Well, you won't find it in this thread, amigo. I don't have VTEC. I don't want VTEC, or anything to do with VTEC. VTEC is the devil...

 

Oh man.. Am I happier than a pig in **** right now. Not only did I score a non VTEC ZC engine today for 120 bucks, I also discovered that the B7 engine I have been running in my EG is topped with an A6 head..
A6 head stamp
My upcoming turbo build has just gotten WAY more exciting.. To be continued..

 

Build list ordered! Parts should start arriving within a week..
CX Racing Complete kit, T3/T04E .60 ar exhaust .63 a/r turbine
Omni Power 2.5 bar map sensor
rebuilt Bosch 440cc injectors
Nippon PG6 pistons with NPR rings
King main and rod bearings
Maxpeeding rods H-beams
ARP head and rod bolts
Speed Daddy polyurethane motor mounts

Can't wait!!

 

So I goofed a little bit.. PG6 pistons aren't going to work for me. I forgot I had changed a couple measurements in the compression calculator and didn't change them back **facepalm**. Not a problem though, the seller understands and will gladly issue a refund. I took a measurement of the current P2C piston and it it boasts a 27mm height measured from pin center to piston deck. Leaves me with VERY few options that don't include your run-of-the-mill direct replacements. I have found absolutely ZERO information on this particular piston that answers any of my questions about any of it, so all that is left for me is to give it the old college try and see how they hold up to boost. I am going to take them to a machine shop for inspection to find out if they are suitable for reuse, and cleanup if they are. Besides some icky carbon buildup, they look to be in very nice shape physically; not marred, gouged, pitted, etc.. I have read horror stories on stock Honda pistons and bad ringlands and I have also read many stories involving long lasting 200+whp on stock D internals. I will honestly be overjoyed if I am in the realm of 200hp to the flywheel.. Seems it all boils down to "hit or miss". Anywho.. Guess I can just reinvest the cash from the pistons to a higher flowing fuel pump.

 

Thats an awesome seller.

 

All parts in except the injectors. Those should be in today.
I went with 320cc and a walbro 190 pump.
I have been so far unsuccessful in finding any info on the pistons that were in the D15B block. Took them to a machine shop for cleaning and such, they turned out perfect. I asked also if he could remove them from the rods and he gave me a disclaimer that he may not be able to do so without damaging the piston. I stopped him right there and said nevermind. He told me they would be fine to use again if I replace the rod bearings. He even said the piston rings themselves were every bit of perfect.
Still having limited info on the rods and pistons in this thing, I broke out the micrometer and one by one began measuring.
I compared my findings to the charts and found I needed a mix of bearing colors. Couple green, couple blue, a brown, a red. Ordered from the Honda stealership here in town.. 180 plus tax.. I guess it beats ordering 2 or 3 sets of ACL or Kings to get the right sizes. Less money and time spent=happier me.
Gonna toss the turbo setup on the B7 and test some limitations while I rebuild the bottom end of that unsolved JDM mystery. My current guess is that I destroy my head gasket in 3 days... My next day off to accomplish ANY work will be next Monday. Sigh..

 

 

And first real issue hit... Oil feed line is a bit too tall to get threaded onto the plate.. This is gonna take a minute to figure out.. sigh..

 

So a year and some change in, any RAGRETS?

 

Nope. None. This marks 2 years now and the turbo install is in progress. Lol!

 

So I panicked. It happens. After I burned an hour and change trying to find some fittings to make this work, I turn up with No. Help. At. All.. I spaced ENTIRELY playing around with clocking the exhaust and compressor housings, but, this was my answer. My feed and drain are not perfectly at 12 and 6 but they are still good enough for positive drain. I am however going to order a proper feed line so I feel safer.

The boost project is back underway!!

 

So I found out that a D15B oil pan will not fit on a D15B7. I tried for over an hour and the holes would not line up at all. This was a problem since I already welded the only oil return bung I had. No biggie, that's what an angle grinder is for, right? Yup. Fucked that oil pan to pieces BUT, I got the bung out. However, I managed to strike the threads on the bung.. Sigh.. Ran to the O'Reiley's and grabbed a 1/2" heater hose nipple and proceeded to drill my B7 pan. Got that welded on and placed, then the damn oil sending unit wanted to be a bitch. It was already well into dark hours and I had started this whole thing at 4 yesterday morning. Decided it was time to throw in the towel. All remaining is vacuum, oil feed, injectors and fuel pump.

So.. My take on the CX kit.. Overall, not bad. The intercooler and pipes are about the only thing to fit perfectly. I am really impressed by this. I had to grind a bit off the manifold flange as it was hitting the power steering bracket juuuussst enough to keep it from lining up. Took it down about 1/8" and perfect fit. The downpipe is my largest concern now. It is not in any way going to connect to my exhaust. 1- it is pointed about 10 degrees toward the driver side, and about 15 degrees downsloped. looks like a cut and reweld is in order. I don't have a tig so I will have to outsource this and the only exhaust shop near me wanted 250 dollars to install an aftermarket muffler on my wife's old Mazda 6. I can't imagine what they will want for some mild fab work.. Sigh..
Anywho.. With the few small concerns seen so far, I am still happy with my choice. Many kits like this will require some form of modification to fit perfectly, ESPECIALLY if you're installing them in an already modified setup. I am still lightly concerned about the feed/drain orientation but I'm probably being TOO weary. Feed is still at the top, drain is still at the bottom. I should relax just a little.. lol

 

Woohoo! The monster lives! The downpipe was a BIG problem. Sigh. I finished it all up this morning and when I let the car down, the rear-most flange was dragging the ground. I was on a TIGHT time crunch today too. Still had about 90 minutes before I needed to leave. Ok, no problem. Took a look and made a couple quick measurements... Dropped the pipe, cut, adjusted, welded. Bam.. Remounted and then realized that my O2 sensor would be rubbing the axle. Sigh again. Had to work the **** out of the flex section to loosen it up enough to secure it outta the way. Done and done. Had just enough time to wash up, change clothes and head to first appointment. I walked through the door 1 minute before my time. Lol!
I took it easy on the drive; trying not to REALLY boost just yet, I don't have my boost gauge hooked up yet. Hit boost once on the road.. 2nd gear, about 4k rpm, turbo spooled the **** up and I left a good deal of my front tires on the pavement. All I need to install now is fuel pump, injectors, and boost gauge. Monitoring my A/F in Neptune ,I'm running a tad lean on the low end; right at or just below 15:1, and ok cruising at around 13. Get really lean, 16-18 if I try to goose it. So.. Staying nice with it for now..

 

So Saturday was a super shitty day. Started out heading to work and got about halfway there, car sputters and dies. Towed the car home and after a bit, determined my brand new fuel pump just crashed. Was running ok with the old one pre-installed. Started heading to work again, in a bit of a hurry this time and then the car REALLY said **** it..

 

I expected that to happen, just not so soon. Lol! Given that I have been having lots of difficulty locating items for the D15B, I'm going in another direction.. Picked up a Z6 for a good price. Ordered some Skunk2 alpha rods and some NPR PM6 pistons. ARP hardware. Gonna do this one proper. I'e had fun with the B7, but time to move on.


so I guess I'm on the Z6 bandwagon. Lol!