Honda Car Forum

...worried it wont last? ok heres what i did. i bought a civic si with the ls vtec in it. i didnt even know what that was i just wanted a fast car. well it is fast and hasnt given me problems in the month that ive owned it, however i just read some thing on here that the ls vtec does not last and isnt reliable. is this true?i know the guy i bought it from said stuff about having it tuned and rebuilding the internals with skunk 2 stuff like something about cams and springs (sorry dont know a lot about car specifics as im a noob to mechanical things). i do know he spent a lot to have it done. it is the ls vtec with the b16 si head. it also has the original si tranny and act clutch and flywheel. should i be worried that this car wont last me long. this is my main transportation/and the civic is the 2000 si model

I have had an ls vtec before and they are nothing but never ending trouble. Yes, they are fast while they last but it's one thing after another breaking and whatnot. When you put a non vtec tranny on a vtec block and head its nothing but trouble. If you have the funds, i would recommend putting a si tranny in it.

first off they are NOT unreliable. I have had one pushing 600+ HP for almost 2 years now and not even a hiccup. Most of the time people try to skimp by with junkyard parts when doing this and then they do have problems. Or even worse they don't get the correct parts or have the block and head machined. Then they refuse to spend $120 and get the GSR water pump for the extra 3 teeth for the cooling it needs as the LS water pump has 19, then they will try to tap out holes for dowel rods on the head instead of just getting the $15 ones from Golden Eagle that taper to fit correctly, then they don't get the right CONVERSION head gasket to help block the unneccessary points on the block to head.

They are as reliable as any Honda engine, If done rightalot of people do not do it right, and than complain that it's unreliableThey just slap on a vtec head and they think they're ready to go, but there's more to it than just slapping on a vtec head, the biggest mistake that I see newbies do is they never add an oil supply for vtecA LS or B20 block does not have an oil passage for vtecMost people don't know this, or do not take the time to understand a LS-vtec conversionMost people who complain that it's unreliable, did not to it rightI got a LS-vtec in my hatch for 6 years with ZERO problemJust added some high compression pistons and forged rodand it's still running strong