B16A Driving Impressions

[sciamop]

I finally took my car (91 Civic Si) out on a 5 minute run (don't have it registered yet). It has new tokico blue struts, new ST sway bars, new ES hyper bushings, new brakes, hmotors B16A w/ hasport mount kit, $35 intake, stock Si 'peashooter' exhaust, S1 5spd transmission and sh!tty no-name tires on stock steelies (left the hubcaps on for that 'stock' look).

Engine:
-- 1st gear: I do a normal takeoff out of the driveway. Hmmm, this car has no torque. Wind it out to 4.5Krpm.

-- 2nd: wind it out to 7K rpm. VTEC activation makes the engine VERY loud. Still not much torque but the car is actually going fast. I'm still too much of a pansy to take it to 7600rpm.

-- 3rd: too fast to wind out on windy backroads. Also a longish gear. You don't want to shift into this too early from 2nd.

I let my friend/copilot drive it back home. He hit 65mph going around a tight turn (I almost sh!t my pants). He said it was 'fast', liked the VTEC sound.

Hasport motormounts transfer more NVH into the cabin than some people might like. Reminds me of early 80s VW Rabbit w/ worn motor mounts.

Transmission:
-- I like the gearing of the transmission. Can't wait to see what its like as a daily driver.

Suspension:
-- Very tight. It feels like there is no give in it. We hit a tiny pothole and it sounded/felt like we hit a crater! The stock ride height of the Civic is low; I would not want to 'slam' this car.

Overall:
I'm going to post again when I've actually spent a few days behind the wheel, but I think hitting VTEC is going to become addictive! I feel like a nut when I wind a car out like that. Hope it doesn't draw any unwanted attention from law enforcement.

Problems:
The spark plug holes filled up with oil (I guess I didn't torque down the valve cover enough?); I seriously need a performance exhaust. Suggestions? #1 requirement: MUST BE QUIET!

Todd
91 Civic Si B16a

[SiZ]

Man, you gotta get used to shifting at 8k. I love just dropping the tach needle. It seems pretty intense I realize, but the more you get used to it the more you'll love it.

[jNYCe5]

Originally posted by sciamop
I seriously need a performance exhaust. Suggestions? #1 requirement: MUST BE QUIET!

todd, glad to hear you finally got the car runnin, get used to taking it up to 8 grand, it will become addicitive

as for a quiet exhaust, look into the apexi world series...

[1990civic]

you have a SI tranny hooked up to that b16?? i didnt think you could swap d to b series parts??

[91zc]

Originally posted by 1990civic
you have a SI tranny hooked up to that b16?? i didnt think you could swap d to b series parts??

S1 trans-tight geared b series trans.

[mellowboy]

Nice! I know its not torquey but its still pretty damn quick! I guess seth was talkin shit

[Moppie]

If you dont think its torqey then you either missed something on the install, or your comparing it with an 8 or 6, which you simply cant do.

Iv driven a LOT of 4cyl cars, and the only one Iv ever driven that came close to the torque of the B16a was a Super Charged 4age in an MR2.
(Iv driven 2.0+L fours with more peak torque, but its only ever been useable accross a very small rev range)

The B16a dosnt have a lot of peak torque, but for such a small high revving engine it has an impressivly flat torque curve.
I used to able to pull from 40kph to 180kph in 5th gear, thats from below 1,000rpm with out any hesitation. It was just one long smooth pull.
Peak torque actualy occurs at about 3,000rpm, then again at 7,200rpm with peak power coming in at 7,800 and you need to hit 8,000 before shifting to keep it above 5,000rpm when you want to drive "quickly".

Once you get used to it you will have no trouble trolling around at 1,500-3,000rpm in traffic. Wind it up to 4-5,000rpm when you need to jump in somewhere, or beat someone from the lights, then open it up and goto 8,200 when you get a clear piece of road.

Just remember:
Below 5,000rpm for daily driving, and saving gas.
Above 5,000rpm for fast driving (cough*racing*cough)

[Civic Rush]

well said
very well said

[civickiller]

i drove my friends 92 sedan b16a2, man as soon as i took it up to 8k and tapped rev limiter, i just completely fell in love with it. as soon as i can afford it, im taking my b18a out and putting in a b16a. i love the sound of high revving motors

[sciamop]

If you dont think its torqey then you either missed something on the install, or your comparing it with an 8 or 6, which you simply cant do.

Yeah, my other car is a stock 89 Supra Turbo (3.0 I-6: 232hp/254lbs) power comes on hard (& smooth) btwn 3000-4500 rpms; no real top end though... poops out at ~5800rpm.

I really like that the B is *engineered* to be beat on; If I drove the Supra like that, it would probably blow the head gasket in ~60 seconds.

Like I said, I'll make more observations after I've driven it for a couple of days...

Julian: thanks for the tip on the exhaust. I had a Blitz Nur Spec on the Supra and I hated it (way too loud; went back to stock). I hear that the GReddy SP is good too; unfortunately it has the 'megaphone' tailpipe.

Todd
91 Si B16a

[Jmunk]

Just swap a B16 head on your B18.

[jNYCe5]

Originally posted by sciamop
unfortunately it has the 'megaphone' tailpipe.

you can also try the hks sport exhuast....looks almost like stock

irvin (EFLSVTEC) used to have it on his car

[Redline_civic91]

Originally posted by civickiller
as soon as i can afford it, im taking my b18a out and putting in a b16a. i love the sound of high revving motors

you'd be spending a lot of money to have the end result of a slower car. do not take out the b18(unless its all fucked up)to put in a b16. you will go slower trust me. if anything slap on the b16 head onto the ls block, but dont remove the whole ls to go b16. you will regret trust me. a stock ls would out run a stock b16 in the same type of car.

[91civicDXdude]

I think a stock LS would a b16 off the line, but once you got going, the sheer high rpm rippage of the b16 would take the b18 since it only revs to like 6500

[Redline_civic91]

not true the ls pretty much stronger than the b16 would out run it almost every time. i've seen it done many times. two friends of mine with hatches ls and b16 and ls comes out on top every time. from a stop and go. to downshifting on freeways the ls aways pulls. i've also seen ls' beat b16's out at the street races. ls is a better engine due to its higher torque than the b16.

"horsepower sells, but torque wins races"