Im newer to the civic world. Had first civic for about 9 months and my current for about 2 months. My question is probly simple and quick but just wanting to make sure my motor is ok before doing a tranny swap.

Ok, use to have a 97' ex with a d16y8 5speed. Car was awesome... Got tboned lol that was the end of that car. Then came along a 00' ex d16y8 but an auto. Car was cheap and needed love.

I have been upgrading the car with part to find what feels like a lag in my power. I am use to a 5speed tras so im not sure if its the shitty auto trans. I have replaced the map sensor, new stainless catback exhaust (which seemed to help but might be just the hp gain), new cold air intake. Only thing left i have left i wanna replace is the iacv. I know its not a head gasket problem.

Idk guys, any incite or ideas would be awesome.

 

You think a bolt-on cat-back gave you an hp gain? You poor, misinformed person...

You're taking a car that already has no torque to begin with, and rather than giving it 5 gears to work with, you're limiting it to 4. Torque multiplication is a real thing. That's most likely the majority of your problem right there. Also, unless you've done a compression test, you don't know if it is or isn't an engine problem at all, let alone saying it isn't a head gasket problem.

Do a full tune-up, and do a compression test.

 

And to add to what NotARacist said. An automatic uses a torque converter to transfer power from the engine to the axles. The power transfer is through fluid dynamics and not a direct contact of a clutch like it is in a manual transmission. There is a significant power loss there in the torque converter.

 

5sp always feels more peppy

 

It was a system with 4-2-1 headers too. The stock cc was clogged and the muffler was riddled with rust holes. So... There was a very noticable change in the power of the car after i installed the exhaust system. So noticable change in power.... Hmm... Ya, some might call that a hp gain. Thx for not being a dick with ur answer. A compression test is all i have left to do, ive gave it a full tune up. Was just asking if the auto trans was significantly slower than the manual 5 speed.

 

Yes it's a slush box lol. My auto teg would get whipped by manual eg hatches with single cams in them lol. Wouldn't be caught dead in anything but a manual now.

 

So running with his question, since I can't seem to find any write ups of it, or just don't know how to search for it (I'm new to forums), how easy or hard or expensive is it to take out an auto and put in a 5-speed or 6-speed if there is one??? I have a 94 civic EX, EJ1 (I believe) with a D16Z6 motor.

 

Search google, Honda Civic EJ auto to manual

I bet you get some solid results and write ups etc.

 

I was thinking that was the problem lol. Its not like i cant go when needed, I just have no *** in this car. I cant wait to do my swap lol

 

I found an awesome write up on doing the swap that im gonna use to help guide me in the process, not for sure about ur motor but its a d16. Says it took about 8 hours but they know what there doing lol. Im buying a y8 5 speed and everything elts off a guy for $250. Hope thos helps.

 

It's a 1.6L single cam with less than 100 WHP, and less torque than a windmill. It doesn't matter what transmission you bolt it to - it's still assless.

 

It doesn't matter, what matters is the joy of a manual and using the power you do have to the fullest potential. One of the funest cars to drive is the Old Mini Cooper. Lightweight, not much power, but still fun to drive, and it had a manual. So I'm looking for the same joy without going superfast.

 

Marcellatwin, i noticed i never attached the link lol my bad
https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...4pics-1337459/

 

well honestly I don't understand by what you mean by lag in power, of course you wont get much of a kick when switching gears cause its an auto, and if lag you mean when it shifts and it doesn't shift smoothly and sorta kicks a bit when shifting then you have a bad tranny or tranny going bad, my advice would be to sell and buy a 5 speed already unless you have the time patience and are able to convert the car to 5 speed, (adding clutch, ****, hole for clutch etc etc.) it just involves a lot of time, as for HP you have a d series not trying to be mean but unless you do forced induction your not gonna get much out of a d series.

 

Thanks, that helps. I'm trying to see if it is pheasible to do with my current skill and finances. It's a car that I got for my girlfriend, who is from Europe and complains about automatics all the time, so I thought I would look into how much switching to a manual would cost in both money and time.

I don't really need that much power, just want a joyfull car that is efficient and will last for a few years before I can afford a REALLY nice car, then maybe turn this into a project car.

 

He wasn't a dick in his reply. He was providing accurate information. Changing your exhaust to something other than stock isn't what gave you a gain. It was fixing the problem of a clogged cat that returned the base power.

It's very true that changing out the header, the cat and the exhaust to larger "stainless" steel systems gives negligible gains on the econobox D series motors. 1-5 HP maybe. What it does do is increase fuel economy and increase sound volume the car makes. Now if you chip your ECU and get it tuned, you might see a slightly larger power gain but for the 500 bucks the maybe 10-20 horsepower you will gain is not cost effective.

If you believe otherwise, then you are indeed misinformed.

A velocity stack is probably the best performance gain for the dollars spent for a cheap bolt on mod.

 

Minimal gains in some parts of the powerband, minimal losses in others, but yeah. If you use bigger than a 2.5" exhaust on a D16, the losses will be more noticeable than the gains.