Quada

Hey all,

I finally entered the honda scene getting a good deal on a 93 Civic Dx Coupe. The clutch is out and the dizzy isn't hooked up. The car has a D16 motor. The motor has 8.1 cp pistons from Hedals.

A few questions - hopefully you guys can help me out. Don't flame me, I know I am a noob.

1. Is it possible that I have stock rods or would the rods have to have been upgraded too if I know I have the upgraded pistons?

2. If I do have stock rods and aftermarket pistons, what is a safe level of power I can make? I have searched and I read that the weakest part of a d-series motor is the rods. Then another thread said the weakest part is both the pistons and rods, giving up around 260 CRANK hp.

3. Will I have to retime the motor because the distributor is unhooked? How hard would that be on these motors? I'm not sure if the previous owner turned the engine while the dizzy was unhooked so I am going to assume that he did.

If you guys could help me out that would be much appreciated!

dpetro1

1. yes its possible you have stock rods, pull the oil pan and check it out.
2. i think 200-220whp is about right for stock d-series components
3. the dizzy only does into the cam one way so even if the motor was turned you will be fine. you will need to adjust the dizzy using a timing light to get the correct ignition timing though. (assuming the cam timing is correct already)

Hondaphile13

you seem to know what youre doing with that car more than some people on here, but if this is your first Honda altogether, i just have to make you you know this; NEVER USE STANDARD POWER STEERING FLUID IN A HONDA always but ALWAYS use HONDA power steering fluid! so many people destroy their racks by putting standard fluid in, ive even seen Honda certified mechanics do it.

fastrxu

How are you sure you have low comp pistons?

Is it tuned for low compression?

Do you have or plan on a turbo anytime soon?

jamezz

This is news to me, all I've ever used is ACDelco power steering fluid. It has been in my rack for 3 years - since my first engine swap with nary a problem.


Have fun with your first honda. Research everything you plan on doing, and a word of advise.. Be careful what you read on the various forums, it is hard to find reliable info, the amount of BS out there is astronomical

Quada

Wow I appreciate the compliments and the helpful tip! I hauled the car to the farm and after looking at the block more closely, it is actually a JDB D15b in the car, I'm sure that this doesn't change much.

No the car is not currently tuned for the lower compression pistons. For a turbo I'm thinkin a T25 or T26... nothing too special. I just don't like all the "ricers" around town that strap on these huge T3 or even T4 turbos on a stock motor and then only run 5lbs boost. I don't think they get the concept of compressor maps haha. But anyway, I think that a T25 or even a T26 will have great spool times while I am still in the effective range of the turbo and plus I am not looking for a dyno queen, just a daily driven street car that I can have a little fun with!

I still have to read up on ECUs/tuning. I discovered that I have a chipped P28 ECU in the car now. I read that you have to chip it and then do something else to it to let crome do its thing.

Another question (may sound dumb): Do civics have a obd port? I couldn't find one in the car even after completely stripping the interior today. All I found was the little check engine wire to read codes off of the CEL.

Quada

I am sure that I do have 8.1 cr pistons because I have a receipt from Hedals in Minot, ND that told me that they installed the pistons into a D15 block. I guess this doesn't necessarily mean I have them, but I live in Bismarck, North Dakota... I bought this car from Minot that is a city of about 10,000 people. There is a good chance that this was the car they installed the pistons in