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Old Apr 18, 2004 | 08:40 AM
  #13  
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white_n_slow
it's my D in a B
 
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 24,787
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From: Your Mom's House
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You have very reasonable and attainable goals. To get what you're going for, an aftermarket build-up wont be necessary. Although, considering the age of your engine, you should look at some preventative maintenance before you go for anything more. Here's what I consider 2 of your most viable options:

1) If you have the down-time and know-how, rebuild your motor with new bearings and rings. I'd hesitate to turbo a motor with over 200k, but that maintenance should have it ready to go. Then all you have to do is get a reasonable street turbo set-up and your set. You can either buy a complete kit, or piece together your own... Just depends on availability of parts in your area and how simple you want it to be. A stock LS motor is more than capable of reliably taking the boost it would need to get you to your power goals (and beyond them). As with any turbo setup, Hondata is your friend.

2) Since you have so many miles, you could build your motor for ls-vtec using all OEM parts, and take care of that preventative maintenance while you're doing it. Stock rods will be fine if you want to raise the redline (which is how you'll make that power ls-vtecs are famous for) as long as you use ARP rod bolts. I'd also use an itr/gsr crank girdle to stabilize the bottom end too. With both these you should be able to safely raise your redline to close to 8k. Along with the LS rods, I'd use some B16A pistons with new rings (you can use B16B pistons, but only if you have good gas in your area... c/r will be around 12:1, which is marginal for street use). Then all you need is a head in good shape (ARP head studs are a plus) and an ECU. This should be perfectly adaquate for your power goals, and since you're using all OEM parts (aside from the fasteners), cost should be pretty managable... and you'll be doing all the high-mile preventative maintenance at the same time.

These are just two options... obviously there are more. But I think both of these will get you to (or beyond) your power goals without breaking the bank. They'll require a bit of time and effort, but I'm sure you'd be happy with either.
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