Honda Car Forum

i have a 95 prelude with a 92 h22a vtec. now, the engine has 158000 miles on it, i want to change valves, pistons, manifold, rods, cam gears and other internals because i want to get a turbo, but i want my engine to be right then to blow it. now, being at the high milage that the engine is at, is it worht it to put all these new internal parts in or just get a new engine period and then put them on?

if the motor is still running w/ no problems, then upgrading all the internals for turbo would be ideal.just remember turbo= high maintanace.I turboed my 03 si and got many headaches, but worth it, that sheit was fast!

As long as the crank and block aren't messed up, it will be cheaper to build the engine you have. The only damage that those kind of miles will do, are to things that you're replacing anyways. But don't forget about new sleeves too. The H22A sleeves are different from most other Honda sleeves, they are FRM (Fiber Reinforced Metal). Basically, they are made from many different metals weaved together, to make them stronger. But the problem with this weaving, is that you can't bore or hone them like the iron sleeves. So if your stock sleeves are worn at all, there's nothing you can do to them.

As long as the motor's in good condition, it doesn't matter how many miles are on it. If it's chugging oil and such, it won't be a good platform to turbocharge. If it doesn't burn a drop of oil, obviously it's a lot better. In all honesty an H22A is so cheap you can pick one up (short block with head) for like 1k - 1.5k. You'll spend much more than that if you replace all the internal components. You can buy a motor online with estimated 30k on it for like 1500 since you don't need the mounts, linkage, computer, and such. Though you have two things working against you. One is that the it's more expensive to replace all the internals than it is to buy a new short block & head (don't forget, your cylinder walls will have nice ring scrapes at 150k), and secondly, and most importantly: The H22A uses a composite cylinder wall, not a typical stainless steel cylinder wall like the F, B, or D series. The rings don't seal well to it, this is a big problem when using a forced induction setup like a turbocharger kit.So in order to properly turbocharge it, you would have to have the cylinders bored out, and re-sleeved w/ steel sleeves anyways, otherwise you have to remain under ~280hp or so and hope your stock internals stay together. The composite cylinder walls make changing the internals a pain in the neck, which is why you need to get it re-sleeved if you plan on powering over around 280.I would just pay 1500 for a guaranteed ~30k JDM H22A block/head (you have to remember you don't need all the accessories like the starter, transmission, and such so it'll be pretty cheap, it's not like the H22's are in high demand or anything.