Help me do it right the first time. Short, Sweet LS VTEC advice??

[joshuathewolf]

Ok, so I was cruising craigslist and came across a reworked gsr head at a decent price. Im planning to put it on my ls block and I just wanted to know if people have any tips and tricks I should know...

Im not an idiot, just new to engine building and Im trying to gain from other peoples experience. I plan to replace my rod bolts (ARP) and check everything out before the swap (possible turbo later).

Also the distributor and computer coming with the thing are OBD 0. My ls is OBD 2 and it is in an OBD 1 car... I got a conversion harness for my current swap, can I do the same thing in this case?

And finally, I now have all 3, LS, GSR, and B16 transmissions... which one GSR or B16 should get the LSD/LS5th/typeRfinal that I have been planning for my GSR? (the catch is the GSR needs a moderate rebuild (missing counter-shaft teeth)).
What I want is the most zip around town and the chillest cruising (not worried about racing).

 

[98gsrDc2]

Save your $ and just turbo your b1...and use the b16 trans...I'd do this if reliability was a factor which I'm sure it is...vtec is nice but not necessary to make power

 

[mjones73]

+1

If you're gonna boost it, just boost it, adding a VTEC head just adds complications, you can make 350hp on a healthy B18B1 with a solid tune and the right turbo parts before you even need to start upgrading the motor.

 

[GSRBRUCE]

The gsr tranny has longer gears I would go with that! Do you have the b16 head or the b18c1 head?

 

[Kyle]

GSR trans. I've heard the B16 ones are weak and most people tend to beat the piss out of them (not to say they don't beat the piss out of GSR trans).

 

[98gsrDc2]

GSR trans. I've heard the B16 ones are weak and most people tend to beat the piss out of them (not to say they don't beat the piss out of GSR trans).

Normally I'd recommended the gsr trans but he said the gsr needs a rebuild and he's planning on using an ls 4th an 5th with and itr final...so in that case then I'd go b16

 

[endo617]

I'd go with the GSR if you going with an ITR diff and Final, plus LS 5 thats not a bad transmission. B16's have small diff's that consistently break at the track from what i've seen. And if you going boosted as people suggested your going to need that LSD and going to love the LS 5 on the highway

 

[hgocasca]

I'd rock the ls all the way, put in the LSD and itr final. That would be an awesome trans. With boosted cars, you don't need the close gears of a b16, especially with that final drive being so high. Hell, I personally wouldn't even put that in. I'd just do the LSD ls. I use a straight ls with my b17 and love it. But mine is a 90-91 ls with the 4.400 final drive.

 

[Samurai_Blue]

On my buddies super charged gsr (7psi, bc stage 2 cams itr pistons sparks racing header hondata s300) we had a b16 tranny with a gsr final drive and we got a 12.6 with slicks. The gearing seemed to be okay on the strip. If you boost crazy you may want a longer gear like a gsr trans

 

[endo617]

I'd rock the ls all the way, put in the LSD and itr final. That would be an awesome trans. With boosted cars, you don't need the close gears of a b16, especially with that final drive being so high. Hell, I personally wouldn't even put that in. I'd just do the LSD ls. I use a straight ls with my b17 and love it. But mine is a 90-91 ls with the 4.400 final drive.

the long gear transmission with turbo is a myth, it just takes to longer to create power, my boy had an LS in his setup thinking the same thing and now has a GSR tranny running 10.8, also look at that champs dude from NY or NJ, dont remember, running 9's he flies through gears they're so short

 

[hgocasca]

the long gear transmission with turbo is a myth, it just takes to longer to create power, my boy had an LS in his setup thinking the same thing and now has a GSR tranny running 10.8, also look at that champs dude from NY or NJ, dont remember, running 9's he flies through gears they're so short

I'll agree to disagree about what's better. For my uses, I'd fair better with an ls, for someone else it could be totally different. And most Honda b series trannies share the same first gear ratio (3.230) its just the final drive that makes it shorter or longer. So creating boost takes the same amount of time in anything he went with. And once he's in boost, it shouldn't be an issue to have longer gears. I personally don't like spinning down the entire track.