Hello everyone. I just bought a 88 Civic DX hatchback that i am turning into a circle track race car for next season. I want to upgrade so that i have more power in the 4500-6000 rpm range. I am new to the import scene, so I though i would ask the guys with the knowledge. I'm not a mechanic by any stretch, but i can do a lot on my own.
I bought the car for $100 and put in an electric fuel pump and it ran pretty good on 6 year old gas for a test run. I was wondering what are some good mods to make for around $250-$300. Plan on removing exhaust from header flange back and welding 1.5" out the side of the car. Are there better injectors to use, some vacuum lines/sensors that can be removed, ECU programming, head porting (read many different opinions on this)??

 

What are the class rules first of all?

 

try to find the Si transmission - a lot more acceleration off the corners
do MPFI swap

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jlicrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">try to find the Si transmission - a lot more acceleration off the corners
do MPFI swap</TD></TR></TABLE>
Probbly 2 best Ideas but changing the transmission might not be allowed or put him in to a class where he'll be massively out gunned.

Same with swapping intake manifold setup.

If it's anything goes those would be my first 2 mods honestly. But not knowing the rule book we can't really give any advice till he tells us whats ok.

 

dude dropin a D16a6 with the five speed and claim the car is a stock si

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4gcivic69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dude dropin a D16a6 with the five speed and claim the car is a stock si</TD></TR></TABLE>
Some classes will allow that were in others any swap will put you with any other swap.

Think about this he might get lined up next to a 427 swapped c5 vette with a stock a6?

Pretty I think not....

Just hold your horses and wait till he tells us what is allowed in this body.

 

The class rules are to keep it as stock as possible. There are a few modifications that can be made and they don't check things like transmissions and intake manifolds closely. there are a few gearheads there that might notice if it's obvious. It's supposed to be dirt cheap entry level stuff. It just pisses me off when a guy in a Ford Escort pulls away from me (I am currently racing a 1987 Civic DX sedan) or a guy in a CRX laps the field and they claim there is nothing done to their motors. If you can't beat em', cheat with em'.
Unless there are cautions, i only shift once. I leave the car in second the whole time and wind the bag out of it down the front and back stretch.

 

Are computer updates worth the time and money? I know you can pick up "chipped" computers on ebay for around $200-$250. Don't know if these would be worth the $$ or not.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by walteman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The class rules are to keep it as stock as possible. There are a few modifications that can be made and they don't check things like transmissions and intake manifolds closely. there are a few gearheads there that might notice if it's obvious. It's supposed to be dirt cheap entry level stuff. It just pisses me off when a guy in a Ford Escort pulls away from me (I am currently racing a 1987 Civic DX sedan) or a guy in a CRX laps the field and they claim there is nothing done to their motors. If you can't beat em', cheat with em'.
Unless there are cautions, i only shift once. I leave the car in second the whole time and wind the bag out of it down the front and back stretch.</TD></TR></TABLE>Well bending and getting around the rules is a big part of racing. what can you get away with?

an MPFI swap will stick out like a sore thumb. The intake manifold setup looks and behaves another way, your adding 2 injectors changing the intake mani and doing wiring.

the computer upgrades won't be worth it, i'd say find a header you can stuff under your heat shield or custom make a heat shield to hide it

Being stuck DPI will hurt you, Id aim for a SI tranny comes with the same tranny stamp as the dx but shorter gears and higer FD.

Are you willing to tear the motor down?

In all honesty staying dpi you won't go fast and any mod is a risk to get called on, i'd work on things you can do, like what mods are allowed not only just engine but chassis and suspension ?

 

how do they verify what you have?

do they check vins?

you do realize that the si harchbacks came with a6's

imho if you do an si tranny and a mpfi swap, you do it CLEANLY and follow factory loom, and make sure its a dirty *** looking a6 manifold to match the rest of your engine (ie dont buy a polished one, make sure it looks used as hell)

if you do everything looking stock, they wont figure it out.

THEN if you want to chip that pm6 ecu to lean it out a bit, youll see nice gains.

 

Thanks for your responses guys. I am now looking for all the parts that I can get my hands on. It sounds like i would be money ahead looking for a decent Si equipped car, any suggestions?
The transmission swap sounds doable, and i will definitely look for a header upgrade.
I am almost 75% complete with the roll cage and fuel system, should be able to test drive tomorrow night. By the way, I am assuming that the D16a6 is an engine code. What year/model should i be looking for??
I have pretty much tore down and wrenched on every part of my 1970 Chevelle, but the foreign stuff seems like it's something new each time I dig into it. Can't believe how fun/fast/reliable a 1.6L motor can be though.

 

yeah, the d16a6 is the engine code. it's a d-series [which means single overhead cam (except for the dual overhead cam zc...that's another story)], 1.6L engine coming from an 88-91 civic/crx si.

for a good write up on dual point to multi point fuel injection and all that is needed, go here: http://faq.ef-honda.com/index....=mpfi

good luck