newbee21

i just recently bought a 2000 honda civic with several aftermarket mods and was wonder where i find information on how to take care of them and things i can do to ensure maxium performance and long life, some of these include:

i just wanted to get an opion if these things were good or crap or either and what i could do to make my car is its full potential
turbot3/t4
intercooler
racing cat
bbk highflow fuel pump
front and rear camber kits
kico struts
obx springs
apex controller
ipt fuel injectors,throttlebody,fuel rail
blitz waste gate
cold air kit

EGmikeH22

that thing is a potential time bomb.

since you are new, listen real close.

most of your stuff is great or just a brand preference

the apex though, is it a VAFC, SACF, AVC-R?

what kind of engine managment?
what ECU?
how much boost?

If it is a VAFC, you really need to get your ECU chipped if it is not, and have it tuned professionally if you don't have the time to learn how.

respond quick, i'll get right back (at work till 9)

ROK801

hope you have some deep pockets.
drive like a grandma until you know how to tune that car...
if not, find someone asap and get them to check the car over for you.

what engine are you running?
b16a2?
(stock?)

kaiba

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by newbee21 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
turbot3/t4
intercooler
racing cat
bbk highflow fuel pump
front and rear camber kits
kico struts
obx springs
apex controller
ipt fuel injectors,throttlebody,fuel rail
blitz waste gate
cold air kit</TD></TR></TABLE>

newbee21

damn, i honestly didn't think i would get a response so quick, the apex is a vafc hte engine is a D16y8

i have a reciept from the last time it was tuned, and it was about 3 years ago, do i need to tune it agian, and your saying not to drive hard until i do

newbee21

how would i find out what kind of ecu it has and how much boost?

huntarrr

oh god, please tell me there's a boost gauge in the car....

mike93eh

ditch the apexi and get some new form of fuel management and get it tuned. until then its a walking time bomb

Setsuna F Seiei

werd up, ditch that VAFC, although d-series are cheap nowadays, you might wanna avoid definite problems in the future. Don't get me wrong, some people have had success with the VAFC's but i nthe long run a properly tuned car will outlast that piggyback controller

newbee21

can i drive it nice and easy until i get it into the shop without worry that the ticking time bomb will blow?

AbitAvenger

just take it easy on it and you should be fine until its tuned

nstabl

its not gonna blow up on you out of no where. tuned 3 years ago, haha that statement is wrong in so many ways. begining with DID THE CAR EVEN HAVE A TURBO 3 YEARS AGO, how much has changed since then lol! anyway, a nice lil tune and engine mgmnt its gon b coo. where u from?

EGmikeH22

yo, here you go man

if you know anything about cars you'll totally understand this

the VAFC alters the MAP sensor reading, tells the ECU there is more or less air pressure than there really is, so your ECU will throw more or less fuel than it thinks you need. If you do need more fuel or less fuel its easy to tune, you just fake it into thinking there is more air.

BUT

timing is affected by the change in MAP as well, and people usually only fuel tune (wideband) so you have no idea where the timing is, and ESPECIALLY * 7million with boost

think of it this way, you're at full boost (say 7PSI)
MAP tells VAFC the pressure is 7PSI, VAFC intercepts signal and tells the ECU there is 9PSI, ECU throws enough fuel for what it thinks is 9PSI, then ***** with timing for what it thinks should happen at 9 PSI

you have no way of telling where this fuel curve is, or where this ignition curve is.

what you need to do is sell the VAFC for about 175-200
buy a P28 ECU that is chipped for about 125 (it'll come with chips etc)
download a program called crome or uberdata from here http://www.pgmfi.org
buy a chip burner like they recommend from several different places

GET A WIDEBAND!!!! for about $300
then let crome or uberdata do the ignition maps, and start ******* with the fuel only to get about 12.5:1 at full boost

READ MORE
baby the **** out of the car
get a boost gauge / controller if you don't have one

to check the ECU its in the passenger kick panel, there is a white sticker on the side and the middle big numbers should say P06 or P28

you should also have a strange looking wire extender for every wire going into the ECU, this would allow you to run an OBD1 ecu (92-95 civic or integra)
but you probably just have the stock wiring harness plugging into an OBD2 ECU, so you'll have to get the conversion harness.


the only alternative to doing it all yourself is hondata. you still have to get the boost gauge, and the ECU harness, and the ECU. But you can get on hondata.com and they will sell you a chipped ECU, and send you to someone who can tune it for reals.

good ******' luck man, that thing can be so much more hella fast than it is now if its tuned as **** as well as all the safety we're talkin' about.

EG6_GUY

Just a little advice:

Make sure the car is secure first (switches, autolock, alarm, concrete slab and thick-*** chain)!! You won't have to worry about tuning the car if the guy you bought it from uses his spare key to steal and strip it.

