is it possible to do an auto zc in a 89 civic? my g/f cant drive manual so thats not an option.

 

umm, why not go auto LS? more potential than the zc.

 

why dont you teach her to drive standard jk

 

why cant you guys just answer the question, i didnt ask for opinions as to what engine i should do or if i should teach my gf to drive stick(i know you were just kidding) i asked if it is possible to do an auto zc. please guys, just answer the question. if you dont know, cool, but dont leave a response that has nothing to do with the question.

 

you can attach a zc to any d series tranny, make sure when you do the swap to use the flexplate from your car.

 

the one problem you're going to have is the ECU. you need an auto ECU. you're going to have to find either an auto ZC ECU (difficult) or an auto teg ECU (still kinda hard). you wont be able to keep the dx ECU and the si didn't come in auto. good luck

 

hey, check this out. I was just reading on another board of a guy selling an outo zc ecu. email before someone else snags it, spin735@yahoo.com


you're welcome haha

 

The auto trans in your 89 civic is not electronically controlled and does not need its own ECU and does not rely on the PGMFI ECU to operate. The programing of the ECU is different but is not critical. Since your car is not an SI you wil have to make a few wiring changes for the ZC but once this is done it should perform good.

 

if its not electronically controlled then how does it "know" when to shift? i can uderstand a manual tranny not being electronically controlled but an auto? i have a hard time believing that one.

 

good looking out marked, thanks bro.

 

autos know when to shift by pressure changes in the valve body, remember there were auto trannies way before there were ecu's

 

that being said, why does it matter whether i use an auto ecu or a 5 spd ecu? do you know if the 91 ex auto tranny is any better than my lx auto tranny? that is the tranny i plan on mating to my zc.

 

Just so EVERYONE knows, you can't fit an auto LS motor in an EF body. I know, I tried. I had an auto 91 Civic DX. I tried swapping an auto LS into it as an alternavite to having to convert to manual(which I had to do anyway). The auto 'teg have a totally seperate tranny control computer that has to be wired in along with the DPFI to MPFI conversion. Don't try it's not worth it. If your old DX motor/tranny is tired I have one with 100K miles on it from my previous DX swap i'll sell you. $450 shipped(motor/tranny, ecu, axles etc)

Don't bother swapping an engine onto that slush box. DX autos are the harder of the EF swaps, due to the wiring and tranny conversions that have to be done. If she's not happy with it, tell her to get a different car.
No offence.

`steven

 

Thats funny, I dont recall saying that i was gonna try to put in a ls motor. And what is an EF body? there is no such thing. There is an EF chassis code, and if your referring to that, that chassis code is only for j spec cars, no civics in the usa have a chassis code of EF unless they were imported in. My 89 Honda Civic LX has a chassis code of ED, as do all of the usdm 4th gen civics/crx's. Now that i've schooled you on that, I can move on to your other uneducated statements. First of all, you didnt give years of any cars that you mentioned so how am i supposed to know what your talking about? And im not afraid of wiring, it cant be that hard if you have some common sense, a little bit of knowledge and someone you can fall back on when your common sense and knowledge lead you nowhere. I have all of the above so its all good. Now son, please tell me why it would be a good idea to buy a 1.5 from you that already has 100k on it? Humor me. No way in hell would I buy a 1.5 unless i could do nothing else. and in this case, my options are plenty. Im gonna throw in a zc motor w/91ex auto tranny, maybe even a ex ecu if your "totally seperate tranny control computer" theory is proven. Then im gonna hit the road to the exhaust shop, get my cat back installed, install my cold air intake, header and maybe a zex system and smoke dudes like you who think they know it all and they dont know jack. A dx to zc swap isnt gonna be that hard at all, it'll actually be quite easy especially since im not doing it in a EF chassis and there will not be any tranny conversion to do, mine will be automatic. Any 4th gen tranny will hook up to the zc. And last but not least, I have been with my girl for 7 years for NOT having the "if you dont like it, tough" attitude you think I should have. And I plan on being with her many more years so for me to say" oh well, get a different car" would be pretty damn stupid. Ive never been like that before so i damn sure aint gonna start now, you see, relationships are all about compromise, so if it will make her life easier to drive a auto and i can provide that for her then thats what im gonna do, no offense(not offence). So the moral of the story is, keep your mouth shut and dont offer anymore worthless advice to me because its obvious you dont know what the hell your talking about. Have a nice day.

