I live in California.

Emission laws suck ballz, and I need to smog-in fact, I was supposed to 4 months ago. The problem with my car is I have the MIL for p0141 and the (stock) engine has low compression in cylinder #3-possibly broken piston ring or sticky valve-but I do know either way I want to rebuild.

Car:
2000 Civic dx
104k mi
DC headers, ex intake and exhaust setup
Blah Blah....Blah

The question is....I was looking up some info on rebuild kits, and I found a legit one-the FJ kit with Vitara pistons-here:

(so the first kit plus vitara kit):
http://www.onecamonly.com/archive/index.php/t-276.html

I know its old, and I don't even know if I could still get it....but back to the question- can I upgrade to Vitaras and still pass emissions? I heard with the Vitara rods I will be running low compression so that won't pass...but I don't know enough about this kit. Also, I don't know how much building I will get into, but I'll start anywhere as long as my engine is fully functional.

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Vitaras are usually used on turbo builds. It says so right there in that page. Just get an OEM rebuild kit (or a new/used engine) and call it a day.

 

Hence the word usually. I do plan on going turbo in the future, and I understand that people have run it stock prior to turbo installation...which is no added benefit as it will run lower compression with the associated rods so it will also be slower in the meantime...just if im gona tear apart my engine now I wouldn't mine adding them in and dealing with a minor loss of power.

And I guess I read it wouldn't leave a CEL as it is fine on stock ecu, and I don't know why I thought otherwise.

 

not stock, i mean-n/a

 

Should have mentioned plans to build for turbo in the first post. And I don't know why you think they will somehow affect emissions. Unless you're absolutely positive you're going to boost it then I wouldn't.

 

Well I'm not getting turbo before smog, so to avoid confusion I'm just asking about the current state as it is. Secondly, I was asking if it would be worth it if I didn't have it turboed YET. What's up with the condescending tone, bro? Of course if I was an expert I wouldn't be asking. Ya, maybe to some it might sound stupid-but I'm in a continual learning process and there's some things you just don't learn without asking the experienced mechanics and diy'ers. Anyway, thanks for the reply-I appreciate it. Hey, maybe one day we'll cross paths and you'll see a legit *** ferio.

 

Sorry. The question makes no sense on it's face. Turbo pistons on an engine that isn't going to be turboed and may not ever be boosted.

I already told you to go OEM in a previous post.
I could care less about seeing a "real Ferio".

 

Well since the car is a 2000, it will have to run an OBD2 computer to pass emissions and when you mess with engine internals like pistons, you need to tune it to run right again. There's supposedly a way to chip the OBD2 computers, but I haven't ever looked into it past that. Higher compression generally gives better combustion, so I'll go out on a limb and say it will at least have a tougher time.

There's nothing wrong with keeping stock compression and turbocharging you car, I'm running almost stock compression, it means you have to be a bit more careful but it's not a complete dog out of boost.

 

THANK YOU!! That was exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. I was just worried about emissions, and from what I understand the weak link of the d16 engines are the rods-which the kit includes, plus stronger pistons equals more potential in the long run.

Whether it's building and/or turboing, all internals should be upgraded, correct? Also, in what order would you upgrade internals-cams, pistons, springs, valve stems, bore, etc...? I know there are a lot of places to start, but I wasted my time with bolt ons (but actually I just didn't want to get another dx mani/cat that would crack on the cast iron again for 20x the cost of the headers I got.

I have researched basic upgrading and engine upgrades, but I don't really know where to start...being CA legal is extremely tricky...

Anyway, thanks for the informative reply!

 

Maybe you should do some proper research. Start by reading the FAQ in the Forced Induction forum. Vitara builds have been in abundance since that 5 year old link you found.