cadeMFjohnson

hi all! new to forum. just purchased a 2000 honda civic ex today! silver, 5spd, d16y8 (of course) lol. and im already diving in head first. i have parts ordered (suspension mostly, +short throw, etc) , but i have one question concerning the posibility of boosting the car soon.



i keep reading things about swapping to obd1 if im not already, if im boosting the motor, for tuning reasons i assume.. hondata perhaps, idk. someone will hopefully explain.. new to boost with hondas.

in an obd2 car, must i DOWNGRADE to obd1???? thats re-godd*mn-diculous. poop. please tell me i dont.

SD_Lurker

iTrader: (4)

If using Hondata its a MUST to convert to obd1. However, if using AEM EMS you can get a box thats vehicle specific. Why is this an issue?

b20beast83

OBD1 is not a downgrade

EARLdaSQUIRREL

technically it is, obd2 is a far superior setup, but only the obd1 stuff has been cracked for the honda world


but yes if you want to get most of the common tuning software you will need to convert to obd1 and in the honda world its not really a downgrade but will be a pita if you have emissions testing

ahobbs

im sure 90% of the boosted cars have converted to obd1 that are obd2, well proper set ups have.


so yes you have to unless you buy a AEM because it's car specific. (bunch of money for the same result).

Since your new. It's not a big deal at all.

Even for emissions just keep your old injectors ecu and exhaust, bolt it all back up.

MadScientistMatt

The thing you need is tuneability, not necessarily OBD-I. It's just that there are a lot of devices out there for tuning OBD-I ECUs, either by making chips for them or tuning them in real time with a ROM emulator. There isn't anything for tuning the OBD-II ECU that I'm aware of. The other choice, as others have mentioned, is to run some type of standalone ECU. Which is generally "OBD nothing."

Hybrid96EK

Head first is getting suspension and a short throw shifter? The shifter will most likely destroy the synchros in your tranny, so I would honestly reccomend against that. As for the ECU questions, you are going to want a lot more done then suspension or even I/H/E for that matter before it becomes a concern. Do you NEED to "downgrade"? I am sure there are systems out there that will allow you to stay OBD-2, but the question is why? Its far cheaper and simpler with a lot more options to run an OBD-1 ECU. Its not a "downgrade" by any means either. You aren't looking for something technically advanced to reduce emissions, you want performance.... so my question is how is this system a "downgrade" in any way?

cadeMFjohnson

well seeing as the car hasn't even been delivered yet (tomorrow)

id say that ordering short throw, front lower tie bar, rear lower tie bar, strut brace, and c pillar brace is pretty head first for me. lol. definately on a budget, not lookin for a real fast setup, just some bolt on stuff, MAYBE a turbo if i can do it cheap enough. this will be more of a track car than a "i drive a honda but still try to act like im faster than an ls1 in a straight line" car.

cadeMFjohnson

oh and please explain the shifter hurting my transmision??

i dont understand how it could possibly hurt anything. you can switch shifters in a stock car of any kind and not hurt a thing. its just a lever.

Hybrid96EK

Completely incorrect. This is most likely why they seem to sell so many. Go study a little on a what a synchro is, understand how hard it works, now ask yourself "How could it not hurt anything to ask this component to work twice as hard". Then it might make sense. You will decrease the throw from your shifts which will do nothing more then make the synchro work faster/harder. I have used short throw shifters on three of my first Honda/Acura cars and had grinding problems with them all. One of the shifters even broke from **** poor quality. If you want a shorter throw shifter on your car, get one from an Integra. Its not going to hash your tranny up and will be slightly shorter then the stock unit.

Doing a turbo setup the "cheap" route is a waste of money and time IMO. Spend some money on quality parts and you will have a decent setup. Cheaping out to save a buck or two isn't going to pay off in the long run if you know what I mean..

... and there are plenty of ways to be quicker then an LS1 if you really wanted to be. Just because its a 4 cylinder doesn't mean it can't be quick. ANYTHING can be fast given the right amount of money, right?

Bailhatch

Close the eBay window and read more about why you already wasted every penny you just spent.

