D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
08-17-2010, 09:50 AM
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D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
D16A6/D16Y8 VTEC MINI-ME HEAD SWAP:
Hello all, and welcome to my write-up/FAQ. This is my first write-up and my first time doing anything like this to car. I was irritated at the lack of information to be found on this swap, so I took it upon myself to do a rather thorough guide, so I hope this helps someone out there who was just as lost as I was. I had plenty of help and the project turned out much better than I expected. I swapped a d16y8 VTEC head onto my CRX's d16a6 block to gain horsepower, torque, and, of course, VTEC. This swap is not the most documented one out there because most people opt for the d16z6 head that is usually more readily available. I went with the y8 head because it is a newer head, has a couple more ponies than the z6, and bumps the compression up a bit more, making it the perfect candidate for an all-engine, N/A build. So let’s get started, shall we?
The patient... My 1991 Honda CRX
What you need to know:
You should be fairly comfortable with working around in your car for this swap. You need to know how to install a head gasket, timing belt, alternator, intake manifold, distributor, and basically have a general idea of how everything works. You’ll need to know how to torque a Honda head into place correctly, as well as know how to clean up the mating surfaces of both the head and the block. You should spend a good day prepping everything; a clean engine is a happy engine. You also need to know how to solder if you plan on having VTEC. I recommend having a couple people help you with this, it is a bitch doing all of it yourself, especially lifting the old head off and putting the new head on, as those are rather delicate procedures. This swap took me 3 days of labor and 1 day in tuning it up, so be prepared for something similar as you don’t want to rush it and do a sloppy job. The swap alone cost me somewhere between $500 and $600 for everything. Make sure you have everything you need before starting the process; running around trying to find the right parts in the middle of doing this is probably what made it take so long.
What you need to have:
D16A6 Engine Block
D16Y8 Cylinder Head
D16Y8 Cam Gear
D16A6 Distributor
D15B7 Timing Belt
D16A6 Water Pump
D16Y8 Head Gasket Kit
D16Y8 Spark Plug Wires
ARP Head Bolts and Studs for this swap (7 D16Z6 studs, 1 D16Y8 stud)
VTEC Controller (or some other way to activate your VTEC)
Full Synthetic Oil and Anti-Freeze
Plenty of VTEC stickers!!!
Synthetic oil and filter, anti-freeze, SeaFoam, and Engine Restorer
Fel-Pro d16y8 head gasket kit and ARP head bolts/studs
d15b7 timing belt and d16a6 water pump
Preparing the car:
First, park the car in the garage, take out the battery, and drain the oil and coolant. Once everything is drained, leave the car to sit overnight. You don't want to do anything until the engine is nice and cold. You can take this time to clean your new VTEC head until it is shiny and super awesome. Every surface needs to be completely clean of old gaskets and gunk, I recommend using a parts cleaner to make it uber clean. I also took the liberty of spray painting my valve cover.
Me, taken by surprise. Valve cover is off the old head, everything is ready to get yoinked out
Start disassembling the engine:
After you are sure everything is ready, begin unbolting the exhaust header, distributor, and fuel rail. I recommend keeping the intake manifold on the head at this point, but disconnect everything attached to it. Now, take off the driver's side wheel and jack the car up. Place the car on jack stands and place the jack under your oil pan with a piece of wood to prevent it from denting. Take out that side motor mount and be sure the jack is supporting your engine! Take off the crank pulley, alternator belt, and finish taking off your old timing belt. Don’t lose your crank pulley key; it is small, but it will give you a huge headache if you misplace it. Remove your valve cover and start unbolting the old head from the block. There is a specific torque spec and order you should do it in, so consult your manual.
