I have a 96 ex coupe with 175000 miles on it, if i wanted to turbo it, could i do that without destroying the motor? I was thinking a small low pressure turbo. Its the 1.6 D16Y8 if that helps

 

Def begin with ARP head studs and a good head gasket. Second, Anything can really happen to the motor, It may last a while it may not. I'd just do a vitara build.

 

No point in turbo'ing if you don't think about how to get most of that power to the wheels. right? RIGHT? @muellersfan

 

you're off to a bad start. compression/leakdown to determine health of engine. AT A MINIMUM, plan on a new headgasket and studs, timing belt and water pump, clutch kit. That's the very least, not counting your turbo, engine management and tune, etc. It adds up, and quickly. Your "small, low pressure turbo" comment makes me think you just want a little more power and torque. For the money, your best bet is an engine swap. b20/gsr/whatever you can afford will be MUCH cheaper/ more reliable.

 

Forced induction is not a cheap arena to play in. 15 years ago I tried boosting my Civic on a shoestring budget. Despite trying to do a budget build, I ended up spending over $5,000 to get a running turbo Civic. It was fun, but because I'd cut corners (even spending $5,000) it lasted less than a year before I cracked the piston ring lands. I was a poor college student and was out of money, so I parted it out. Boost is addictive too...you start out conservative and then find out with just a little tweak you can get more power, but you can end up pushing it over the edge of what stock internals can handle. If you're serious about turbocharging your car, write down your goals, read some threads in the Forced Induction section, make a list of parts you'll need to meet your goals (with cost), start to pare this down to the bare essentials if you are on a budget (do you need that baller cam gear? probably not...), don't cut corners where it's important, and stick to your guns/budget/goals.

 

keep it stock, or it will end up on Craigslist or FB Marketplace like all the rest of those "turbo'd Civics". Half-*** and running like ****.