I am wondering what engine to get for my DX. Lot's of people tell me different stuff and I am fairly new to CRX's. I have a thousand questions about which motor to get and also, whether to go turbo, or to go all motor. Some of you guys are going to clown me because of the questions I ask, but I will take that chance....I just need to know from people who know what they are talking about, and I need it explained to me as best possible. Pictures or walk throughs are welcome. If you'd like to, please list what your car's motor is and what your running in the 1/4 mile at the bottom of your post so others can see.


1. What is "All Motor"?

2. How DIFFERENT is running a Turbo than All Motor?

3.Which one is better?

4. Which is more expensive?

5. Can you do both to the same engine?

6. a)What engine fits into my 88 CRX DX that could make my car run 12's or 13's in the 1/4 mile? b)What is the cheapest for me?

7. When I finally do swap, what will I have to change out/remove? (ie. Transmission, Exhaust, Clutch, Headers,etc.)

Please remember if you post anything, I am pretty new to engine numbers so you may have to be specific (ie. D15B2/Stock 88 CRX DX).

 

Can anyone explain please?

 

well i hope you dont plan on doing this for a wile because you should know the answers to these question before you do. im not going ot tell you because there are people on here that can explain it better then me.. plus you could search it and probably find alot of stuff aobut your questions.

 

Trust me, I am not doing this until I know these answers. I believe that the only dumb question is the one never asked. Especially when it comes to spending money.

 

Can anyone please answer?

 

"all motor" means you are making power with just the engine internals, i.e., cams, pistons, timing, etc.

a turbo will be different because of lag issues (even in a properly designed turbo set-up, you will have some amount of lag), extra external parts (turbo, plumbing for turbo, etc.), and other incidentals.

better is a matter of preference. there is no one answer. i prefer an all-motor setup over a turbo, but i actually think a conservative turbo setup is better for a daily driver.

expense depends on how fast you want to go. at lower power levels, turbo is cheaper per horsepower. as you get higher outputs, all-motor gets relatively cheaper - until you reach the point where turbo is the only way to get more power.*

no, you can't do both to the same engine at the same time.

i have no idea what will get you into the 13's or lower. i'm not a drag racer.

what you will have to change depends on what route you take. but i'd pretty much expect to change everything and go from there.

*note:

this is because most stock engines can take some amount of boost on stock internals. "all-motor" pretty much assumes you're opening the engine. that costs more money at first than a turbo kit. once you spend a certain threshold level (dependent on engine) on the internals, you can make a little more power with an "all-motor" setup. but eventually, you'll have to do similar internal work to a turbo setup. and eventually the "all-motor" setup will run out of headroom. you can only run so much compression and cam, but you can always bolt on a bigger turbo.

 

do a supercharger.

I've always heard they are more reliable than turbos. And less expensive than all motor. Plus there's not really anything to add. You just replace the intake manifold.

If you have no clue what you want you should think on it more.

LS motors are great for turbo. And Type R motors are great for all motor. Of course the LS motor is the cheeper of the two.

 

Go buy this book..
Explains engines and swap issues...
http://www.amazon.com/Honda-En...books

Also available @ Barnes and Noble , Borders etc.

If you want advice, gives us your budget and goals.. (i.e. Drag/Street/Daily driver, etc.)

For starters, you'll want DOHC, not SOHC. The cheapest method is the D15 DOHC ZC swap,because you can use your DX mounts, probably axels,linkage,shifter, etc. Performance Japan/Europe CRX engine before B16 VTEC was available in 1990. This is a good performance boost with few hassles, and turbos well, while adding only about 25-30lbs to the car. Downsides are less displacement, no VTEC... Stock up to 128hp.

Next is B18A1 or B18b1 DOHC "LS" Non-VTEC Integra engine. Very similar to the DOHC ZC, just bigger, loves to turbo. Cheap,easy to find. You will however not use any of you DX gear except the modified engine harness with it or any other B series motor. So axels,linkage,shifter, etc. add cost. Stock A1 @ 130hp, B1 @138hp. Variation : B20 from early CR-V nearly identical,just bigger. Swap on a B series VTEC head, and you have a "Poor man's GSR" LS/VTEC or CR/VTEC beast with lots of low end torque/high end power. Can get you to around 180hp.Added costs are head,studs,ecu etc.

Next is the B16. Vtec, less torque than LS, with smaller displacement as well.Makes a fun daily driver but most prefer bigger engines with longer stroke yielding more torque.

Next B18C1 Integra GSR. VTEC built for high revs,better oil pump,etc. Most common moderately priced performance swap. A little bit less low end torque than LS engine, lots of high end power. Stock around 178hp, turbos well . My buddy has one with a B16 head and turbo @ around 440hp!

Next B18C5 Integra Type R. Higher perfomance internals and tranny version of the B18C1. More expensive but nice. Stock @ around 185hp.

