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I've been thinking of modifying my stock hatch. Two years and eight months ago I installed a reman motor and reman 5 spd tranny. I was planing on using it as a daily but I recently got a newer vehicle. Now this thing becomes my toy. I am thinking of making it a fast toy. I need your valuable inputs!
B20 swap sounds like a good idea. JDM B20 are cheap and accessible . But looks like it requires custom mounts and B series tranny. And it also needs GSR shift linkage, manifold, etc. Too much part sourcing process.
D16 with turbo is probably my best bet, turbo kit should be readily available, D16 should bolt right on to EF chassis without mods, my current tranny should also bolt right on to D16 motor. How to get a decent D16? Maybe get a D16 motor from junk yard and rebuild it with forged rods? What specific D16 should I be looking for? D16Y8? How to modify the wiring? Where can I find wiring schematics for my stock 91 EF? It's throttle body injection, I need to convert to port injection. What ECU to use? Get a hondata?
Any idea? My goal is to have a reliable street EF hatch with 200 - 300 HP. Must be able to make long trips (say running for 2 hrs continuously with no issues). Budget is around 2000 bucks.
The only way to make it fast is to swap it. Turbo D is a lot of money (think 5k for a decent kit/tuning/etc) to max out at maybe 250hp on a stock engine.
B series would is the most economical swap if you want more torque and a better transmission.
You'd 'feel' a lot faster and you'd easily be able to turbocharge it (spending that same amount of 5k or so) and net you a safe 350hp.
That's plenty quick with the right gearing and tuning.
Easier to build the engine and go even faster as well.
B18 or B20 swap first and it will be fast. Then turbo that later when you get bored. The swap is really not hard at all, and every step of the process is well documented.
B18 or B20 swap first and it will be fast. Then turbo that later when you get bored. The swap is really not hard at all, and every step of the process is well documented.
A turbo D series will be faster/ lighter than a B swap.
Look into ebay turbos.
Supposedly the d16a6 bottom end is the strongest, with a y8 head,
Perobably best ti just get a complete y8 swap. convert to obd1 for tunability
Sorry but I have to strongly disagree with everything said above.
Of course a turbo D can be faster than an N/A B series. Let's compare apples to apples though.
If you're going to do a swap, why swap an inferior engine? If you're going to invest in a turbo kit, why turbo an inferior engine?
JUST SAY NO to ebay turbos. Waste of time and money.
I have owned a stock D16Y8 car, turbo D16Y8, and a turbo B18C. The stock D was completely gutless. Turbo D was fun, and torquey off the line, but it is no comparison whatsoever to the turbo B. It might have kept up for about 0.5 seconds, then the turbo B would've blown the doors off of it, and kept pulling for another 3000rpm past the point where the D fell on it's face.
Sorry but I have to strongly disagree with everything said above.
Of course a turbo D can be faster than an N/A B series. Let's compare apples to apples though.
If you're going to do a swap, why swap an inferior engine? If you're going to invest in a turbo kit, why turbo an inferior engine?
JUST SAY NO to ebay turbos. Waste of time and money.
I have owned a stock D16Y8 car, turbo D16Y8, and a turbo B18C. The stock D was completely gutless. Turbo D was fun, and torquey off the line, but it is no comparison whatsoever to the turbo B. It might have kept up for about 0.5 seconds, then the turbo B would've blown the doors off of it, and kept pulling for another 3000rpm past the point where the D fell on it's face.
I totally agree with the above statement.
If you are on a budget I would just buy a b16 or LS swap, but for 2k making 200+ hp is nearly out of the question if you want the car reliable.
I'm saying for a budget a turbo D can get a lot more done than a NA B swap.
OP said he was up for forged internals and such so how is it an inferior engine. besides being smaller displacement.
If the car already had an engine that could make some power with a frugally sourced turbo kit, then sure. I actually turboed my first D series for about $2,500, by buying a homemade kit from someone on a forum that they had already put together for the same engine and chassis.
BUT
This car needs a swap anyway. So swap in a B series and call it a day, and you'll have much more room to grow further down the road. I would even argue that for $2k you'd be more likely to get everything you needed for a B18 or B20b swap than you would be to get everything for even a cheap and shitty turbo kit for the D.
I'm saying for a budget a turbo D can get a lot more done than a NA B swap.
OP said he was up for forged internals and such so how is it an inferior engine. besides being smaller displacement.
This option would require a ton of downtime, it would also be unreliable.
I have gone down this road before, and let me tell you what I have learned. If you have a healthy z6/y8 (Upgrades would be ARP head studs, and a good clutch) you can turbo it, and run 12's pretty easy. However for it to be reliable your talking about buying a s300 ($600) along with finding good high-quality cheap turbo parts. The FMIC piping is especially hard on an EF so that's going to be hard to find.
You can have a ton of fun in a EF with a B18/B20 with B16 gearing, it will scoot.
If he is going to rebuild that D15 turd that is in the car he could easily spend a quarter or half of his budget on machine work to rebuild a junk engine. The machine work cost the same, they don't care if its a B/D/K engine.
My goal is to have a reliable street EF hatch with 200 - 300 HP. Must be able to make long trips (say running for 2 hrs continuously with no issues). Budget is around 2000 bucks.
Nobody has addressed your last few sentences here. You're asking for fast, cheap, and reliable - of which you can only have two. While I won't sit here and tell you what is impossible, I highly doubt you'll be able to get over 200 HP from your car and keep it reliable for around $2,000. If you want it to feel faster than it currently does, I would MPFI / OBD1 swap with a custom harness, put in a D16Z6, and find a cable D-series Si transmission and put it in. That should keep you from having to worry about a lot of ancillary parts like mounts and shift linkages - everything should bolt right up. Spend some of your money freshening up the engine. If there's enough money left over, replace your shocks and suspension bushings.
I dont think an engine swap is going to happen for 2k.
Just go with a z6 or y8 head upgrade. That will get you mpfi, vtec, and odb1. Everything you'll need for a swap later on anyway. Plus you'll pick up a pretty noticeable amount of power.
dohc zc will be best option.
You save some bucks that you can reinvest in good light wheels and suspension components.
130 hp feels plenty for such a light car.
And some light wheels and tires does wonders.
Can keep current tranny and get a 7 lb fidanza flywheel and good clutch in there. Uses the same mounts so just fill them with window weld and you got a real fun light torquey car
Junkyard b20 will always be cheaper and more reliable than a turbo d. Dohc zc is not an easily available swap and uses parts non interchangeable with other d series. Find a cable b16 trans and you'll be satisfied with how quick it is and spend way less.
dohc zc will be best option.
You save some bucks that you can reinvest in good light wheels and suspension components.
130 hp feels plenty for such a light car.
And some light wheels and tires does wonders.
Can keep current tranny and get a 7 lb fidanza flywheel and good clutch in there. Uses the same mounts so just fill them with window weld and you got a real fun light torquey car
DOHC ZC is too old (parts hard to find) and has a horrible performing intake manifold.
And you're right 130hp feels great. But 140tq out of of a b20 would feel even better.
06-18-2018, 05:47 PM
How to make a stock 91 EF hatch fast?