The old d16a6 cylinder head and intake manifold out of the car
Removal of the old cylinder head and cleaning the block:
Carefully lift off your old head with the intake manifold still attached. Once the old head off the engine, you can remove the manifold. I cleaned my intake manifold with a parts cleaner and scraped off all of the old gasket residue. Also, now it is a great time to clean your IACV and throttle body. Brake cleaner works great for that kind of thing. Now, take a look at your block. Inspect it to make sure everything looks good on the outside. Carefully clean the block surface of any gaskets and gunk. I had to use a razor blade to get that shitty a6 gasket off of it. Make sure you don't gouge or scratch the block though; you'll have a bad time if you do. Brake cleaner helped make the surface easier to scrape, it is also a good idea to spray it down into the thread holes for the head studs to clear any gunk out of there that would prevent a good seal.
Also, be sure to remove the tiny oil jet from the old block!!! It is located at the top in the middle of the block. I just used a screw to thread in it and pliers to pull it out. It will out very easily, so don't try to force it. Your VTEC will not engage if you forget this step, so double check to be sure!
[
The d16a6 engine block is in need of a good cleaning!
Installation of the new cylinder head:
Next, thread your ARP head studs into the block. I ordered a special set for the d16a6-d16y8 mini-me swap, you should do the same. The studs must be pretty close in height to each other when threaded in, but they don’t need to be perfect. I recommend dipping them in oil first to make the task easier. The upper left corner, where the VTEC solenoid is closest to, should be the shorter head stud. Turn the crank until the block is at top dead center, with pistons 1 and 4 at the top. Once this is complete, place the new head gasket down completely flat onto the surface of the block. Bolt the intake manifold to your shiny, new VTEC cylinder head using the appropriate gasket. Carefully put the head onto the block, using the ARP studs as guides. Make sure the head is laying flat on the block and begin to torque the bolts onto the studs, using ARP torque specs and Honda's torque order. When this is complete, start bolting everything back to the head and connect everything back to your intake manifold. You're almost done; just a couple more steps and you’ll be on your way to VTEC glory!
The d16y8 head firmly bolted down onto the d16a6 block
Putting on the new timing belt:
Time to install the new timing belt! You need the d16y8 cam gear installed the d15b7 belt ready. Make sure the cam gear is at top dead center and put on the D15B7 belt. It will be pretty tight, but it goes on after a bit. Make sure you don't accidentally move your block timing when you do this; everything has to line up perfectly at top dead center.
Reassembly of the engine:
Put the motor mount back in and finish putting your engine back together. You'll need d16y8 spark plug wires because your old wires won't fit the new head. It was time to change those out anyways, right? You’ll notice that your d16a6 distributor bolts up perfectly to the d16y8 cylinder head, so feel free to re-use it. Once everything is re-assembled, fill up your oil and coolant. I would double check everything at this point. I didn’t have my fuel rail bolted in firm enough so I shot gas all over my engine bay when I turned the key in my car for the first time.
Now is the moment of truth… Start the car. Don’t worry if it doesn’t want to start up right away. It took a couple of minutes to get mine to start up, and once it got going I let it idle for awhile. (I was also breaking in a brand new Comp Zex Camshaft though)
Valve cover installed, along with distributor and spark plugs
Clean-up and other boring ****:
Assuming your car starts up and can idle, this is a great time to flush your coolant and oil systems. I’d let the car idle for about 20 minutes and then empty everything out and put in the new oil and coolant, along with a new oil filter. I also put some “Engine Restorer” in my oil and some SeaFoam in my gas tank. Not sure how necessary that stuff is, but I like to play it safe and keep everything nice and clean. Let the car run for a bit and then turn her off. I strongly recommend fighting the urge to go zipping around in your newly equipped car because you are probably going to want to re-torque the head down after it cools and adjust your valve lashings. Let the car sit in your garage overnight. Take off your valve cover, adjust the valve lashings to OEM spec (or whatever you need for your particular build) and then give the head bolts a slight torque to prevent any kind of leaks. Put the valve cover back on and now you are ready to go, assuming everything went well.
