he has a 3stage vtec and the low rpm vtec isnt hooked up so its gonna give a slow response and also make high rpm vtec kick in hard.

 

No, that's not correct. Without the VTEC-E stage being hooked up, the engine should start in the standard 2nd stage and then enter regular VTEC at around 5000 RPM (or whatever the Y8 computer is programmed to crossover at).

I think the problem is the VTEC engagement point of the Y8 computer is incompatible with the design of the D15B cam or the whole engine for that matter.

Try and contact the company you bought the engine from and see if you can get the P2J ECU that you said you didn't want. Make sure it is OBD2a (96-98). If it is OBD2b it will still work but you'll need this. Then run your red VTEC solenoid wire to pin A21. If you end up using the OBD2b ECU with conversion harness, tap into the wire at the conversion harness so that you aren't hacking up the factory wiring. If you get the OBD2a ECU just tap into the factory wiring at A21, since you won't have a conversion harness.

 

the vtec-e is supposed to kick in around 2.5k the d16y8 kicks in around 5k

 

No, with VTEC-E the car is already in VTEC and then leaves it as the RPMs raise. Think about it... VTEC-E turns off one of the intake valves... it wouldn't make sense if you started in low RPMs with both intake valves engaged and then switched to one per cylinder as the RPM raises.

In 3 stage VTEC the first stage is VTEC-E, second stage is non-VTEC, and third stage is VTEC. If you take out stage one then you just have a regular VTEC engine. The problem here is the ECU's VTEC engagement RPM.
And before someone says anything about it, getting a VTEC controller will not help because the VTEC controller only controls the solenoid, not the ECU fuel/timing maps.

 

With OBD2, you don't. That's why you need the P2J

 

The VTEC solenoid? I already told you it won't fit. That won't change anything anyway.

If you hook up the red VTEC solenoid wire then that won't work either... then you'll have VTEC-E engaging where regular VTEC should... which is completely wrong.

You have 3 options:
1. Get the P2J ECU and follow the instructions in paragraph 3 of post 54 in this thread.
2. Drive it the way it is
3. Swap the Y8 head on and use the ECU you already have... but then what was the point of the engine swap?

But really... what was the point? Was something wrong with your old engine?

Also, you know that the JDM engine will make you fail CA smog/emissions, right?


If you can get the P2J ECU then I really recommend you buy it. Your gas mileage should improve drastically.