Hey,
im new to this obviously, but i just wanted to see what suggestions i can get off the forum in terms of modding my gsr. i dont really know too much about cars...only reason i bought the car was because ive always loved integras.
its a white 94 gsr with about 30 k on the rebuilt engine. it had a turbo set up in it, turbo is blown now. my mechanic talked me into going the all motor route.
i know i need a new ecu, because the one i have is a single cam ecu.
mechanic also said i need a new exhaust manifold.

figured id purchase all the parts i need to get then take it to get the car taken care of.

what im looking for?
opinions on what i should do, opinions on where i can purchase parts, and opinions on preferable brands n whatnot.
id really appreciate any help i can get

thanks.

 

Well since your car is already setup for for forced induction, just buy a new turbo, it will cost you just as much as buying all the stuff necissary to switch back to NA. And the car would just be all around nicer. Just my opinion.

 

if u just want to get it running again, u could alway go to the junk yard or craiglist n look for stock exhaust manifold. im pretty sure an ls manifold will work, they r the most common n easy to come by.

 

Keep it boosted, it's less of a hastle if you already had a reliable setup.

 

I'd figure out what you've got in there before making any decisions. Depending upon how it's been turbocharged switching to NA could be a pain. Do you know anything about the type of turbo and what's been done to the engine?

 

Your ecu is probably off a Civic, but most likely it has been modded to be able to run any setup. Open it up and look at it. If your mechanic does not know then I'd suggest finding a new mechanic.

 

Well for now I just want the car to run properly without any issues. Figured if I go the all motor route then later if I want to go back to turbo I can. I kind of need this thing to work well now, I work and go yo school full time so I don't have a lot of time to waste....he said it was a single can ecu which was chipped. And it was a precision turbo...also I figured I'd go purchase new parts for it instead of getting regular stock ones. Again I'm just looking for some advice on what parts to buy and where I should look.

 

I'd do this

Intake - 10-30$
Exhaust manifold - 10-30$

Rip out the turbo, sell everything, +200$

THEN, when you get there, see how you feel. Also, the ecu might be from a single cam civic, but it is most likely tuned for whatever you have in the motor.

Get us some pics, also, do you know if the motor is built for turbo or is it stock? If its built (IE. Low comp pistons, etc), then ripping off the turbo would really turn it into a shitbox

 

The ECU is probably a chipped P28. The P28 was from a 92-95 civic Si and other models. It runs the D16Z6, but can be programmed to run other engines as well.

Sounds kinda messy. I would convert back to N/A using just stock stuff. If you want to go turbo later, start fresh. Don't set your car up using someone else's unknown ****.

 

It would be nice to know what's inside the engine. Do you have compression test results?

 

Depending where you live, you might also want to consider emissions laws. If you're in a state where they don't check for those type of things, I'd find a reputable performance shop to open up that motor and see whats going on. If the motor is in fact built (low compression pistons, oversized valves, bigger injectors, turbo cams) or even if its not built, you'll still need to retune the ecu. Your mechanic is saying you're running a single cam ecu probably because the ecu reads p05/p06/p07/p28 which are all chippable/programmable ecu's. Just go get it retuned in the mean time.

 

I wouldn't expect the average mechanic to know the difference between different 90's Honda ECUs by looking at them. If its someone that works at a shop that deals with aftermarket parts, then that's a different story.

 

Ecu's are not considered aftermarket. If they do not specialize in Honda then there is no point taking it to them in the first place.

 

Any idea of the pistons / compression ratio that engine has? If it's below 10:1 for high-boost, going N/A will be a disappointment power-wise. Also, cams for N/A typically have more overlap than a cam designed for turbo/boost - another factor that argues against switching to N/A at this time - depending on the cam specs.

More details will help this group give you advice that ends in happiness!

 

If its a build motor like every one says keep it boosted because a motor build for boost will run like **** if the turbo is taken off. how many lbs was the boost when you got the car, if it was set on high boost ( over 8lbs) then the motor is most likely bulit for high boost if the setup was done right and running a 10:1 compression ratio or maybe even lower like mark said. That means it will have diff pistons, injectors, ecu, cams, jackets, maybe even valves. if this is the case taking the turbo setup off will make for a very slow car. weigh out your options of cost before you make a move to fix or change anything. you could prob sell the full turbo setup with blown turbo for around 200 to 400 with the ecu and you might be able to trade the setup for someones n/a setup.

 

The number of PSI a car is running has nothing to do with whether or not it was built as a low compression boost motor. One size turbo could be pushing 8 PSI safely into a stock motor, while another could run 20 PSI with no harm done. The size of the turbo and the tune are what dictate how many lbs you can run. There is no set PSI that dictates whether you have to build the motor or not. However, if it is indeed built with low compression pistons, then running it N/A will make it **** slow, you are right about that.