I have finally decided to turn the CB7 into a track-only car. Sometime in the near future, I will finally be making a MR thread, but for now I'm delving into the potential swap options. With a goal of 300WHP NA, my options are limited. K24 would be fairly easy to swap in, with 2 different sources for mounts and axles. However, $10k just on the engine is far too pricey for me. Having swapped to a '03 TL and now a '00 Nissan Maxima as my daily, the torque of a V6 is way too appealing to ignore. Therefore, the CB7 will be getting a V6.
Issue 1: there's no good documented swap for a V6 of any kind in a CB7. That means axles, mounts, wiring, and hood clearance all have to be figured out. This does open up engine options, however.
Issue 2: weight. The CB7 already does not have great weight balance, and is only made worse when you strip the interior, sound deadening, and every other item besides glass to reduce weight. An H22 is not the lightest of I4's, but a V6 is going to be heavy no matter what. Reducing under-the-hood weight as much as possible must be done.
Issue 3: availability. All things considered, a FWD V6 with a manual is not super common, especially if they make good power.
At this point, I've decided that I don't need to stick to Honda engines, especially since mounts, axles, and wiring will be custom no matter what, so it'll be the same amount of work for a J32a2 as it will for a VQ35DE.
I'm going to document everything I do and research here, since I want by the end of this a good guide for swapping a V6 into a CB7. If anyone here has done a V6 swap into a CB7, every bit of information you can provide will be invaluable.
Now for the research...
Issue 1: there's no good documented swap for a V6 of any kind in a CB7. That means axles, mounts, wiring, and hood clearance all have to be figured out. This does open up engine options, however.
Issue 2: weight. The CB7 already does not have great weight balance, and is only made worse when you strip the interior, sound deadening, and every other item besides glass to reduce weight. An H22 is not the lightest of I4's, but a V6 is going to be heavy no matter what. Reducing under-the-hood weight as much as possible must be done.
Issue 3: availability. All things considered, a FWD V6 with a manual is not super common, especially if they make good power.
At this point, I've decided that I don't need to stick to Honda engines, especially since mounts, axles, and wiring will be custom no matter what, so it'll be the same amount of work for a J32a2 as it will for a VQ35DE.
I'm going to document everything I do and research here, since I want by the end of this a good guide for swapping a V6 into a CB7. If anyone here has done a V6 swap into a CB7, every bit of information you can provide will be invaluable.
Now for the research...
Engine Choices:
J32a2
Weight over a H22A: ~70lbs, could be less with AC, PS removal and change in headers/intake
Stock HP: 260HP
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
J37 crank, '05 RL rods and pistons, tuning
Transmission Options:
6SPD from 7th Gen Accord, 4th Gen TL Base, or 2nd Gen CL
Issues: SOHC, although may not actually be an issue based on my research for my power goal. Aftermarket is not great, but it seems I need only OEM parts for the huge power gains. Likely going to have to replace the chassis harness, but I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue.
VQ35DE
Weight over a H22A: Unsure, what info I found so far puts it at ~500 lbs total so not very significantly more than the H22
Stock HP: 255HP ('02-'03 Nissan Maxima, the likely source of this choice)
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
Depressingly, too much. Intake, exhaust, cams, good tune, usually still needs internals.
Transmission Options:
5spd or 6spd from 00' to 03' Maxima, 6spd from 3.5 Altima '02 and up, Sentra Spec V 6spd and Maxima bellhousing
Issues: DBW, not DBC. Means I need to swap pedals. Will likely have to replace entire chassis harness to use it, including all parts. That said, I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue.
J35Ax
Weight over a H22A: ~70lbs, could be less with AC, PS removal and change in headers/intake
Stock HP: 248HP (Acura MDX)
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
J37 crank, '05 RL rods and pistons, tuning, probably...
Transmission Options:
6SPD from 7th Gen Accord, 4th Gen TL Base, or 2nd Gen CL
Issues: SOHC, although may not actually be an issue based on my research for my power goal. Aftermarket is not great, but it seems I need only OEM parts for the huge power gains. Likely going to have to replace the chassis harness, but I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue. Engine differs slightly from the J32a2 specifically in the cylinder linings, so this may not be an option.
