'99 GSR w/ H22a engine swap - Honda Forum / Acura Forum

jbrown04 · 11-30-2003, 04:43 PM

Whats up guys,
I'm new to the fourm and had a question. I now have a '97 honda civic. I have a chance to purchase a '99 gsr w/ a h22a engine swap. I was wondering if you guys could tell me if this would be worth paying money for. The car also has other mods and 68,000 miles. Its at a dealership in Atlanta and selling for 12,900. thanks

White98LS · 11-30-2003, 10:35 PM

White98LS = not a fan at all of H22 swaps into Integras.

Why?

Most conversions that are already done won't have A/C or P/S.

B-series motors can swap trannies and almost any engine part with B16A, B16B, B18A, B18B, B18C1, B18C5, B20B, and B20Z. H-series you have.... the H22 to work with. And the H23 but I don't know why you'd want to lose power.... You're stuck with your existing tranny, you can't swap in relatively inexpensive stock internals from other cars (except the JDM Type S, but all that stuff put together is worth 20hp at the crank - woohoo).

The H22 weighs something like 89lbs more than a B18 (forget if that was a B18B or C but either way, that's a LOT). An Integra GS-R weighs abnout 2650lbs. An Integra already has a front-heavy 63/37% weight distribution. Your weight distribution would come close to 65% front. Translation: your car will handle pretty poorly. People who have H22 swaps will claim that it's not that bad. These people are clearly in denial because 65% frontal distribution is disgusting and will never be good for handling.

I wonder who the dumbass was who got rid of a '99 GS-R engine/tranny for an H22....

clayton · 11-30-2003, 11:00 PM

what are you wanting to do with the car? just drive it around town, drag it, autocross? if you're going to try and get into auto-x, i'd look into relocating the battery to the rear, and ditching any weight under the hood you can, to "remedy" the weight distribution issues white brought up. if you just want to be a relative badass on the street or drag it, it may just be the car for you, especially for dragging if your future budget includes a turbocharger and a serious suspension.

i would dig up as much info on the car as you can before seriously considering it.. find somebody with carfax, or get it yourself, and try and contact the previous owner if at all possible and the shop that did the swap (if it was a shop). also when buying a modded car from a dealer (especially a swapped one), the issue of warranty comes up, as does the fact that they may not know exactly what they're dealing with.

if you have a (honda/import) mechanic that you trust, take the car to him and put it on a rack.. see what they have to say about it.

HTH man and good luck with everything.

White98LS · 11-30-2003, 11:54 PM

The thing is, it would take a lot to correct the weight distribution, although I guess since you probably won't have P/S or A/C you lose a lot of that....

Also if he does want to be a badass drag racer, he still can't swap trannies. Also if he's bent on having more than 1.8L and wants to spend a lot dragging he can easily re-sleeve to 2.0L or even 2.1L on the B18 and it would be much stronger than stock.

Just food for thought.

ALL C5 · 12-01-2003, 12:07 AM

Since you are new...i will help you out...but look farther down and read a little harder for other forums, specifacly the hybrid forum, which is what your questions pertains to.

clayton · 12-01-2003, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by White98LS
The thing is, it would take a lot to correct the weight distribution, although I guess since you probably won't have P/S or A/C you lose a lot of that....

Also if he does want to be a badass drag racer, he still can't swap trannies. Also if he's bent on having more than 1.8L and wants to spend a lot dragging he can easily re-sleeve to 2.0L or even 2.1L on the B18 and it would be much stronger than stock.

Just food for thought.

nah i didn't mean badass drag racer, that obviously takes much more than a swap these days.

for the record, i'm with you on the b-series thing (hence my built b20 pipe dream.. if i keep the teg), it just seems like he may want the car & i'm just trying to provide both sides for him.

White98LS · 12-01-2003, 02:00 AM

Yeah, I just don't want him to pay $13 large for a car that's new but already has a swap (suspicious), and may handle badly, and probably doesn't have power steering. If I really really wanted an H22 teg then okay, but if I were buying my first teg I'd want a lot of seat time in normal Integras before trying out the noseheavy, limited potential H22 one.

jbrown04 · 12-01-2003, 02:28 PM

Thanks for all the info guys. I talked to the dealership today and they told me it was just a stock jdm h22a. It also has aem intake, catback exhaust, headers, and apexi super afc. They said that the car still had power steering, but not a/c. I think I will just spend a little more on a car and just get a new rsx type s, so I won't have to deal w/ the hassle. Thanks everyone for your help.

White98LS · 12-01-2003, 02:58 PM

A little more? That's like $10k more! Well anyway, good decision, the RSX-S is a great car with a lot of potential. Good luck.