Sexy beast of a car, if I do say so myself
*Note*
I’ve read several things about timing problems with this swap that I hope to clear up with this FAQ. Mainly, most people think that you need to either advance or retard the timing by x amount. This is clearly not the case, as my engine runs perfectly with everything at top-dead center. As long as you are using a d16y8 camshaft and cam gear with the d15b7 timing belt all on the d16a6 block with the a6 tensioner, everything should work just like you’d expect after a regular timing belt change. This is probably where I will step on a few toes, but DO NOT BUY THE D16Y8 BELT! It is *much* too tight and will probably just snap on you. I managed to get it on with 3 people tugging on it, using a screwdriver to pry it up and it still took about an hour. Once we finally got the belt on, it was so tight that the belt was actually stretching really thin and you could see white stretch lines all over it. This was with the tensioner all the way loosened. Not only that, but timing is going to be incredibly screwy because the d16y8 belt only has 104 teeth, which would mean we’d have to take it on and off several times in order to get the timing right. Save yourself the hassle and get the d15b7 belt. It fits perfectly snug and sets your timing just right.
Wiring in teh VTEC, yo:
There are actually a couple of different ways. The proper way to do this swap is to convert to OBD1, buy the d16y8 ECU, and buy an OBD1 distributor. That is very costly and time consuming, so I didn’t bother with it. If you want to go that route, look it up on your own. Another way to get VTEC to engage is to use an RPM switch wired straight to the green wire coming off of your VTEC Solenoid. Have the RPM switch powered by any 12 volt signal, like the cigarette lighter. Right now I just have mine wired to a straight up flip switch, so I have to flip a button to engage VTEC. It sounds bad, but it works and makes driving really fun, because I get to flip console switches like Speed Racer. I only have to flip it once, because if I shift correctly I will still be in a high enough RPM to get the power I need for the VTEC camshaft lobes. The d16y8’s VTEC engages at 5,500 RPM, but depending on your set-up you can change that around to whatever works the best. I flip my VTEC switch at around 4,500 to 5,000 RPM and it feels great, but I have a performance camshaft and other various mods which would most likely alter my ideal VTEC crossover point.
The green wire coming off of the VTEC solenoid attached to a 12v signal
My VTEC switch... Down is off, up is GO BABY! haha
Results:
With a Zex (105100) Stage 1 camshaft, NGK performance spark plugs and wires, full stainless steel exhaust, and a cold air intake, I estimate this swap making around 140+ horse power at the crank due to the higher compression that this swap produces. Other mods that you should consider are upgrading to a d16z6 or d16y8 intake manifold with a b series throttle body. I have heard some people gaining up to 5hp from that simple modification alone. With bolt-on modifications and performance engine components there is no reason that you couldn’t get 150hp at the crank with this swap, naturally aspirated. The compression is really high, so I can’t recommend a turbo unless you are really careful about it.
Conclusion:
Hopefully everything worked out for you as it did for me. I am very satisfied with my car’s performance for the money and the cleaned-up engine bay/parts makes me feel better about my car’s reliability. Even without VTEC the car runs great; I feel like it has a lot more “umph” in the lower end (That’s what she said) and when VTEC does kick in you’ll definitely feel the increase in power from your stock d16a6 motor.
That’s all folks! Remember to drive safely, even if you need to feel your VTEC kicking in, yo!
Hello all, and welcome to my write-up/FAQ. This is my first write-up and my first time doing anything like this to car. I was irritated at the lack of information to be found on this swap, so I took it upon myself to do a rather thorough guide, so I hope this helps someone out there who was just as lost as I was. I had plenty of help and the project turned out much better than I expected. I swapped a d16y8 VTEC head onto my CRX's d16a6 block to gain horsepower, torque, and, of course, VTEC. This swap is not the most documented one out there because most people opt for the d16z6 head that is usually more readily available. I went with the y8 head because it is a newer head, has a couple more ponies than the z6, and bumps the compression up a bit more, making it the perfect candidate for an all-engine, N/A build. So let’s get started, shall we?
