I have a 99 Honda Civic EX, and I am looking for more power. My parents bought me this car for my 16th birthday. It has an AEM Cold Air Intake, and an aftermarket exhaust. Other than that, the motor is completely stock. Is this motor even worth modding? I was thinking of swapping that motor out for a DOHC Vtec. The only problem is that my dad says I will have trouble trying to smog it because I would have to get a new computer and a wiring harness and everything for that motor. Is this true?

Thanks, Ryan.

 

I dont know what your laws are like but your stock harness will work and the ecu will plug right in.

 

move to florida, we have no smog/emission laws..

but on a more serious note, apparently you haven't seen any of the videos on youtube of our heir-apparent D15/D16's my friend... Besides the numerous numerous builds of these motors, there are plenty of write-ups, videos, FAQ's, and DIY's of people "along with myself" who have built up the beasty D's we were handed and had no problems making sufficient to INSANE power... http://www.turbod16.com http://www.d-series.org http://www.homemadeturbo.com There's just a couple links you could go check out, and trust me not all those guys are from florida, so some had to do it by the book in order to pass emissions and whatnot... GL tho...

 

You'll need the ecu for whatever motor you swap but the harness should work i think.Theres a list somewhere of what motors you can that are smog aproved you just have to find it. I dont think you would have a problem with a gsr motor of your year or the b16a2 or whatever one the em1 is. I have to agree with guy below though, build the y8 (although z6 is better for this because its superior oil system) i have a boosted d and its great. And for the money you'll spend on a swap you can do this.

 

So what is the motor I have in the car right now? And it would be worth it to just put money into it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scpres1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So what is the motor I have in the car right now? And it would be worth it to just put money into it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You have a D16Y8 and yes it's most certainly worth putting the money into... Go check out some of the videos from those sites, or just goto youtube and see for yourself... Most of those guys are only running on built bottom ends considering D series Heads have been proven to hold up to 400+hp...

 

Geeze, thats insane! So what would you recommend doing after Exhaust and Intake?

 

I'd say get a nice street/strip stage 2 clutch... Nothing to serious considering you're not making crazy amounts of power,YET..!!!

A nice clutch well grab way better than the factory OEM discs we use, and longevity far oversee's the expectancy of a stock clutch "at least in any car i've rode in"... Than i'd say some nice suspension ugprades... Suspension isnt always for cornering and track racing, suspension also maintains stability when you have serious case of driver aggression lol.. Like i stated in another post earlier today, upgrading your suspension is not wasting money or time because in the long run you're gonna have to upgrade those shitty bushings anyways so might as well do it now with something reputable to keep you're car going in a straight line and feel like you're riding in a new beamer or something haha... I was leary about upgrading my suspension last year but after I did it, i was so thankful for the help of some of these guys for pushing me to do it because the ride was like 120% better.. No shaking, no rough road feel, better turning, better handling, just all around way better, and i've never been to an auto-x track so what's that tell ya... But yeah until you're ready to start throwin some cash into the motor for forced induction purposes "turbo ect" i'd say work on the suspension, wheels/tires, and maybe a lil bling factor.. I'm a JDM ***** so I love ridin clean as possible, dropped on some nice *** wheels, clean paint job, some jdm go0diez "lights, bumpers, interior, ect" just do it ur style ya know.. Everyone has diff opinions on whats hot/whats not so just customize to your liking ya know...

 

fast/cheap/reliable...pick 2 of those. You can boost your car for under $1500, but its only a matter of time before it goes BOOM. If youre looking for a funny daily driver check out a jdm b16a or b18c from hmotors, they will give you everything you need to put the motor in your car; theyre very friendly.