Build Your Honda Engine by Mail

It’s another sunny day here in Southern California. Life is grand. The smog rating has been upgraded to "dangerous only to children, small dogs, and the elderly..."

By Jonathan Wong, Brent Romans

Photography by Jonathan Wong, Brent Romans

It's another sunny day here in Southern California. Life is grand. The smog rating has been upgraded to "dangerous only to children, small dogs, and the elderly." Rush-hour traffic for the drive in this morning was clean enough for us to reach an amazing top speed of 35 mph on the freeway. No earthquakes have been predicted for this week. Yep, it's the American dream.

For the Honda enthusiast, though, Southern California truly is dreamland. Nowhere else in the country is there a higher concentration of tuner shops and aftermarket companies dedicated to making the H-car go faster. It's no coincidence that the fastest Hondas in the world have all been built in SoCal. But what if you don't live in paradise and you want your Honda to go fast? How are you going to do it? Certainly, the compact/import performance car market has been growing at an amazing rate. But there are still places in the country where Honda dealerships are hard to find, let alone an actual performance shop. In this case, building up your Honda will be more difficult, but it can still be done. With a bit of research and time, you, too, can build the Honda engine of your dreams.

OE Parts

Before you can you can make your Civic engine a 250hp screamer, you’ll have to make sure that it is in good shape. And once you start seriously modifying it, chances are you’ll be breaking some parts along the way. A supply of original equipment parts is critical.

You can get OE parts from your local dealer, of course. But if there are reasons for you to dislike your local dealer, look to getting the exact same parts through the mail. Manchester Honda is located in Manchester, Connecticut. The dealership ships parts, accessories, and performance parts to customers around the world.

The dealership is able to do this because of its new Honda 2000 computer system. This computer system effectively contains every single Honda service manual. Manchester is one of a few dealerships across the country to have the system installed. It is detailed down to the bolts and washers. Effectively, you could build a complete car using the Honda 2000 system.

There's no need to worry if you don't know the name or part number of the part you want to replace. All the parts on the Honda 2000 system are numbered. If you don't know what a part is called, simply tell Manchester approximately where it is. By using diagrams on the computer, Manchester can identify the exact part. The dealership can even print out and fax you the diagrams to ensure that you are talking about the right part.

The Honda 2000 system is also linked to parts availability. If the dealership is out of stock on a particular item, it still might be able to ship you the part the same day you call. Manchester is located very close to one of the few Honda warehouses in the country. And if the part isn't at the Connecticut warehouse, Manchester can check availability at other warehouses or dealerships. For mail order, the dealership offers 25 percent off Honda retail pricing.

Basic Bolt-Ons

Once your engine is fortified with OE parts, the next step to making your Honda engine better is to add basic bolt-on performance parts. By bolt-on, we mean parts that do not require any fabrication or welding. They should also be easy enough to install that even people with big aversions to anything mechanically oriented (like our boss, Matt, for example) can do the work themselves. For simple engine bolt-ons, the main things to consider are an exhaust, an air intake, a header, cam gears, and underdrive pulleys. These will form the basic building blocks for additional power down the road. The amount of the power increase will depend greatly on what type of car you have and the quality of the parts you buy.

So where can you get parts? By just flipping through this issue of Super Street, you will see a multitude of companies just dying to ship you performance parts via the U.S. Postal Service, UPS, or Federal Express. Almost anything you purchase through the mail will cost less than it would at a retail outlet. The reasons for this vary among mail-order companies, but usually have to do with volume purchasing, reduced overhead costs, and lower commissions for salespeople. Some mail-order houses even have the manufacturer ship the products directly to the consumer, which means no inventory costs. In addition, you can often escape sales tax if you're not a resident of the state where the mail-order company is located. Keep in mind, however, that some of these savings will be canceled out by the cost of shipping--especially if you used overnight or second-day delivery.

Finding the absolute lowest price in the mail-order community shouldn't be your only concern. Remember that after you order the part, you still have to receive it, install it, use it, and be happy with it. If there's a snag at any one of these stages, you may not want to deal with a company that cut its prices by cutting corners on service or return policies.

An even scarier possibility is discovering that the company no longer exists when a problem arises. Make sure to research the history and reputation of a mail-order supplier before you order anything. Talk to your friends or search the internet for people who have bought the parts you are looking for.

If you've found what appears to be a stable source of aftermarket parts, but still aren't ready to make a high-dollar purchase, try ordering a less expensive part first to see if the company provides prompt shipping and helpful service.

Engine Swap and JDM-Spec

Taking your engine building to a different level can be achieved by customizing it with JDM, or Japanese Direct Market, components or purchasing JDM spec engines (the B16As and B18Cs are the most popular series of engines) from salvage yards and/or performance engines built by companies like JUN or Spoon Sports. There are a few combinations in which you can build specific types of engines and the result can equal to a high-revving hybrid engine.

For beginners, try starting out by locating a JDM-spec engine from an engine salvaging yard like K. Watanabe in Gardena, California, or an engine importer such as V-Spec in City of Industry, California. Both companies bring in JDM engines from Japan with low mileage from vehicles that have either been salvaged or brought over due to Japan's strict smog laws (Japan requires cars eclipsing a specific kilometer amount on their odometers to be deemed "past their smog limits").

There is no real way to test these engines for their assumed mileage, since you are doing this purchase through mail order, and you will only be able to check the condition of the engine with a compression check. But take heed, most of these companies do offer a warranty with the engine, so if your engine develops any problems within the allotted time frame, then you can just send it back. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the engines come with a few performance parts including spark plug wires, intake systems, or a JASMA (Japan Automotive Sports Muffler Association) approved exhaust header.