The patient... My 1991 Honda CRX
What you need to know:
You should be fairly comfortable with working around in your car for this swap. You need to know how to install a head gasket, timing belt, alternator, intake manifold, distributor, and basically have a general idea of how everything works. You’ll need to know how to torque a Honda head into place correctly, as well as know how to clean up the mating surfaces of both the head and the block. You should spend a good day prepping everything; a clean engine is a happy engine. You also need to know how to solder if you plan on having VTEC. I recommend having a couple people help you with this, it is a bitch doing all of it yourself, especially lifting the old head off and putting the new head on, as those are rather delicate procedures. This swap took me 3 days of labor and 1 day in tuning it up, so be prepared for something similar as you don’t want to rush it and do a sloppy job. The swap alone cost me somewhere between $500 and $600 for everything. Make sure you have everything you need before starting the process; running around trying to find the right parts in the middle of doing this is probably what made it take so long.
What you need to have:
D16A6 Engine Block
D16Y8 Cylinder Head
D16Y8 Cam Gear
D16A6 Distributor
D15B7 Timing Belt
D16A6 Water Pump
D16Y8 Head Gasket Kit
D16Y8 Spark Plug Wires
ARP Head Bolts and Studs for this swap (7 D16Z6 studs, 1 D16Y8 stud)
VTEC Controller (or some other way to activate your VTEC)
Full Synthetic Oil and Anti-Freeze
Plenty of VTEC stickers!!!
Synthetic oil and filter, anti-freeze, SeaFoam, and Engine Restorer
Fel-Pro d16y8 head gasket kit and ARP head bolts/studs
d15b7 timing belt and d16a6 water pump
Preparing the car:
First, park the car in the garage, take out the battery, and drain the oil and coolant. Once everything is drained, leave the car to sit overnight. You don't want to do anything until the engine is nice and cold. You can take this time to clean your new VTEC head until it is shiny and super awesome. Every surface needs to be completely clean of old gaskets and gunk, I recommend using a parts cleaner to make it uber clean. I also took the liberty of spray painting my valve cover.
Me, taken by surprise. Valve cover is off the old head, everything is ready to get yoinked out
Start disassembling the engine:
After you are sure everything is ready, begin unbolting the exhaust header, distributor, and fuel rail. I recommend keeping the intake manifold on the head at this point, but disconnect everything attached to it. Now, take off the driver's side wheel and jack the car up. Place the car on jack stands and place the jack under your oil pan with a piece of wood to prevent it from denting. Take out that side motor mount and be sure the jack is supporting your engine! Take off the crank pulley, alternator belt, and finish taking off your old timing belt. Don’t lose your crank pulley key; it is small, but it will give you a huge headache if you misplace it. Remove your valve cover and start unbolting the old head from the block. There is a specific torque spec and order you should do it in, so consult your manual.
The old d16a6 cylinder head and intake manifold out of the car
Removal of the old cylinder head and cleaning the block:
Carefully lift off your old head with the intake manifold still attached. Once the old head off the engine, you can remove the manifold. I cleaned my intake manifold with a parts cleaner and scraped off all of the old gasket residue. Also, now it is a great time to clean your IACV and throttle body. Brake cleaner works great for that kind of thing. Now, take a look at your block. Inspect it to make sure everything looks good on the outside. Carefully clean the block surface of any gaskets and gunk. I had to use a razor blade to get that shitty a6 gasket off of it. Make sure you don't gouge or scratch the block though; you'll have a bad time if you do. Brake cleaner helped make the surface easier to scrape, it is also a good idea to spray it down into the thread holes for the head studs to clear any gunk out of there that would prevent a good seal.
Also, be sure to remove the tiny oil jet from the old block!!! It is located at the top in the middle of the block. I just used a screw to thread in it and pliers to pull it out. It will out very easily, so don't try to force it. Your VTEC will not engage if you forget this step, so double check to be sure!
[
The d16a6 engine block is in need of a good cleaning!
Installation of the new cylinder head:
Next, thread your ARP head studs into the block. I ordered a special set for the d16a6-d16y8 mini-me swap, you should do the same. The studs must be pretty close in height to each other when threaded in, but they don’t need to be perfect. I recommend dipping them in oil first to make the task easier. The upper left corner, where the VTEC solenoid is closest to, should be the shorter head stud. Turn the crank until the block is at top dead center, with pistons 1 and 4 at the top. Once this is complete, place the new head gasket down completely flat onto the surface of the block. Bolt the intake manifold to your shiny, new VTEC cylinder head using the appropriate gasket. Carefully put the head onto the block, using the ARP studs as guides. Make sure the head is laying flat on the block and begin to torque the bolts onto the studs, using ARP torque specs and Honda's torque order. When this is complete, start bolting everything back to the head and connect everything back to your intake manifold. You're almost done; just a couple more steps and you’ll be on your way to VTEC glory!
