Let me preface this post by saying I am brand new to Honda's so please excuse my noob ignorance with these cars.

I am in the beginng stages of a sleeper build, most likely an early 90's civic hatchback however I do really like the look of the Del Sol so depending on feedback from the Honda gurus on here i could end up going either way.

The car will be a daily driver and I plan to strip as much weight as possible so not concerned with any looks. My fun car is a 2007 Cadillac CTS-V that is my "date car" and has 500hp with built and tuned LS6 motor. I'm looking at going Honda to replace my current 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee daily driver for 3 reasons: gas mileage, parts cost, and weight savings.

I'm stoked about this build because I will be able to build and afford my first forced induction car! So sick of spending $1,500 for a set of headers another $1,500 for cat back exhaust, $3k for heads and $7k for forced induction on the V, the caddy tax is killing me!

Ok to the point, I'm going to build the motor first then buy the car. Need help selecting the best setup for this series civic as I know nothing about Honda motors, all my engine building experience has been single cam in block pushrod V8's. I plan on building from ground up, start with block & forged rotating assembly. I plan on a turbo setup and possibly a small shot of nitrous. Not looking for record breaking numbers as it will be a daily driver, but would like to kick the snot out of the 5 million 3 series BMW blowhards around here in Seattle.

Any threads you recommend i check out?

Which block should I start with?

Do many guys go with strokers on these motors?

Any recommends on forged crank & piston setup?

What can you boar these blocks out too safely?

 

Honda motors aren't very friendly to boring, unless you sleeve them (generally $1000-$1500, Darton or AEBS are the go-to companies). Stroking also isn't extremely common, but isn't unheard of. Honestly, if all you want to do is rip the doors off a non-M 3 series, a turbo B series swap will do the job easily. If you want more pep than that, you can go H2B (H series motor with an adapter plate for a B series transmission), boost that, and make M3 power.

Handling wise, there are only about a dozen good companies out there, but the simple go-to combination is Koni yellows with Ground Control springs. Toss some chassis stiffening on top of that, and you're golden.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that power doesn't translate between a CTS-V and a Del Sol. A 500WHP CTS-V is pretty quick on the streets - a 500WHP Del Sol is scary as **** to drive on the streets.

Personally, if I was building something from the raw ground up and money wasn't an issue, I would get whatever chassis you liked, get an H22 sleeved by AEBS, run CP pistons with X-beam rods, a ported, polished, and flow mapped head with Crower/Ferrea valve train, custom ITBs, and a small-trim T4. Mate that to a built B tranny through a dual surface clutch, and you'll make track-style power on about a $20k budget.

 

This may help:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/guide-answer-common-question-just-bought-civic-how-do-i-make-faster-2915974/

 

If you have the money, buy a sleeved block to begin with. The biggest "stroker" setup i would suggest is simply an OEM LS crank (89mm vs the GSR at 87.2mm). A longer stroke does add to the low end torque, but it is counterproductive to revving high...which is where little Honda engines shine.

If i had that budget to blow on a Honda, this is how i would do it:

-83mm sleeved GSR block
-cleaned up OEM LS crank
-Manley TurboTuff LS rods
-CP pistons (personal preference)
-Oversized +1mm valves all-around in the head
-ITR cams with adj. cam gears
-Ramhorn/Prototype style manifold (not sure if that's the true name for the latter, but its what i've always called them)
-ID1200cc injectors (size is dependent on your fuel choice, but Injector Dynamics are by far the best)
-Dual Walbro pump (unless a single will suffice)
-Tial 44mm WG
-Tial 50mm BOV
-BW S258 or S362 turbo (again it depends on your fuel choice)
-3" dp and exhaust
-2.5" IC piping
-PTE600 intercooler
-blah blah blah...

Your fuel choice, be it 92/93 octane gas, E85 or race fuel will have an impact on your parts choices. Once you've set a power goal, its a lot easier to get you into the ballpark, but until you nail down that detail, its hard to give concrete advice. My suggestion would be to do a lot of reading. There is a huge wealth of information on this site and many people have done exactly what you're trying to do. By reading their experiences, you can avoid (hopefully) the mistakes they've made.