My girl has a 96 hatch with a b16a swap. Has intake, headers, exhaust, stock ecu. We want to keep it a daily driver, but want to make it a bit quicker.

We were thinking of new intake manifold, throttle body, cams, and ecu. I've done a lot of looking, but it's always good to hear what others have to say. Is it worth it?? Or what other suggestions do you guys have?

 

first things first, what kinda budget are you looking at?

 

second things second, i heard IM arent much help without head work. i would definetly do cams, 68mm TB, and chipped ecu (itr basemap). what trans are you using now? if you are using a ls trans a gsr/b16 trans will help with pickup a bit.

 

Its got a gsr tranny and budget under 2 grand.

 

why are you talking about an itr base map on a b16?! different engines (displacment)! Just get it tuned you will release some hidden power in these motors

 

ok under 2K..........this is assuming that you will be doing the work yourself, if not then go ahead and plan on cutting your budget for parts in half.....the other half going to labor.......... cams, I/H/E, chip, tune, good set of plugs and wires. i would not recommend an IM for a daily driven car with a lil extra power, they can drop your torque but increase hp which is a bad thing for a daily driver, cuz torque is what you need for low rpms. also dont get too much cam or it will drop your low end torque too.

 

If it was up to me I'd go with a 70mm throttle body, skunk2 or edelbrock preformor X intake mainifold. and a ECU tuned .

Remember that throttle bodies only give throttle response very little power increase, but for overall preformance they are very good to have.
intake manifolds alow for more air to be availible when the motor needs it, and allows for more even air flow, which increases power, and throttle response also.
A good tuned ECU will give you power accross the board, and like that guy said "unlock power of the motor" that the stock ECU can't give you.



1)intake mainfold runs about $500
2)throttle body with sensor is about $350-$400
3)good dyno tune will be about $150-$300 and if you ever go with more stuff (internals or bolt ons) then they usually only charge $100 to re-tune for upgrades.
4)maybe a good set of carbotec brake pads. $160 about?

 

i wouldnt go with a IM without cams.

 

Thanks guys. I've got access to a dyno free of charge. My best friends uncle who I also do quite a bit of work with use to run dragsters, and was very successful. He now owns a shop and can help me tune it up if I need help.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

If you do new cams, should you also go with adjustable cam gears??

 

no, unless you are racing...........actual racing, not street garbage........you dont need adjustable cam gears.

 

Adjustable cam gears need a dyno to tune correctly. They are not only for racing, they just give you the option to correctly adjust the timing in your motor. I'd get a set of pistons on stock rods, I/H/E, and a set of streetable cams, then tune it. I used a set Wiseco pistons(11/1) on stock rods, AEM CIA, DC Sports header, Skunk 2 tuner cams, and a Greddy Evo II exhaust. I loved it! When V-Tec switched over it would start to break loose a little bit. And if I shifted to fast/hard......well, there wouldn't be much traction at all. If you are doing the work, I'd say go with a set-up like that. You'll love it too.

 

adjustable cam gears give you a fine tune.........they allow you to move your power up or down in the rpm range..........so on a DD with some bolt-ons.......completely unessesary.

 

Perfect.

The girl just ordered cams with springs and retainers, IM, HID kit, and throttle body. Spent a little under a grand and I have a guy who's going to help put it all in for dirt. We'll see how it goes and work from there. Don't need anything to crazy since she's prego and a carseat will be in the back in about 6 months