The d16y8 head firmly bolted down onto the d16a6 block
Putting on the new timing belt:
Time to install the new timing belt! You need the d16y8 cam gear installed the d15b7 belt ready. Make sure the cam gear is at top dead center and put on the D15B7 belt. It will be pretty tight, but it goes on after a bit. Make sure you don't accidentally move your block timing when you do this; everything has to line up perfectly at top dead center.
Reassembly of the engine:
Put the motor mount back in and finish putting your engine back together. You'll need d16y8 spark plug wires because your old wires won't fit the new head. It was time to change those out anyways, right? You’ll notice that your d16a6 distributor bolts up perfectly to the d16y8 cylinder head, so feel free to re-use it. Once everything is re-assembled, fill up your oil and coolant. I would double check everything at this point. I didn’t have my fuel rail bolted in firm enough so I shot gas all over my engine bay when I turned the key in my car for the first time.
Now is the moment of truth… Start the car. Don’t worry if it doesn’t want to start up right away. It took a couple of minutes to get mine to start up, and once it got going I let it idle for awhile. (I was also breaking in a brand new Comp Zex Camshaft though)
Valve cover installed, along with distributor and spark plugs
Clean-up and other boring ****:
Assuming your car starts up and can idle, this is a great time to flush your coolant and oil systems. I’d let the car idle for about 20 minutes and then empty everything out and put in the new oil and coolant, along with a new oil filter. I also put some “Engine Restorer” in my oil and some SeaFoam in my gas tank. Not sure how necessary that stuff is, but I like to play it safe and keep everything nice and clean. Let the car run for a bit and then turn her off. I strongly recommend fighting the urge to go zipping around in your newly equipped car because you are probably going to want to re-torque the head down after it cools and adjust your valve lashings. Let the car sit in your garage overnight. Take off your valve cover, adjust the valve lashings to OEM spec (or whatever you need for your particular build) and then give the head bolts a slight torque to prevent any kind of leaks. Put the valve cover back on and now you are ready to go, assuming everything went well.
Sexy beast of a car, if I do say so myself
*Note*
I’ve read several things about timing problems with this swap that I hope to clear up with this FAQ. Mainly, most people think that you need to either advance or retard the timing by x amount. This is clearly not the case, as my engine runs perfectly with everything at top-dead center. As long as you are using a d16y8 camshaft and cam gear with the d15b7 timing belt all on the d16a6 block with the a6 tensioner, everything should work just like you’d expect after a regular timing belt change. This is probably where I will step on a few toes, but DO NOT BUY THE D16Y8 BELT! It is *much* too tight and will probably just snap on you. I managed to get it on with 3 people tugging on it, using a screwdriver to pry it up and it still took about an hour. Once we finally got the belt on, it was so tight that the belt was actually stretching really thin and you could see white stretch lines all over it. This was with the tensioner all the way loosened. Not only that, but timing is going to be incredibly screwy because the d16y8 belt only has 104 teeth, which would mean we’d have to take it on and off several times in order to get the timing right. Save yourself the hassle and get the d15b7 belt. It fits perfectly snug and sets your timing just right.
