I'm very interested in swapping my stock A6 to a D series Vtec engine .
On my hunt i found a pretty cheap one.
Its a D16Y5.
Will this motor hook straight up with my stock transmission .
Is it worth 350?
Is it worth buying at all?
And how hard is the swap?

 

I have never heard of the D16Y5. I know the Y8 is a VTEC motor. None the less, and moving on.
All D-series motors will bolt up to a D-series transmission.
Is it worth $350, it's in the eye of the beholder. Many like the A6 already. A Z6 head and a mini-me might be cheaper. Who knows. It's worth is up to you.
The swap is easy. Pulling a motor and dropping in the new one isn't hard. It is a D series, so you can swap the motor mounts and it will be fine. Since you already have a MPFI motor, it won't need any wiring. If it is OBD1, you need a new ECU and distributor to match. everything else is good to go. Just hook up the appropriate sensors.

Super easy swap. Worth it, who knows.

 

D16Y5 is the OBD2 VTEC_E engine from the 96-00 Civic HX - it is 115hp and is an economy engine - operates as a 12 valve engine (1 intake & 2 exhaust) until VTEC activates, when the 2nd intake valve opens - when VTEC is not activated it does not have a lot of power (still doesn't have a lot when it is in VTEC)

 

Pff, that's why you don't hear about it. Might as well get a 3-stage D15B. These motors are like the i-VTEC of today. But with much less power. 115 HP isn't much over the A6 at all. And the A6 doesn't have an 'economy' mode.

 

You'd be looking for a y8 or a z6 for the simplest swap. They both make about 20 more than an A6. The d15z7 mentioned above is a good choice too. This motor is capable of getting the same gas mileage as the civic vx did (50 or so mpg hwy) while making about 130 hp and able to run neck and neck with a y8 or z6. It is a much more labor insensive job wiring that motor up (2 vtec solenoids for vtec-e and vtec, multi wire 02 sensor, etc)

 

Yup. Or you can cave like I did and go B-series. 140+ whp NA. The DOHC was such a break through.

 

I went from a Y8 to a B16a2. Never looked back.

If OP is going for gas mileage, the 3 stage VTEC d15 would be your best bet. There are other ways of increasing mileage without a motor swap. What is your goal with this car?

 

or if the y5 is healthy you can buy that then go to the junk yard and pick up a z6 or y8 cam and rocker assembly and the z6 or y8 intake manifold and boom you have your self a standard sohc vtec engine

 

The y5 is great with a little turbo. You can keep the same great gas mileage (tuned properly) while picking up 40 or so HP. (roller rockers, evtec, a turbo, and 45 mpg sounds likt quite the recipe.)
https://honda-tech.com/forums/forced-induction-16/turbo-d16y5-172whp-163tq-2829644/

 

i jus want a decent D series motor. im not goin to crazy maybe a few things but would like to have good gas mileage. and something simple is always better.
if i could find a y8 or z6 thats what i really want.

 

I think he's MPGs had to take a tank. He didn't have the e-VTEC anymore and he said it spooled fairly quick which means he may hit boost often. Still a good thread.

170 whp isn't bad. It's up there for a D-series without building the motor. 200 is the breaking point for those motors, says the internet, so I'd aim for 180 if you plan on boosting.

If you want D-series. The JDM D15B or the D16Z6 is your best bet. I have heard bad things about the oiling system in the D16Y8 many times, but it might not apply to the naturally aspirated realm.

 

What's wrong with these? They're rated at 130hp, like the dohc zc

 

a y5 will give you roughly 50mpg give or take, doesn't have much power and you need the correct ECU and everything wired up properly for it to work right

a d15B 3 stage vtec needs the correct ECU as well and will only work with the ECU that was made for it, If this motor has any issues, good luck finding parts because almost everything for this motor is only in Japan and not many parts are in the US.

D16y8 are plentiful, but have somewhat weak bottom ends with the oil ports in the crank.

D16z6 is about the best D series engine, and has the same block and such as a A6 bottom.

if your leaning towards a Y8 or Z6, I would choose the Z6. unless your going to NOT beat on it, than you could go with a Y8, as long as you don't run in low on oil.

 

That was actually a suggestion. If he is going for economy like the Y5, he should go with that motor instead. It's more power and good gas mileage. But Fliptard really nailed my opinion in his post.

I agree with this 100%. If you want more power, I really suggest doing a mini me with your A6 and put a Z6 head on it. Get an ECU and get it chipped to run your motor with VTEC and it will be a good increase in top end for you.

Or you can do a full motor swap, which is 'harder' to do and will probably cost more money than just a new head.

Check the FAQs for a mini me write up. It's very interesting.

 

well ive been thinking bout the mini me with the z6 head, but my current a6 hase 264,000 miles. would the block need to be replaced or anything to make it last

and i baby my ef.

 

Ah, i misread the comment

 

you could just re-ring the a6 and put new bearings in it and slap a Z6 head on it

 

No worries! I do the same often, the internet makes it hard to tell the difference between sarcasm and random ideas.

If the rings look good and the motor has compression, I don't think so. That is a lot of miles, but if your A6 is still running it must not be too bad.

I don't want to tell you not to swap to the Z6 motor, but a mini me is cheaper and easier. You can do it by hand, you don't need to remove the whole motor. The mini me can be done easily in a weekend.

It's basically replacing the headgasket, but you put on a different head instead of the same one. Exhaust bolts right back up, intake can be reused (correct me if I'm wrong) VTEC is very easy to wire up, slip on the conversion harness and change the ECU.

Just a heads up, on the OBD1 VTEC and your conversion harness, there should be extra wires on the harness and instructions that tell you where to splice them. A couple of them go to VTEC. It's really REALLY easy to do a mini-me. I think some of the hardest and most frustrating parts of a motor swap is getting the mounts to line up.

But, if you have the time, money for a complete block/head, and the ability to remove the complete engine, the Z6 with less miles should be a better option. But it's a used motor, hard to tell how it's been treated in the past.

 

It depends if it's an EUDM/JDM D16Y5, the 3-stage VTEC is implemented on the D15B 1.5l SOHC engine in which the VTEC-E mechanism is combined with the power VTEC mechanism. I don't mind Saving gas and having the power the power when I want it. You would need to have dual actuators. I'm Dealing with this issue now. I think I have a JDM D16Y5 it has cast markings similar to other Y5's I've seen, but my block has two Japanese cast symbols then P2J-5 in the middle and 97 on the right. I took the valve cover off and it is a 3 stage cam shaft, but has one actuator. I think this motor was just thrown together just to sell it. you can check out my pics. Still trying to unravel the origin of the Head. The Block I know is From the stock DX. that's my $.02.