 

I have a auto zc ecu if you want it

 

how much for it? id be interested but keep in mind that i can get a zdyne zc conversion ecu for about 300.00. but if the price is right, im on it like white on rice.

 

sure you can do it ......thats kool she wants to go hybrid.....remeber to get an ecu . that way you the full potential out of the ZC engine .

 

I'd like to meet this saucy guy, sounds like he could use a good punch in the mouth.

Why not a better choice in vehicle, eh? You say you've been with your girlfriend for what, seven years? And she's rockin a 89 LX?? Sounds like your not doing a very good job providing for this girl. That could also be the reason she's still JUST your girlfriend. Since you guys share a small cott and live in your mom's basement you should easily be able to afford a nice 92-95 Civic LX automatic hybrid. Or maybe you guys have been dating since she was 8 years old, that would give her a valid excuse for letting a dork like you try to ruin a perfectly good first poo ride for a 15 year old.

And about there being no such thing as an EF civic..... YEAH, LOOK UP AT WHAT FORUM YOU'RE IN GENIOUS! You might want to email one of the moderators and let them know what a mistake they've made, okay.
You're a smart guy, why don't you start your own web board so you can spread that vast catalog of knowledge that is your brain across the internet.

And about all that intake, custom "dummass non mandrel bent, cheap muffler shop" exhaust, and nitrous talk. I thought this was your girl's car.... remember..... what? now you've all of a sudden changed your mind... you're gonna build the first ten second 4 door civic on a pizza boy budget? I'm sorry dude, you just sound way too ignorant to be posting messages on this board.


[Modified by oOxsboostOo, 9:20 AM 6/25/2001]

 

sounds to me like xsboost got too much boost in his *** by his boyfriend. you are the most ignorant summamabitch i have ever had the pleasure of flaming. read on junior(xsboost), i will point out all the times you put your foot in your mouth. so you wanna give me a good shot to the mouth huh? well, being that im in a good mood right now, im gonna let that go, id hate to mess up your life because for those two seconds you THOUGHT you were brave. i forgive you. but if you think you have the ***** to do it, please email me and ill give you explicit directions to my house. now son, you ask why dont i choose a better vehicle? because im happy with my choice, next. Its painfully obvious that you have a hard time interpreting the written english language, this is evident by the fact that you are assuming that the car im fixing up is hers, that I said "there is no EF civic" as well as all of the other ingorant ramblings of yours. The 89 LX belongs to me, never once did I say otherwise. I would love for you to show me where I said the car was hers. As far as the "EF" issue, if you were to read the post to which i replied(oh, sorry, forgot you cant read) you will see that the dude said that he has an EF body, to which i responded that the EF is not a body designation, rather a chassis designation, and one that pertains ONLY to 4th gen JDM spec civics/crx's, the chassis designation for the usdm 4th gens in ED, not EF. Not one time did I say there was "no EF civic", you are invited to prove to me otherwise. Now that your foot is firmly and deeply implanted in your big *** mouth, let me take advantage of this time to set a few other things straight, and lets not get this twisted with me "having" to explain myself to an idiot like you, im simply enjoying showing you how immature, illiterate and unintelligent you are. The one thing you are right on is the fact that ive been with my girl for 7 yrs(pat yourself on your back, if you hit hard enough you might be able to dislodge that foot of yours). your line about a small cott and my moms basement, while very creative, is wrong. I could say that I have a house and this and that, but I dont, we live in a 2 bedroom apt and are very content with that for the time being. Marriage, while a goal, is not a priority at this time in our lives, we are only 25 and 24, no rush. And as far as my budget, while im no high roller, i make a decent living that supports my family as a medial equipment technician. you see son, it would have been very easy for me to lie and say "im a doctor, live in a bedroom house, yada yada yada" but its not necessary. i dont have to lie to portray myself as something im not, i am who i am and if you dont like it, thats your business. but the next time you call me out, know what the hell you're talking about first dumbass. its obvious your not the brightest bulb in the bunch, i bet your mom wishes she would've swallowed that load from her brother that produced you. so take the dick out of your ***, the foot out of your mouth and prove me wrong, if you can.

