i have a 97 civic hx. I wanna do a swap in the near future. WHat engine should i swap into it? I dont wanna spend a milion dollars, but i dont mind spending something worht the money. Ill keep it N/A with bolt ons probably like intake mani, cams, and p&P, exhaust. the whole nine yards. WHICH ENGINE SHOULD I GEET?

 

without a price limit, i say build a J32... can't really get this thread going without a price limit...

 

u can never go wrong with a b series. its great for daily driving and its also great if u ever decide to go performance. Ls and B20's are the cheapest of the B's but they are also the weakest in power but they have plenty of potential for future building. a b16 is a good buy its affordable and it has decent power. and if displacement concerns u then b18c's are a good alternative but cost a little more. as for me im currently building a b16a and im enjoying the process, and im looking to make decent power out of it so i can take it out to tracks every now and then. hope this helps! good luck bro

 

This is true. If you get an LS, get a 3rd gen one (B18B1) over a 2nd gen (B18A1). I forget what EXACTLY is better in it (other then the 2 more HP) but it has something like stronger sleeves or something with the block...

 

ok thanks alot guys. my roomate mentioned a f20B does anyone know anything about these? what would i need to get if i swapped a b series in? would i need new axles and stuff? im kinda in the dark with swaping

 

i have a d16y5 now i was thinkin about going y8 head and boosting like 10 psi would that be better? idk wha to do

 

F series is $$$.

I would personally get out of d series. There are people that love them but i dont. Id rather have a b16 with some goodies than a boosted single cam.

 

If you change just the engine, you wouldn't need new axles. The axles (I'm pretty sure) just need to match the tranny. Assuming you have a D series in it now and being an HX, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a new tranny. I don't even think anyone is mass producing a B to D adapter plate right now anyway...

For a B swap or F or whatever, you need the motor, whatever tranny you want (you'll need an adapter plate to do something like a F motor with a B tranny so the tranny bolts to the motor), ecu for the motor, axles, wiring harness, motor mounts, fluids, clutch... that's all I can think of right now...

 

If I did an F swap, I'd get an F22B2 out of a 94-97 Accord or if you have the money, the F22B1 (Vtec version of it). Still a SOHC, but the compression is amazing for boost, lol. If you want a DOHC, get a GSR swap (B18C1) with a Type R, LSD tranny (again, if you have the money.) Those are my votes.

 

http://www.hondahookup.com/info/engine_swap_faq.php
http://krang.modified.com/tech/swapguide1.pdf <more of a how to>
this is a good site to read up on swapping, just swapped a b18c1 into my 96 civic ex
it was very easy there are tons of how to outs there just got to look. look around for what you can get a deal on and go for there i spent 1100 on my swap thats everything axels long block harness ecu and new avid motor mounts.

most the time if not always you need the axels off the motor that you are swapping in, when your getting a honda motor out of a honda you can you the harness but when you go to acura you need a honda harness i used my stock one and wired up a few plugs that i needed.

and good luck trying to find a f20b there only out of JDM accords, they are very very rare to come across and they are hard to swap into a civic. you would be better off with a typer r b18c5 motor, or going h22 still hard to swap but not as rare as the f20 good luck with your swap.

 

ya i have ALOT of thinking an research to do. i kinda wanna be boosted d series, but then again i kinda want a DOHC. lol.

 

me personally id rather have a basic bolt on b16 then a boosted single. unless ur gonna go all out on that boosted single. but putting in a b series is fun and easy even for beginners. everything for the basic b swap is affordable even replacement mounts and axles. and it drops right into ur cars chassis with no problem

 

ya im kinda new to the honda game with a few years of automotive experience. when u say all out with the d series, what should i get for it to be reliable. my hp goal is around 200whp

 

k

 

Yiss, totally agree on this part here, the engines are inexpensive, great torque curve, and with a couple of bolt ons and cam, will pull the little civic quite nicely, and be awesome in city driving.

 

If you just want 200whp, get a D16Z6, buy some forged connecting rods, throw a good turbo kit on it, run 10psi and be done. Really you wouldn't even NEED the rods if you get a GOOD tune, but I'd just get them to be safe. Also get new piston rings, rod bearings, seals, gaskets, blah blah blah...

On my first Z6, I was running a stock motor on 7psi and I was getting something like 180-185whp.

 

K SERIES SWAP. DO IT NAO. Actually that's what I'm planning on doing with my 95 4dr. Hybrid racing has everything you could need to do the swap and the motor and tranny could be had for about 3k. Hybrid racing makes a full setup kit to include things like axles header things like that. Check it out. The people at hybrid racing are very helpful and they even make a DVD
for this kind of swap

 

Ls2 swap

 

Okay OP,

First of all you should check the thread already posted for basic engines specs, meaning pros and cons.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/engine-swap-info-faqs-how-ck-engine-lights-878010/

I will try and explain a bit about each engine and what I think is a reasonable engine to swap. Considering you do not have a specific amount that you want to spend I will just ramble on.

I am assuming that you already have a D Series in your civic. If you would turbo that engine, after rebuilding the head. You would put out more WHP than a B16, for alot less. You could always do a Mini-Me and turbo that as well. Also D Series engines are cheaper to fix and to replace than any other motor because of the fact that they are so widely used.

B Series engines are great engines that are very reliable and give very decent amount of horsepower. You could always put a B16 and turbo that which would give you more horsepower. You could also get a B18. They are bigger engines that give you more HP and the bolt-ons for them are pretty amazing. You could go very far with a built B18 or B16. There has been alot of controversies over the B20 engine, some people have said "Give it 6 months" some have said "It has never broken down" if you want to try it, goodluck.

The thing you should know, from my experience, if you are deciding to turbo you should give yourself a HP goal and a $ goal. You could go 200+ with a D series and you could go 400+ with a B series. (im talking about HP). Putting a turbocharger somewhat lowers your reliability because when messing around with the engine anything could happen as does normal wear and tear.

You should first decide on what you want to do with the car. If you want a DD and casual street racer,(which I highly do not recommend), then just stick with your D series, clean the engine up, build the head and put a turbo on it. If you feel like you want more than get a B Series. If you have alot of money, get a K20 and build that ****er. There are plenty of engines but first you need a HP goal and a $ goal.

You should also check your car, if your car is all rusted, your brakes needs to be replaced, your suspension needs to be replaced, both your headlights are broken then I suggest to get all of that done before dropping in a new motor.

FYI: Spoilers do NOT add 50 Horsepower, nor do skulls and fireballs add 30 Horsepower. A 3 inch pipe doesn't make you sound cool, sounds like you pocked wholes into your muffler. Rice ain't nice.

 

go with a full gsr swap thrown on after market cams intake manifold with throtle body get good power

 

a my goal is like 200 to the wheels and ill be satisfied. its going to be a daily driver and casual street racer, i just want it to be reliable. i was thinking of doing the mini me and boosting. i think that would be the best bet for me hp goal and the cheapest to get there. im just caught up on i want the cheapest way doing everything right and being reliable to reach 200whp