Binx18

My name is Brion (Binx has been my long time nickname) and I recently bought a 1995 Civic DX with a GSR swap. I've grown up on V8's and got tired of Camaro's. I've worked on plenty of DSM's (I live right by AMS) too. I also am an Apprentice Technician at a Chrysler dealership.

I'm pretty new to the Honda scene and as far as I have gathered it's a motor trans and ECU swap (plus I/E coilovers, wider tires and aftermarket rims). I went to the track the other week and became a very unhappy man. I'm running high 16's-low 17's and it's cutting me out at about 6500-7000RPM (It sounds/feels like hitting a rev limiter). My buddy also told me I was puffing out black smoke. The swap in this car isn't exactly the best swap i've seen...the wiring is bullshit (open connections just i.e.) and I'm thinking there lyes the problem. I also want to check out the timing. What kind of input could you guys give me? Has anyone else encountered a problem like this? Thanks

92slowcivic

cels? what ecu are you running? obd of engine?

Binx18

cels (check engine light i'm guessing? If so, no check engine light). I have the P72 ECU, and it's OBD1.

jasoncrashtech

i would have guessed that you were using a p28 from what it sounds like but a p72 would let the rpm's breeze lil over 8,000 rpm's. does the gsr still have the dual runner intake mani ? maybe the secondary's are the problem. even so that would not be your rev limit prob. have you tried using another ecu ? also honda tech is the perfect place to get info on a ecu pinout

Binx18

Yea from what I've gathered the GSR motor's power band is 4500-8200. Top end it feels like the car is jus draggin. I'm not sure if it has the dual runner intake manifold. I haven't tried a different ECU yet, i'm taking the car to this performance shop tomorrow. I'll post up an update tomorrow.

alacard

Yeah there could be a lot of things going on. But without more info we can't really be of much help. Let us know what you find out.

Binx18

I found solutions to some of the problems today. Due to my budget I only had a compression test and leakdown test done. Two of the cylinders are bad. The numbers weren't terrible but definately enough to harness the performance. That explains why I have some black smoke coming out (bad rings).

I'm going to go back later this week and plug in a different ECU and see if I still have my rev limit problem. This really sucks cause I won't have money for a rebuild for awhile...

Keeper1343

Honestly dude.... I would never buy a car that has been swapped over already unless i knew the person. You never know when you are gonna get a pre-f%cked motor. You should always start fresh to know what u have. You don't want some one elses problems.... no offense

Keeper1343

bump for a fella having problems

Binx18

Yea I'm really having big regrets buying this car. I don't know what I'm going to do with it now...damn it to hell for trying to do something new!

Timmyflys

don't give up lil hard work and youll be happy in the end

forcefedferio

just drive it nicely for a while til you save up enough money to rebuild it, think about it this way, you've already got the GSR swap so you're $3000 ahead of the game right there. Rebuilding it gives you a chance to learn alot more about it and most importantly gives you the oppurtunity to rebuild it better than it was before, now would be a good time to start thinking of what you want to do with the car whether it be N/A...dependable DD, or Forced Induction, which will help you decide what direction you want to take with the rebuild. good luck!

oh and good choice on leaving the v8 scene, nothing against v8's everyone likes some good old fashion power but the arrogant drivers that 90% of them are kill it for them like civics with giant aluminum wings kill it for us...i dunno just not my cup of tea i suppose.

Keeper1343

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by forcefedferio &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just drive it nicely for a while til you save up enough money to rebuild it, think about it this way, you've already got the GSR swap so you're $3000 ahead of the game right there. Rebuilding it gives you a chance to learn alot more about it and most importantly gives you the oppurtunity to rebuild it better than it was before, now would be a good time to start thinking of what you want to do with the car whether it be N/A...dependable DD, or Forced Induction, which will help you decide what direction you want to take with the rebuild. good luck!

oh and good choice on leaving the v8 scene, nothing against v8's everyone likes some good old fashion power but the arrogant drivers that 90% of them are kill it for them like civics with giant aluminum wings kill it for us...i dunno just not my cup of tea i suppose.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well said... Hats off to you. Could not have said it beter. And i am a firm believer that everyone should have a bad car once in their life. It gives them a chance like he said to learn something about motors. Good luck man

jasoncrashtech

the head is still good , ( no dropped valves ) and a gsr tranny is good gearing ( i think it's the best ratio's ) with this problem your having it could give you a clean start.

example........ spoon head gaskit will increase your 10:1:1 comp ratioto 10:7, new timing belt/water pump , rings.

nice street motor with alot of miles to give. keep pimp'n

Binx18

man what'd I get myself into? lol...I talked with one of the salesman today at the dealership I work at about getting something else and selling the Civic. Now I read all these posts though and I want to keep it.

::sigh::

If I were to keep it, It'll be my DD no matter what, and I was interested in getting the Skunk2 Pro 1 or 2 cams (along with the Pro Series Int. Mani., TB). Could anyone give me a rough estimate for a rebuild? I would use the stock crank, get better rods and higher compression pistons. What compression would still get me decent gas mileage and a noticeable HP gain (i'm thiking 11:1?). It would save me a lot of money and trouble to keep it...

Binx18

allright I decided officially i'm going to keep it. A cute little red head in a cobalt diggin the car ( and me ; P) is to thank, lmao. I forgot how the car turns heads so well.

So again to my questions above^^^ who's got input?

jasoncrashtech

gsr's don't have a quench pad so the combustion champer has less volume and more compression so don't use type r piston's, if it's a us gsr ( b18c1 ) a higher compression piston that you'd want would be p72-00 ( jdm b18c gsr )

jdm gsr piston's have a higher dome. they also have same engine # as a jdm type r but are very different. rings are not bad to buy but that should be decided along with what you want to do with it

a spoon headgaskit is around 125 bucks, timing belt/ water pump 75-100, rings 100

these are prices off the top of my head , might be a little less but i can't be sure

finding p72-00 pistons will be something you'll need to look into , try h-tech market place. this is also prices if you do it your self

good luck and have fun.

forcefedferio

11:1 compression would be a real fun DD and you'd still be able to run pump gas with no problems, of course the premium fuel the GSR motor requires to begin with but pump gas nonetheless. Stuff like the cams (i'd recommend Crower Stage 2 Street/Strip cams, i have them in my turbo 4door and even though they are all-motor cams they respond really well in either aspect) with supertech valve springs and retainers to stop valve float while you're revvin that thing out, the Skunk2 manifold will really bring it to life being that the Skunk2 manifold shares the same geometry as an ITR manifold with a redesigned 4th intake runner for better flow, throw some 310cc injectors in it (RC makes good injectors) get it dyno tuned and you'll be set...

Binx18

Would you guys suggest using the stock rods? Also, does anyone else have input on cam choice? From building engines in the past I'm a believer of sticking mostly to one company (such as using all Skunk2 parts i.e.). From my experience the parts just work better together that way in my oppinion. As for numbers though, who puts out the highest numbers?

Keeper1343

Your kinda thinking about it wrong... Of course everybody wants the highest numbers, but ou have to come to terms that it is going to be a daily driver and not a race car in some aspects... And if you want to have the highest gains you better be willing to shell out some big bucks on parts..... Or you can just call alot of motor places and see if they can sell you a complete motor. That for me would be less of a hassle.

PROJECT_RACING

your better off building your own motor you cant depend on a motor that is already built even though its from a pro shop, your rather build it your self and knowing something breaks down you will know what you did wrong...building a all motor setup is what i recomend

del sol b18c

^^why the hell did you just bump this 2 week olf thread^^