B16 Vs. B18 Transmission
- Honda's B16A was a four-cylinder engine that Honda introduced in 1988. All B16s featured the performance Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control, or VTEC, and displaced 1595 cc with a 3.188-inch bore and 3.047-inch stroke. The debut B16A generated 150 horsepower, with the variants, including B16A1 through A16A4, developing 160 horsepower. The B16A4 and B16A5, in the 1996 to 2000 Honda Civic Si-RII models, wielded 170 horsepower. Honda also commonly used the B16 in the Civic, CRX and Del-Sol vehicles. Compression ratios ranged from 10.2-to-1 to 10.4-to-1.
- Honda equipped the 1989 Integra RSi/X-Si with the four-cylinder B16A engine and matched it with the S1or J1 five-speed manual transmission. The transmissions were cable-type. The S1/J1 version had a 3.230-to-1 first gear, 2.105-to-1 second, 1.458-to-1 third, 1.107-to-1 fourth and 0.870-to-1 fifth with a 4.400-to-1 final drive ratio. The B16A engine in the performance-oriented Honda Si/SiR received the Y1, or Y1 with limited-slip differential. The Y1 had gear ratios of 3.166-to-1 for first, 2.052-to-1 for second, 1.416-to-1 for third, 1.103-to-1 for fourth and 0.870-to-1 for fifth. The Y1 with LSD had a 4.266-to-1 final drive ratio. The 16A2 and B16A3 engines in the performance Honda JDM SiR2 and JDM SiR2 with limited-slip differential received the S4C/Y21 five-speed manuals. These gearboxes had a 3.230-to-1 first gear ratio, 2.105-to-1 for second, 1.458-to-1 for third, 1.107-to-1 for fourth and 0.848-to-1 for fifth gear.
- The B18 engine arrived in 1990 and primarily powered Integras. Buyers had a choice of a VTEC B18 or a non-VTEC version. The differences between the B18 and B16 engines included camshafts, fuel lines and intake manifold. The non-VTEC's bore was identical to the VTEC, but the stroke was longer, at 3.50 inches. There were few interchangeable parts between the two engines. The non-VTEC B18A1 to B18B4 engines, with an 1834 cc displacement, generated between 130 and 142 horsepower with a 9.2-to1 compression ratio. The VTEC B18C to B18C7 engines, with a 1797 cc displacement, generated 170 to 210 horsepower with compression ratios ranging from 10.6-to-1 to 11.1-to-1.
- Honda used the first non-VTEC, 140-horsepower B18B in the 1991-1993 Integra ESi and matched it with a four-speed automatic transmission. Its gear ratios were 2.722-to-1 for first; 1.468-to-1 for second; 0.975-to-1 for third, and 0.638-to-1 for fourth. The most powerful B18 engine was the 210-horsepower VTEC B18C version that went into the Honda JDM Integra Type R high-performance models. Honda matched this engine with an S80 five-speed manual transmission. The S80's gear ratios were 3.230-to-1 for first, 2.105-to-1 for second, 1.458-to-1 for third, 1.034-to-1 for fourth and 0.787-to-1 for fifth. The Y80 transmission matched the milder B18C1 engines. S1/YS1/A1 manuals went with the Honda's 18As.