Alright well in about a month or so im gonna be in the market for a new (old) car and im looking at getting a crx. Im coming from the VW world so this is all a new experience. Ive been tossing up a few options with what to do because i know i wont be satisfied with the stock engine (coming from a modded 1.8T). Im looking to spend somewhere up to 3500. I dont really want to go over that initally. These are were my ideas so far.

1. Find a cheap crx still in good order with the body and buy a b16 for a swap. Id probably have to pay someone to do the swap because im foreign to honda engines so thats going to add onto that price. Then boost would be planned for the future.

2. Try to find a decent crx and keep the stock engine. Do the mini-me head swap and build that up alittle bit. I would want to go boost for the future also but i heard the compression is too high for this? Anyone ever encounter a boosted mini-me?

3. And last try to find a decent crx and do a ZC swap. Considerably cheaper then the b16 swap and of course, future boost applied.

Im trying to go a route for no show all go. I dont car how it looks really as long as it moves. So i was just wondering what you guys opinions would be. Thanks!

 

B16

 

ZC is the best bang for the buck. Easy to swap. We just did a ZC swap in my buddies 89 Dx and it was pretty easy. He paid $800 for the car and he has about $800 in the total swap. Next up is hopefully a turbo buildup on it.

 

if i were you, and wanted a cheap swap, i'd go with the ZC. so far it is one of the easiest swaps i have heard of. good luck on your decision.

 

Aftermarket for the ZC is terribly limited especially compared to the B series but the ZC swap is very economical and simple. I would prefer the B16 over the ZC because it's fairly difficult from my experience finding some decent ZC motors and when you turbocharge a B16, it'll be a monster. Maybe even a B18B swap? More displacement, quicker spools. Both motors are good and reasonably priced because of their abundance.

 

thanks guys...i was looking more towards the ZC swap myself. I would love to do a bigger swap like a B18 but i just dont have the money for it. Thats why i was sticking more towards the ZC swap and at most a B16. When you say aftermarket products are hard to find for the ZC do you mean just that they are hard to find, or that they dont exist to a point? If i did a ZC swap i would probably just want to do the basic i/h/e, cams, and probably a couple other things. Also does the stock tranny work with the ZC engine?

 

b series and ZC swaps are easy. if you've turned a wrench, it really isn't that hard. and there is enough online help that it's easy to do.

 

How much are you getting a B16 for anyway? You can get a complete swap for around 1200.00 plus the cost of the mounts. My boy used to swear by ZC's cuz they're so cheap but they're just too old of a motor so he started to do B series.

 

I had a ZC swap in my old crx. At first it was great, but it get's old trying to find replacement parts. You can use the stock tranny with it and even the stock ECU. Aftermarket cams are hard to find. I had a set of JG cams in mine that i got from a friend(Thanx Rick!) ZC's just arn't as reliable as a b-series. Ask Brian and Rick from Mid-atlantic motorsports...although my ZC was extremely unreliable..lol.

 

ZC's are just as old as B16's, so the motor condition varies either which way you go. I have a ZC, if it were female...well nevermind but I like it, alot, the thing pulls extremely hard, even complemented on by a b16 turbo & a b18 soon to be turbo driver, btw a b18 swap is going to be less than a b16 swap so you may want to still consider the b18. Alot more torque, coming from a 1.8t if you go b16, from what I hear, you'll hate yourself for doing it, some call it the torqueless wonder, I've never driven one.
You can pick up a b18 for around $800 ZC's generally go for $500-$600 b16's have a wider range depending on where you buy it from. from 1200-2200 is what I've heard
Is your goal overall just something decently fast, or something you want to smoke anything on the road with.
My suggestion, if you've got the cash, go b18. Torque is your friend.


Edited for Rexman --- When's the next auto-x?

 

If I had a choise, I would rather have the stock d16a6 in my car and boost that. It can get the same performance as a zc boosted without the hassle of finding all the different stuff for the zc engine. It is also easier to find replacement parts for d16a6s. The aftermarket for zcs basically doesn't exist unless you want to get expensive jdm parts. The moeny you put into a zc swap could much easier be put into a junkyard setup and in the end be faster than a zc or b16. If you do blow up the stock motor then you could probably pick up a d16z6/y8 for the same as a zc but still have all the aftermarket and extra parts laying around. I do like my zc but it would be much easier if my car were a sohc d series.