Hey guys. I've been on the board for a while, and I look around in here from time to time. I've been trying to find out about motor swaps for my 88 civic dx, but I'm having a little trouble due to the fact that their are so many. I've read up on mini-me's, but I don't like the idea of running a high compression motor for a daily driver (regular gas is expensive enough). I've also seen B16 and B18 swaps around too, but the price of these motors is outragous when compared to the price to performance gains.

What I'm wondering is, are there any cheaper motor swaps that will add decent power, that I can run cheap gas in, AND have it be reliable and solid?

The questions continue...

While adding more power with the new motor and basic bolt-on performance parts, I will need to slow the car down better. Are there any factory Honda brakes that are an upgrade for my car? Disks, bigger?

Lastly, for now, I would like to see people's opinion on suspension upgrades. This question might be better for the road race section, but I'll ask anyway. This car is my daily driver, but it will be running the occasional auto-x on the weekend. So basically I want to make the car comfortable enough for driving to school and work, but increase the cars handling abilities enough to have fun.

Alright everyone, that should be enough questions for now. I would like to say to those who leave helpful information, thank you in advance.

 

Since you already said this is a daily driver and you still want it comfortable and cheap...here's my thoughts.

Stay d-series as far as the engine goes. Personally, I would go with a non-vtec engine from a newer car (such as D16Y7) for a fresh foundation. Do an MPFI swap with a better intake manifold than the D16A6 (88-91 CRX or Civic Si.) If you can afford it, I would go ahead and buy a Si transmission and new axles (since they are usually needed in our cars.) Now you have an Si that will be lighter and with the same power and gear ratios.

Brakes: Second Generation integra is the easiest answer usually. That is unless you stumble upon an Si with disc brakes in the rear. Your front brakes are the same as the Si model's. Personally, I would upgrade the front brake lines first and foremost.

Suspension: Do yourself one favor and don't go too cheap on suspension. If I had a choice of adjustable springs OR adjustable shocks, it would be the shocks. The only reason I would have adjustable springs is if I wanted to chage the springs out for stiffer spring rates without alot of hassle. Again, jmo I would say get lowering springs with AGX's or Illumina's.

I'm tired now

 

Here's what I did with my beater.

Engine=SOHC VTEC D16Z6, D16Y8 intake manifold, OBD1 conversion, P28 ECU, AEM intake off of my CRX(made for a 99-00 Si), moved battery to trunk to make room for previous mod, 2.25" custom made exhaust. Runs cheap gas and with my DX tranny gets 36-44mpg, Si tranny will accellerate allot beter, but the mileage will be less.

Brakes=90-91 Civic EX front spindles and brakes(https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1003573), not done yet but on the to do list, 90-93 Integra trailling arms, 89 Prelude Si Master Cylinder, and stainless lines. Our brakes suck on our cars do this mod soon.More brake and suspension info herehttp://home.wideopenwest.com/%7Etschmidt/index.htm

Suspension=First and foremost ST rear sway bar, best suspension mod for our cars IMO, a good set of coilovers(Ground Control, Skunk2), I have Skunkworks(old skool Skunk2), I need, but you should get, new adjustable struts AGXes are out of the question unless you want to change your rear LCAs because they don't make struts for an '88 and your LCAs are better anyway, I would get Koni Yellows, but if on a budget get the Tokicos, or check out omnipower.com they got a kick *** complet coilover set up for about $700, this is what I'm doing on my CRX for next year. If not using a shortend shock body check the obove website on travel mods, I did this and love it, a must on a lowered EF. A set of poly suspension bushings is a good idea too.

Good luck my friend, and if you need any help IM me.

 

Thank you for the helpful information and links guys. It's greatly appreciated. CRXbart- I will IM you with some questions as soon as I can. Thanks agian guys.


Please, by all means, keep the information coming. I would love to see more opinions.

 

I also wanted to add, for people who are using this advice for themselves, that the omni power website is different. It's http://www.omnipowerusa.com the other one is a sex site. Go figure...

