NickWarner

Hi guys, new to this forum, and I'll give you some quick background. Currently, I own a 99 Z28 that makes close to 400rwhp, I did all the work myself so I'm pretty mechanically inclined. My plan is to sell this and buy a Honda, with the help from you guys. I want to turbo this Honda, and I will be doing 90% of the work myself. My requirements are as follows...

-It needs to be manual
-Preferably around 2500lbs from the factory
-Will mainly be used as a daily but may take it to the track should I feel it is worthy
-Don't have a problem replacing engine internals, but I need a car that has a strong block from the factory, as in the actual block itself, not the rotating assembly
-Looking for 400whp
-I'd like to go with a preferably large turbo for top end spool, not concerned about low end power

These cars are fairly cheap to work on so budget is not a problem, but I'm not throwing 10k into this, like to do the work for around 3-4K. I want to but all my own turbo parts for the build, but first I need help choosing what car would be the best to start with? No K20, that's my only exception. I'm a domestic guy so I know very little about imports, but I want a cheap summer project, so give me some help here, thanks everyone!

k20z1ej1

welcome

It has to be manual, Honda auto transmissions cant handle any kind of torque.

Almost all civic and integra chassis are at or less than 2500 lbs. The heaviest being integra gsr's which I believe are around 2750.

Honda engine blocks are strong. Very strong. All sfwd cars (1000whp+) use factory blocks. Beyond that, stock cast pistons and rods are good to around 350whp. Cylinder walls/sleeves somewhere between 500-700. Crankshafts are factory forged steel and are used in countless cars making north of 1000. Some over 1300. All of those numbers are for B series engine. H series can handle similar power levels. D series engines cannot handle nearly as much, while k series can handle alot more.

For 400whp you'll need to upgrade the pistons and rods. That's it. You'll still need other supporting mods like injectors, fuel pump, clutch etc. But as far as engine mods, everything else can remain stock.

A turbo Honda is going to lag. The fastest spooling turbos don't reach full boost until 3-4k. No need to buy an excessively large turbo. A t3/t4 (of which there are many varieties) will easily get you to 400 while spooling up quick enough for street use.

Gonna be tough to build the car for $3-4k. I would budget 5-6 if it was me.

Good luck with your build and go do research!
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Edit: I forgot you'll also need ARP headstuds.