Hey everyone, I'm new to the fourm but have been lurking for quite a while. I've never posted because I don't have a honda yet, but with high school ending my parents finally said I can trade in my 97 lexus es300 for whatever I want. I have been thinking about getting a EK, I love the look of hatches. If I do get a hatch I would like to swap the engine for something with a little more pep. I want to get into auto-x so I don't need it to be a hp monster. What swap do you think would be the best? I was thinking a gsr swap with some minor bolt ons (I/H/E), is this a good idea for auto-x and a reliable DD? If so what would I have to do to legalize the swap (read the faq but its going in one ear and out the other)? Thanks for all the help and i look forward to start my project and meeting alot of people

 

well your going to at least need a motor from a car that is the same as your or newer, aka, 96+ into a 96, but nothing older such as 95,gsr would be a good combo for autox, but id say do suspension mods first, then worry about power, i have a 96 cx hatchy and love it, mods are boltons and a Z6 vtec head, with ARP head studs and a P28 chipped ecu, i think i have enough power, i just need an EX shorter tranny now, but if you have the money and know how to swap it, id say go for it!
just make sure you read, read, then read some more untill you know everything there is to know about swapping before you even buy your new motor

 

Thanks, yea I am deff doing suspension first. Money will sorta be an issue with the swap but not much, i have alot of friends that can find some deals. Also i am graduating High school and i will be getting a little to alot of money from my aunt. Of course im not going to blow all of it on my car but i will use some.

 

Like He said, worry about suspension first

Suspension is the one place where you cannot afford to go cheap so quality parts are a must. And not to mention that since ur barely gonna get the car, the lack of power is good so u can get to know the characteristics of ur car. Alot of power on a car that u have no experience with will leave u with a wrecked car....

 

You don't need gobs of power to win in an autox... driving skill will beat pure performance and no skill nearly every time. I would suggest keep the engine stock and possibly dabble with the suspension as you learn more about the car. Jumping right into an engine swap at your knowledge level will make for a very unreliable daily driver.

 

Thanks. What companies would you recommend for suspension? My friend has Tein on his Si and the ride is nice.

 

Hmm,
PIC selects are favorites among a lot of people, but I personally like Tein products. I'm actually selling my EK with gsr motor and live in the Bay Area. If you're interested, check out craigslist. It's a 97 civic hatchback dx w/gsr motor and it's bar'd. I just posted it about 10 minutes ago.

For suspension, I would recommend getting nothing at all and doing 1 auto x first. I would install a full race seat in first, because you get a better sense of how the car handles when you're not sliding around your seat. It's amazing how much you can feel the suspension when you have a race seat in. Then slowly work your way up by getting one piece at a time.

The car I'm selling has never been raced btw. That was my daily driver. I used to race BMWs and Rx7s.

 

Your questions are very vague. Start searching on google and honda-tech using the red search button at the top right.

Narrow down your questions after reading and researching. It's easier to actually get an answer when you actually ask a question.

With the question you just asked, the answers are left WAY too open to opinion. Since an opinion can be neither right or wrong, you will never get a right or wrong answer.

Gather facts, then form your OWN ideas and opinions. Ask if your ideas and opinions are heading in the right path. Hopefully, someone sensible will answer.

The question of "which engine" and "which suspension setup" for autocrossing has been asked millions of times. 90% of the time, the answers come from some jag bag that has no experience in the area you're asking about. It's a blind opinion based on other shitty information.

I'm not trying to discourage you from participating in hond-tech question asking. I'm just telling you to educate yourself first based on FACTS from RELIABLE sources. That way, it's harder for some idiot to pull you into his web of internet retardation.

My answer for your question:

Run your car with NO mods first. Decide what you liked about the car's character and behavior...decide what you dont like about the car's character and behavior. Research why the car acts in a favorable way in some instances. Research why the car acts in unfavorable ways in other instances. Research on what can be done to correct the faults. EXAMPLE: The car understeers. You dislike this. It understeers because there is no rear bar. Find out which rear bar will help your understeer situation. Find out if you should pair it with a front bar. Drive it again. If it worked, then that was the solution. If it didn't go back to step 1.

The problem with modding is that sometimes one mod negates or throws off another. For example: A certain brake pad may be GREAT with your D series. Since the pad would be a low heat range pad, and the D series makes no power, the pad works great. When you swap your engine...you may find that it's the WORST pad to use.

You've heard of "measure twice, cut once". Well "think twice, mod once". If you're going to mod, take a step back to assess your overall situation and your overall goals. Set your mind on something and mod in that direction. Dont flake, dont cheap out. The thinking ahead method of modding only works if you actually stick to the plan. There's way too many instances of "well..I was going to get this part...so I bought this part to compliment it...but I ended up eating cheese burgers and doing burn outs instead...so now my setup sucks".

A simple answer to your question(s) would be:
An engine with good torque AND good high end with an LSD and decent gearing.
The GSR's gearing sucks. An ITR swap meets all the requirements...but is expensive. If you could get your hands on a GSR with a B16 LSD trans or ITR trans, you'd be good to roll. A simple B16A swap would also be cheap and effective albeit slower. I would suggest sticking to B series swaps for a nice, simple, cheap, and effective setup that you wont get tempted into hard parking. Any B series swap has a significantly more power than any D series swap. They will maintain OEM reliability with that extra power. They are cheap, and any monkey can swap a B series into a civic. They are light, mount into the intended location for longer axle life and better ground clearance, and there are PARTS GALORE available for them. There are also other advantages with the B series that are not available with other swaps. Look for a 96+ swap for the easiest emissions legality if emissiosn is an issue. If you live in killafornia, look into the emissions laws very closely. This statement will surely start a huge argument. But the facts are undisputeable...so I'll win. I'm never wrong.

Successful autocross suspensions require VERY high spring rates and big sway bars for civics. If you're autocrossing competitively, it makes more sense to buy these impractical-for-the-street parts or buy no mods at all since your goal is to beat the other guys in your class. It's a "go big or dont go" mentality. You want to be at the high end of the modding limit in your class..not the low end of a higher class. Think about it like boxing. If the heavy weight class started at 200lbs and up..you really wouldn't be succesful going into it at 201lbs. You'd probably want to weigh 199 and be in the top end of the middle weight division.

If you're autocrossing just for fun and would still have to have a nice flexible setup to do other things, you can buy an agressive street setup. Something with adjustable damping and ride height, etc. There is no universally ideal suspension setup. There are ones that work well for MOST people, however. Driving style and ability are some of the big factors dictating suspension choice.


end rant.


Modified by B serious at 12:49 AM 5/20/2008

 

I have a ek hatch with a stock H22 and it bones out! Hahah.. cheap swap, nice outcome