I'm doing an ls vtec conversion with boost which head would work better b16 or b18 people seem to be split if i'm going all motor then i will use the b16 but i do not know with boost which one is better?

 

B16, cheaper, and easier to find

 

GSR with a port & polish job would work the best. Your avalibility of the b16 will be much more tho. Your call.

 

isnt the gsr head basically a b16 head, or so i've been told?

i'd say just find a b16 and do a nice PNP job on it

 

GSR head is going to raise your compression a little bit & not flow air as well, thats why you use your nice built bottom end with low compression pistons & give the head a port & polish job so that it flows as good or better than the b16 head. This will allow you to run more boost & have a much more reliable ls/vtec setup.

the b16 head will flow air a little better but is limited to the amount of performance that it can give u vs. the gsr head.

There is a lot of information out there for this conversion & a lot of different "opinions" because there is not way that it set in stone for how to do this. the thing is, the ls/vtec puts down great numbers & gets a bad reputation because people dont't take their time & build the motor properly, the bottom end MUST be built to handle this thing in the long run. & if you want to see great numbers from a ls/vtec, BUILD the block & make sure that you have the thing tuned professionaly. You MUST have good fuel managment & timing with an ls/vtec motor or say good bye to your motor.

RESEARCH is key good luck to all who build their ls/vtec's

 

The GS-R (B18C1) head is a different casting than the B16A head (which is also used by the Type R's B18C5 or B18C Spec R engines). The GS-R head has a smaller combustion chamber which will result in higher compression, all other things equal. There's also different cam and VTEC characteristic for a GS-R (4400 rpm VTEC point and the 2-stage intake manifold being big ones) that can be changed with aftermarket or upgraded stock parts but then would also need to be tuned specifically for the new parts.

Some people say the B16A head is "better" and the ability to use the ITR intake manifold was a huge benefit. With the Skunk2 version (the B18C1 has a different intake manfiold bolt pattern) and availablity of alternative IM (like the Edelbrock VictorX), it's a more level playing field now a days. I've always thought since the B18C1 was released in '94 and the B16A's have been around since '89, the newer head would be superior but I don't have hard facts to back it up. I would think cam choice and tuning would be a larger factor than which head is bolted to the engine.

 

if you're talking HP gains with each head, the GSR head would come out on top....why?? because of the bumped compression you get with the GSR head....the difference in flow of the heads is so minor that it's not even a factor when dyno'ing each head against each other.

A minor P&P on the GSR head will solve any minor differences there are between the heads.

One thing to consider is the b16 head was meant for a 1.6L....a GSR head was meant for a 1.8L.