I have a 2000 Honda Civic Si. Real EM1. Before you comment I have a preference. I will not be changing the Engine or Trans, nor installing a Turbo(At least not for now). I have the original engine and trans(B16). I have an AEM intake, Greedy Header, and I believe I was told a 2nd stage clutch(When I bought it). I am looking for some genuine help on a bunch of things I could do to increase my cars performance. Adding HP and what not. As of rite now its mostly stock except the things i mentioned above and hopefully a Magnaflow catback exhaust coming soon. I'm learning step by step now with all this stuff so excuse me if i dont catch on quick. A good ole list of upgrades i can do hear and there and I'll get on it bit by bit. Appreciate the help.

 

No.

Without a motor swap, or some kind of FI, you aren't going to get any more performance out of the engine. You could upgrade the internals you have right now, but considering that you don't want to swap the motor, I'm going to guess you don't want to swap pistons and rods, either. Start looking at brakes, tires, and suspension, and if you actually want to be able to drive faster, go to your local race track and sign up for performance driving lessons.

 

Im just waiting for a motor swap, thats why i dont want to turbo it now. This motor already has 170K miles on it and its only a 1.6L... But its going to be a few years before i'd do the swap.

 

Do you have some sort of goal or direction you're working towards? Or just got some cash burning a hole?

 

Waiting for a motor swap? Do you know what motor you want to put in, or is it just one of those "maybe in the future" pipe dream deals?

 

Im still getting advice but there's a few. The main 2 I'm hearing about are the B18C1 and B18C5. But with the C5 I heard about a few things i would have to watch for and cost a good chunck of money. Something with induction, idk. I also hear a lot about the H22 but I was told they're like 200lbs heavier and i dont want to deal with that problem. But like i said, I'm somewhat new to this and still learning.

 

But, in the future, I definitly will be motor swapping. Rite now is just not that time for me and my motor now is good to go for quiet a bit longer.

 

200 pounds is wrong. You'll want to do more research there. As for a B18 swap, anything you buy now that bolts into or onto your B16A2 will also bolt into or onto a B18Cx. You can boost now without worrying about the swap later.

 

200lbs

It would be wise for you not to do any upgrades at the moment. Get familiar with your car, learn how to drive it as is, see for youself where your car needs improvement. Then you can ask more technical questions about what exactly you want to do.

There are literally hundredes of threads asking exactly what you are asking. There's helpful FAQ's and such at the top of each forum page, and there's plenty of threads describing many setups and answering many questions in detail. You haven't hardly searched at all. Get to know your car, then get to searching.

 

So.....

 

Subjective advice:
-the H22 makes tons of power and torque. It's cheap. It's nowhere near as durable as a B series, though.

-If you find a B18C5, it's likely stolen.

-A B18C1 is less likely to be stolen since there were so many GSR's made in the US. But...assume its stolen too.

-A JDM B18C is a more viable/powerful option. The blacktop GSR equivalent makes 180hp. The red top Type R model makes 200-205. The R model trans is geared like the B16, but has a LSD. The 98+ spec has a shorter final drive.

-A blacktop swap in an EM1 :/. Kinda dumb.

All this can likely be found on google. But again, your question isn't really all that answerable. The best advice is to buy parts that will work on the B18. B16's aren't really all that impressive in a coupe.

 

Another viable option would be an LS-VTEC, and since you already have the B16A2, you have the most expensive part of it - the head.

 

Why do you say that? Serious question

 

They rev high, which is fun, but unfortunately they need to rev high to be in their powerband, and even then, their torque is absolutely abysmal. There's no replacement for displacement.

 

Well...they all rev high and they all need to rev high. The exception being the H22. It revs to 8200, but make down low power too.

The JDM B18C-R revs to 8700.

Problem with the B16 is the narrow powerband. If its saddled with weight (the EM1 is one of the heaviest 6G civics), it really bogs down.

The weight of the EM1 is going to be apparent with the 1.8L swaps as well....but it will be significantly faster with either one of the B18C's.

The H22 masks the weight well. But IMO, there are a lot of downsides to that swap.

OP doesn't want to answer whether he's building this car in some sort of direction. Whoch means he isn't.

 

Well...they all rev high and they all need to rev high. The exception being the H22. It revs to 8200, but make down low power too.

The JDM B18C-R revs to 8700.

Problem with the B16 is the narrow powerband. If its saddled with weight (the EM1 is one of the heaviest 6G civics), it really bogs down.

The weight of the EM1 is going to be apparent with the 1.8L swaps as well....but it will be significantly faster with either one of the B18C's.

The H22 masks the weight well. But IMO, there are a lot of downsides to that swap.

OP doesn't want to answer whether he's building this car in some sort of direction. Which means he isn't. So it doesn't really matter if it's "fast" or not because there isn't a gauge for it. Just have fun.

I would add that if I were buying an EM1; a B18C blacktop/B18C1, or H22 would devalue the car quite a bit. As would a JDM B16A, LS VTEC or B20/B20 VTEC. I'd say "that's just me", but I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one with that opinion.

 

Ah ok, that's what I figured you meant. Glad I'm an H fanatic then


I really don't get the deal about EM1's though, what's the big deal? Their heavy, and not as aesthetic as their pre-facelift counterpart

 

Have you consider a nitrous kit?

 

OP

There is not much you can do to make your Si faster, trust me I have one too and drive it everyday, and mine's boosted and I still think it's turd slow at "300whp"

Save up, make sure that maintenance is up to date as-in timing belt,valve lash adjustment, etc

Honestly, get a chipped p28 and have it tuned. This whole ordeal will cost you around $4-600 bucks

If your engine is healthy, you should get around 150whp, which is normal, but at least it will be more responsive

so yeah, just get it out of your head that you have a "fast" car, you don't

 

Honestly,

looking back. I think the best mods I did to my car (other than turbo) were the Innovative motor mounts, BuddyClub short shifter and Poly shifter bushings. Definitely made the car feel more responsive, not to mention, shift WAY better and smoother

 

EM1's are special in a nostalgic kind of way. They're not fast. They're hard to make fast. But you can have fun driving them. My suggestion was to do just that. Handling, braking, tires, driving experience. Those are the most effective areas for a car built for no particular purpose.

I'd rather have a stock EM1 than a 400hp EX.

 

I guess I do need a lot of research. My buddy is going to be holding my hand through all of this lol. But what we may be doing as far as engine is build the head of the B16A and add a turbo. Cams, valves, springs, retainers, etc etc.. Im still figuring it all out. That i guess is where i need help. Then later on changing the bottom end. (Possibly a B20, thats what a few people have suggested to me). I also be looking into all the advice on here as far as handling, suspencion, and getting a chipped p28. And no, i have not considered a nitrous kit. lol i dont think I'm anywhere near ready for it

 

First, stop and read the FAQ sticky thread here. After that, if you want boost, go read the FI section's FAQs. If you want all-motor, go read the All Motor section FAQs. Nearly every bit of information you could possibly need is all right here.

 

Buy a B20 bottom end and some RS machine pistons and put it on your B16 head. You will see great gains for minimal money.

PM me if you need more guidance.

 

^^
He will need alot of guidance