Hey, I'd like to make my car a llittle stronger in horsepower. Little by little right now. My friend suggested to start with a cold-air intake, a better exhaust system, and a better muffler. The car feels too sluggish with the stock stuff. What would you guys suggest?

Also, I had a new timing belt installed in my car but at idle or really slow speeds I hear a little sound coming from the belt. A friend of mine mentioned that it might be the tensioner pulley but said that it might just need to brake in to the tension and the fact that it's a new timing belt. Any idea's? Any suggestions? Should i just let it brake in? And if so, how long? Thanks.

~SojournMystical

 

First off, what kind of car is this and what engine? You're not going to notice 30 hp increase with I/H/E additions, but it will help free things up a bit. Different cars respond differently though.

For the timing belt, did you do it yourself? You should double check the tension in the belt. Loosen the tensioner bolt, rotate the crankshaft 3 times counterclockwise by hand, then tighten the tensioner bolt again to spec. If a shop replaced it, check to see if they replaced the tensioner.

 

The vehicle that i'm currently talking about is a 1994 Honda Civic LX. The engine is the stock engine. So far, everything in that car is the stock components. I'm pretty sure that adding a better Cold-Air Intake and Exhaust system will allow it to breathe better. What would be the better additions for this car type in your opinion?

As far as the Timing Belt, I had a mechanic do it for me. He didn't change the Tensioner pulley. He only told me to change the Water Pump with the Timing Belt. Should i end up buying a new tensioner? Could this be an easy job to do by myself?

Thanks,
SojournMystical

 

with a stock '94 lx...everyone is going to tell you not to waste your money on i/h/e if you're going purely for performance...d series can't get the full potential out of bolt-ons like a b / h / k series can.

You're just gonna get alot of responses saying either boost the stock motor or swap for a DOHC.

good luck either way

 

You really don't need to swap a DOHC in, SOHC are not that bad.

I would do the normal and simple I/H/E, maybe look at getting the ZEX 59300 cam, definitely try and pick up a tranny from an EX (92-95 or 96-00 would bolt up fine, the 96-00 has steel shift forks which are a little bit stronger than the 92-95 ones), and start with that and see how you like it.

As far as the tensioner, replacing it would essentially be replacing the timing belt. You may not have to remove the crankshaft pulley, but you would have to slip the belt off of the tensioner and with the slack it would have it might slip off of the crankshaft sprocket and then you would be doing the same thing as replacing the timing belt. If you didn't feel comfortable, or don't now, replacing the timing belt, I wouldn't do. It's not that hard at all, get a Helms manual, some tools, and go at it slowly and you will be ok.

 

I spent over a grand on i/h/e and though my engine may breathe a little better, I wish I would've put that money into a swap or turbo kit. You can worry about i/h/e after you have a good base to stand on.

 

I say get some new muffler bearings and you're golden.

 

i'd say Hey, new exhaust system, new muffler or CAI, the CAI hrmm... it said give you around 15 to 20 ext hp, but then when it really go and check the hp for it.. it prob just give you around like 10 to 13 or not even like this HP.

or like what NorcalHB94 said... should be time for you to save up for a new toy...


-Thomas.K

 

on a d series...try more like 4-6 hp out of a cai.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tommykung &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'd say Hey, new exhaust system, new muffler or CAI, the CAI hrmm... it said give you around 15 to 20 ext hp, but then when it really go and check the hp for it.. it prob just give you around like 10 to 13 or not even like this HP.

or like what NorcalHB94 said... should be time for you to save up for a new toy...


-Thomas.K</TD></TR></TABLE>
you get 1 hp gain, 2 at most...

