Alright, I've got an 89 CRX Si for reference. Just got it, it's undergoing a full once over with the ol' fine tooth comb.

The powerplant I'm using is a D16Z6 complete longblock mated to the stock 89 CRX Si transaxle using the D16Z6 clutch, pressure plate and flywheel, as well as the 89 Si axles and shiftlinkage ( of course ). Everything is converted to OBD1 using non other than Rywire.com's OBD0-OBD1 conversion wiring harness, with VTEC sub-harness and distributor jumpers (it's **** to be probably the only guy in Ohio with this, let alone one of the few who don't have to do the ghetto-fab'd A6 dizzy on the Z6 head which is sooo wrong, ONE MILLION PROPS to Ryan at Rywire.com ). This is basically all stock, cleanly converted and will work very nicely in the CRX setup. SOHC VTEC + short gears + light car = ..well.. makes the D series not look so bad afterall ( I'm a B-Series ***** ).

I've been doing some research on OEM parts compatibility between the engines to find the best possible combination of parts to frankenstein into one setup. This is where HT comes in, I need opinions and advice here...

I've got two options, turbo or NA.

The turbo route will be pursued through non other than USDM 4G VTEC who posts here, he's f*in awesome and a good friend in real life :D

It would probably go something like this... HF manifold, DSM adaptor plate, 14B turbo charger, 2.5BAR Motorola MAP sensor, Crome on my P28... still unsure of the of intercooler, various fittings etc... but the stuff I listed is the base of what I've got so far. The dynotuning will happen on either a DynoJet WOT inertia dyno or a DynoJet eddycurrent loading dyno, either way, it'll be tuned well on stock internals. Discuss...


Next up is the NA build, which I'm leaning towards.

The compression of one of these is approx 9.2:1 stock. Using the A6 pistons, you can cram it up to about 10.5:1 ( around 10.46xx:1 more specifically ). So, right off of the bat, it's basically a SOHC B16A :D :D Not really, but you understand. I'm currently using the A6 stock header, which I'm replacing with the 4-2-1 Z6 stock header here shortly.

A question I have is, should I use the A6 one piece stud girdle and if so, will it fit properly? It's very strong and I prefer a lot of strength in the bottom end of my engines.

Also, the D16A1\ZC rods are a lot beefier and seem more desirable. Would they raise compression further? Will they work on the Z6 crank? What bearings would I use?

What about the crank, the Z6 is pretty good already but I'm wondering if there is a better factory crank out there? I like upper RPMs, so this crank is okay so far, but if there are better options, I'd like to know

I'll probably use the Y8 two layer headgasket and raise the compression slightly.

Also, with any combination of the A6 pistons, Z6 rods, D16A1\ZC rods, Y8 headgasket... will I still have adequate valve to piston clearance, or should the valve reliefs be opened up?

Any input is appreciated, especially regarding my NA questions about engine building. Thanks in advance HT :D

 

all d series cranks are the same.....you can use d16a1 rods and pistons and if you want a set I got em so PM me and I will hook you up.

 

go turbo! if you go N/A, you will spend all that money and do all that work and it will still be slow.

a friend of mine said you can swap the internals of the distributors to make the a6 dizzy fit without being ghetto fabbed. Do you know if this is true?

 

I don't know what your friend was talking about, but it's got very little sense to it.

The distributor flange mates to the head identically, that's how it's bolted down. The bolt holes of the head line up with the grooves on the distributor flange (which allows for advancing and retarding the ignition timing mechanically) and you are able to bolt each "finger" of the flange to the correct location.

The problem with using the A6 distributor on the Z6 head is that the flanges do not match. The common solution I've seen is using a larger OD washer to hold the top finger of the distributor flange, which in turn holds the distributor reasonably flush with the head, but it's not the same as having three bolts holding something down. If it's a weak washer, it will eventually fail and your distributor could very well fall off of the head WHILE the engine is running, leading to catastrophic failure.

The OBD0 and OBD2 D series heads seem to be cast in a similar fashion. The distributors are the same. This makes them interchangable as far as "bolt-on compatibility" goes. This is why people find such success in using a Y8 head for a mini me swap into their Si CRX or Civic, because they can use their stock distributors.

The internals of a distributor are a largely and almost completely unrelated topic comparitively to whether or not you can swap them and get them to bolt up properly. I used the term "ghetto-fab" or ghetto-fabrication, in reference to how the OBD0 distributors to not properly bolt up to the OBD1 heads. I hope that clears up any confusion.

The internals of the distributors are important.

I've got a problem with using the incorrect distributor for the engine and computer being used. I simply do not think that using an A6 distributor, which is Non-VTEC in composure, on a Z6 VTEC head is proper practice in engine assembly. People use 90-93 Integra axles on their B16A swaps in their Civics and CRXs just because it works, but that doesn't mean that it's correct in practice, application or function. Put simply, they will always fail, but since Honda engineered parts are so versatile, most people think that the time it takes to break one has more to do with a specific event than the fact that it is the wrong part and just took forever to break.

Ignition timing and VTEC need to be carefully considered when assembling a frankenstein VTEC engine. Ignition ignition ignition. Never forget it. The biggest problem with swaps and hybrid engine designs is primarily electrical, not mechanical.

This is why I said ghetto-fab in relation to the A6 dizzy\Z6 head combination. It's just plain wrong. I don't care if your car runs seemingly well for 100,000 miles with it on and makes 10mpg more than you use to, the engine will still lack the correct ingition timing no matter what, it's the internals that are different.

 

You have long *** posts...

Anyway...

Use a Y8 intake manifold and LS throttle body regardless if you are going NA or turbo.

Use obviously the 2 layer y8 HG if you are going NA

If you want a junkyard turbo, go for the Starion (sp?) FMIC. or 1g DSM smic.

What clutch are you going to use? A stock one?

Use A1 rods/pistons from increased strength and a compression in the 12s or so.

http://www.zealautowerks.com/dseries.html
http://www.c-speedracing.com/h...c.php

 

i suggest that for the clutch you use the heavy duty ACT clutch kit set feels alot better and it's good for the price i think i paid 320 for the 6-puck disk and heavy duty pressure plate as for the choice between NA or turbo i had a 14b turbo kit on my d16a6 was f*ing awesome and i had a blast untill i decided on wanting more power.....but i smoked alot gsr's hatchs with ls's an Is300 and plenty of others with just 6-7 lbs of boost it rocked good luck with your project .....