Whats up guys I'm Jordan
Just bought a '98 civic ex coupe, new to the Honda scene and i really wanna get into swapping/turbo'ing it, but i'm clueless right now lmao. But it seems i've come to the right place to get some answers!

So with that being said, what's the best swap for me to look into? Like i said i have a completely stock 2door '98 civic ex. In the end i'd want around 350ish hp. I have the funds to look into a swap/turbo soon after i learn about it. So basically what i'm asking is what swap is the best for me to look into right away, and mods. aka what are the first few thigs i should do step by step.

Thanks a lot!
-Jordan

 

Welcome

Your goals are pretty ambitious .... You won't be able to do it with just a swap or turbo. You'll need BOTH! If you really want 350hp, get ready to purchase a K20 and maybe a T3/T4 turbo. Things you should do to prepare? Stack about $10,000.

 

Well if you have the money there certainly is a lot of things you can do to reach your hp goals. How much money were you looking to spend? Will this be a daily driver?

 

In before marc schools you on turbos.

First off....have you been in a 350hp civic? or is this a number your pulling out of a hat. 350hp in an econo-box civic is alot...ie--fuel management/alot of suspension mods, and I dont just mean lowering it...unless you just want a tire spinning machine.

As for swaps go---If funds are unlimited...K series... thats going to be at least $7500 though done right. Then turbo....skys the limit.

Search ----and get to reading. You have to determine what you want....if its just you want 350 hp and its a weekend car...you could go one route....if you want 350 hp and a daily driver...its a completely different route.

 

Thanks guys,

As of right now its my daily driver, i just sold my WRX so i have some money to spend, and i have been in my friends 450hp civic hatch, and it ripped, so i guess i can't really say i've been in a 350hp civic but is that pretty quick for a civic? My WRX was 400awhp but thats a completely different vehicle..

Basically i want a fast civic, but not out of this world ridiculous fast obnoxious one. So maybe 300hp?
I've read that a B18 series is a good route?

This will be my daily for awhile

 

And total i'm willing to spend on swap/turbo/suspension/mods in the end is probably around 7-8k total

 

with that budget you wont be able to get everything you need if you go with a K-series, the swap alone will cost you $7000. reseach B-series turbo builds and go from there. good luck

 

I come from a similar background as you (400+ awhp DSM). Similarly, I initially got my hatch as a reliable, economical daily driver.
My garage queen is currently a 335i with ~450rwhp.

It all started with the desire to get "passing" power on the highway. My hatch had the 8V SOHC motor, 67hp beast. It quickly escalated into an ITR swap with supporting suspension/braking upgrades. I tuned her last week and put down a hair under 200fwhp.

Last week I weighed her too, she turned out being 2200lbs. Those 2200lbs include ~50lbs of extra sound deadening material installed but rear seats removed (they are light anyways).

Why am I telling you all this? Because ~200whp on a ~2200lbs car is a lot of fun man. You probably don't even need 300hp.

What I love about my little hatch is that she's still ridicolously reliable, definitely my DD. But now she pulls decently hard when I want to play, which is nice!

My personal recommendation? Stay NA. You've come to appreciate factory boosted platforms. Nothing against a well built turbo D-series (amazing value if done right), but coming from a similar background as you I can tell you that these little NA engines can be a lot of fun the way they were designed.

Common NA options that yield upper-100/lower-200whp:

• B-series: ITR preferred... B18C (JDM) or B18C5 (USDM)
• H2B: Take the H-series engine (2.2L VTEC). Mate it to a B-series LSD transmission with an adapter. Drop it in like a regular B-series swap. It's a great bang for the buck and it yields ridicolous power (similar to K-swap as far as I understand).
• K-series: a beast, lots of potential, more expensive, swap more involved than B-series, you can put solid 220-230whp with KPro and bolt ons. Personally I don't like the way it fits in the EG/EK chassis. It doesn't look right in there. But that's just my preference. It's a proven, powerful route.

Bottom line: you might have much more fun than you think with 200-220whp given the weight of your car. Consider one of the three above options.

Good luck.

 

This is sound advice. 200hp on a Civic is pretty damn quick. Jumping right into 350, without knowing how to even get there, is a pipe dream right now. Read the link in my sig to get yourself off on the right foot.

For an N/A build go H2b. If pockets are deep go K.
If you want to go turbo you can do 200hp safely on a stock block if the engine is healthy. Sky's the limit of you build the block.

