The GS-R and LS engines are both 1.8L so they have very similar torque ratings. The LS engine (and B20, the B20 has 3 mm of extra bore with new sleeves over a standard LS) actually has a slightly longer stroke than the C1/C5 but it's very minor. I'm not really sure why Honda did that, but they did. It's the difference in cam profiles that brings the LS toruqe peak earlier. LS's are also sort of the bastard child of B-series Honda swaps. There were a lot of them made and if you look hard enough, you can find one cheap (<$2000 complete). A friend of mine sold his a few years ago for $2000 with AEM CAI, DC header and Clutchmasters Stage 3 clutch. He swapped in a B18C1 that had a scored cylinder wall and ran like crap (which has since been resleeved with a ton of turbo and block work and still doesn't run right). The B18B is definately the best bang for the buck B-series swap but you don't have the same high rpm pull as the VTEC powerplants and the LS tranny has longer gearing and a lower final drive so you will lose some performance there.

I don't have a LS or B20 but I can give you some impressions of a B18C1 swap. WOW, it's a huge difference. I have 2 Honda's, a '98 EX with a D16Y8 (1.6L SOHC VTEC) and my '92 CX with a B18C1 swap. Come to a big hill in the '98 and you have to downshift to 4th just to maintain speed, down to 3rd to pull up it. The '92 will pull happily up the hill in 5th. On the highway, my '92 pulls in 5th like the '98 pulls in 3rd. Some of the difference is the extreme light weight of my CX (it's gutted with just two front seats and no PS or A/C) but still, it's night and day difference over the SOHC VTEC (and a hell of an improvement over the 1.5L 8-vavle 70hp CX engine it replaced).

I've been considering a swap for my '98 and if I save up the money before I decide to sell it, I'll probably swap a B20 into it. I was thinking I could get a B20 for around $1000, find a complete GS-R tranny assembly (axle's, shift linkage ...) for around another $1000. Put a B16A intake manifold on it, aftermarket header and an LS computer and I should be able to get everything together for less than $3000 and get it running strong. Just a pipe dream for now though, at least till I get my hatch fixed. Seeya.