whitehf

i have a 96 dx..im undecided if i want to go with the mini or the complete y8..what do you guys think??

tsdenny

IMO you should do the mini

dan89crxsi

i did the mini in my crx y8 head on d16a6 block......not enough power gain....IMO Mini me = waste of time and money that could be saved for better engine swap

Slothy

My mini-me (y7-y8), dyno'd @ 111hp, my stock y7 dyno'd @ 94hp. Its been 2 years since I did it, and still runs just as strong. Only swaped heads, only replaced seals in the y8 head. If you can get the complete head cheap enough, go for it. I highly recomend the ex/ z6 tranny as well. You will notice the most gains from that.

dan89crxsi

$200 head then you need some way to activate vtec so either a vafc $200+ or a vtec controller switch like $45 from summit plus the labor then you might have to get a adjustable cam gear to fix the timing for the sohc frankenstein like i did and the labor time for you to put this **** on your SOHC for 17hp not worth it to me. save up and get a good foundation for more hp gains in the future. I did however do the mini me to experiment and save money but funds are still low and after doing the mini me i suggest saving up for a b series or better especially in the k-series era we are entering. If you are set on doing one or the other though i would just go with the whole y8 swap. This would be easier than the mini me and more reliable.

SOHCejcivic

mini me on y7 IS a y8. the blocks are identical. the only difference is the head.

EK k kay

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dan89crxsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">$200 head then you need some way to activate vtec so either a vafc $200+ or a vtec controller switch like $45 from summit plus the labor then you might have to get a adjustable cam gear to fix the timing for the sohc frankenstein like i did and the labor time for you to put this **** on your SOHC for 17hp not worth it to me. save up and get a good foundation for more hp gains in the future. I did however do the mini me to experiment and save money but funds are still low and after doing the mini me i suggest saving up for a b series or better especially in the k-series era we are entering. If you are set on doing one or the other though i would just go with the whole y8 swap. This would be easier than the mini me and more reliable.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Since when does a y8 head cost $200? That thing better be built or something. You don't need a VAFC or vtec switch to activate vtec, where the hell did you hear that bs from. You can get a p2p ecu for around $40 or less. And whats this about needing an adjustible cam gear? More bs. Labor for putting in a head is less than or equal to pulling the entire motor. And don't bring that reliability factor into this either. I've been running the y7/y8 mini me for 2+ years with absolutely no problems and now its boosted. You are pulling all this info out of your ***.

dan89crxsi

then thats your opinion dont tell me what is bs and whats not im telling you what i had to do so since you dont know me or the setup i was running then you cant say anyones wrong and you are going to spend $100-200 on a head unless you buy some piece of **** with no cams or something and reliability is a factor since that head is not supposed to go on that block it may not be as reliable and i said you might have to get an ajustable cam gear (i did) dont hate on something i say especially since i am not stating facts i am telling you my experience and my opinion and what i did when i built my mini me

ddd4114

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dan89crxsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">then thats your opinion dont tell me what is bs and whats not im telling you what i had to do so since you dont know me or the setup i was running then you cant say anyones wrong and you are going to spend $100-200 on a head unless you buy some piece of **** with no cams or something and reliability is a factor since that head is not supposed to go on that block it may not be as reliable and i said you might have to get an ajustable cam gear (i did) dont hate on something i say especially since i am not stating facts i am telling you my experience and my opinion and what i did when i built my mini me</TD></TR></TABLE>
well...some of it isn't opinion based, it's fact or fiction. The cost of a y8 head varies, and just because it's less expensive, that doesn't mean it's a piece of **** - you just have to shop around to get the best prices. $200 for a y8 head is on the high side, but if it's in excellent shape, that might be worth it. Secondly, a "new" ECU is the way to go as far as engaging VTEC. VAFC's are a waste of money, and an RPM activated switch is a very primitive way of engaging VTEC. You'll still have the same fuel curve and timing. You also don't need an adjustable cam gear unless you plan to do fine tuning. A stock cam gear is fine with a y7/y8 mini-me. Also, a y8 swap is NOT always more reliable than a mini-me. If you perform the head swap correctly, then you will have a very reliable engine. If you get a higher mileage y8 that somebody beat the **** out of, you'd be better off doing the mini-me.

One fact, though, is that you won't get a whole lot of power for your time and money, and if you can't find good deals on the parts, it's probably not worth it. Like SOHCejcivic said, it's basically a y8 when you're finished. Whether or not you should do a head swap is subjective and varies by case, so the decision is really up to you. Just do some more research.

Real Ek4

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCejcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mini me on y7 IS a y8. the blocks are identical. the only difference is the head.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wrong...Y7 + VTEC HEAD: more compression, more HP's guaranteed in dynoJet!

D16Y8 (EK EK Hatch):15.8
D16Y7 Vtec (EK Hatch): 15.0

Same condition, same tires (toyo R888), same wheels (rota 15")....

ddd4114

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Real Ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wrong...Y7 + VTEC HEAD: more compression, more HP's guaranteed in dynoJet!</TD></TR></TABLE>
that is true, but the gain isn't significant enough to make a noticable difference (it will barely be 10:1)

dan89crxsi

yeah i agree that if you can find everything you need for good prices than it may be worth it and also I strongly agree that buying the vtec ecu is the best way to go. I used a rpm activating switch cause im cheap and it was definately a waste of money because i eventually bought the ecu anyway for better performance and about the timing gear for some reason i could not get my timing to be on after the head swap so I opted for a cam gear for easier and more convenient tuning. My main point of my posts was to say exactly what you said that for your time and money i dont think the power gains you will get are worth it

94dxcivicriblack

i just did the mini me swap today and the ideal kinda crappy and i go to drive it and i give it gas and it take a long time to get going would the hafe a tooth of do that

ddd4114

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94dxcivicriblack &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">would the hafe a tooth of do that </TD></TR></TABLE>
yes

dan89crxsi

thats why i got the aem true time gear it helped fix my timing problem alot easier

minime-civic

id defineately go with the mini swap, i didit and they are supposed to be faster then the vtec motor any ways, i say go

Syndacate

Mini.

slowSOHCvtec

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCejcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mini me on y7 IS a y8. the blocks are identical. the only difference is the head.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats wrong too, the y8 vtec block is balanced