 

i thought i could, wasnt positive though. but she's not going hybrid, i am, its my car. but she will be driving it too so thats why i wanted to stay auto. thanks for your advice on ecu too, should i use the 89 auto teg ecu?

 

Glad to see this topic got back onto the ZC going in the 4-door Civic - Any new news to report? An auto ZC is still better than an auto DX Saucy...you and I know that all too well.
Let's see how much I can stir up here - I plan to keep my 5-speed DX tranny when I do my ZC swap. Gasp!!!!!

Too bad everyone that has an opinion thinks their ideas about their life and the decisions they have made will be the decisions you should make for your life too.

 

sastanley, you are thee man. Finally somebody agrees with the that an auto zc is better than an auto dx. Praise the lord. I couldn't agree with you more. And thats all im trying to do, upgrade the powerplant. Since when did it become a crime to want to do such a thing? I know that auto tranny will hinder the performance of the zc to an extent, but imagine how much that tranny is hindering my 92hp engine now. id rather have a 130hp engine than a 92hp motor any day. My goal is to simply have a faster, more powerful daily driver, not a dragster. Please guys, I dont mind hearing your opinions, so long as you dont flame me for having one of my own. Now that thats done, Sastanley(you dont mind if i call you stan do you?) I am beginning to get all the nickel and dime parts for my swap now. Stuff like gaskets, timing belt, seals, plugs, wires, all the stuff thats gonna nickel and dime me to death. The motor and tranny will be purchased in July or August and then im gonna get my header, exhaust and other misc bolt ons to complete the package. I figure to have it all done and installed no later than November. It sucks to have to wait so long to do it, but my bills aint gonna stop coming just because I want a new engine. Man that sucks. But anyways, thanks for backing me on this, nice to know im not the only one who thinks an auto zc is better than an auto dx.

 

well dude...I just understand where you are coming from. I have a daughter, an ex-wife, and bills out my ears. I'd LOVE to have the resources to dump $3k+ into this car and put a b16 in it. Um...no!
I also decided to keep the DX tranny because I don't want the car turning 3500 RPMs at highway speeds, and I have a 10 year old daughter and I want to be able to have a conversation wth her without yelling whle driving down the road. The gearing in the DX & Si trannies are the same, but the Si's final drive provides higher RPMs to take advantage of more HP output at those higher RPM levels. Fuel economy is important to me also, and within my budget I think I can afford a little more power at the same time, and still keeping a 30+MPG car (just got 37.4 out of the ol' tired 1.5L this past week...it is hard to give that up!!) When I need to get it going, I'll rev it up, but at 65MPH I don't need the car turning 3400. That is my reasoning behind the tranny decision.

I was just getting tired of everyone busting your ***** about which motor you should put in your Civic. Everyone has their own set of circumstances which they tailor their decisions around, I just wish sometimes folks would appreciate that and provide an opinion without telling you what you SHOULD be doing.

 

im glad somebody understands where im coming from. And speaking of rmp's, at 65mph im at about 2500-2700. is that right? but once i get up to 70, its at about 3000. i thought this was high. so should i expect higher rpm's once i get the 91 ex tranny? oh well, some people just think their way is the only way, what can you do? its a part of life, but if they get rude about it then ill get rude right back, thats all you can do. ask xsboost, he'll tell you all about it.

 

My 5-speed DX tranny runs 2850 at 60 MPH..at 70 HPH I am at about 3100-3150, but the RPMs at 70 is more of a guess. Kinda funny how we drive these cars every day but forget simple things like the RPMs at certain speeds..

I had an HF 5-speed tranny in my car for a brief period and it was running 1800 @ 60MPH...poor car couldn't get out of its own way then. I remember wanting to check it with the two different trannies @ 60MPH so I could be sure before I changed back to the DX tranny.

I do not know if the EX auto tranny will have different gearing from the LX auto. From my understanding, the DX & Si manual trannies have the same gearing, but the final drive ratio is shorter in the Si tranny which makes the RPMs proportionally higher in all gears. I guess these higher RPMs allow a little more of the available HP to the wheels so the 108HP Si motor seems a little more peppy than the 92HP DX/LX motor. Dunno what the results would be with the autos in the same situation. If someone with specs could post them, that might help.