redline1219

Please bump if viewed and keep checking out the latest progress!

Its been a long time since Ive been on HT, been busy with my life; just got married and moved to sunny PHX, AZ... I just picked up this beautiful EM1 Civic for a killer deal and had it shipped here to my new house. I am ASE certified and work full time as a line tech at the Honda dealership here, so most of my experience is with OEM repair not so much in the aftermarket. This is by no means my first Civic or turbo build though. It will be my first all out build with this high of horsepower, so constructive criticism is encouraged but keep the trash talk to yourself!

I bought this car built from the last owner, clean titled with only 23K miles! It put down 450whp 323tq at 22lbs but its blown two headgaskets and I got it all torn apart... I planned to repair it and drive it as-is but the farther I got into it the scarier everything was to me. Bolts missing, not tightened, painted gasket surfaces, and some of the jankiest wiring and install job Ive ever seen :-/ So I decided to tear it all apart and start from scratch; heres what I found and where Im at!

Anyway, heres the breakdown.

-B16A2 bored to 85mm Golden Eagle sleeved
-B16 crank
-Eagle rods
-JE forged pistons 9:1 cr
-ITR head fully ported and polished
-Titaniam valve springs and retainers and oversized valves
-ARP head studs
-ACL race bearings
-Aftermarket cams (not sure what they are exactly, but know they are not oem)
-GSR tranny, quaife LSD
-ACT 4-puck clutch and flywheel
-Garrett gt35r turbo .70 A/R
-Tial 44mm WG
-Greddy BOV
-RC750cc injectors, AEM fuel rail, SX fpr, whalbro 255lph fuel pump with in-line back-up pump
-Greddy intercooler
-JG Edelbrock intake manifold
-MSD Digital 7 ignition, coil, and wires
-Custom 3" downpipe and exhaust
-Custom made ram-horn manifold
-AVC-R boost controller
-Hondata S300
-Dephi gauges

This car is otherwise mostly stock with the exception of the Volk TE-37s, CTR steering wheel, Mugen pedals, and few other minor goodies... Its not even lowered yet lol.

I have a few questions about the way I should finish my build and have it tuned like:
Is that back-up fuel pump really necessary?
Is the stock fuel filter sufficient?
I had a stock O2 sensor, plan on getting wideband?
How should I go about running pcv or oil catchcan?
Can I pass AZ emissions with S300?

Heres a few pictures of the car as I bought it
















The teardown and inspections.

























Some of the parts I scored in the purchase! (Probably worth more collectively than what I paid for the entire car!)




























As she sits currently; stay tuned



Only the best in parts will be used.



Plans for the future

-Cleaning up wiring
-Ceramic coating turbo manifold, downpipe and intercooler black
-Powder coating charge piping bronze to match wheels
-Re-tune with boost by gear
-All new braided stainless fuel lines
-Slim radiator fan
-Oil catch can
-Axles
-Hasport mounts
-Suspension
-Brakes
-Re-tune

Positive feedback encouraged, let me know some ideas and what has worked for you guys, thanks

-Phil

Mugencrxsir1

You have everything you need right in front of you to build 500whp-600 whp reliably! You will most likely break the 500hp mark at around the 16psi-18psi mark with your build...

So my recommendation is put everything back together with the correct specs and take it to a reputable shop in AZ. The Hondata s300 is a nice unit that has been proven time and time again.

Keep us posted, you have a lot of nice parts to being with and with a good re-tune you will be very happy with the results!

Mugencrxsir1

And oh, you will most likely not pass any state emissions regardless of your ems...

And yes a wideband is extrememly helpful and recommended, but your tuner will use one to tune your set up so it's not 100% necessary. But it's nice to keep an eye on your engine's vitals...

redline1219

Thanks for your feedback, I kindof figured I wouldn't be able to pass emissions; I'll have to figure a way around that ...

Mugencrxsir1

Before my crx was considered historic, i would get away with it being to low to test on the rollers... Literally received an exception notice for 6 years...

dark_02wrx

ballleerrrrr.

redline1219

Yeah but my car is obdII now they plug in the dlc and check to see all my moniters have cleared; o2, evap, cat converter etc. It's gonna be hard to clear those moniters when you don't have any of those parts anymore...

guy_from_nerk

So you've blown 2 headgaskets with this setup, or did I misread that? My only concern is your 85mm bore. I had 85mm pistons for my build, but after talking to several engine builders and tuners, they advised me to go smaller. They said 85mm on a turbo setup would have issues sealing headgaskets...other then that looks like a solid setup, good luck!

redline1219

That is correct. Also not my first time hearing that also, but what happened was the dowl pins were squared out the first time and it never seated the head on the block securely; it blew in a matter of a few miles (or so I'm told by the previous owner). The second time it blew, I had it all together (for my first time with this car) and didn't secure a coolant clamp tight enough and it blew off, loosing all it's coolant. That's where I'm at now, apart again and ready to build it right. 85mm really may be contributing to the problem, not sure yet... Keep you posted with what happens at the machine shop on Monday, I may be forced to re-sleeve a new block oh well, you pay to play I guess.