This is me being nice. I really want to lay into you haha

cadeMFjohnson

i agree and always say that exact same thing. but just because it can be done doesnt mean it should lol. its more cost effective and gas effecient to go a different route.

cadeMFjohnson

go ahead and lay into me then. i wouldnt be hurt. i joined this yesterday, this is my first thread, just mostly reading tons of other threads, and so far this doesnt seem to be a very helpful and friendly forum. most people on here are too mean to each other, more focused on being right than helping fellow enthusiasts enjoy their mutual hobby

cadeMFjohnson

and suspension isnt a waste of money.

in order for a good coil/shock setup to function, it must have a way for body roll inertia and energy to be transfered back into the suspension components (via crucial point body connection and stiffening-especially in the c pillar, as it has the most flex and roll and is the highest point to connect.)

cadeMFjohnson

and one last thing. i know that the synchros arent hurt by a short shifter. only by quicker shifting. hard quick shifting obviously stresses them, and a short shifter allows you to shift even quicker, but its all in how its driven, dont hammer it every time you shift and your cars will last longer.

Hybrid96EK

I think I would be able to argue these points pretty well, but thats not the point of this thread. Not everyone can make a 12 second street legal car and still pull 28-30mpg on AVERAGE

narfdanarf

LOL at being more gas efficient. My car gets 33+mpg on the highway just cruising and makes over 500whp. Seems pretty gas friendly to me.

Hybrid96EK

No... Your short shifter is going to make the synchros work quicker and harder. If its not going to then why are you even wasting your time installing it and buying it? The whole idea of a shorter shift is to shift faster, isn't it? Why else would you want to decrease the amount of throw? Now if you are shifting faster, then isn't your transmission also having to work faster/harder? It only makes sense man... Does that mean its GOING to thrash the tranny every time? I would say no... but the increase in stress on something that most likely have 50,000+ miles can't be a good thing. I can't see the "benefits" of a shorter throw really adding up to anything in a race anyways. There is one shifter out there that actually seems to make some sense... I can't recall the name of it. Its long and tall and looks funnier then hell, but the theroy actually makes sense.

Hybrid96EK

This is EXACTLY my point Thats one major reason I like playing with these cars. Its pretty hard to argue with the results.

cadeMFjohnson

but i wont always be shifting faster. im not always racing. i can granny shift while normal driving.

cadeMFjohnson

that is pretty impressive. id like to see the setup and dyno sheet. can you get those posted man thats awesome

cadeMFjohnson

im guessing by adjusting boost level. and a flash to a different tune for a lower boost setting. theres no way a less than 2 liter motor is making 500+ wheel horsepower and getting 33 mpg

narfdanarf

Actually it's 1.6L and you don't need to have a different tune or lower boost levels to keep the mpg's up. Just need to keep your foot out of the gas. I can drive around with my boost controller set on 30lbs ~ 500whp and as long as I keep the boost gauge on the vacuum side of things I'm getting good gas mileage. Now with that in mind, I do have the boost turned waay down so I can make power reliably on pump gas, and because shredding all season tires isn't really all that fun.

cadeMFjohnson

agreed

Bailhatch

The reason people have little patience is because there are 100 people that don't have a clue for every 1 that does. I can tell you don't know much about engines, suspension or mechanics in general. That's fine. We all start somewhere and I do like your enthusiasm. I read all the other posts you made on this forum and people are being very nice to you. You read articles and are pretty good at gleaning information, but you don't see the big picture and quickly try to come to your own conclusion based on the one or two things you read on a particular subject (the vtec sohc vs dohc thing, the suspension stuff you just posted, no way 500whp/33mpg, etc..). Take all the info you read with a grain of salt. Figure out what you think might be the correct way for you and then go DO it. I used to read a lot and I learned a lot doing that. But you really don't get it until you DO and feel it. I have been making a living modifying cars for almost ten years and I still learn something new every day. Stay enthusiastic and stop regurgitating information you cant back up with experience and real facts. There are more than a few people that know their **** on here, especially the FI forum, so ask good questions