95ciivicNJ

The ride:
I have a 5speed 95 Civic DX, with a D15B JDM motor swap OBD I. It also has a P20 Transmission. Not sure what ECU I have in there right now. I purchased it about 2 weeks ago like this.

The Problem:
I was replacing the clutch this past weekend and my friend was helping me out. He said my vtec isn't hooked up. I went for a ride in his 96 vtec civic and there was really a huge difference. I didn't realize it wasn't hooked up. This is the first vtec I have owned. I have never owned a vehicle with a swap before. I haven't had to mess with the ECU or harness before.
Now my question is what do I need to make this work??
Which ECU? Where can I find a harness and what is a reasonable price?

One of my friends was saying I could hook up a tach with a shift light and have the light wired up to a relay and connect the vtec solenoids to the relay. My friend who has the civic said not to do this because it's just a crappy way of doing things. I would normally go to my friend for help, but he lives over an hour away and has a newborn, so basically he is useless right now unless I have a real problem with my cars.

Any help would be appreciated. If you need more info so you can answer my question better, just let me know.

Thanks everyone

HondaPartsHero

First off what D15B do you have? Is it the SOHC VTEC, SOHC 3 Stage VTEC, non VTEC?
Post pics if you don't know. If it is the SOHC VTEC then just use a P28 ECU and wire up VTEC to the ECU, don't ghetto rig the shift light idea because it won't adjust fuel/timing maps like the correct ECU would. Use your harness and add the VTEC wiring.

95ciivicNJ

Sorry, I knew I had missed some information that would help get me an answer. Ok, I have to put a pic. I believe it is SOHC VTEC.

redlinexd

correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't all jdm d15b's suppose to say vtec on the valve cover? I know for a fact that the d16y8 and the z6 from the 92-93 civics didn't say it.

HondaPartsHero

Either way thats the SOHC VTEC 3 Stage VTEC.

95ciivicNJ

HondaPartsHero, Thanks for the info. How can you tell? so I know for future reference.
Now I checked out your website. will the Honda OBD1 SOHC VTEC conversion swap conversion harness sub-harness work for me? And do you sell the ECU? if not how much is a reasonable price for one, and where would the best place be to look for one?

tony_2018

your vtec solenoids are dual, you are missing the the egr so you must be running a chipped ecu. This motor was basicly for gas sippin but it has 130hp.

HondaPartsHero

It has two solenoids



Don't think there is an OBD1 ecu for it
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/jdm-d15b-3-stage-p2j-ecu-egr-o2-sensor-wiring-checklist-pics-2802636/

95ciivicNJ

So with the way it is setup now, OBD I, I would need an OBD II ECU and new wiring harness, or would I be able to use the same harness?

tony_2018

Hmmm...It might be alot of work for you so i think you should leave it as is. You will need the correct manifold, not sold anywhere in the US unless sold with the motor, the egr and egr control box, need to wire both of those, need to get the p2j ecu accordingly to your to obd2 wiring. the control box already is 350 from honda, egr is probably around 150 or so, ecu is the most expensive but if you can find it good for you. So you think about it.

95ciivicNJ

Once again, How do I know if the ECU is chipped? So I know for furture reference.
Is there something specific I should see? or just by the EGR missing, you know it's chipped?

HighhBrid

I don't mean to bring back old threads, but I am in the same boat as 95ciivicNJ. I need to know if a "chipped" P28 OBD1 ECU will suffice for my vehicle. Those are the only ones listed on eBay currently. My vehicle is OBD1 stock as far as I can tell.

If you know of anywhere better to get a P28 OBD1, please let me know....

My car is a 1998 Civic EX with a D15B VTEC JDM with only one solenoid.

HondaPartsHero

If its a SOHC VTEC the P28 should run it fine. If there is emissions testing in your area however the OBD1 ECU won't connect to the scanner and it will fail. However the P08 is the correct ECU for the engine.

HighhBrid

Thanks for the expedited response. You are awesome.

Based on my setup, do you think this would work for me? P28 "chipped" on eBay --> (http://goo.gl/kWrBYF)
Or would you recommend the P08 instead? There are two types of P08's, right? Is this correct? (http://goo.gl/rJ2C2y)

My only concern is that it's "chipped", I'm not sure what that implies. I try to go for stock whenever I can for the sake of less problems (I bought the car with the swap already done.)

I will put this up in the morning after I get some sleep, after 4AM here lol. Thank you again for your information.

HondaPartsHero

If you can find an untouched one or find a more reputable seller it would probably be better. You can have it socketed later down the road if you need it.

TomCat39

If tyou are looking to run both vtec and vtec-e of the motor then one guy used a P28 ecu with Hondata S300 then had it fully tuned with a remote turbo, was getting 55 MPG and had power to boot.

It's what I would love to do but don't have the time money or spare car to do a major project like that right now.

750-900 for the motor is just out of my reach at the moment, let alone rebuild costs etc etc.

HighhBrid

I hear you man. Money and time is definitely not what I have either haha.

I don't think my car could run the VTEC-E because it has only one solenoid. I have what I believe to be the single stage VTEC D15B. You are saying that I can add VTEC-E with a regular VTEC D15B and a P28 chipped?

HondaPartsHero

I think he thinks you have the VTEC E D15B?

TomCat39

Yeah sorry reading the thread and replying to ancient posts.

You have the sought after D15B vtec, not the D15B dual vtec motor.

Like others have said, P28 ECU chipped works well.

Don't need Hondata to control a second solenoid on and OBD1 car like you do the 3 stage motor.

Can't just add v-tec-e without a full head swap.

And chipped means it's been rechipped with a programmable ECU chip so that you can tune the base maps with a Dyno and the tuning software. Many use Chrome but there are others like Neptune.

HighhBrid

Why do you say that my engine is sought after? (I'm kinda new to the Honda game, sorry lol.)

HondaPartsHero

It's really no better than a d16z6,128hp as opposed to 125, but 5 ft/lbs less torque. Most people who use it just need a cheap replacement engine. Easy to come by by any importer so I wouldn't say sought after just JDM so people give it more cred.

HighhBrid

Word. I'll bear that in mind. Thanks for the help man.