SunriseSunset

I'm interested in doing a turbo build with my 02 civic.. except it has a D17A1 engine with 145,000 miles, auto tranny with 30k miles. I want to put some money into the car over the course of the next few months and hope to have a nice 280-350HP BEAUTY.

What would be the best engine swap for my 2002 Civic Coupe LX?

And also, someone once told me that 4 cylinder engines are better for turbo; not v6's. But they never told me why. I'm down for installing Turbo, or NOS, or both. What ever is the best choice depending on the engine. I'm fairly uneducated when it comes to car stuff, but am trying my best to learn as much as I can now that I have my first car.

So far all I know about are the K, B, and D series, and very little about each at that.
Are there any pros or cons for having vtec and wanting to turbo or nos? or really what should I be aiming for here? Please someone help me with some good guidance!

A list of possible Honda engines that could be compatible would be super helpful. Perhaps with some additional notes of the benefits or cons for each or some of the choices. I would greatly appreciate any help from this community!

Also, I got the car for 2,500. I'm still making payments and owe $1650. Do you think I got a deal?

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Starting here would be wise: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...sting-2101211/

Also, if you plan on staying with an automatic transmission... you're going to have to fabricate mounts and many other ancillary components.

And finally, what is your budget?

SunriseSunset

OH no, definitely changing to manual transmission. And I think my budget is about 7.5 or 8.5k for all the internal components.
Maybe about 10k.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Well, the smartest choice would be a K-series since that's the easiest and currently the most supported engine swap available.

SunriseSunset

Ok do you have any references for how tos regarding 2002 Civic Coupe LX to a k-series engine swap? So that I know what I'm dealing with, what all internals need to go with the swap. So I can try and start a price shopping list perhaps.

Also would it be easiest to maybe swap out the D17A1 and put in a D17A2? I think there wouldn't need to be much else changed internally. And if that's true then I can find a D17A2 (with vtec) for about 500$ with 50kmiles; *supposedly*. Then with that low of mileage, I could theoretically add the turbo and nos as desired. And save the most money but still possibly reaching around 300 HP MAYBE. I'm not fully sure yet.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

As I stated in the first post, you'll want to start with the FAQ's thread. This topic has been covered several times over, and the information within that thread will help you understand what's available to you. Guides to transmission conversions, engine swaps, the whole lot.

As for reaching 300whp, you're not going to get that reliably on any stock internal D17. You'd have to spend quite a bit of money on internals to get there... and even then, it won't be the most reliable setup. Adding a turbo to a stock D17A2 will net you maybe 200whp, more likely you'd only see around 170whp range. 300whp will still take some money to get from a K-series.

SunriseSunset

Unfortunately, xproductionz's k-series swap DIY reference has outdated link urls. His "ww2.xproductionz.com" domain is now invalid, so his entire DIY is no longer online. But I appreciate your help so far!


P.S.. NEVERMIND! The coffee must of been strong this morning!

And thanks friends for your input and guidance. I really appreciate it believe me. So if I have any more questions along the way within this topic, I'll add to this thread. Take care now

bbarbulo

not sure if I'd say 2500 is a deal. I bought mine 4 years ago for half that.

but I have to ask, why make payments if you have the money to pay it off? I'd pay off the loan, then go with a K20 or K24 swap mated to a 6 speed trans. No turbo on it; I would just enjoy the K swap until it needed major work again, then I'd do some kind of forced induction down the road. In the mean time, I'd be doing 'supporting mods' like suspension and brake upgrades.

No sense in doing a D17A2 swap, it isn't much of an improvement. the K series is your best bang for the buck if you're taking the engine out anyways.

kseries.org if I remember correctly is a good resource for that kind of thing too