ls/vtec vs. turbo cost??? - Honda Forum / Acura Forum

nolovenodie · 11-06-2002, 06:35 AM

hi..sorry to bother you guys again..but i really dont know which way to go though....

this is only for the future, maybe next year..but....

i can't decide between ls/vtec and turbo...
i have 95 LS with auto tranny......(which i might swap a 5sp soon)
which one is more cost conserving??
i want the rev hard turbo kit which is about 3000...or so??
but wat about ls/vtec....????? how much would a b16 head be??

GTRluver · 11-06-2002, 06:45 AM

go for the turbo dawg....gotta luv the PSSHHhhh Sound.. haha.

bigbeezy209 · 11-06-2002, 12:50 PM

Go turbo...LS/V-tec ......no matter what they say to you, believe me you will have problems......they are a pain in the ass....no for daily drivers.... i have heard nothing but bad things about them on the street...like they burn an extreme amount of oil and leak, you name it...on here they hype them up....dont get me wrong, they are fast, but the turbo will be alot less in the long run and better for you car if you plan to drive it around....

rufus`` · 11-06-2002, 06:38 PM

with built bottom ends in both setups, the turbo could cost up to twice as much as an lsvtec (performance/non oem parts on turbo setup and original replacements on the lsvtec.). without a built bottom end in either, and using new parts for the vtec head, you will find that a turbo would be just a few hundred more bucks. now, before you do bolt that turbine on, make sure you do a compression test, or you might kill your engine really quick.

i dont know how much figures are exactly, but jayman is doing a swap and he could probably tell you figures for a new vtec head with valvetrain and the oil bypass.

surf some shop websites... you'll find that turbos range from 2400 to over 3000 bucks depending on the blowoff valve, electronics, turbine, intercooler, etc.

what kind of power do you want to get out of the car and how much are you planning on driving it? i hear that it can be hard to find a good shop for the lsvtec install so as to get decent reliability out of it...

nolovenodie · 11-06-2002, 08:07 PM

um. i want it to be a daily drive becaus i live like 15 miles from school and have to go to school everyday....

i want to have like decent power for rite now. (like increase about 50 horses??? )but want to improve later on. so i'm leaning toward turbo.

i want to make a custom turbo kit because i heard it's alot cheaper.

but i also like ls/vtec..its sound's cool to me...

but the problem is that i have an automatic ls...so where do i start??
i plan to get swap to a manual but i dont know which one is good and how much will it cost...

thnx for any reply

randyman · 11-07-2002, 12:44 AM

i say turbo it too. slap it on, back it up with proper tuning and proper parts (fuel management, standalone system, torque converter upgrade, etc) and ur good to go.

as for bigbeezy's reply:

Quote:

Originally posted by bigbeezy209
Go turbo...LS/V-tec ......no matter what they say to you, believe me you will have problems......they are a pain in the ass....no for daily drivers.... i have heard nothing but bad things about them on the street...like they burn an extreme amount of oil and leak, you name it...on here they hype them up....dont get me wrong, they are fast, but the turbo will be alot less in the long run and better for you car if you plan to drive it around....

so "you've heard" that this certain conversion is a "pain in the ass"? do u happen to have first hand experience with this setup or any other evidence?

rufus`` · 11-07-2002, 01:32 AM

with an automatic transaxle, i would definately go for the turbo upgrade unless you are willing to switch to manual with the lsvtec. i say this because to get the most enjoyment out of the lsvtec, you might want to have shorter gearing. on a turbo, the automatic will have 4 longer gears instead of 5 shorter ones, so the turbo will have the chance to spool and run at full capacity for longer periods (although with a smaller bb turbo its not much of an issue)

but yeah, with the power that you want to make later on, id go turbo as well

nolovenodie · 11-07-2002, 04:35 AM

what is a bb turbo?? hehe sorry i'm new to this....i even plan to get a t3/t4 turbo is it ok??? cuz i wanan do major mod to my car later on.....but for now
can i do like 5 psi with a t3/t4 turbo on stock partS????
and....if later on i wanna improve my tranny...how much power can the levelten torque converter take??? is there any way they can take liek about 20 psi?? hehehe (just wondering)

thnx randyman and rufus....

HybridTeg · 11-07-2002, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nolovenodie
what is a bb turbo?? hehe sorry i'm new to this....i even plan to get a t3/t4 turbo is it ok??? cuz i wanan do major mod to my car later on.....but for now
can i do like 5 psi with a t3/t4 turbo on stock partS????
and....if later on i wanna improve my tranny...how much power can the levelten torque converter take??? is there any way they can take liek about 20 psi?? hehehe (just wondering)

thnx randyman and rufus....

If you were manual I'd say do both if you have the money. People always tell me bla bla bla ls/vtec, rod stroke ratios bla bla leaks and all that. But yet they hae never had ls/vtec. I however do. Get some arp head studs and no more leaks, sometimes u gotta take it to a machine shop to get it shaved but hey build the thing right and you won't have problems.

Watch your oil cuz the LS is not used to revving so high and having high temps but keep an eye on it and change ur oil when it needs to be done and ur all set.

LS/vtec is for people that want power and know how to work on motors. The reason there are so many bad cases with ls/vtec is that it's a kid that went down to a shop and said i want vtec! and that's the end of it. There is more to a proper running ls/vtec than just getting the head and machine work. You will have lean spots and I recommend bigger injectors than your stock LS ones. Get a V-AFC too. People run these hybrids with little or no tuning and that's where the problems come in.

If you only plan on boosting 5psi I would recommend a nitrous kit instead. t3/t4 is rather laggy on low boost so try a t28 or t3 for faster spool. I had a friend that ran a 50 shot sneaky pete system on his stock LS integra for 2 or 3 years and didn't have any problems. Just don't over do it with power on a stock motor and you'll be fine. good luck!

bigbeezy209 · 11-08-2002, 05:41 PM

*Im no expert* Never said i was....but i know Ls/vetc's are fast but sill would have to say go with the turbo"way faster then v-tec"......you have good torque already in an LS tell me the turbo's not going to help your top end better then V-tec? A turbo will help u out better in top end then v-tec ever could....

rufus`` · 11-08-2002, 08:30 PM

bb turbo = ball bearing turbo. this means the turbine spins on bearings with high tolerances for friction. this type of system spins easier than the other kind (cant remember.. what its called...) and is more responsive in the holeshot (off the line). this is especially beneficial when running a large capacity turbo, that requires large amounts of exhaust gases to start spinning the turbine...

unresponsiveness is also referred to as turbo lag on occasion - there arent enough exhaust gases to get the turbine to "spool up"

Integra707 · 11-09-2002, 01:01 AM

It all has to do with how much money you have. And what you want your car to do. One is not better than the other, they are just different. Turbo will probably get you the most bang for dollar. LS/Vtec can get expensive when you start heavily moding your engine. Just to let you know, the honda auto trans isn't really meant to handle more than the stock power..... If you drive your car hard when you have a power adder, more than likely your trans won't be around for long.

-basically decide how you are going to apply the power you want, ie. Drag, auto-x, track... etc. etc.
-decide how much available money you have to do this project.
-make sure you will have enough money for all the maintanance.
-do research on both ls/vtec and turbo. Don't let other people decide for you........ do what you want, its your car.

This isn't a decision you should base on the opinion of Superhonda members, you have to make sure its what you want.
-Will