Honda B18 Vs. B20 Engines: What's The Difference?
Honda's history with engines is long and illustrious, and the company is known for making the engines for everything from lawnmowers to dirt bikes to race cars to jets. Most of Honda's powerplant panache comes from its passenger car engines. The Honda B-series in particular has attracted a lot of fame over the years, especially among the tuner crowd. As with many engine lines, the B-series has a number of varieties and displacements.
Both B18 and B20 engines are likely familiar with American Honda audiences, but it's worth explaining what sets the motors apart from each other, aside from obvious differences like displacement and overall horsepower numbers.
The first engine, the B18, and in particular the B18C5 according to CarTech, gained immortality in the engine bay of the first Type-R Honda to make its way to the States, the 1997 Acura Integra Type-R. That engine utilized Honda's VTEC setup and was able to rev to a fairly unhinged 8,400 RPM and made 195 horsepower. From a non-turbocharged 1.8-liter four-banger, that's pretty astonishing.
Both engines are a modder's dream
On the more pedestrian side, is the 2.0-liter B20. It saw life as the B20A in the short-lived third generation Honda Prelude from 1988 to 1991. But you have likely seen a B20 in action without even realizing it, as it was used extensively in the first generation Honda CR-V in 1997. It first made a respectable, if not a little boring, 126 horsepower and was then bumped up to 146 horsepower from 1999 until the second generation was introduced in 2002. Despite its more utilitarian nature, the B20 remains a popular choice for enterprising gear heads who want to swap out the drivetrain of their Honda for an engine with a little more displacement. It has proven itself to be a good platform for tinkering and tuning.
To Americans, the B18 is strictly a performance car engine and the B20 is a crossover SUV engine (aside from a brief stint with the Prelude). But to Honda fans, both are ripe for modding and tuning, the B18 is great right out of the box, if a little rare, and the B20 just needs a little ingenuity, and creativity to make it a worthwhile build.