Wiring in teh VTEC, yo:
There are actually a couple of different ways. The proper way to do this swap is to convert to OBD1, buy the d16y8 ECU, and buy an OBD1 distributor. That is very costly and time consuming, so I didn’t bother with it. If you want to go that route, look it up on your own. Another way to get VTEC to engage is to use an RPM switch wired straight to the green wire coming off of your VTEC Solenoid. Have the RPM switch powered by any 12 volt signal, like the cigarette lighter. Right now I just have mine wired to a straight up flip switch, so I have to flip a button to engage VTEC. It sounds bad, but it works and makes driving really fun, because I get to flip console switches like Speed Racer. I only have to flip it once, because if I shift correctly I will still be in a high enough RPM to get the power I need for the VTEC camshaft lobes. The d16y8’s VTEC engages at 5,500 RPM, but depending on your set-up you can change that around to whatever works the best. I flip my VTEC switch at around 4,500 to 5,000 RPM and it feels great, but I have a performance camshaft and other various mods which would most likely alter my ideal VTEC crossover point.
The green wire coming off of the VTEC solenoid attached to a 12v signal
My VTEC switch... Down is off, up is GO BABY! haha
Results:
With a Zex (105100) Stage 1 camshaft, NGK performance spark plugs and wires, full stainless steel exhaust, and a cold air intake, I estimate this swap making around 140+ horse power at the crank due to the higher compression that this swap produces. Other mods that you should consider are upgrading to a d16z6 or d16y8 intake manifold with a b series throttle body. I have heard some people gaining up to 5hp from that simple modification alone. With bolt-on modifications and performance engine components there is no reason that you couldn’t get 150hp at the crank with this swap, naturally aspirated. The compression is really high, so I can’t recommend a turbo unless you are really careful about it.
Conclusion:
Hopefully everything worked out for you as it did for me. I am very satisfied with my car’s performance for the money and the cleaned-up engine bay/parts makes me feel better about my car’s reliability. Even without VTEC the car runs great; I feel like it has a lot more “umph” in the lower end (That’s what she said) and when VTEC does kick in you’ll definitely feel the increase in power from your stock d16a6 motor.
That’s all folks! Remember to drive safely, even if you need to feel your VTEC kicking in, yo!
Last edited by shawnperolis; 08-17-2010 at 12:11 PM. Reason: Forgot to add in the bit about the old fuel jet. Thanks, D16SiHatch! =)
08-17-2010, 11:12 AM
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Thanks! I actually have a dyno shop within walking distance from my house. I don't want to spend the money to get it dynoed until I finish everything up... Mainly, I want to do the d16z6 intake manifold swap with a B series throttle body, port matched. I also need to get an RPM switch so my VTEC can activate without me flipping a switch. It'd be hard to dyno the car without the automatic engagement.
08-17-2010, 11:44 AM
#4
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
If you cant find an RPM switch, you can also chip the stock PM6 and upload a Turbo-Edit map that will activate and deactivate vtec at any rpms via the ac wire. The right map should come with some better fuel curves for vtec as well.
08-17-2010, 11:52 AM
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Yeah, that is my game plan for later on down the road. I was thinking about getting everything else finished and then sending my build specifications to one of those ECU chipping places to get a more "custom" map for my car. I'm in no hurry for all of that, this car is my daily drive and it just got a lot more fun. School is about to start up in 2 weeks, so I'm just happy I got it up and running. This was a first time for me, so starting the car and having it *not* explode was really an awesome feeling.
08-17-2010, 12:02 PM
#6
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
nice writeup but damn are those cell phone pictures? invest in a digital camera man lol.
3 things:
when converting to obd1, it's a p28 you're after, not the obd2 p2p y8 ecu. also, running vtec off a manual switch or rpm activated switch is just silly. you are not getting the benefit of proper vtec fuel trims when you go this route. if you're going to bother with this swap at all i feel its imperative you do it properly and convert to obd1 with a p28. turboedit with a/c wire vtec activation does work.. however it is ancient at this point and virtually no one uses it or tunes with it.
secondly, you never mentioned to remove the oil control jet from the block. kind of important you do this if you want vtec to engage lol.
lastly, rather than use a razor blade on the block which a. takes forever, and b. risks taking gouges out of it. it is much easier and safer to use either an angle air grinder with a high grit pad, or a similar device with a roloc bristle disc attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lM7IgqMAiA
3 things:
when converting to obd1, it's a p28 you're after, not the obd2 p2p y8 ecu. also, running vtec off a manual switch or rpm activated switch is just silly. you are not getting the benefit of proper vtec fuel trims when you go this route. if you're going to bother with this swap at all i feel its imperative you do it properly and convert to obd1 with a p28. turboedit with a/c wire vtec activation does work.. however it is ancient at this point and virtually no one uses it or tunes with it.
