Import Newbie

Hey all,
I got a few questions in the november issue of sport compact car they swaped a h22 engine what exactly are the nubers and letters for? Secondly when trying to modify and engine should one go online or to a store? Lastly what's the best over all cheap but easy to mod car? Thanks a bunch Arcane metal

Oh yeah one more thing what is important about vtec

Well, you got a long way to go man, but don't worry so do I cuz I can't necesarily answer your questions :icon16:

For the H22A I am going to take a shot in the dark and say H = Honda 22 = 2.2 litre and A = model type... I am sure I will get corrected though.

Basic mod is of course the Cold Air Intake or simply a better intake system (CAI or I)

V-tec, well I am not technical enough, some one else can handle that.

Welcome to AF

The H is just a series of engine.

The numers that follow are the displacement - D16 is a single overhead cam VTEC that is 1.6 liters of displacement - not really performance oriented - but an excellent cheap replacement motor (can be bought brand new for like $860 complete)

There are also B, K, F, and D series engines.

All of the above are Dual overhead cam engines except for the D series (which is what I've unfortunately got under my hood for now).

If you've got a civic, you kinda limit your available options if you swap to anything other then a D or B series - the other's are too big and you will not have enough room under the hood for your AC compressor or power steering reservoir. However the Civics are so common because the B series engines are extremely great tuner blocks probably the best available after the K series (the K20 I think is what the Acura RSX Type S comes with). But if you've got a prelude or a Del Sol Civic, I'd go with what ever series produces the most stock torque if you're into racing (probably an H, K, or F series). Personally I've heard that Preludes are really heavy (the heaviest 2 seater Honda available), however if I was gonna make a show car, I'd go with the prelude because it is the best looking car to begin with after the S2000.

Go with a Civic and a B series if you are on a tight budget and want to race and you want to get your hands on something fairly new and cheap yet reliable - you really can't go wrong due to the insane amount of aftermarket parts for both performance and show.

FROM WWW.HONDAREVOLUTIONS.COM

VTEC, for those unfamiliar with the term, stands for Variable Valve Timing and lift Electronic Control (VVTLEC doesn't exactly roll off the tongue so honda went with a shorter acronym VTEC) and employs two distinct camshaft lobe profiles. The "conventional" lobes have relatively mild lift and duration, good for a smooth idle and docile low-speed operation and are employed until approximately 4800 rpm. Above this point, the second, more aggressive profile comes on line, satisfying the cylinders' greater demand for fuel and air. The artful engineering, though, is in the switching mechanism. For each pair of valves on both intake and exhaust sides, there's a third rocker arm between the standard two that follows that more aggressive lobe. At low rpm, this rocker arm is really just a freeloader, imparting no force to the valves. But when the magic 4800-rpm mark arrives, hydraulic pressure drives a piston crosswise through all three rockers, locking them together and calling the more radical lobe into action. When this happens (taking 0.1 second), the result is an increasingly hard-edged, throatier sound and 190 bhp at 6800 rpm