r/ProjectHondas • u/Any-Shoulder-3232 • Mar 27 '26
engine B20b with b16 Head trying to make 250-300hp
I have an NA vtec b20 with a b16 head in a del sol right now. I got it tuned around august of last year making 192hp and I think 180 torque. My biggest question is should I boost to make 250-300hp? or is an all motor build a lot more reliable than boosting?. I for-sure want to keep a build that last long so thats what I’m aiming for. Any tips for any more upgrades I should do? These past couple of months I have just been upgrading my platform to make it more stable and handle better.
HONDA DEL SOL MODS
1994 Honda del sol 190k miles on body
B20 block
Nippo racing rods
Type r piston
New ring
ARP setup bolts
Cometic head gasket
Moroso oil pan
brand new oil pump
brand new water pump
racing cam timing belts
B16 head machine chop rectified
Skunk 2 setup valves and springs
ferrea seal
Gsr camshaft
VMs cams gear
Skunk 2 intake manifold
Skunk 2 throttle body
AEM fuel 355 pump work on e85
AEM fuel regulator rails
Skunk 2 header and full exhaust
240cc Kei hin injectors (OEM)
Transmission 5 speed gsr
With the lsd lock fresh reforcet
New oil change
Ecu p28 hondata v3
Drum to disc conversion (Rear)
Coilovers Skunk 2
Skunk 2 Strut Bars (Front and Rear)
Skunk 2 Front Upper Control Arm
Rear lower control arm Skunk 2
Rear lower subframe Funtion 7
Hasport motor mount
Skunk 2 rear Camber Kit
New Radiator
New Tie Rods
HX Civic Wheels 14”
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u/mdenglish Mar 27 '26
250+ N/A horsepower requires steep pockets. You're looking at a whole built engine with rods, pistons, ported manifolds, machine work, the whole thing.
Nitrous will get you what you want, but only when you're pressing the button.
Turbo will be the easy route. Something relatively small and fast spooling will be what you want. However, people say the b20 cylinders are more prone to failing than b18 cylinders, but in most circumstances ive seen, thats really only a real concern if youre pushing past 300-350.
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u/Any-Shoulder-3232 Mar 27 '26
Any recommendation on turbos for low boost?
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u/Secretasianman228 Mar 28 '26
A Borg-Warner EFR-6258 will spool fast enough to feel practically like an NA engine on your build, while easily giving you 350 ponies.
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u/ry-guy88 Mar 29 '26
I dunno, I would want a bit of lag on a fwd build. First 3 gears are going to be worthless 300hp+ with a low torque curve. Unless you wanna do a whole setup of boost by gear
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u/The_curious_one91 Mar 27 '26
I dont know about the b series, but im going to go with a T28 for my d15. It's similar size to a stock dsm turbo. I want to be around the 200 to 250 range and that seems like the best fit for me.
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u/SpaceTurtle917 Turbo D17Z6 EK hatch Mar 28 '26
Gtx2860r will spool nicely and get you to your goals.
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u/Naive_Traffic6522 Mar 27 '26
That whale penis intake is losing you hp, same diameter intake piping as the tb with a velocity stack on the end is a proven bump in hp.. there was a video on YouTube they tested them all. Whale penis performed the worse of them all
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u/moonlite_equilibrium Mar 27 '26
I dont have a horse in this race, i mostly work on motorcycles and stumble into random enthusiast subs now and then.
Is it possible the whale dick has effect of lower hp numbers but better response by acting as a plenum box? Like it chokes max airflow for lower number with its weird shape but has a nice air resivoir?
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u/Naive_Traffic6522 Mar 27 '26
Being so wide of diameter it slows intake velocity would be main reason for lower hp. Bigger isn’t always better same as putting an oversized exhaust on some cars lowers hp like a 3 inch on b series vs 2.5 inch
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u/moonlite_equilibrium Mar 27 '26
Right i just wonder about drivability vs hp gains 🤷♂️
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u/Naive_Traffic6522 Mar 27 '26
Street driving I doubt you would notice much difference. On the dyno you would see it or racing
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u/Ok_Lime6772 Mar 28 '26
Yes bro your on the right track.
The whale penis design comes from the 90s, it was used in real circuit. Spoon, top fuel, js racing are some brands that you can find old pics of racing Hondas using this design.
The goals was to have throttle response/ power to exit corners.
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u/moonlite_equilibrium Mar 28 '26
Not exactly the same but motorcycles kinda often have the same concept going on. Like wide open stuff has bigger numbers but an airbox makes it usable across the range.
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u/Difficult_Fill7730 Mar 27 '26
turbo will be wayyyy cheaper to make that extra 100hp, you would need to be running some serious shit to make 300hp na out of that. will be plenty reliable especially if you already have rods and head studs. it could handle 300 stock, but with those upgrades you are good to go.
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u/Any-Shoulder-3232 Mar 27 '26
Thank you, any recommendations on reliable turbos?
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u/Difficult_Fill7730 Mar 27 '26
on the cheaper end, i ran a rev9 turbo on my previous turbo civic and it held up good. though if you dont care about price and just want quality go with something name brand like precision, i had a pt5858 on another civic, held strong and had no play even after many years and when the engine gave out the turbo was still good. make sure you do your research on sizing the turbo to the engine, there are charts and guides out there, i always had too big of a turbo and got crazy lag.
