've seen LS tranny's selling for $600-700 and I instantly knew that it was too much.

$200 is a deal if it's not grinding! Where would be a reliable place to buy a tranny?