Well, I wouldn't go and say that. While it's true the the B17 is nothing more than a stroked B16A, I wonder if you are aware of some of the differences between the B16 and B17.

1. The compression of the B17 is the lowest of all the B series Vtec motors with a 9.7:1 cr. Now this is not all bad if you are planning on boosting, but is another story if you are planing a N/A motor, In N/A, this lower compression will become a factor when playing with bigger cams and can not be overcome unless you break into and build the bottom end.
2. Also the larger 81.4mm crank in the ultra short 203mm deck, means shorter rods. Shorter rods on a larger crank means higher piston speed, (1.62 rod ratio) and higher piston speeds can make a less than reliable motor when when that powerband is focused in the higher RPM range on a low displacement motor. Now some people may agrue about rod ratios and their affects, but I am a firm believer that lower rod ratios and higher piston speeds do not work well with cylinder filling at high RPMs, cause higher frictional side loading of the cylinder walls, more loading on the bearings, and more stress on the rods at TDC. So making power beyond 8500 and keeping it longer than just a year, could be challenging...and cost a bit more.

Now please...I'm not saying that the B17 is a bad motor to build...hell no. I'm just saying that for every cause, there is an affect.


However money always seems to changes thing like this.