hey. whats up guys, im new to the forums and just picked up my first honda this week.

my whole life i hated on civics, but after driving a monster Jeep wrangler. gas was killing me. after driving my civic for a day i fell in love with it.

It is a 90 civic hatchback dx. mine has been slammed on its nuts and motor and transaxle has been rebuilt, probably 10k on both.
my question is about the d15b2 engine.

how reliable is this engine? what are some pros and cons to this engine?

im not looking to turbo it right now, but i would assume a newer engine like a k serries? (if im remembering what my friend told me correct) would have to be put in if i ever went that route. right now im just looking for a gas saver. with that being said

is there much you can do to this engine to give it a little more Ohmf. straight bolt ons? to trade a little gas for performance? or is it not worth it?

thanks, kyle.

 

Google is your new best friend.

 

yes but when i come up on a manufacturers website all it says is that this little device will add upto 8000000 HORSEPOWER!!!!!! like wtf i want real answers that arent biased towards a company making money

 

Check in on doing a DPFI to MPFI conversion.
You will need to do it anyway if you ever do a motor swap in the future.
It's good for about 10 or so hp.

It is not unusual to find people selling all the required parts (Complete MPFI intake manifold, distributor, ECU) for under $100.
The wiring is really easy so don't get overwhelmed. I honestly don't know why people freak out and become overwhelmed with the wiring. You basically add w wires for the 2 additional injectors and then 2 more wires for the distributor pulses to control those new injectors. A couple odds and ends and you are done.

 

i took two years of Electrical classes, im no stranger to it. lol wiring is my bread and butter, first thing i did with my civic was redo the wiring, all of it looked like a 10 year old did it.

 

oh snap, i just looked at the engine and it already has the MPFI, sweet!

 

Well, that's about as good as that engine gets as far as a little extra "ohmf' unless you are willing to invest $hundreds.

Is the transmission 4 speed or 5?

 

transaxle is a 5 speed manual.

 

wait its a transaxle correct??? because its front engine front wheel drive its considered a transaxle correct me if im wrong.

 

well if i decide to put a small turbo on it and intercooler what would you put in maximum psi? 4 or 5?

 

Transaxle would be correct since the unit includes the differential, but everybody just calls it a transmission as the meaning is understood for these cars.

psi is relative to the turbo. A more efficient turbo is going to give more power than a less efficient turbo at the same psi level.

A proper starter turbo kit is going to run you a couple thousand. The ebay kits are absolute garbage.

 

I'd say you can piece together a relatively cheap (<$2,000) turbo kit fairly easily. I don't think the B2 is the motor to turbo though.

Best bet for this car would be the MPFI conversion (already done), 5 speed transmission (instead of the 4 speed), and you could opt for the intake/header/exhaust combo. I don't think this motor is potent enough to see gains from that on the stock map. I'd just recommend the better geared transmission.

 

sounds like this motor isnt worth the time or money, might as well enjoy my gas milage till i have the cash to put in a k serries

 

You don't have to go all out with a k series motor. There are definitely worth while swaps at a lower price point. I just can't get over $1,000 for Kpro myself.

 

K series costs ~$5k, or more. That is for a proper swap, no shortcuts. But that is also with a cheap-ish engine/trans. Hell, the JDM K20 "type R" engine/trans alone is $5k at some places...

 

I have one and they get great gas mileage. Make sure your temp gauge works and never let it overheat or your in for some setbacks. The stock head gaskets are garbage. If you ever have to replace one, use a metal one from a D16Z6. I am getting ready to upgrade to OBD1 MPFI, but still need the wiring and map sensor.

 

if not k serries then what motor? b serries?

 

B20, stock longblock
B16 trans with an LS 5th


Thats is the ultimate budget setup. And it will beat most of the vtec setups...

 

This may or may not help you out. It was very helpful for me though.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...=sharing#gid=0

 

Ummm....so I finnaly decided to find out what my engine could do...so I was hard on it today to work....I don't think this is normal but it hits the rev limiter at 8500rpm and it gets to 60 pretty damm quick...I topped it out at 130 before slowing down on the freeway.... ( no cars in sight) it was 4 am...

Sorry if that bothers some of you it was a one time thing......now this is the first "car" I've ever owned my previous cars were a jeep wrangler and a toyota pickup....
With that said....I don't think a stock honda would rev to 8500 rpm

 

Stock Hondas do rev to 8500 RPM, not D15B2s though.

 

what ECM do you have?

 

yes, it sound like you might have a b16 ecu or a chipped D-series ecu

 

I'd say chipped before the DOHC ECU haha.

 

Keep reving that motor to 8000+ RPM and you will be needing a motor swap VERY VERY soon. The D15B2 is an excellent motor, my last one had 280K miles on it. If properly maintained they will run to 500K miles while getting great gas mileage. I suggest you hang around for awhile, learn a little bit, save some money, then start thinking about a swap if you havent blown your motor by then.