Now before anyone flames me I did my research and get a lot of difference answers and I respect the info I get here and was just wondering your answers please.

I have a 99' Civic DX with the lonely SOHC Non-vtec D16y7. I want more power and wanna do a swap. Now Im a poor college student, I work at a local Kmart and not the riches man around and I was wondering what would be the best swap for me.

Most people say do the "mini me" to a Y8 head and later down the road boost it, some say for a little more get a B20 block and a b16 head for vtec.

Not sure, but for a college student with not a lot of money what is my best bet for more power and fun.

 

d15b vtec 3 stage vtec 130 hp about 50 to 70 mpgs sippien gas

 

Ehh a little more power. I want to do a B18c1 or B16a2 swap or B18c1 block and B16 head, but I think those will be expensive.

 

Theres no such thing as "best." Period.

 

Ok well recommended is the word I wanna use then. I want power and have a buddy who works on Honda's and can help with the swap no matter the difficulty. I would love to just put in a B18c1, but I always get hassled for saying that.

 

This.


How much money do you have/ are you willing to spend.

A b20z or b20b would a good all round engine. They are cheap, and would give the car just what it needs.

 

Ehh hard to tell, but on the engine alone I wouldn't wanna spend more than $1200. So If I go with a B20b that is a non vtec motor so would it be good to swap the head for a b16a2?

 

If you don't want to spend more than $1200, don't bother. If you can't afford a swap, either A.) Save and wait until you can or B.) Don't bother modifying a Honda. It's about the most expensive car you can build. Buy a small block chevy and see how fast you can make that thing for 1200.

 

you could do it down the road when you have the money.

Depending on how cheap you can find things you could have most of the swap if not all for under 2k.

 

Well I love Honda's and they are a passion for sure. So like I said ignore the money factor for a second and tell me if it's possible to get a B20b engine and swap it easily and switch the head for vtec?

 

B20/vtec Can be nasty *** motors. BUT you need to do research, its not just a slap a b16 head on, and rape on it.. The stock b20 internals wont handle the revs your going to be giving it with that head...


How much would you be willing to spend on a FULL swap

 

On a full swap this summer or fall I would say $2,000. Now let's not get ahead of myself and say not to worry about boost. I just want a motor better than the garbage D16y7 that will give me reliable DD power with potential for boost down the road.

 

Stay single cam. It's cheaper, and it's something you can afford.

 

Alright so stay single cam. So do the mini me y8 head?

 

BOOST? idk where this came from? you want too boost sometime? 2k should get you some place.. I see GSR swaps going for that around here

This could be argued, depends on what he wants out of it.

 

Well no ****!? Jesus

 

not sure how frequent motors are for sale P.A. , but i say go b16a2(if you have 1500-1700 including tranny..) if you want VTEC don't do b20vtec if you've never dealt with swaps yet. get a b20 or B18B big upgrade from sohc. def more hp and more torque. complete swap probably $1200-1300 with tranny and emergency on whatever else you need.

 

keep the d. find a y8 head and then build it and boost it later.

 

So if I can save up $2,000 for a swap and find a good quality B18c1 or GSR for sale I should go for it?

 

It depends what you want bro!

 

I want vtec first off, second I want decent power and correct me if Im wrong, but the B18c1 throws around 180hp which is great for what I want. So If $2000
can get me a clean gsr motor and tranny Im down.

If I go with the gsr should I find the obd1 or just stick with the obd2 ECU?

 

Yeh 180hp at the crank... Around here i could find one for that money, but location plays a big part and im not sure what prices are like in PA... Obd1 is going to be best if you decide too mod it and get it tuned.

 

Looking at a few in Pa on craigslist show a little over $2,000, but I could wait another month or so and save that up.

And since Im obd2 right now I would have to get the new obd1 ECU and a harness?

 

You could run your stock harness you have now, and add the proper wires, or run a Y8 harness. Then get a OBD2b to Obd1 jumper a p28 and chip it and tune it.

 

make sure they have everything necessary for the swap or you need extra $$$ for whatever else mounts,ecu,im, etc.