He knows where you live and he knows what mods are on the car. So do his friends. Trust me...this happens! R.I.P. Yellow Fever.

Hyjnx

if u dont know anything about what u have u shouldnt own ur car!

undertheradar

That makes a ton of sense.

Obviously the car is running (and from the sound of it WAS running before he bought it. I see no problem with him driving it till he can get to a reputable shop to take a look at it.

vc

if u wanted ur car to run at maxium performance /w long lasting life... i suggest u buy a volvo or something... with u having all that u want.. ur car wont last long

u are one crazy guy with either **** loads of money or just some kid wasting peoples time

HATCHingMN

post some pics

newbee21

thanks a lot for all the advice, some of you guys are really helpful others, well your just .... to the guy who said it wasnt tuned 3 years ago, maybe your right and the receipt i have from nrg performance dated 03/26/02 is an elaborate scheme i came here for advice not respect...EGmike thanks alot what you said made a lot of sense(from what i could understand) i;ll get some pics out soon

also, the car is lowered, does that help it perform becasue if not id rather have it raised becasue its kinda a pain in the ***

it does have a boost gage and a air/fuel mix gage i really dont know what im looking at when they move , i try to always shift before the boost gage goes above 0 to avoid prolbems and the air/fuel mix gage just sort of blinks and flashes a bunch of colors

newbee21

for reg maintinence should i take it to a honda dealer or to a shop that specializes in performance parts, becasue the honda mech didnt seem to know a whole lot about any of the aftermarket stuff

undertheradar

Definitely find a good shop near you (preferably with a dyno) and have them give it a once over.

EGmikeH22

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by undertheradar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That makes a ton of sense.

Obviously the car is running (and from the sound of it WAS running before he bought it. I see no problem with him driving it till he can get to a reputable shop to take a look at it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

every car that has ever blown up was running right before it blew the **** up
you are a retard and i feel bad for everyone who knows you

As far as the thread, the air/fuel gauge lights
red = lean = dangerous
green = rich = safe

The boost gauge tells you how much pressure or boost your turbo is pushing, higher PSI = mor epower added = more dangerous (for now)

As far as it being lowered, you could surely get someone to trade you some stock springs for what you have, you'll have more bodyroll in the turns with stock springs, but with the shocks it will ride real nice if you don't mind it looking all jacked up in the air.

From what I can understand about what you know and are willing to spend, i'd take the car to a performance shop that HONDATA can recommend near you on their website, and get the whole thing done by them. They can sell you a chipped ECU, install it, and fully tune it for less than a grand, it'll take a few hours, and your car will be running safely and at its full potential. Also you won't have to change anything until you buy more parts that would affect performance, but you can always take it back and they can retune the ECU that you bought.

I don't know what the HT community is flaming all over this guy, he seems to be quite literate, friendly, and inquisitive. What more could you ask for from a new member with some moeny to spend. **** his car might have only cost like $9k!

Quit being *****, he skipped some building stages and is asking about the knowledge that would come from blowing his **** up all the time like some of us do (me). I could have saved thousands if i'd have done it like this guy, but I didn't and i'm going to help him out.

So quit bitching and help him out, he could have just bought an S2000 or something and been a real dumbass for not having a civic.

undertheradar

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGmikeH22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">every car that has ever blown up was running right before it blew the **** up
you are a retard and i feel bad for everyone who knows you
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Oh....thats right......every single well maintained and running car just magically "blows up". Give me a break.

Was that directed at me? I hope not since I was the one telling the morons saying that his car was going to blow up if he drives it were wrong. Oh....thats right......every single well maintained and running car just magically "blows up". Give me a break. How the **** do they know? For all we know the thing could have been babied and is completely user friendly. Not everyone installs half *** turbos running 20psi on stock internals.

Oh, but wait...I'm retarded and everybody that knows me should feel ashamed? Rrrrrrigght. Try growing up a little.

EGmikeH22

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGmikeH22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">every car that has ever blown up was running right before it blew the **** up
</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by undertheradar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh....thats right......every single well maintained and running car just magically "blows up". Give me a break.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think you read that in the wrong order, i said every car that blows up was running right, not every car that's running right blows up. And yes, I meant that you [undertheradar] are retarded.

You [undertheradar] made that up like my girlfriend makes **** up then yells at me about it. You just showed the logic of a 19 year old girl.

A turbo honda with a VAFC as the only tuning is not well maintained, everyone can agree on this.

Newbee21, what is the highest reading you've seen on the boost gauge?
Have you checked hondata.com to see if they have any dealers in your area, don't forget that you can sell the VAFC to help pay for hondata!

undertheradar

Now you just sound like an idiot. I know more than a few boosted motors that had initial tuning done and have ran perfectly for years.

I'm not saying this is the case, but we have no idea either way from the info posted.

Since you're the one that wants the e-wisdom award.....you got it. Congrats.