b20 with p8r head

Ok, so I lucked out and unknowingly bought a b20 with a p8r head. From what I’ve read it has bigger intake valves, bigger chamber blah blah blah… What I’m curious about is, how much would I benefit (if at all) from getting an aftermarket intake and better injectors? What would give me the biggest bang for my buck? Right now it has an obd-0 b18 intake in it so I’m sure that can’t be good for air flow… Would a bigger TB on the b18 be worth it? Also, am I safe to run 87 octane or should I run slightly higher octane. I know there’s 3 different comp ratios for the b20 setups and if I read correctly I have the one with high 8’s? Thanks in advance!

the specs on the b20"s or 96 - 97 is 8.8 and 98 - 99 is 9.6

and since it has a p8 head its has a 9.6 comp. look at I/E/H first get an fpr and a better trans if u haven’t already

I just swapped a high comp B20b into my 93 LS a couple months ago. I did a lot of research on the engine before the swap. Here’s the deal:

The B20 responds well to air flow mods. After extensive research I’ve concluded that you will be best to…

  1. Get a good intake pipe. Short ram pipes work well to accentuate the low-mid range power of the B20. Cold air will help in the top end too. I cut my cold air so I can switch back & forth. I think I like the short ram best.

  2. A better intake manifold such as a Blox or Skunk2 will work wonders on the B20. Get one! As for the throttle body, get one that is port matched to the manifold.

  3. Good quality headers like the SP Toda replica (look in the sponsors section) work best. Try for one w/ a 2.5" collector.

  4. Either a 2.25" or 2.5" full cat back exhaust, stainless steel, mandrel bent. Use a high flow cat or a test pipe. I use a Magnaflow high flow cat w/ great results.

  5. I used my long geared LS YS1 tranny because I daily drive it & I prefer the longer gears to match w/ all the torque. Stage 1 clutch. A lightweight flywheel will help alot too.

  6. Aside from getting good spark plugs like NGK Iridium IX, you shouldn’t need to upgrade the ignition much. Honda OEM ignition systems are good up to 300hp. I prefer to upgrade my ground wires w/ bigger gauged ones, but that’s not really ignition; just a good idea.

  7. As for fuel, the same as above. Good to 300 hp. An adjustable FPR would be neat for tuning purposes, but not needed. The b20 injectors are fine. no real need to upgrade. Although, I’d like to get mine blueprinted by RC to optimize them. Not needed though.

  8. I advanced my timing to 18 degrees & I’ve been running 89 octane since the swap was done. No issues w/ that. I wouldn’t suggest going lower. Lower grades suck anyway. When you do the math, you only pay a few bucks more for mid-grade; so go for it.

  9. Get your ECU chipped & tuned as soon as you can to maximize the benefits of the engine. Think of it this way, you’re going to use a 16-19yr old ECU on a 99-00 year engine? It’s time for a computer revamp.

  10. The 99-00 B20s should all be high comp versions. (9:6:1 ratio) If it has a knock sensor on the back of the block, (brown plug) a low- rise manifold w/ the box on top, & a P8R head; it’s definetly a high comp version. Mine has all these, except I have a P75 head.

  11. The high comps are rated @ around 160hp/140tq. If you look up the numbers @ most places, you get a rating of 145hp/136tq. This is because these numbers are from a B20 IN a Cr-v or it’s equiv. The CR-Vs have a very restricted exhaust system & most are automatic; not to mention the emissions on those things. Add all that up & you get a bogged down motor. A B20 in a DA or other Honda CAR will get around 160hp/140tq @ the crank.

Here’s a dyno chart to show you how easy it is to get power from a B20 w/ the right mods. This is Intake/Header/Exhaust w/ a lightweight flywheel on an LS long geared tranny, Tuned w/ CROME.

This is 146hp/137tq to the wheels! Thats around 180hp/160tq @ the crank! That’s getting into Integra Type R horsepower numbers w/ more torque!

Here’s my monster in progress:

Hope all this helps. Sorry if I was long winded, but I’m bored & full of B20 love!
Seems like you got a great engine there, good luck w/ it. Hit me up if you need any help. I’ll be doing a detailed write up of the 2000 B20b into a 93 LS soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

BTW- Did you know a DA w/ a B20 in it w/ I/H/E will beat a stock 99 Civic SI? Look it up on YouTube.


:getsome::manual:


Figure that out!

I put a b20 in my car a while back and you were right i had denso high compresion plugs and it ran much better.But one fowled and i just put the recomended NGK ones. Im still using the A1 injectors, and A1 intake manifold and what not so i dont think im in the numbers i should be. I dont mind thou because once school ends that b16 head in my closet is going to be under me hood. Frankenstien bitchs!

