My brother has a 92 civic VX, and he wants to do a motor swap, but he doesnt have much money. I am trying to convince him that SOHC's can be quick too, with good parts and tuning.

Anyways, anyone know some things we can do to pull some more power out of this (Naturally aspirated)...

Specifics too, and think about saving money.

I.E. Can I use a 92-95 SI/EX cam and ECU? Is there a better header and intake manifold?

I am already planning on getthing him an EX tranny too.

Anyways, oopen for suggestions

 

actually the vx (d15z1) had 92hp...it was the cx (d15b8) that came with 70hp

 

i wouldnt bother with buying anything for the vx motor. just save money instead for a ls swap or something.

 

what is wrong w/ the VX block? Can't it hold an EX/SI head? Wouldnt that give me higher compression?

I just can't believe that ANY honda motor is worthless...

 

hey man i would suggest that u buy an first check to make sure the compression is good on the block then put an Ex head(every thing) the fuckn IM is smaller then a new borns dick. and then do a home made turbo kit you can use the EM from the VX and buy parts from DSM's if u have any questions on the home made turbo kit email me lowrd_expectations@msn.com my buddy did it


[Modified by diabolik_Projekts_93, 10:38 AM 7/30/2002]

 

I too just bought a '92 VX and did a lot of research on the very question you are asking. The '92-95 EX/SI head is the cheap route to go. This is called a mini-me conversion from what I've gathered. You will need the entire head/dist/intake mani/tb/ecu/and wiring harness. The VX uses a 5 wire O2 vs everything else uses a 4 wire. After that a simple intake(homemade CAI), header, and exhaust should prove helpful. Here is a nice D series site to answer some of your question http://pub34.ezboard.com/bhondadseries. If you come into a bit more money, a homemade turbo can be fun too. Try www.homemadeturbo.com for more info.

 

just a suggestion...if you are going through all that trouble to build the mini me by piecing together all those parts you should just get the d16z6 swap. i was going to get the head too, but i figured why not save a lil more and get the sohc vtec, theyre pretty cheap anyways and in most cases will be more reliable than making a frankenstein motor. itll just be a straightforward swap (dont forget the ex/si tranny either, it makes a BIG difference!) you can find a swap complete AND installed for about $500. that should include everything you need including the motor, tranny, ecu, etc etc. good luck

 

Take the VX short block, add Z6 pistons, The VX has beefier rods, almost 1.6L beefy. Now add a Z6 head and you have a 130ps D15B SOHC VTEC motor.
Cannot confirm this yet, but build up is about to get started.



VX rod on the left/DX rod on the right


[Modified by Mista Bone, 9:50 AM 7/30/2002]

 

wow, Mista Bone with the good pics, AGAIN

I say get an EX swap or just save up a bit more for an LS B series swap.

 

JDM sohc vtec d15b (bascially a VX bottom end with D16Z6 head) - only mod is a header and exhuast (the comparisment is between P28 ecu and two different P08 chips - P08 ecu simply rocks on the car)
add good intake + Zex cam and you can easily hit 130whp and 105-108lb/ft of torque with a 1.5l D15B and rev to about 7800rpm all day long
this combo is 150lbs lighter then b16a and can spank its asses...

 

Man I own a stock engine cx and even though the dx is a teenie weenie bit stronger, its still crap. I bolted on all sorts of name brand crap and I couldn't even keep up with stock obdII ex's. The amount of money and effort that you will put into th minnie-me swap after parts and labor your brother can buy something with two cams that has stronger baseline pull than a suped up SOHC engine. my advice is to save up for a bonified bad *** b-series banger. Lower the car first, it takes a lot of lag off the line.

 

Thats the stuff I like to hear. You guys, keep in mind the VX is an SOHC VTEC-E...

I assume that the "E" (fuel economy) is generated by a stingy ECU and ****-poor cam lobes. Why can't i just swap the ECU and Cam w/ an SI/EX? Then throw on a larger intake mani?

No need to swap the rest of the head right? it is already equipped for VTEC, it just has crappy lobe profiles.

 

Dude, PATIENCE is key. Tell your brother to SAVE his money, and do research and read up on motor swaps. When he has the money, then go for the B series swap.. He will be very happy...

 

the VX head has TINY valves and the VTEC is setup to work differently. Then the issue of the VX piston having very small valve reliefs, the Z6 valves might smack the piston tops.

 

That is what I thought too. VTEC-E is WAYYYYY different than normal VTEC. Do a search on Goggle for VTEC-E and read about it. I found some really good info that helped me to understand it.

 

you must have money to make money::you must have power to make power

 

Even more, the VX uses a ROLLER cam. EX or SI cam won't fit, or even if it did fit, it wouldn't work right (designed for different rollers).

Shawn