.I have been reading around lately and have found some interesting things about these 2 engines and i have a question for you, in the end..which has the most power potential, a B18C5 with a built bottom and boosted or a B18B built bottom LS/Vtec conversion boosted? from what iv found the b18c5 has a shorter stoke, and a vtec head that has good flow but has a high compression (which is not good for boost), while the b18b has a longer stoke non vtec and has bad air flow in the stock head but has a nice low compression (which is better for boosting). but if you port& polished the stock head and added better cams or did a vtec conversion on it with the same P&P + cams to help it breath better and built the bottom...and with the lower compression you can boost more.. would the b18b be better in the long run for boosting vs the b18c5? any input on this is wanted. oh and the b18b costs 1500-2000 less then a b18c5 so with the added money you can put to fixing its breathing issues and possibly get a descent turbo setup with the spare money.

 

I like shorter strokes (but not too short). I like long power bands as opposed to big mid range. That being said, if it were me I'd rather have a JDM B18C or a USDM B18C1 (same motor), than a LS or C5.

 

the better engine is the c5, but if both built equally well and around the same specs of cams, head airflow, etc it would come down to the tuning to make the power.

 

let me rephrase the question, is there anything wrong with the b18b? besides it being a non-vtec and head now flowing good. is there any other shortcomings or weaknesses? cause it seems like if you added vtec and helped the head flow better and built the bottom....sence it has alot lower compression you would be able to boost alot more and with a good tune would put out more power then a b18c5 would boosted and tuned cause u cant boost as much with its higher compression... i believe someone else stated on another thread that some of the fastest civics are b20's with vtec heads and from what i can see the b18b and b20 seem closely related, they both are non vtec, they both have lower compression and both have a longer stroke.. exept one is 1.8l and the other is a 2.0l

 

fully built a ls/vtec has the ability to make more tq while the ITR swap has the ability to rev higher. Comes down to if you want to rip a $4000 motor apart or not really.

 

well the b18b is about half the price of the ITR, so with that saved money you could turn around and put a descent turbo setup on it and later build the bottom, or visaversa and would be cheaper to replace if something went bad. i would rather have my a more broad power curve then most of my power uptop

 

if youre going to totally rebuild it, it doesnt matter. you can build either one to whatever compression and any other specs you want and can afford to make happen. if you are planning on rebuilding the bottom end and boosting it, just save the money and start with the b18b block, and use the money you saved over the ITR and get it sleeved and all forged internals. then throw down a little more for a b16 or type r head, a good turbo setup, a badass fuel management, and a good tune.

 

word or you could try something with a little bit different if you have the cash.. go for a b16b head.. that would be nifty.

 

b16b head would be the same as an itr head, but with a ctr intake cam

 

will the b16b head bolt right onto the b18b block? also how much would a b16 head cost?