Regardless of what the B17's output would have been with a higher CR, it is what it is. Driving a B17 car is hardly a different experience from a B16 one. Especially if they're close to stock.

The YS1 transmission that came mated to the B17 is effectively the same as the YS1 transmission that came mated to the B16 in Japan. The only B16 transmission that has crappy gearing is the one in the '88-'89 Civic/CR-X SiR.

Assuming one were to get a complete swap out of a '92-'93 Integra RSi/XSi then it would be essentially identical to having a G2 GSR. There are tons of people running around with B16s in their G2 Integras and they seem to like their motors just fine.