H22a5 engine upgrade advice

[Merlin]

The a7 and a8 are similar engines (both red tops) and they were put into production at the same time. The a8 is from the 1999+ Prelude while the a7 is from the Accord Type-R. The main difference between the two engines is that the a7 has a different intake manifold that allows increased torque/power. The a8's M2P4 gear box is the same as the a7's U2Q7 box except that the U2Q7 has a factory fitted torsen style LSD. The a8 has 197bhp from the factory but there are many suspicions that this can be tuned to a lot higher. The a7 is 213bhp.

The biggest reason to upgrade to one of these engines is to get hold of the 11:1 compression pistons as the 10:1 comp pistons in the H22a5 will ultimately hold it back. These two engines also (in comparison with the H22a5) have more aggressive cams and use the larger 62mm throttle body.

There is a Type-S H22a engine for sale on the forum, it is a red top engine too and is pretty similar to the a7 and a8. The Type-S H22a produces 217bhp in stock form.

[Grant h22a5]

Very useful info thankyou, I will Definatley have a look into it think I'd prefer a7 but it's a case of finding a good well looked after relatively low mileage one :/ if you know of any please let me know thank you for your help too! It's much appreciated!

[Merlin]

I fit were me it is a tough decision to develop the H22a5 or swap it out for a H22a7 or H22a8, If you were going down the engine swap route the a7 would be better but H22a7 intake manifolds are fairly common so it can be retrofitted to any H22.

Engine is in my honda civic ej9

It isn't H2B is it?


There is a guy who competed in UK Time Attack last year called Mark Burnett. He has a civic with an H22a7 2 B and he monstered his class. I am pretty sure his H22a7 was stock.

[Grant h22a5]

Yeah I'm not sure I think the easiest and cheaper way to do things would be to swap the a5 for a decent a7 engine and box and then I would have the power improvement I wanted and also the LSD factory fitted otherwise I think id end up spending loads of money on the a5 which hasn't got as much potential by the sounds of it

And no it sadly isn't h2b haha

[MaccaIRL]

Yeah I'm not sure I think the easiest and cheaper way to do things would be to swap the a5 for a decent a7 engine and box and then I would have the power improvement I wanted and also the LSD factory fitted otherwise I think id end up spending loads of money on the a5 which hasn't got as much potential by the sounds of it

And no it sadly isn't h2b haha

Well ill give you what im doing and you can take it from there

I got an a7 head that was rebuilt on ebay for 150 delivered
An accord type r inlet manifold for 40 with the iacv plate off rosko for 40

If i stick in a set of high comp pistons and get decent injectors with a tune ill be more or less sorted

My advice is to keep an eye on ebay and build it slowly, small amount of smoke on vtec doesnt mean your motor wont last you another few years

[Grant h22a5]

That sounds good and yeah I know but I'm worried that if I start throwing it round the track etc that I'll just do more damage than good plus ideally id want a little more power which is what the a7 would give me plus the LSD box, decisions decisions haha

[MaccaIRL]

That sounds good and yeah I know but I'm worried that if I start throwing it round the track etc that I'll just do more damage than good plus ideally id want a little more power which is what the a7 would give me plus the LSD box, decisions decisions haha

If its only a weekend car and tracked monthly i still think itll last a good while

Honda knew people were gonna thrash these about haha

In my opinion save up first and get pros and cons, a little more power soon turns into 3k for 30bhp or 6k for 150+bhp lol
Ive been through it and still am :p

Think im gonna go turbo on mine so im looking at 300bhp on a daily driven car and itll cost around 6k for parts and fitting.

In the meantime invest in some good suspension and tyres, no point in getting more power unless you can make the use of every last horse

[Grant h22a5]

That's the thing I have just bought brand new coilovers, wheels tires, upgraded brakes including disc conversion all with performance pads and discs.. Spent a lot of money on all of that and have bought good quality every time! The thing I need to do next is engine haha but been looking the whole of today and can't find a decent engine and gearbox anywhere :/

[MaccaIRL]

That's the thing I have just bought brand new coilovers, wheels tires, upgraded brakes including disc conversion all with performance pads and discs.. Spent a lot of money on all of that and have bought good quality every time! The thing I need to do next is engine haha but been looking the whole of today and can't find a decent engine and gearbox anywhere :/

Theres a guy over here who breaks them

Offered me a whole ATR enginr gearbox and ecu for 1k if i remember, engine has 96k on it

Just shop around and wait for bits to come u

[Grant h22a5]

Ahh that's not bad atall!! That's the sorta price I was thinking and hopefully something will come up, as I want a complete conversion really, and I wouldn't even mind having it still in the car id just get it swapped over