secondly, you never mentioned to remove the oil control jet from the block. kind of important you do this if you want vtec to engage lol.
lastly, rather than use a razor blade on the block which a. takes forever, and b. risks taking gouges out of it. it is much easier and safer to use either an angle air grinder with a high grit pad, or a similar device with a roloc bristle disc attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lM7IgqMAiA
08-17-2010, 12:09 PM
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Ouch, thanks a lot! I'll have to add that bit in... Totally slipped my mind when I was writing it out!
And as for the OBD1 swap... Of course it is "right" way to do it, and I mentioned that in my FAQ. I managed to get mine working without spending the $250 and several hours of wiring it all up, so I assume someone who is poor like me will appreciate that little trick. It works for now, and if I get an RPM switch and a good map, it will be just as good.
And as for the OBD1 swap... Of course it is "right" way to do it, and I mentioned that in my FAQ. I managed to get mine working without spending the $250 and several hours of wiring it all up, so I assume someone who is poor like me will appreciate that little trick. It works for now, and if I get an RPM switch and a good map, it will be just as good.
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08-17-2010, 04:22 PM
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Shawn was there when I did my obd0-obd1, dpfi-mpfi swap. And he knows it took me forever to get everything done right. He let me drive it and it definitely is making good power though, it runs right away from my (mostly stock) hatch.
08-17-2010, 10:57 PM
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
The swap is definitely worth doing, even without VTEC. I just ordered a shift light so I can wire it up to that and not have to flip a switch anymore. Once I get that wired in I might add a bit to the write-up detailing how to do it. With a chipped ECU I can add the correct maps for the VTEC RPM range, giving me a fully controlled and efficient VTEC on an OBD0 ECU.
08-19-2010, 07:07 AM
#10
Honda-Tech Member
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
nice writeup but damn are those cell phone pictures? invest in a digital camera man lol.
3 things:
when converting to obd1, it's a p28 you're after, not the obd2 p2p y8 ecu. also, running vtec off a manual switch or rpm activated switch is just silly. you are not getting the benefit of proper vtec fuel trims when you go this route. if you're going to bother with this swap at all i feel its imperative you do it properly and convert to obd1 with a p28. turboedit with a/c wire vtec activation does work.. however it is ancient at this point and virtually no one uses it or tunes with it.
secondly, you never mentioned to remove the oil control jet from the block. kind of important you do this if you want vtec to engage lol.
lastly, rather than use a razor blade on the block which a. takes forever, and b. risks taking gouges out of it. it is much easier and safer to use either an angle air grinder with a high grit pad, or a similar device with a roloc bristle disc attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lM7IgqMAiA
3 things:
when converting to obd1, it's a p28 you're after, not the obd2 p2p y8 ecu. also, running vtec off a manual switch or rpm activated switch is just silly. you are not getting the benefit of proper vtec fuel trims when you go this route. if you're going to bother with this swap at all i feel its imperative you do it properly and convert to obd1 with a p28. turboedit with a/c wire vtec activation does work.. however it is ancient at this point and virtually no one uses it or tunes with it.
secondly, you never mentioned to remove the oil control jet from the block. kind of important you do this if you want vtec to engage lol.
lastly, rather than use a razor blade on the block which a. takes forever, and b. risks taking gouges out of it. it is much easier and safer to use either an angle air grinder with a high grit pad, or a similar device with a roloc bristle disc attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lM7IgqMAiA
08-19-2010, 09:26 AM
#11
Honda-Tech Member
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
great write up been wondering if i should do this but being a vtec hater in the sohc world keeps me back. you plan to dyno it in the future i would like to see your results.
