B Series
The Honda Engine B18C5 is the best possible factory engine from this era. Bolt this engine in if you don’t want to tune or modify the engine any further, and you’ve got yourself a potent combination of small engine displacement and a sky high rev limiter.
Popular and lots of JDM factor, if that’s something you are into. The ease in which the B series engine can be swapped into a Civic is frankly ridiculous, for a guide on how to swap a B series, check here.
Why the Type R Swap in a Civic works – If you want to bolt it in and go without bothering to modify or improve the engine’s performance, the B18C5 is the way to go. No need to mess with cam profiles or cam gears, simply installing a Type R engine will radically transform your Honda Civic.
Why the Type R Swap in a Civic doesn’t work– It’s not cheap and in fact it’s still prohibitively expensive to swap a true B18C5 into your Civic. With the amount of normal B18a, B18B and B18C1 engines out there, it wouldn’t be financially wise to jump straight to the B18C5. We’ll get to that later in our countdown of Top 10 Best Honda engine swaps.
The B20 is the 2.0 liter version of the popular B series engine, commonly found in the Honda CR-V. This engine is cheap and plentiful, making it a great choice for the Top 10 Best Honda engine swaps list. Like the other B series engines in the family, installing a B20 into your Civic or Integra is very easy and can be done using stock or factory mounts.
Why the B20 series swap in a Civic works -It's cheap and there's so many of them that finding a replacement is easy and stress-free. The larger displacement makes the magical 200 wheel horsepower number a bit easier to reach if you are intent on staying with a B series.
Why the B20 series swap in a Civic doesn't work -
VTEC - It's not VTEC from the factory, so unless you are willing to build an LS/VTEC, this won't be available to you. Building the LS VTEC is very easy, and for a guide on how to build a reliable LS VTEC, check our guide here.
Smog - You also won't be able to smog your Honda, because the CRV is listed as a light truck. CARB certification and making your Honda swap 50 state legal is not possible with this configuration.
Internals - Like the non-VTEC B18 the B20 isn't meant to rev as high as the GSR or Type R engines. Because of this, if you want to swap a B20 into your Civic, it's best to take the proper steps so that you don't stretch your connecting rod bolts.
Easily one of the most popular Honda engine swaps out there, the B16 is the engine that Honda should have put into USDM Civics from the get go. DOHC configuration and lots of value for the B16 engine swap. There's so many B16's out there that sometimes the biggest challenge can be figuring out exactly which B16 engine you have as a donor.
A large source of these B16 engines is of course imported JDM engines, which results in a roll of the dice to see what B16 you might receive.When discussing JDM imported engines, there’s a few versions of the B16 you are likely to see at your importer. The first generation B16A utilizes a 10.2:1 compression ratio and puts down 160ps of horsepower. The second generation B16A received a bump in compression to 10.4:1 and with changes to the cam profile puts down 170ps of horsepower.
Why the B16 swap in a Civic works
Cost - It's cheap and plentiful, what more do you want? Replacement parts and JDM engines can be sourced for extremely cheap considering the large selection to choose from.
Easy to swap - As simple as a bolt in project, swapping a B16 engine into your Civic is easy especially if your Civic already has VTEC.
Why the B16 swap in a Civic doesn't work - It's a bit nitpicky, but if you are planning a swap to a B16 don't expect a huge change under 4000 RPM. Because the 1.6 liter SOHC version of the engine in your Civic stock doesn't feel much different than a B16 under 4000 RPM, this can be a negative to an otherwise excellent Honda engine swap.
When you think about every single way you can imagine the pros of a B series engine swap, the B18c1 simply trumps them all. Cheaper than the Type R engine B18C5, and more torque than the B16, the B18C1 is found in 1994-2001 Acura Integras with VTEC.
The cost of the B18C1 engine swap has gone down somewhat, but it's still not very cheap because of the high demand. Swapping a B18C1 into your Civic can radically transform how your Civic drives from the get go. You'll be an immediate difference down low as well, unlike the B16.
Why the B18C1 swap in a Civic works -
Bang for your Buck- High bang for your buck value when you compare how easy this swap is compared to any of the others on our Top 10 Best Honda engine swaps countdown.
Ease of Install - If your Civic has VTEC already, this is probably the easiest motor swap project you could undertake. Check our Honda Swap Combinations guide to see what fits what.
Parts, Parts, and more parts - Let's face it, there's more parts and components for the B series and the B18C1 than any other Honda motor ever. No matter what part you need or want for your B18C1, chances are someone makes them.
The B18c1 is also readily available and their demand decreases every passing day. You don't have to resort to importing a JDM B18C1 to get your GSR swap done.
The Law - You can also very easily smog your B18C1 swap, because so many of the factory Acura Integra smog parts can be installed in your Civic.