danno33

HEy i have an old 88 civic hach and i wanted to put a 1.5 JDM sohc vtec in, but just dont know which one to get.

SO far its between two engines, the D15b 92-95 sohc vtec, or the D15b 96-00 sohc 3 stage vtec. The price is similar between these two but i cant make up my mind. They are both the same HP but the "3 stage" seems to have the same power at higher RPM's, and is better on gas as well. So is this my best choice here or should i be looking more for teh d16 sohc vtec? But i want a full out JDM motor and i was told that the D16 sohc vtecs are a hybrid of usdm & JDM. So i am confused, but i want the best JDM sohc vtec engine i can buy that wont be a hassle to put in.

Also, which is the best D-series transmission? I want a nice short gear ratio, but dont know which is the best to use either.

and is this going to be an easy swap, will the 96-00 d15b fit in my car in original mounts, shift linkage and axles?

Thanks guys!!

Dan




Modified by danno33 at 12:04 PM 11/1/2006

VRD^sam

i didn't know that the 96-00 civics came in d15's? but i would swap in a D16z6 with a D16a6 tranny...

Bense

Don't bother with the obd2 3stage. It's a nightmare to find the ecu.

if you're a 88-91 car, best simple solution is a 88-91 si trans.

The power differences between a d15b, d16z6, and d16y8 are so minute that it is not worth making your decision off of this.

If you use your 1988 trans, it has a different spline count on the input shaft (where the clutch goes) If you use a 90+ engine with a 1988 trans you'll need to use a 85-87 Prelude Si/86-89 Accord clutch disc (21 spline, 212mm).

cxca64

d15with a 90-91 si tranny. and if you could find a 5 speed jdm zc tranny that would be ideal for a d series setup

danno33

so i should get a tranny above 90 to have less problems? Does the 90-91 Si trannies have short gears? thanks for the reply guys i think im goin d15b. DO i need to change mounts, axles, or shift linkage? probably not cause its all d-series right?

What ecu should i go with? OBD1 conversion with p28?

How will this engine do in my 88 civic hach. THink its peppy enough? i wanna reach at least low 15's stock. think its possible?

Bense

mounts, axles, linkage is the same.

jdm zc tranny has a taller final drive than the si trans (less ideal)

**** the midshaft and equal length axles. It's not worth the hastle of hybrid axles.

Stock for stock, the ZC gearing is nearly identical to the stock Si gearing.

danno33

SO i could go zc or si tranny, just as long as its above 90? maybe i should trade my 88 trans in for a rebuild 90-91 trans. I dont want to go out and buy an old 1990 tranmission and hope it doesnt grind. either way im gonna be putting a new clutch in but i want a tranny that will last long. So maybe i should pay a few more bucks and get a rebuild one...ANyone know where i can find one? are they expensive to get rebuilt?

Bense

where are you located

danno33

im in toronto...what if i bought an old 90 transmission for about $200, and got that rebuilt, would it be less than a grand?

Bense

yes. try giving Mista Bone a pm

Timberland237

i'm in quebec i have a d15b vtec with harness and tranny and ecu and headers on it only 50K, putting a b18c in my civic 93 so if you want it i would hook you up, like 400$ you deal with shipping? let me know i will be posting it on ebay very shortly, i have some pics i could email you.

pretty much everything you need

B18C5-EH2

First of all your 88 Civic only has two fuel injectors, which is called dual point fuel injection, or DPFI for short. Every SOHC VTEC engine has 4 injectors which is called Multi-Point fuel injection, or MPFI for short. This conversion in itself is somewhat of a pain in the ***, so I'd check out http://www.rywire.com for one of their harnesses to convert your DPFI to MPFI first and foremost.

Secondly your car is pre-OBD and has completely different plugs on nearly every sensor on the engine from any SOHC VTEC engine, and the distributors pose problems too unless you do a complete OBD1 conversion also through http://www.rywire.com with one of their harnesses.

So which engine?

Honestly get a ZC VTEC. It is a 1992-1995 SOHC VTEC engine rated at about 125hp. It is OBD1 and would be the "easiest" of the swaps and because it's already 1.6L it will have extra torque that the D15B VTEC lacks. Some people swear by the D15B VTEC but IMO I'll stick with a 1.6L any day because of that extra bit of torque down low.

The 3 stage VTEC engine will posr more wiring/sensor issues because it's closer to an OBD2 electronics system in terms of the sensors it has, etc. and IMO is too much of a pain to deal with in an 88 hatch.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, which is the best D-series transmission? I want a nice short gear ratio, but dont know which is the best to use either.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Build a hybrid tranny like I did for my 1991 hatch.

Find a 88-91 Si transmission. Find a JDM DOHC ZC transmission. Swap in the 1-4 gears from the ZC tranny into the Si case and keep the Si final drive, 5th gear, and differential, so this way you get to keep your stock axles. You see the ZC had the shortest gears themselves, but a tall-*** final drive. The Si had tall-*** gears, but a short final drive. Combine the two and you have a tranny that rips through gears 1-4, yet has 5th gear rpm and fuel economy of a stock 88-91 Si tranny.

Keep in mind when you upgrade your tranny you'll need to swap out your front spindles and axles if you have a 4-speed Civic STD model. Some 88 Dx models may require the switch too because the stock spindles are too small where the outer Cv joint fits in, and STD axles won't fit into the diff of an Si tranny.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and is this going to be an easy swap, will the 96-00 d15b fit in my car in original mounts, shift linkage and axles?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Again stick with 92-95 IMO, and the swap will bolt in for the most part, but the timing side engine mount will be tweaked slightly because the mount braket that bolts to the block is at a slightly different angle on 92-up SOHC engines. It definately works though.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks guys!!

Dan</TD></TR></TABLE>

No problem, and also keep in mind this is the 92-up Civic forum, not the 88-91 forum - you would get better answers from the EF forum next time. I just happen to be an EF and EG guy, so...

Bense

I believe all of that may be too much for him to swallow initially.