Swapping Heads

[jdmfan]

well i'm new to Forums and i just signed up to this one because i own a 98 accord ex and i want more power! i was looking into h22 engine swaps but i don't have all this money to spend on it because i'm trying to fix up my FD. that being said i was wondering about doing a cylinder head swap to my f23a1 vtec. i love my accord and don't want to sell it but its just not as fun as it use to be when i first got it. so down to the question is there any power gain with a head swap? what head would be the best for the f23, and what would i have to do to accomplish the swap? thanks for reading and/or any advice

 

[Varnell]

Engine work is the final thing on my to do list, so I don't have much for you other than to search the forums. There are write ups on more swaps than you care to read. I personally, plan to do the H22 swap. For the gains you're probably wanting, you're better off saving your pennies than doing this and wanting more later.

 

[Valet]

Search

 

[Pizzaman]

just a head swap will cost more than an h22. cant just bolt up a head and call it a day. is your car 5spd. are you doing obd1 conversion? u can find an h22 for under a grand id stick with that

 

[jdmfan]

yea its a 5spd but the reason i said i didnt have enough money to spend on a swap is not because of the price of the engine itself. if i was to do the swap i dont want to half *** it and call it good. i would like the h22a rebuilt maybe bore it out a bit more. so i was thinking something fast and cheap to rise my HP's since its my only car at the moment. thanks for the advice pizzaman and varnell i'm just going to do the h22 swap later down the road i really appreciate it

 

[Jarrett]

An H22A won't simly 'bore out'. It has FRM cylinder walls and needs to be resleeved if going beyond 0.25mm.

 

[l1nd3n]

With a little patience you can fine a good h22a4 motor that is obd2 and all you would probably need to do is the timing belt, seals and tensioners. Your transmission will bolt to it. I have seen them for less than 800 pretty often in the Dallas area. Heck I got a complete h22a4 with intake manifold for 250 and there is one on craigslist right now for 500. That plus swapping your ecu you could defiantly stay below a grand. I picked up an h22a4 ecu for 40 bucks just recently, I need the doctronics demobilizer for 35 but thats it. If the timing belt and such is in good shape you could even put that off a bit and you could possibly get out less than 600.
It would be a great starting platform that you could build on as money comes in. Cheapest HP money can buy for our car in my opinion.

 

[Igor]

Just swapping the head isn't going to do anything noticeable on the stock motor. H22 is one way to go, I wouldn't tho.IMO out cars heavy and need a V6 swap for all motor power. If you're willing to do all that engine work just get a turbo from eBay (under $1k) if you wanted a fast car shoulda thought about that before you bought an Accord

 

[DarkSideAccord]

Just swapping the head isn't going to do anything noticeable on the stock motor. H22 is one way to go, I wouldn't tho.IMO out cars heavy and need a V6 swap for all motor power. If you're willing to do all that engine work just get a turbo from eBay (under $1k) if you wanted a fast car shoulda thought about that before you bought an Accord

Yikes. Someone needs to do more research on everything stated...

 

[greekpizza]

dont do a head swap. trust me im building a g23 right now. so much work. Like everyone else said search. My build thread is in my sig. Your cheapest and best way out is turbo the f23. still looking at 2-3k. Good luck!