Hey all, I just got a 96 gsr motor for my 95 civic hatch. It didnt come with an ecu so my question is which ecu do I need to make it run in my hatch properly? It is stock right now and all I plan on doing is a couple bolt ons. Also is it an obd1 or obd2 motor? I have an obd1 wiring harness currently on my car from the ls swap I had in it, will that work with the gsr? And one more question. I plan on getting my car bar-ed so I was wondering, do I need to have a matching tranny or will I be able to pass with my b16 tranny? Hopefully someone is able to help me out so thanks in advance and thank you for your time.

Update!! 7/2/11
First I want to thank b18civicej8 for the help and info you provided, it was very helpful and informative. Secondly, I just found out that my gsr motor is actually a 94 gsr. The stamp on the head says 94 and the bottom block has a 93 stamped at the very bottom of it. All the research i did points to a 94 gsr motor, even though the ht member i bought it off says its a 96. Anyway, I now have a p72 a03 ecu, so my next question is can i use that same ecu to run the motor even though its an obd2 ecu? and correct me if im wrong, i now need an obd1 gsr harness? Also can I use that same ecu with the obd1 gsr harness? Anyway, all I need now is the harness in order to drop it in my hatch and I dont want to waste money on the wrong harness so help is greatly appreciated.

 

You need a P72 ecu from a 96-98 or 1999 GSR. I can't remember when OBD2B came out. But the motor is an OBD2A. Your harness won't work the motor properly. The GSR has a crank angle sensor on it that your ls harness doesn't. If your going to BAR it, do it right. Get the engine harness for the GSR motor and the correct ecu (make sure its USDM) and I'm pretty sure you will have to change out your dash harness. Because your car is OBD1. On OBD2 cars, the engine harness runs all the way through the firewall and connects straight to the ecu along with the dash harness. On OBD1 cars, the engine harness connects in the engine bay and the dash harness runs through the firewall and connects to the ecu. If you are going to cut corners, you will run into problems. If I were you, I would try to find an OBD1 GSR motor.

Or you can change the motor to make it OBD1. But that involves changing Oil Pump, IM and injectors, and dizzy.

 

OP, to make this as easy as pie, find and buy an OBD2A Integra GSR engine harness. The 95 Civics have a 2-piece design harness that splits at the shock towers. The 96-99 GSR harness is the same design. If you get the Integra GSR harness, your swap will be 100% plug and play. You will not have to switch out your dash harness.

The OBD1 LS harness will not work because the distributor, alternator, and injector plugs are all different.

You don't have to change your motor to OBD1. Your hatch is the easiest platform to swap anything.

 

https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...highlight=swap

Here's a detailed post about swapping an OBD2B into a Civic. It's the same rules as OBD2A. Just use the GSR engine harness. You may need to add 2 wires, 1 for knock sensor, and 1 for the intake air bypass. But the key is using the Integra harness.

 

Right on. I learned something new today. LOL. I had no idea that the 96-98 integras engine harness's still connected at the shock towers. I was under the impression that all OBD2 harnesses went through the firewall. Good info. Sorry OP for the confusion. Looks like your in alot better shape.

 

One more question. Sry but please bear with me, does anyone know of a good reputable place in the stockton area that can rebuild a b16 tranny and install lsd on it for a good price?

 

You have an OBD1 car. Just get an OBD1 ECU, preferably a P72. Or you can run an adapter to use the OBD2 ECU.

You don't need a different harness. The original harness will work fine, just add in the wires for IABs, knock and VTEC. That's it. If you use the OBD2 ECU, it will look for CKF and secondary O2 sensor...you have neither. You'll have to wire the wires for the CKP and CKF together to trick the ECU into thinking there is a CKF sensor. And you'll have to either run a simulator or the wires for a second O2 sensor and position it behind the catalytic converter. If you don't have one, it will mean making a spacer to trick the sensor.

It's really just easier to keep the OBD1 car OBD1. You don't gain anything from going OBD2

I don't think a 1996-00 harness will fit a 1992-95 Civic. Even if it does, it's just more work and eliminates one of the beautiful features of the 1992-95 Civic, the 2 piece harness. It's nice being able to just unclip the plugs instead of pulling it all through the dash.

 

I had a P28 in my D16 It was chipped nothing amazing I'd say got with the AEM EMS they make it specifically for your year and model Plug and Play no BS with wires. Just make sure you have shop near you that knows how to tune it properly other wise you'll be in my boat. It may be costly for the device and tune but with most of the cars that I have seen running the AEM EMS are very happy with it a lot happier then they were with their P-series ECU. I have also hear P ECU's are pretty deco for street cars if your trying to go cheap and go through the wiring but I had nothing but problems and headaches with mine :/. Just my personal experience/opinion.

 

What model Civic do you have (EX, DX, LX)? If its an EX you'll only need to wire up knock sensor and the IAB's, VTEC should be plug and play. If its anything other you can use your stock harness and then wire up knock, IAB, and the VTEC plugs. You can go the GSR harness route but you'll still need to wire from the shock tower to the ECU unless you get that harness portion as well. Check my sig below for some options for wiring.

 

You will need an USDM OBD1 P72-AO1/2 ecu to pass BAR. To make your life easier, find a GSR engine harness.

 

Plenty of people just run Hondata, which works with the OEM Honda ECU. The EMS is only necessary if you go coil on plug, and even then, there's a kit that doesn't require that. Running 8 injectors requires the EMS, but with ID1600 and ID2000 injectors, even that is not an issue.