Current Choice: J32a2
Mounting, wiring and axles:
There are a few chassis with V6 swap mounts that are very similar to the CB7, specifically the BB6 aka 5th gen Prelude. The innovative mounts look like they could be modified to fit, but I'm curious about the chassis rail spacing since that might mean a different kit would work better, like for a Civic.
Wiring is the easiest part. I can either just take the whole harness from a TL/CL and strip what I don't need and add what I do, or just build a new harness. I've never found wiring to be hard, so I'm not worried about this part.
Axles may be the hardest, or easiest. A lot of the CB7 front end is the basis for the TL front end, so it could be possible to just swap over most of the TL front end and use the stock axles. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of good images online of this, so more research is needed. I could get custom axles made too, but I'm not sure where is good now.
Resources, threads, build logs, and other links:
Concrete information on engine weight: SSO - Honda Engine Drivetrain Weight
Prelude V6 build thread (lots of cool stuff, worth the read): PP Forum
A cool build log that discusses OEM cams, heads, cranks, and performance estimates: http://acurazine.com/forums/second-g...-series-873314
Very interesting, short thread on a 328HP J32a2 using OEM parts only, likely something I will replicate closely: http://www.j32a.com/index.php?topic=2303.0
J32a2
Weight over a H22A: ~70lbs, could be less with AC, PS removal and change in headers/intake
Stock HP: 260HP
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
J37 crank, '05 RL rods and pistons, tuning
Transmission Options:
6SPD from 7th Gen Accord, 4th Gen TL Base, or 2nd Gen CL
Issues: SOHC, although may not actually be an issue based on my research for my power goal. Aftermarket is not great, but it seems I need only OEM parts for the huge power gains. Likely going to have to replace the chassis harness, but I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue.
VQ35DE
Weight over a H22A: Unsure, what info I found so far puts it at ~500 lbs total so not very significantly more than the H22
Stock HP: 255HP ('02-'03 Nissan Maxima, the likely source of this choice)
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
Depressingly, too much. Intake, exhaust, cams, good tune, usually still needs internals.
Transmission Options:
5spd or 6spd from 00' to 03' Maxima, 6spd from 3.5 Altima '02 and up, Sentra Spec V 6spd and Maxima bellhousing
Issues: DBW, not DBC. Means I need to swap pedals. Will likely have to replace entire chassis harness to use it, including all parts. That said, I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue.
J35Ax
Weight over a H22A: ~70lbs, could be less with AC, PS removal and change in headers/intake
Stock HP: 248HP (Acura MDX)
What to do to hit 300HP NA:
J37 crank, '05 RL rods and pistons, tuning, probably...
Transmission Options:
6SPD from 7th Gen Accord, 4th Gen TL Base, or 2nd Gen CL
Issues: SOHC, although may not actually be an issue based on my research for my power goal. Aftermarket is not great, but it seems I need only OEM parts for the huge power gains. Likely going to have to replace the chassis harness, but I don't need much in a racecar so this may not be a huge issue. Engine differs slightly from the J32a2 specifically in the cylinder linings, so this may not be an option.
Current Choice: J32a2
Mounting, wiring and axles:
There are a few chassis with V6 swap mounts that are very similar to the CB7, specifically the BB6 aka 5th gen Prelude. The innovative mounts look like they could be modified to fit, but I'm curious about the chassis rail spacing since that might mean a different kit would work better, like for a Civic.
Wiring is the easiest part. I can either just take the whole harness from a TL/CL and strip what I don't need and add what I do, or just build a new harness. I've never found wiring to be hard, so I'm not worried about this part.
Axles may be the hardest, or easiest. A lot of the CB7 front end is the basis for the TL front end, so it could be possible to just swap over most of the TL front end and use the stock axles. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of good images online of this, so more research is needed. I could get custom axles made too, but I'm not sure where is good now.
Resources, threads, build logs, and other links:
Concrete information on engine weight: SSO - Honda Engine Drivetrain Weight
Prelude V6 build thread (lots of cool stuff, worth the read): PP Forum
A cool build log that discusses OEM cams, heads, cranks, and performance estimates: http://acurazine.com/forums/second-g...-series-873314
Very interesting, short thread on a 328HP J32a2 using OEM parts only, likely something I will replicate closely: http://www.j32a.com/index.php?topic=2303.0
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