 

d series are no fun! I took my D series out of my 94 hatch and replaced with a b16b and now i'm having a blast. But if your not trying to burn holes in your pocket stay with the d series cause once you get into this stuff its hard to quit the habbit

 

Injen CAI with a B series throttle body, i love the Bisi-moto header and Thermal research exhaust.

the Bisi-moto header is one of the best on the market. it is a little expensive at around 500 but it's worth every penny.

one of the best investments you can make is to get a newer EX tranny like a 96-00 and put a final drive in it. if you want to get alot out of the car get a 96-00 with a 4.7 final and then have who ever is doing the work put in the older ZC gear set which are little more on the aggresive side.

but besides the tranny most of your power will be found in the head so i would stick there. Im not completely sure but i think you can swap a V-tech head off of the same model EX to gain V-tech . ( not really sure if you have it)

a chip burned to your setup will help bring it all together and if you do decide to do the head work and cam it will help with proper ignition and fuel maps to equal out for the added air.

hope it helps

 

^^^ h-t is gonna tear you a new ******* for spelling it "v-tech." might wanna edit that

 

save the money you were gonna spend on i/h/e and get a jdm d15b...they are cheap and 130hp stock...much better building block if you are starting off slow

 

Save save save and save some more then build the D from top to bottom, turbo, hondata, tune and see what numbers you'll get. Okay, maybe you don't want to save for a long time, I say boost and hondata and tune. Still decent numbers, 180 WHP ,better than 5whp extra from I/H/E.

 

listen listen listen. for the most bang out of your buck, buy some ITB'S. you can find some indivisual throttle bodies off of a gsxr 1000 for around 100 bucks. then you need a vacuum box ( $35 ) some fuel management and bam, your set to go! btw, ive seen a d16z6 gain over 40 horses from this less than 500 buck mod.! then get an exaust setup for even better breathing. ohh did i mention that it was 40 extra horses to the GROUND! im fixing to do a itb setup. i should be done parting my setup in a few monthes. im poor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SojournMystical &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Also, I had a new timing belt installed in my car but at idle or really slow speeds I hear a little sound coming from the belt. A friend of mine mentioned that it might be the tensioner pulley but said that it might just need to brake in to the tension and the fact that it's a new timing belt. Any idea's? Any suggestions? Should i just let it brake in? And if so, how long? Thanks.

~SojournMystical</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your timing belt might be a little too tight imo. As for power, a motor swap would be your best bet dude cause bolting on an intake/exhaust isn't gonna give you much power, just sound.

 

ex tranny will not give you more hp, but it will help you accelerate due to shorter gearng. Your engine is a d16y7. the d16y8 is what came in the ex. you can put the y8 head on your y7 block. its called a 'mini-me' there is more to it than just the head swap though, the ecu, im, dizzy, etc. another option is just getting the im from the y8. this will help your engine breathe better than just getting a cai

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JRDbuilt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
gain V-tech . ( not really sure if you have it)
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Y dont u gain some knowledge b4 posting some crap u hear from other people that prob know just about as much as u

 

Jay-Dee-Em only 1 gain and 2 max for CAI? is it?! is not just a intake.. but a cold air tho? well... i donno and not too sure about that after you said that. if what you said is right.

/me lesson learned



-Thomas.K

 

as mentioned several times already, best bang for buck will be a tranny swap. look for a 92-95 si or ex tranny and 96-00 ex tranny. the 6th gen trannies are a lil stronger but the si tranny from 92-95 has a shorter 5th gear. you can find one used pretty cheap. i'd do this 1st before any other mod, the typical i/h/e won't help performance as much as the tranny swap will. also search for spade's post on d-series upgrades, very informative.

 

So far, I'm leaning towards swapping the motor. I was taking a look at the JDM D15B motor and it seems ideal for right now with upgrade potential. It's a strong little SOHC opposed to the DOHC which i don't want to truly upgrade to. DOHC is not the goal for right now. It's 130HP, vtec, 16 valve stock. More studying is definitely a must.

Thanks guys and keep on blessing me with your ideas.

~SojournMystical

 

i just got my jdm d15b swapped about 2 months ago and loving it so far...only bolt-ons w/ a modded ecu right now...plan on JRSC next. but yeah the jdm d15b is a fun base to start with if you plan on boosting in the future cheap as hell too.

 

sounds good

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Si Erik &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I say get some new muffler bearings and you're golden. </TD></TR></TABLE>

WTF?