JDM engines are relatively inexpensive to purchase through mail order, but the cost of the freight may be high, depending on where you live. Be aware of what comes with the engine before you purchase it. Make sure that it not only comes complete with the engine and transmission, but that it also includes every little part like alternator, distributor, axles, wiring harness (extremely important if you are converting your Honda from a non-VTEC to a VTEC), and shift linkage. If these parts do not come with the engine, it is generally difficult to find them on your own from a junkyard, and can be quite costly from a dealership.

You can tell very easily whether or not your engine is JDM-spec. Look on the block for the engine code stamp, a Japan-spec Honda engine can be identified by this number. For example, the B16A powerplant comes in many different variants from its U.S. equivalent: B16A1 ('88-'91 CRX/Civic Si-R), B16A2 ('92-'95 Civic Si-R/CRX/del Sol Si [note: the Civic coupe was not offered in Japan as a model option]), B16A3 ('96-up Civic Si-R), and B16B ('98-up Civic Type R). The USDM version of the B16A is only offered through the '92-'95 del Sol Si and the '99 Civic Si as the B16A2 and are very difficult to obtain. The same goes for the GS-R engine: B18C1 is the USDM version of this engine while B18C, B18C3, and B18C5 (Integra Type R) are the JDM equivalents.

Taking a JDM engine and improving on it is relatively easy. While it is going to be hard to cover all the basics, we'll just give you a quick rundown of what you can do.

First off, you can purchase a book, produced by Hyper Rev of Japan, which is almost like a Bible for Civics and CRXs. Although the book is entirely in Japanese, with a few translations, you could take performance cues from overseas and put them to good use on your Honda engine. The Hyper Rev manual features nearly every product produced for Civics and CRXs on the Japanese market, while highlighting a few American companies, as well. You can purchase this book through Options Auto Salon by calling 888/678-2886.

Second, you can hop up either your USDM or JDM engine with a myriad of factory Honda parts. For instance, did you know that the Integra Type R intake manifold will fit, without any modification, onto your del Sol cylinder head? Well, it does, and that's just one way of making hybrid modifications onto your H-engine (stay tuned for a full tech feature on how to build a hybrid Honda engine in an upcoming issue and how to outfit your USDM Honda with JDM components).

A great way of increasing the performance of your stock engine without straining your budget is to use pistons and camshafts from the same family. The B16A engine can utilize the Civic Type R pistons, which have a higher compression (12:1--good for a normal- aspiration race engine!), but is not recommended for use in the B18C unit (compression could be 12:5 or higher!). The B18C block can utilize USDM Integra Type R pistons for similar purposes (10:6) or for a higher compression, you can use the JDM ITR pistons (11:1).

Swapping out camshafts seems to be quite popular, as well. All of the B-series engines seem to utilize the same cylinder head, with the exception of specs, of course, which means you can upgrade your camshafts with either Integra or Civic Type R pieces. Either one of these two camshaft series will improve performance greatly without breaking the bank (Note: the Civic Type R camshafts are the biggest VTEC camshafts out of the DOHC VTEC series). You can purchase the USDM components through places like Manchester Honda or your local Honda dealer, and the JDM components through a variety of sources like V-Spec, PYR, Group 5 Motorsports, and Options Auto Salon. If you're interested in researching hybrid modifications and JDM spec parts, check out these two very informative Web sites: The Honda Hybrid Online Resource at hybrid.honda-perf.org/ or the Tiiiite Boyeee Racin' Web page (excellent JDM resource page) hosted by Jason Kaplan at www.Drive.To/Katman.

All-Star Packages

Bolt-ons and engine swaps can make your Honda kick some serious butt. But to really make your car equal to the firepower found in California, you’ll most likely have to bring the firepower to you. Some of the top tuners in California sell complete engine packages. This means that you can purchase crate engines with everything you already need. This is not a simple matter, of course. Nor is it inexpensive. For a true fully built Honda engine, expect prices around $5,000-$8,000. If you are serious about purchasing an engine, it might be wise to visit the tuner directly. That way, you can get a more positive feel on whether this is a company you want to deal with.

If going for the gusto is your idea of achieving high performance, then try JUN Auto Mechanic, JG Engine Dynamics, or any Spoon Sports authorized dealer (check out www.spoonsports.com for a complete dealer listing), for one of their crate engines. You will get exactly what you pay for, and these companies live up to what they produce. A completely decked-out JUN or Spoon Sports Integra or Civic Type R engine, stroked out to 2 liters sounds like it deserves to be sitting in your '91 hatchback or '96 coupe, doesn't it? Other goodies included with these engines are usually camshafts, pistons, rods, crankshaft, heavy-duty clutch, and a ported-and-polished cylinder head equaling power, power, and by the way, did we mention power? You get the idea. JG Engine Dynamics can sell you complete turbocharged race engines producing upwards of 500 hp. Each of these engines uses an aftermarket fuel management system and is tuned on the dyno before shipment.

As you can see, there are numerous possibilities for your Honda engine, and we will be highlighting, in-depth, what you can seriously do to your car by utilizing both USDM and JDM parts. These factory parts are already beginning to prove that Honda has definitely designed the hot rod of the '90s and beyond. And if you do decide to go with extreme performancewith an All-Star package, then you will not be disappointed. So don't even think about grabbing the remote. Stay tuned, kids.