Sorry for any igonorance, it's been a while since I've been back in the Japanese import scene. I posted this here because I heard that it was popular with tegs and civics.


I'm thinking CR-V. An older one, I guess the 1997. I'm pretty sure that I can find a manual one for 10g's or under. I try to keep up with the import scene and I noticed that a good number of people are doing the "frankenstein" engine conversion which is the bottom end of a CR-V with the top end of a Type-R. I thought that this would be a good starting point for power in the CR-V. Then eventually, cams from Skunk Works and a Turbo. I'm always into the oddities and I think that this would be one of them. I have yet to hear of a turbo "frank" CR-V in the states. I wanted to know everyones opinion and advise on this. Like I said, I spent my time under the euro hood and would like to get back under the Japanese hoods. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

If you do a search you'll find that this topic has been covered many times. The Civic and Integra forums will both have a lot of info on it as well as the Engine Tech forum. Here's some basic info to get you started.

Engine codes - all of these are "B-series" motors and are generally interchangeable.

B16A - 1.6 liter DOHC VTEC, 160 hp, del Sol VTEC, '99-'00 Civic Si
B16B - 1.6 liter DOHC VTEC, 185 hp, Civic Type-R
B17A - 1.7 liter DOHC VTEC, 160 hp, '92-'93 Integra GS-R
B18A - 1.8 liter DOHC, 130-140 hp, '90-'93 Integra RS/LS/GS/SE
B18B - 1.8 liter DOHC, 140-142 hp, '94-'01 Integra RS/LS/GS/SE
B18C1 - 1.8 liter DOHC VTEC, 170 hp, '94-'01 Integra GS-R
B18C5 - 1.8 liter DOHC VTEC, 195-200 hp, '97-'01 Integra Type-R
B20B - 2.0 liter DOHC, 126 hp, '97-'98 CR-V
B20Z - 2.0 liter DOHC, 140 hp, '99-'01 CR-V

The part number for the head of the B16A, B16B, B17A and B18C5 is all the same - PR3. The Type-R versions have more aggressive cams, a nicer intake manifold, and a mild port-n-polish job.

The B18C1 head is not shared with any other engine.

The B18A, B18B, B20B and B20Z heads are all similar, stuff like cams are interchangeable.

You can put a VTEC head on a non-VTEC motor but the oil passages will not line up with the block. You must run an external oil line from the pump to the head since VTEC is activated using oil pressure.

Generally a B18A or B18B block with a VTEC head is called an LSVTEC, and a B20B or B20Z block with a VTEC head is called a CRVTEC.

Unless skunk2 makes turbo-specific cams I wouldn't reccomend getting them.

 

wow, Thanks for the great info. Appreciate it.

 

Skunk2's turbo cams are not on the market yes. They've been in the works for an awfully long while.

 

How are the Skunkworks cams for NA then? And do they make cams for the "Frank" engine conversion? Also, when I eventually go for FI, what cams are the best to use and do they make for that engine conversion? Do I go to Greddy or HKS or what other companies are out there that make a bolt on system? Plus, what about engine management? In the bimmer, it was simply replacing the ECU chip, but in Japanese imports, either a piggyback or a whole new ECU is needed correct?

 

If you get an OBD1 ecu you can add the hondata computer as a piggyback. You can also get a different harness for the OBD2 ecus as well. I am not familiar with hondata but cspeedracing.com uses it and according to them it is very good.

 

Hondata is not a piggyback system. It's a "chipped" ECU that essentially lets you have it dyno tuned and burn another chip. Depending on the stage of ECU you get from them you either have to have a shop that sells Hondata tune it for you, or you can just go to a dyno and tune it yourself. Check out their website for more info. At the moment Hondata only modifies OBD-1 ('92-'95) ECUs so if you have a '96 or newer car that you'd like to put it in you'll need to convert your wiring over to OBD-1 which either costs a lot of money or takes way too much time. AEM also sells a replacement ECU but instead of burning a chip every time you want to change something with the program, you just download it from a PC to the ECU. Bit more expensive than the priciest Hondata option but it also offers the most tuning options. For an OBD-2 ('96-up) car though, the AEM setup becomes a better deal because AEM does indeed sell systems that are a direct plug-n-play with the OBD-2 wiring.

All B-series VTEC cams are interchangeable, so most of the companies out there (including skunk2) sell a few different stages of cams. Since you use a B-series VTEC head in making a CRVTEC, these will obviously fit. The Stage 2 skunk2 cams are some of the best out there.

A fully built up CRVTEC motor can easily put 220 hp to the wheels all-motor, so beyond that a turbo is just nuts--not to mention insanely expensive. How much cash you plan on dropping here? If you want a turbo CR-V I would suggest skipping out on the VTEC head and just get the turbo.

 

To be quite honest, I'm really broke. I was thinking about this as a long term project. But your suggestion of going straight to the turbo sounds good. Most likely, I would be taking out loans for this and such. It's just that I see that the 97 CR-V's only put out 126 hp. I'm being a little power greedy coming from the 189hp 6 bangin Bimmer when I say that's really not alot. But what and who should I contact for building up the engine for a turbo and what companies does everyone recommend? I also saw that Jackson Racing has a supercharger for the CR-V. Does anyone know what kind of power that puts out? Thanks again for all the info, it's really helping me out here.