08-19-2010, 09:39 AM
#12
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
I will dyno it when I get the car completely finished. I still have a few things that need done, so no sense in getting the car dynoed before then. This swap is a really cheap way to turn your daily drive into something much more fun. I also really wanted to replace a lot of older parts with new ones, so I won't have to worry about anything later on. It's great knowing that almost everything in your engine bay is new, super clean, and fully-functional. I'm not building a race car, but it definitely pulls very hard and I'm quite satisfied with it. 
08-19-2010, 11:27 AM
#13
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
well, besides the bottom end 
i was warned before doing my a6/y8 that once freshening up the top end it could very possibly lead to the bottom end going out. i continued anyway and sure enough the piston rings on cyl 2 pooped out. only found 60psi on a compression test and i was burning stupid amounts of oil. decided i was tired of the d and started saving up for b. hopefully you will be more fortunate with your mini-me
i was warned before doing my a6/y8 that once freshening up the top end it could very possibly lead to the bottom end going out. i continued anyway and sure enough the piston rings on cyl 2 pooped out. only found 60psi on a compression test and i was burning stupid amounts of oil. decided i was tired of the d and started saving up for b. hopefully you will be more fortunate with your mini-me
08-19-2010, 12:13 PM
#14
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Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Thanks for the heads up. My bottom end only has about 140,000 miles on it, so I'm hoping I don't run into any kind of problems. The previous owner was an older guy, a certified Honda mechanic who worked at the dealer. All of the engine components have been taken care of relatively well, and I made sure to clean everything as much as possible. Here's hoping to nothing going wrong! 
08-30-2013, 08:54 AM
#16
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
The swap is definitely worth doing, even without VTEC. I just ordered a shift light so I can wire it up to that and not have to flip a switch anymore. Once I get that wired in I might add a bit to the write-up detailing how to do it. With a chipped ECU I can add the correct maps for the VTEC RPM range, giving me a fully controlled and efficient VTEC on an OBD0 ECU.
1. Buy your shift light
2. remove it from the casing
3. There should be a light bulb. Remove it.
4. Take the power wire from the light bulb and run it to the VTEC solenoid. The other is a ground, so ground it. (I believe)
5. Wire the shift light the same as the instructions tell you. (Red is positive, black is ground, last color is the wire that connects to the blue distributor wire that tells the ECU the RPM)
6. Set the shift light to a suitable RPM (5000~?)
7. Test it out. You should hear it kick in.
But your fuel maps will run lean I believe. This can be remedied by editting fuel maps to increase fuel ratios after a certain RPM.
well, besides the bottom end
i was warned before doing my a6/y8 that once freshening up the top end it could very possibly lead to the bottom end going out. i continued anyway and sure enough the piston rings on cyl 2 pooped out. only found 60psi on a compression test and i was burning stupid amounts of oil. decided i was tired of the d and started saving up for b. hopefully you will be more fortunate with your mini-me
i was warned before doing my a6/y8 that once freshening up the top end it could very possibly lead to the bottom end going out. i continued anyway and sure enough the piston rings on cyl 2 pooped out. only found 60psi on a compression test and i was burning stupid amounts of oil. decided i was tired of the d and started saving up for b. hopefully you will be more fortunate with your mini-me
Just FYI, I LIKE BOTH MOTORS. Don't start some B vs D series discussion over this! Please
08-30-2013, 09:02 AM
#17
Honda-Tech Member
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
the op is not feeling vtec kicking he might be engaging the head and the cam but hes not adding more fuel when needed my guess is hes feeling the aftermarket cam hit its sweet spot.get a vtec ecu and get rid of obd0 and the resister box.
08-30-2013, 11:19 AM
#18
Re: D16A6 to D16Y8 Mini-Me Write Up
Or he can stay OBD0 and just get a chipped ECU capable of 1-wire VTEC. That and a map for the D16Z6 so it adds more fuel. That is probably (if you sell the old ECU for a little) $50 for the improvement. I am not sure if I am aloud to reccomend it, but PGMFI.org is a great place to find people who can chip an ECU for this set up. Or getting one second hand. But most chippers will just install the rom for you for free since it's not a big deal. Just get an ECU that is chippable. PM9? I forget.
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