The car in question is a 1997 EX coupe with a stock d16y8 motor with 68k miles. Is a built d-series worthwhile in a coupe? I know it is when it comes to hatches, but how about a 2dr?
I am going to have about $3-$3.5K to play with after I sell my EF. I have a spare d16y8 head/IM/TB sitting in my garage that I could send to JG for a full treatment, and basically make a damn potent D with $3000.
OR
I could swap in a B...either b18b or b20z. I want the swap to be legal, and I want to have some torque behind it with some possibility of building a ls/vtec or b20/vtec in the future. I was told in another thread that $3k is barely enough to squeeze in a B20. How accurate is that?
Any thoughts and insight would be DOPE. Help me make up my mind


[Modified by Rydaddy, 2:04 AM 2/26/2003]

 

What are you trying to do with the car?

I'd say tinker with the D16Y8, save the rest...Take your girl out(if you have one), buy some new clothes, go have fun.

Everyone wants to swap now. I ask: What for? I have total respect for both schools though. B16/18's rock...D16's do as well. It's all up to what you want out of the car. Your D16 will do more than enough if built right. You have a practically new car...Work with what ya got.

 

What i would sugest is to get a greddy turbo, hondata, some bigger ingectors, a new fuel pump and a nice thermal cat back.

 

i have an ej8 and i was in the same situation not to long ago, so here are a couple things i came up with... motor swap would be nice but legality was the main issue. if i was to swap, the motor would have to be from the same type of vehicle(which rules out the b20 which of course comes from the cr-v), and it would have to be of the same year as your car, or newer(which i believe is hard to come by with any 96+ honda).
then theres the forced induction route. supercharging gives u nice torque off the line but dealing with belts and limited boost capabilities kinda swayed me towards the darkside...turbo... the greddy 15g kit gives u less lag than most turbo kits out there and face it, u gotta love that pssshhhh sound of the BOV so now, im just saving for it... just my $.02

 

for 3k you can build a n/a d16 that kiks b16s all day and keeps up with b18cs...wait! you have a coupe?? DOPE!!!!

 

since u have the motor still in it, work on the motor. it's a great chance to be unique. but, if u want the "neighborhoods fastest civic" [pending on what neighborhood u live in, not mine, i'll tell u that..i'm like...43rd] get a swap. d16's are quite unique are fun because of that. depends what u want, speed or play.

*edit - gotta love the ej8! for another ej8 owner.*


[Modified by all stock, 1:49 AM 2/26/2003]

 

swap in a b series

EJ6 owner my engine suxores compared to all of yall's

 

B.. most def..

 

That's about what I would do.....no wait, that's what I am doing

You don't see too many turbo D-series coupes, so IMO that gets kudos for the uniqueness factor, plus even with modest boost you should be able to suprise many B16A swapped hatches. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

find a really cheap ef. one with tons of miles. put the d16y8 in that. have a solid reliable commuter car that gets u 35mpg.

then swap a b into the coupe and use that as the hot rod.

my .02.

 

b

or go h22, looking back that is what i wish i did...chicks did torq!

 

Haha...I actually have a 91 Si hatch that I was going to mini-me, but I just lost interest in it. I love the simplicity of the EF - easy to work on, quick - but after owning a coupe it just didnt seem right. The coupe is comfy and doesnt rattle
SO can a Greddy kit w/ intercooler and management come in around $3k? I have a spare d16y8 head laying around - should I machine that to mate with a turbo? I think I read somewhere that port n polishing doesnt do as much for FI as it does for N/A.
The main reason I wanted to swap was for the torque I could build the D all day and still have under 110 wtq....Hmmm turbo is starting to sound nice Great posts gentlemen

 

B20 may not be legal in Cali. I haven't bothered to look at it because I don't want a B20 but, if you intend to swap it I would call my local ref.

Being that it comes out of a "Light-truck" catageory. It probably isn't legal.

 

yea..technically, you could boost the d. but then what r u going to do? the speed bug is strong. you're going to want more. so then your options are..tear the d up and rebuild it with stronger internals. so u could technically have a stupid bad *** boosted d. but the famous argument is...start with the better base. get the b. because the b will produce similiar numbers to ur stock d16y8 under boost.

 

it sucks that i even mention something like that to consider when buildin up a car.... how is theft in the area? if its high, i say build up the D series....so if it gets ripped they don't gain TOO much. another member on here, may that point very clear by puttin a zc motor in and out the b18c motor.

 

Theft is pretty much a non-issue.
I never considered the fact that b20's were from a different category....shitty. In terms of legality though, isnt the Greddy kit only legal on 92-95 Civics? I dont think any company has a 5th gen kit on the market specifically for our cars yet (I could be wrong).

 

Actually none of the Greddy kits are legal anymore....you need the black box and they don't come with them anymore (blue box now)

Your best bet.....sorry to say is to either build the tranny and get your performance there or, swap a B18C. Which will cost you about 3500 to do right.

While building the tranny could cost only 1200. (Clutch, Flywheel, Final drive and LSD)