Ive yet to even get an intake for it. Im just waiting for all the right stuff so i can unhook the ABS and get the power chamber (whale penis) intake that ive always dreamed of.

All i have on it is an older smog approved DC header and a HKS Hi-Power cat-back with a ebay high flow cat. She pulls ok, but i want to be a little faster untill i start my build.

thanks so much for the input, i really appreciate it!! i’ll be doing some crazy parts searching now… i guess i’ll start with the intake/tb and adj fpr and go from there… there’s a performance shop right by my house and apparently his son has the fastest 4-cylinder car in ontario (i think.) so i’m sure he would be the best to go to for a tune… i want to get a lighter flywheel for sure… 12lb reasonable? and preferably a short-geared tranny since i won’t be commuting on the highway anymore, or as much… who’s the best to get the ecu chipped by? thanks again!

p.s love the engine bay… so CLEAN!!

ok so i have the same set up as you guys, b20 motor, P8R head, and a b16 jdm j1 tranny. its got an aem ram air and skunk2 exaust and a light weight flywheel short shifter and some other small things that dont make a difference. what type of quarter miles are you guys getting and have you or are you thinking about boosting? i cant decided wether or not i want to and im not finding to many pros or cons on the matter with this specific set up. the car is fairly new and iv only done the few small things but i beat out a 350z convertible from a red light so im very curious to see quarter mile numbers. thanks!

Adjustable FPR is totally unnecessary. It will run rich as it stands anyways - the ECU for our cars has always over fueled.

Don’t touch fueling if you aren’t IMMEDIATELY going and getting a professional ECU tune. You are simply asking for problems.

Get the ECU tuned by Secret Services Auto down in Houston, TX. Guys are baller Honda heads, very up and coming in the aftermarket world.

They chipped 2 different p28’s for me, came out great.

great post h93da6! very useful information! those are IMPRESSIVE numbers for a b20!! 146 to the wheels! a GSR dynos roughly 150/118!!

here’s another great site for b20b information

http://hybrid.honda-perf.org/tech/b20/

here’s the difference between b18a IM and the b18b/b20b IM:

i’m using the b20b IM with the b18a (58mm) TB, i can’t get the b20b TB to idle properly? would the 2mm make much of a difference? i’m thinking of finding a b18b TB and hopefully that will work.

i was unlucky and got a 96 B20B (low comp), but it’s been built, ported & polished and i got it for cheap so i couldn’t pass on it… from the dynos i’ve seen the low comp will make about 10hp/10tq less than the high compression using the same IM/exhaust/ecu setup so i’m not too worried…

my best time was 15.6 with the b20b w/ LS trans in my 93 DB1… here’s a video of the run vs. my cousins DA with high comp '00 b20b, b18a IM, b16 tranny and a passenger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M29h84skRI

his best time was 15.1, and another buddy is running a high comp b20b in his EJ6 w/ b18b IM/TB, ITR 4-1 replica header and gsr tranny and his best time was 14.6

Bring this back from the dead but 99 si are slow lol. A da with its own motor with a b16 tranny can beat a si. B20 da with I/h/e could probably beat a srt-4 or type r.

That completely depends on a LOT of variables…

At sea level, the DA would do a better job of keeping up… At say, 4k elevation? The SRT4 would have hardly any loss in power while the NA motor would suffer much worse.

With a stock B20 redlining at 6.5k, and a type R going to 8.5k… That is a big claim that torque will out-run a motor that strives and lives at its redline. Power for the B20 drops off quite quick as, low-end torque is its ‘party piece’.

Also, to the claim that Honda ignition systems are only good to 300whp is a bit off. A stock ignition system can handle 500whp+ before you start having issues. By then it’s best to run a COP setup or something of that nature.

NGK 6466 plugs are fine for any turbo/NA Honda up to about 300whp or so… after that a platinum plug will be better and last longer. The 6466s are fantastic, and cost effective… Easy to keep a few on hand in the event of a fouled plug.

Standing quarter mile for a '90 LS is like 16.4s

Standing quarter mile for a 99 Si is like 15.4s

So ok, a B20 swap could maybe close that 1s gap and make it a driver’s race…

But a stock SRT-4 runs low 13s… even at elevation, the extra power from that B20 is NOT dropping 3s off your quarter mile time…

It’s not taking down an SRT 4 lol

Well a gsr with bolt ons could take a stock srt-4 I’ve seen it done. Not much to brag about but dam that car has a turbo and the motor is .6 bigger, At the same time some cars are gifted. So I was guessing with .2 more displacement and no vtec it might or might not take a srt-4. " the hi comp b20"

No, it won’t.

There’s no accounting for driver error… But with equal drivers a B20 swapped DA will never beat an SRT-4.

With equal drivers on both cars, there is no way the srt-4 will loose.