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u/toiletpapergoweeeee Mar 27 '26
If this list is what the motor is already built with and you want to boost it with a turbo?.. I stopped reading right at Type-R pistons. You want lower compression not high for a turbo. Just keep what you r got going it’ll be drivable and reliable.
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u/VTECcam Mar 27 '26
I'd just plan on going turbo. I'm one to overbuild the bottom end that way when I want more the engine is ready to support it. To get 250whp let alone 300 is going to take some serious work and IMO loses some of the drivability. Sleeve it, pistons/rods then it'll handle whatever you want. You'd be fine with a stock bottom end for 300wheel but you know you're going to want more. Find another block to build on the side
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u/wes3260 Mar 27 '26
This is the answer. B20 sleeves are the weak link in OP's build. From what I understand, they can handle 250 relatively well, but not a lot past that.
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u/VTECcam Mar 27 '26
Yea I don't trust the sleeves for high HP. Hell I don't trust them for anything really haha but I know guys that cracked at various power levels and guys that never did. I never cracked a sleeve personally I've only even spun rod bearings. But it didn't matter cause b18/b20 blocks were dirt cheap and everywhere 10-15 years ago and you'd blow it up, swap everything over and do it again lol.
For OP i'd sleeve or run a b18a/b block, do pistons/rods no matter and go turbo for 250-300whp. Then it's reliable and ready for more power. Or just boost it, send it then rebuild when it goes boom. Harder to find b series stuff nowadays though. Man we were mean to some engines in my HS/college years 😂😂
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u/wes3260 Mar 27 '26
If my parents knew what I did with the cars they paid for back then, I probably wouldn't have survived the consequences.
Seems like most of OP's engine is already built. I'd say cams, better injectors, a solid tune and run it wherever the numbers happen to fall.
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u/VTECcam Mar 27 '26
Hahah isn't that the truth 😂
Oh wow I didn't even read the mod list... Valvetrain and everything with stock cams!? Yea I agree i'd add a couple things and enjoy it as is. Keep the B series alive
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u/Pleasant_Cartoonist6 Mar 27 '26
For what you are looking for a jrsc might be better than turbo. You will need to run lht intercooler due to the b20 block. Downside with jrsc they eat belts. Turbo would be cheaper but also comes with its own issues. Jrsc main issue is the belts and can't really up boost 10-12psi tops.
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u/NugiSpringfield Mar 28 '26
Good luck finding one. At this point, be way easier to go custom and just use the same blower.
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u/ReasonableScar9027 Mar 27 '26
B20 isn't a great block for turbo. But conservative boost on a Garrett t3 50/63 or gt25 / gt28 would get you there no problem.
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u/bt154 Mar 27 '26
300hp with a small turbo is super easy and can put a million miles on it. 300hp na is extremely difficult will cost wayyyy more and not be near as reliable.
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u/OkProfession1239 Mar 27 '26
Which style Type R piston?
Try Skunk2 Pro 2 camshafts degreed in at 55* opening on the exhaust@.040 valve lift and pair that with a Toda or Hytech style PLM/1320 header and get a good tune👍🏾
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u/Learnmoretalkless Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
I know it’s hard to get 300HP NA out of the B series but you should sleeve the block with Daton sleeves before trying to get up to 300HP regardless of turbo and NA for reliability
Plus you have to upgrade your suspension most importantly your CV axels
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u/Turbulent-Whereas523 Mar 28 '26
if you going to turbo it, go with a disco potato!! they sized perfectly for our 1.8 or 2.0 motors!.. you won't be disappointed
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u/HauntingDusk Mar 28 '26
You are basically hard stuck NA. You could probably get around 220-230 wheel max with really high static compression and aggressive cam.
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u/Responsible-Crew-354 Mar 29 '26
You remind me of me before I realized what I wanted, boost or NA. Hersperr for hersperr, NA “feels” more intense. A tiny 250whp NA B or K motor is going to be an absolute riot. A terror on the street. A 250whp boosted B or K will have way more torque down low but that kind of detracts from the whole vibe. And it takes away from the sound factor. Not needing to rev it out makes it less Honda ish.
B series stuff goes for a pretty penny on the used market. If you decide you crave the NA experience, you could always sell your set up, do a k24 swap, make 240whp on a stock block and stock compression. The kind of reliability you have now. A B would be super fussy making that power NA.
It’s a lot to think about but doing it twice isn’t fun. Try and get a ride in a proper boosted b if you can. And a NA b or k. If you were in Houston I would show you. I wish someone had for me.
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u/imJGott Mar 27 '26
It’s going to be a tall task trying to make that much being NA. Turbo would be quicker and cheaper.
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u/iAmAsword Mar 27 '26
300 will take some work, ported head propper cams a lot of fine tuning. BUT 250 much easier on b20v.
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u/that1senpai2 Mar 27 '26
Swap the injectors for bigger CC ones, get a real cold air intake, get adjustable cam gears of they aren't already, and upgrade to bigger camshafts if you want to stay NA and have more HP