Chew on that, and then we'll get into the K series swaps.. (K20/K24)


Modified by TEXREX88 at 10:20 PM 9/23/2006


Modified by TEXREX88 at 10:23 PM 9/23/2006


Modified by TEXREX88 at 10:28 PM 9/23/2006


Modified by TEXREX88 at 10:33 PM 9/23/2006


Modified by TEXREX88 at 11:06 PM 9/23/2006

 

Spend a lot of time reading in the FAQ section too, at the top of the page, lots of good information in there, answers to pretty much any question.

My opinion for a daily thats fun is a SOHC ZC, same as the 90-91 si engine the D16A6, and slap a supercharger on it.
Great fun and good gas mileage, then as you get more experience, get into the head work and crank up the boost.

 

Thanks you guys...Basicallly it seems that there are ways to accomplish my goals but it's all a matter of preference. I am a little familair with some of the Terminology and when you guys speak in technical terms, I have an idea of what it all means. What helps me is that I am familiar with the mechanics of an engine, it's just when you get into the more tedious type stuff that gets me. Now I know why very few people have posted in here, because some of the answers require "in depth" or "lengthy explanations".

 

added more detail to previous post....

 

WOW! That is awesome info you added TEXREX Very informative....in response to your questions what I am looking for; I just want a car that I can have as a daily driver thats dependable and about 12' or 13's at the 1/4 mile. I would love to go Turbo but....to be honest with you I am a little worried because I have seen what damage they can do to a vehicle if your not boosting correctly. My Ignorance of Turbo's is what worries me. I don't want to throw away thousands of dollars going for a fast car but not be able to drive it everyday.

 

What is your budget?
You can run some low quarters by boosting any of these engines. Depends if it is going to be daily driver/street legal racer/or track use....People run moderate turbos as daily drivers all the time around here!!

 

Supercharger not a bad idea,because you don't have to do all the piping,rip out your AC, get a smaller radiator or redo your front end...i.e. crossmember, etc. Power gains not as impressive as turbo, but much easier and much cheaper...

 

Well I have been slowly improving the car for the last 2 years...So I guess money isn't too much of a problem if I can tackle things at a slow rate like I have been. If I had to limit myself on how much to spend on my car...I would say $4000.00 is my limit for what I want to do. With 4 grand, can I reach my car's goals? Is that reasonable?

 

i have an 88 civic hb and it has ls/vtec all motor and i only spent $2800 and it runs mid 13's and its not even tuned.

 

Forget the K series and the Type R if you have $4000 to spend. Engines run more than that!!

Word on the LS/VTEC.
LS Shortblock @600
VTEC head @ 500
Tranny 400
Extras 800

Good GSR swap more expensive.



Modified by TEXREX88 at 1:35 PM 9/24/2006

 

Also, all that power ain't no good without traction. Suspension also very important.

 

I don't know too much about suspension....The only thing I know about Suspension is that you can raise an lower your car (which I need to lower mine anyways) with coil overs.

Lowering springs can lower your car but your stuck at that height.

Do you mean other suspension? (tedious type stuff)

 

What exactly is "Tuned"?

 

im getting a vtec ecu p28 and im taking it up to st. louis to get it dyno tuned. thats were they put your car on a dyno and they will chip my ecu with a program and tune the settings to get max power out of my engine

 

oh ok...Thats awesome...is that expensive? I am like a little kid when it comes to my car...if I were you I would be really excited knowing that I am going to find out how many HP the car has and stuff. Thats just me.

 

forget all that **** man,,if all you want to run is 13s then stick with the stock motor,,,1st convert to multi point fuel injection(4 injectors),then read alot at homemadeturbo.com,,,,put together a home made turbokit after doing alot alot of research,,make about 200whp,,chip the ecu,get bigger injectors,and have it tuned by a proffesional....run a stage2 or better clutch,some drag radials or slicks if you have the $$....you'll run 13s easily with good driving,,maybe even pop 12s,its been done,,,just read and read and read....but dont do to much reading here cause these guys will have to spending like $10000 on a turbo kit,and tell you alot of bullshit,,go to homemadeturbo.com and read

and to answer your questions

1. all motor means just that,all motor..no power adders such as turbocharger,supercharger,or nitrous oxide...
2. very different ..
3. its a matter of opinion..
4. turbo is cheaper to an extent ..for example trying to make a turbo b16 hit
250whp is cheaper then making an allmotor b16 hit 250whp...but then if you try to hit 700whp with the turbo power then obviously it will be more,,you get it
5. no all motor is all motor,,turbo falls under the power adder/forced induction category
6.so many....read my above paragraph,,but if you must swap do a 1g b16 or obd0 ls motor,and add some nitrous oxide and you can hit 13s
7.depends what motor you use,,