Mugencrxsir1

You can probably get away with the 85mm bore if you O-ring the head... That will help make sure the seal is maintained... Now I don't recall how expensive it is to O-ring a head, but it's not cheap... But at the moment it would be cheaper than new sleeves, you might want to give that a try first or start a new post about resleeving vs. O-rings...

cibao2ner

you dont need oring for 500whp..just get the head and block resurfaced and you should be good to go...make sure you torque the studs in the proper sequence and spec...

redline1219

I flat checked both the head and the block, both are flat as can be; I dont plan on milling off any further. The machine shop I use told me theres a local guy here in phx they use that makes copper head gaskets for custom applications and thickness using the old one as a template. I think im gonna take him my old mls cometic gasket and have one .010" over stock made; they seem to think this will do the trick. Ill let you know how this works out.

96civic cr-v

Talk to locash down there in phx.

redline1219

Thats exactly who I planned to do the tuning for me, just gotta wait until the build is done in the next few weeks...

sethm

Good luck with the rebuild

guy_from_nerk

Yeah def keep me updated, I am interested in seeing how the 85mm bore works.

redline1219

I'm taking it to the machine shop tomorrow to do some final decision making as to keep this 85mm setup or not... Keep you posted. Thanks for the support.

Mugencrxsir1

Keep it as a 85mm set up! The main reason the head gasket blew the first time is because some dumb kick but the motor together with incorrect specs most likely... And the second time is due to overheating...

So there is no reason with your knowledge and the correct specs why you couldn't use a stock headgasket modified to the 85mm opening with success!

Golden Eagle does just that, they take an OEM head gasket and bore it out to 85mm for LS/Vtec kits... Seriously go for it!

What's the worst that can happen? You blow the head gasket again?

2CAMSVTEC

Joe at locash for the tune man... nobody else!!

redline1219

Yeah if everything is still within spec and all parts are still usable than 85mm it is! But if I start finding problems with the parts I have then I'm gonna need to resleeve another block (or buy one used). Once all that's done, locash will do my tuning most likely...

redline1219

So I just got back from the machine shop, after doing all my inspections on the bottom end, and Ive come to a decision; Im ditching the 85mm block set up. He seems to think the wide bore is contributing to my headgasket problem; it would be cool for an NA setup but not so much for all the boost and hp Im shooting for. I think Ill find an already sleeved B-series block with 82-84mm bore and go from there. I didnt really plan on spending over $3g on resleeving and building a shortblock, but it might come to that. Maybe Ill trade someone my Volks for a shortblock If anyone has any ideas or bottom ends for sale, let me know what you would do...

redline1219

I think Im gonna sell my Volks in order to buy another built shortblock. I found my pistons had too much clearance in the cylinder walls, so theyre garbage, the crank spun a pully so its garbage, and the 85mm bore is too much for my target horsepower... I need feedback and input from others as to what block/crank and rods/ pistons I should use for a 500+whp setup. I guess I could sell my block and rods too, for someone whos looking for a crazy NA build...

mmeadows

First the shell does look nice. Volk makes some very nice rims.

As to the block choice the options/combos are endless but the most common is a LS/B18B or the GSR/B18C block. I personally chose the LS/B18B because of the longer stroke, 89mm vs 87mm.

There really are no drawbacks regarding sleeving companys. All of the big names do top notch work. Pick a reputable company and go for it.

With regard to maximum bore on a turbo set up Jeff Evans himself says no larger than 83mm. That still gives you some room for rebuild/error, worst case scenario.

According to Mr. Evans you can expect to see a 3-5% increase in HP from 81-83mm. From 83-85mm the increase is approximately 2-3%.

If you want to save some money you can source your own rod/piston combos. There are several vendors on H-T that offer good deals. Ebay has Manley rods/CP pistons for $800 with free shipping right now.

With that said the price difference between Eagle and Manley rods is only $25 these days.

Either would be able to handle your power goals.

I personally would not use any other piston but CP. The provided wrist pins/rings/ect... are good up to 600WHP allegedly.

As far as a catch can goes that is a must at those power levels. The crankcase pressure will be too high otherwise.

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me. I am currently building my second turbo car for sunday strolls and road coarse action. I am having Mr. Evans build the short block (ET stage 2 motor) and The Shodan is building my TR30R as we speak.

guy_from_nerk

www.laskeyracing.com enough said! Get another block and send it out to Mike for some Benson sleeves and internal goodies. He is the one who told me to ditch the 85mm bore as well when I had the 85mm pistons laying around. Luckily I was able to sell them pretty quickly. Good luck man, keep at it

b16bri

Hey man I may be able to help you with your emissions problems. I dont know how strict your laws are down there but here in CT were i Live they should work. I sent you a PM on your gauge pods setup PM me if your interested about emissions