As the title states, I have a 90 Civic wagon with 81.5x89 LS/VTEC w/Alaniz P72 head,Skunk2 Tuner 2 cams, 1st gen Skunk2 Intake manifold, S2 valve springs/retainers, Professional Products 68mm throttle body, JG/Edelbrock header w/2.5" collector mod, 2.5" exhaust w/straight pipe, 13:1 Arias pistons, Eagle rods, RC 310cc injectors, Walbro 190, Hondata s200 tuned by Erick's Racing, B16 trans w/Quaife diff, 4.78 final drive, and LS fifth gear. This setup was put together around 9 years ago and I have run a best of 13.39 @99.97mph w/1.871 60' on 22" slicks and full body/interior weight.

I think this setup has the potential to run in the 12's and I need your help to get there. I know my setup is old and so much has changed since it was assembled so I'm looking for suggestions on ways to improve the performance and reach my goal. This car is not daily driven. It is pretty much a fun/weekend car. Also, it was tuned on 100 octane. Any help/suggestions, preferably from first hand experience is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like a nice setup, I think you could probably see the boost your looking for with a nice set of S2 Pro stage 2 or 3 or similar Cam(if your using the S2 alpha valves IDK if they work well with the PRO Cams) and possibly a higher flowing IMF and a solid re-tune could open up another 15+whp across the power band. Also do you know what WHP your at now?

 

The car was tuned on a Dynapack so I know the readings are high when compared to other cars with similar setups. With that being said, it made 233 whp and 152 wtq back in 2007. My valve springs are the early gen S2 springs before the were designated Pro, Tuner, Alpha, etc so I'm not sure what they're rated at anymore. I'm sure those will require an upgrade as well. Basically I'm looking for feedback on what parts I can upgrade that will work good together to improve the output on this setup. Thanks for your response.

 

Basically you are looking at a Intake Manifold, Camshaft, and Header upgrade. Depending on the port work on the head would determine your exact route on which combination you should choose. On a 9 year old build it probably wouldn't hurt for a refresh or a disassembly inspection at the minimum. I would definitely be upgrading / swapping out those valve springs for piece of mind; at the minimum checking pressures as I am sure they are soft. Another aspect is you will most surely gain from a retune even on your current setup. I personally would do the upgrade program with HONDATA for the S300 v3 since you already have the S200. Finally, you may need a driver mod on top of some suspension fine tuning. Your 60' time is kind of high.

 

On top of a Cam upgrade, Intake Manifold (even getting what yo have ported could do the trick),Springs, some new lma's would be a good idea and an upgrade to RDX 410CC injectors to keep it from getting too lean up top when getting re-tuned. With all that you would be right near the limit of what your build could support.

 

If I were you, I would swap out the block to a b20. Your setup seems pretty healthy and runs pretty good! Sure you could squeeze some more power by tweaking this and adjusting that, but there comes a point when increasing displacement is the next most cost effective step staying n/a.

 

Thanks for all your responses. Looks like the S2 70mm Alpha TB, Pro2 cams, upgraded valve springs, Ultra Street manifold, and bigger injectors might do the trick.

I was also wondering if it would be worth it to change my header. I bought the optional 3" b pipe for this header several years ago in case I ever decided to go with a bigger motor but never installed it. I think my motor would probably be too small for the 3" b pipe. Would it just be easier to try a different header? Any input on the Whitfield FMR header for a setup like mine?

 

IMO going from a 68-70mm TB is not worth the money spent. Gains will be minimal. Moving into a 74-76mm TB would be money better spent. With that being said the S2 Ultra street intake mani w/ a 74mm TB (the Ultra street mani comes w/ a 74mm port from the factory) would be the best bet for gains all around. that is my opinion of course.

I'd look into RDX injectors and run a base pressure around 50psi. They seem to work well for mild NA motors at that setting.

The Toda replica header would be the best piece for the price on this build. It has proven itself on "big 1.8's" time and time again. Then run a 3" exhaust from the collector back

The pro 2's will work well on this build.

When all is said and done you are looking at a pretty spendy list of upgrades. You will need figure out if it will all be worth the coin in the end as it sounds like you have a pretty healthy setup as it is.

 

Yeah it aint cheap to produce more power but he could probably get something back out of his used parts I would suspect. anyways he is probably looking at $2000+ in parts but only he can decide if its worth it.
S2 ultra street IMF $380
S2 Pro Cams Stage 2 $650
RDX injectors+b series part $250-60
New springs/retainers $260-340
74mm+ TB $250 ish
Toda Rep Header $310

Total $2150+

 

One thing you may want to do is speak with Joe from Alaniz and see if there is any power left on the head, what type of port work did he set you up with? Joe usually sets up port work to match certain goals set by the customer I've had countless customers come back for rework because somewhere down the line they ordered a head for a mild set up and in the end went much bigger.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like I need to save a few more bucks than I thought to make this all happen.

As far as the cylinder head goes I have the Alaniz Competition port work. I've also been researching a suspension that may be better suited for drag racing but have read several conflicting ideas concerning rear spring rates. I'm currently on Function Form Type 2.5's w/12K Eibach ERS springs up front and 10K Eibach ERS springs in the rear. It rides firm on the street but I'm comfortable with it. I was thinking of keeping this setup and trying 12K,14K,16K, or 18K springs in the rear in an effort to try to keep costs down. The other option I was contemplating was the Blox Drag rear coilovers but have read mixed reviews on these. Any input on this by those with first hand experience is also appreciated.