 

my bad dude. your right omnipowerusa.com

 

Right now I'm looking through the engine swap guide on http://www.ef-honda.com and I have an idea. Using a USDM D16A6. The swap itself seems very straight forward and easy. This motor's output is rated at 108 hp @6,000 rpm and 100 lb-ft @5,000 rpm.

Since I am playing around with this idea, I have some questions. What modifications could I do to this motor to get a little more power out of it, outside the basic exhaust upgrade? Are there any OEM honda parts that are interchangable that would add power?

What I want to do with this motor is keep it simple. I want stay away from in-depth tuning and I want to be able to run regular gas in the motor.

So in saying that, I need some ideas and opinions.

*EDIT* I also need to know if there are any downsides to upgrading the cam? I found this thread on aftermarket cam specs for the D16A6- https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=427814 I also found threads that suggested upgrading the intake manifold I believe. There was mention of a GSR and a Y something? Could I get some help/clarification on this?




Modified by libila at 9:34 AM 10/4/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by libila &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Right now I'm looking through the engine swap guide on http://www.ef-honda.com and I have an idea. Using a USDM D16A6. The swap itself seems very straight forward and easy. This motor's output is rated at 108 hp @6,000 rpm and 100 lb-ft @5,000 rpm.

Since I am playing around with this idea, I have some questions. What modifications could I do to this motor to get a little more power out of it, outside the basic exhaust upgrade? Are there any OEM honda parts that are interchangable that would add power?

What I want to do with this motor is keep it simple. I want stay away from in-depth tuning and I want to be able to run regular gas in the motor.

So in saying that, I need some ideas and opinions.

*EDIT* I also need to know if there are any downsides to upgrading the cam? I found this thread on aftermarket cam specs for the D16A6- https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=427814 I also found threads that suggested upgrading the intake manifold I believe. There was mention of a GSR and a Y something? Could I get some help/clarification on this?


Modified by libila at 9:34 AM 10/4/2004</TD></TR></TABLE>


Yes the manifold you are speaking of is the D16Y8 I'm running that setup on my beater. It comes off of the 96-00 Civic EX. If you can afford a little more I would go with the SOHC VTEC like I did. I actually got mine from a local yard for $150 with the Y8 manifold too. Keep your eye out there are deals to be had. If you go with bigger cams in a non-vtec you will lose fuel economy, granted it might get you up to the 125 mark the SOHC VTEC has, or even surpass it. Your mileage will suffer. The only other mod I know of using stock Honda parts is the P29 pistons out of a 92-95 CX the wrist pin location is 3mm down from most other d-series, and will equate to a 12:1 comp. ratio in a Z6, but then your running 93 octane . I actually plan on doing this because the milage will still be good, so hey why not. Hope this helps. I don't want to seem to be trying to persuade you to not do your intial idea, I just know what I would do. 108 is weak.

 

well this is the direction i went with my rex.

motor- high comp mini me
suspension- illuminas with adustable springs
brakes- still stock but will upgrade someday.

the only thing i would change with my setup is i would of got a better coilover system.

 

if you'r going through the trouble of pulling your motor and puttin in a new one do yourself a favor and just get a b16,18, or 18c. there's really no reason to mess around with finding all those parts to put together a n/a low comp single cam when its still going to be slow. dont get me wrong i love built single cams, but it costs a hell of a lot more to go that route then just dropping in the b16. i only spent 4k on my 88 dx w/b16a1 thats car, motor and everthing i needed to put it in, granted i dont have all the extras like a whole new brake setup, but it was easy as pie to put in the motor, the wiring harness is the only challanging part. in conlcusion the b16 is it for your base. peace.

ps. i know this is not the forum, but bartcrx voting for bushcheney may be the only way to make this country more fascist than it already is.

 

Biglebowskicivic- If I was going to spend $4,000 on a car, I would have kept my 2g dsm. What I want for this car is to improve some of the stock aspects, without spending alot of money. I will be upgrading to bigger/better brakes first.

I plan on driving this car for a long time, so I want to make it comfortable and fun to drive. I'm not looking to build a race car.