If you're set on 350hp (which you AINT gonna get N/A) you will need to go turbo. Pick the turbo that has the flow to get you there and build around that. Upgrade all fuel related components. Get a good EMS like Hondata or Neptune and get a tune.

But first, you gotta do a LOT of reading. It took me about 6-8 months of reading up on turbos before I bought even my first parts. I also didn't have to ask a single question ina forum because it's all there for you to read.

 

I hate to sound bias but the only honda i've ever purchased came swapped with a B18a1 and thats the route i would probably go. There seems to be more information about doing this swap and it seems to be a better bang for your buck. I personally wouldn't waste my money on a b18c5 but a GSR motor (b18c1) is probably your best bet. I wouldn't go all motor though because I personally think thats a waste of money but thats my opinion.

 

Having a reliable turbo'd car isn't easy or cheap, and putting it all together is a pain. Aftermarket stuff never fits right. I had to hack up my radiator support and make a 90* adapter for my wastegate because my turbo manifold was apparently meant for an Integra or something. No intercooler will ever just bolt up. There may be bolt on intercooler piping, but it will probably still need altered.

For a daily, I would have built a H22 with like 11:1 compression, mild cams, and built a transmission for it centering around the b16 or itr trans for the short, low gearing.

 

There's enough information about any swap you decide on doing. H2B would destroy any N/A B-series swap, especially the torque, and give you K-level power for a fraction of a K.

 

All motor on anything but at least an h22 or K series isn't going to make that much power. It can be fun, but around 200hp is about the most you'd make. An LSVTEC with 12:1 compression and aggressive cams would be possible to get around the 200 mark. For a daily, high compression isn't desirable since it will eat rings faster and aggressive cams require heavy springs and that means valvetrain will wear out faster. A GSR or B20 with an LS intake at least would be a good reliable but fun motor.

Turbo engines have more plumbing, leaks and stuff are a pain since the engine bay is pretty cramped usually. More power means you're more likely to break axles and such. Boost creates a dangerous environment where if anything goes wrong, you can blow the motor easier.

At least with turbo, good engine management can make the motor last. You don't need real aggressive cams and 9-10:1 compression can keep the motor decent for getting around out of boost as well as being safe for boost. Somewhere like 300hp can be safely made on a stock GSR bottom end. A lot of people do that and are happy.

 

And this is usually due to people cheaping out and doing crappy builds and no maintenance. For the level of power you need to break axles you're talking about high horsepower builds. I also don't see how blowing the motor while boosted is any more dangerous than blowing a motor that is naturally aspirated.Maybe you need to qualify these blanket statements because when done right a turbocharged engine can last for a long time.

BTW. I can work on my car quite easily. I don't know where you're getting this "cramped" crap from.

 

I have some wealthy friends....so I have a lot of seat time in Sti's and K series swapped civics....

A 200+ hp civic (K swapped/H2B) is quicker then many people realize. I mean these cars only weight around 2,000 lbs, and when swapped right/tuned/fuel mang/yada yada....can be fun.

As for the turbo comments above...any swap/turbo/s/c'ed done right, can be reliable. Its when things are cheaply pieced together things break. You get guys buying Gsr motors and complaining about buying a good set of mounts, etc. or trying to take saab turbos with 200k on them and a wastegate out of whatever is at the junker,....

You gotta pay to play. Do your homework, buy quality parts, and youll have something reliable (to an extent)

 

It's been said a million times before.

Money, Speed, Reliability. Pick 2.

 

.... im sorry but you have nothing to contribute but false information

before you get into anything just research and research don't be one of these people that needs to be spoon fed

 

lol....
my fav car sayin is...

whats a 400hp supra got in common with a 1200 hp supra?

they both got 10 second time slips----

 

Wait a minute... you sold your WRX for a civic?



Kev

 

Noo I had a wrx and the civic, but I just moved to WV from North Dakota and sold the wrx and drove the civic here. So i have some play monies

And thanks for all the info guys!

 

You need to leave.

You can do 350hp on the D series.

 

And do it for way less than 10K. Where do these know-nothing people come from?

 

Sounds like you did it WRONG. I didn't have to hack anything and it went together like it was supposed to be there. My upgrade this summer will be the same. You obviously tried to Frankenstein non-matching parts together to save a buck. Everything you're saying only cements my statement about doing it WRONG.

 

Just an FYI, if you're anything like me a 350-450whp FWD car will scare the **** out of you.

 

I think I'll be happy with 300hp out of this upcoming build. If I start getting the jones for more I'll just have to build a track car 'cause I wouldn't put that on the street.