hey, i have an 88 crx si, im about to purchase a zc dohc engine with an intake, dc headers, bored .30 over, zc tranny, stage 3 clutch, performance ecu for 7600 rpm redline, and it has 58k miles on it. i am plannning to buy all of this for 800. is this a good deal? what do u think it will run in the 1/4? im a decent driver. ive also heard zc engine break alot and are pretty unreliable. is this true? also, what stuff else will i need for the swap? what exactly like i whats the deal with the dizzy? i guess like some wires have to be relocated? ok thnx to all, also my AIM is crxxxvtec could i talk o someone who has done the swap? o wait lol one more question, im only 16 and im slightly new to some of this, the .30, does this mean the pistons are that much bigger or what?

 

ZC engines are only as reliable as the parts on them. If you've replaced all the important stuff it will be fine. My ZC has never let me down, even when I had plugs plugged in the wrong spots and the timing way off it still ran.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FourthGenHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ZC engines are only as reliable as the parts on them. If you've replaced all the important stuff it will be fine. My ZC has never let me down, even when I had plugs plugged in the wrong spots and the timing way off it still ran.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Your lucky you didnt **** it up.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ef ***** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


Your lucky you didnt **** it up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ahh what do u know pal!
lol

 

My ZC has been very reliable in the year and a half I have had it.

As for 1/4 mile times i ran a 15.4 @ 91 in my 88 DX with I/H/E , heavy 16s, and a dx tranny.

 

the zc has a few ancillaries that are weak, but nothing that would cause it to have a reputation of being unreliable. the dizzy, eacv and water pump tend to fail(we're still talking years though) and input shaft bearings on the tranny can wear out at ~100K

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by firstgenrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey, i have an 88 crx si, im about to purchase a zc dohc engine with an intake, dc headers, bored .30 over, zc tranny, stage 3 clutch, performance ecu for 7600 rpm redline, and it has 58k miles on it. i am plannning to buy all of this for 800. is this a good deal? what do u think it will run in the 1/4? im a decent driver. ive also heard zc engine break alot and are pretty unreliable. is this true? also, what stuff else will i need for the swap? what exactly like i whats the deal with the dizzy? i guess like some wires have to be relocated? ok thnx to all, also my AIM is crxxxvtec could i talk o someone who has done the swap? o wait lol one more question, im only 16 and im slightly new to some of this, the .30, does this mean the pistons are that much bigger or what?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The reason people say they break down a lot is because they dont do general maintence and they just beat the crap out of it.

As for the wires your going to have to move 2 of them from the distr. to over to the opposite side of the motor cause the cylinder position sensor isnt in the ZC's distr. its on the exhaust cam. Sorry forgot which 2 wires it was though but if you do a search you will be able to find out which wires and where they go exactly.

As for the .030 over yep it sbeen bored .030" over stock.

 

i would seriously doubt that it is bored .030" - if it really is, stay away from it - you can only safely bore the ZC 0.5mm which is just a little under .020"

 

hmm well the guy has it bored .30 over, it has je pistons and rods. im getting the whole packager for only 1000 shipped so i think im getting a pretty good deal here it only has 58 k on it and like 8k since the rebuild

 

.030*

 

what are your plans for the A6 engine???

 

im gonna drop it into my crx si. and depending on the c.r. i might even do a turbo next year, but this year im focusing on buying the engine. im only 16 so im like umm kinda poor lol. but yeah i hope to have it by the end of september and have that and body work as a winter project b.c my job is seasonal. but yeah. any suggestions for what i should too would be greatly appreciated. and.. what do u think i should do.. n20 or turbo?

 

eh? You are going to put the A6 into your CRX Si. Whats the ZC going in? Anyways, most ZC's have been sitting for a little bit, but if your's has what you say it has on it, then it hasn't been sitting for long, so you don't have to re-lube and do all that crap. That is a big reason why older JDM engines go bad after 700 miles or so because these guys don't get rid of the stale gas or lube anything, they just put it in, start it, and hit redline....

And pretty much what 4thGen said, "Your engine is only as strong as the weakest part". That is a very useful thing for people who cut corners like me.... I think its a good deal. And if I were to come across a deal like that, I would do what I had to do to get it.

 

Here is a scan of my timeslip, My LS hatch I/H/E is on the right, my friend with an 89 CRX Si with DOHC ZC intake/exhaust on the left.

 

hey thanks for that 91civicdxdude, wow that zc is pretty close to your LS. and u had to buy mounts, wiring harness, shift linkage,etc. ok also, from what ive now heard, the ONLY thing u HAVE to do for a zc swap is change the sensor from the Si spot on the distributor, to the zc spot on the exhaust cam. am i right?

 

what color are the wires? can anyone send me a pic?

 

I've had 2 ZC motors and both of them have been very strong motors. I'd say they take alot of abuse cause I was very hard on them. The reason why alot of people they they are unreliable is because first of all, they are very old motors. Some of them date back to 85. Mine were both 88 year models. As long as you do the normal maitenance that is required there is no reason why it would be less relaible than any other motor. If you can get a decent deal on a ZC I'd say go for it, I've had other friends that did the D16Z6 swap, and it was pretty quick too. So both are great if your on a budget. Me I spent alot of money and have a B series now. So it depends on your budget.

 

It is a Honda motor, it can take abuse. ;]

 

correction... i had to buy mounts. I used my factory wiring harness (already converted to Si spec when i swapped in my d16z6 long ago). I welded my own shift linkage. and FYI, i paid $300 for the LS complete swap, while my ZC friend paid almost 1200 for his complete ZC swap including ZC longblock, ZC tranny, and ECU.

 

My buddy at the track had a ZC that ran 14.6@95 N/A, 13.6 on a 55 shot. He flogged the crap out of that thing and it took the abuse for a long time. Eventually he blew it, but the point is the ZC gets a bad rap because like these other people have said; people don't treat them right.

 

i don't think i've felt the STOCK power of my zc just yet. when i bought my zc from a friend, he didn't have the zc header so right now i'm using my ported dx header. i don't think this header flows as well as the stock zc one.

 

i cant wait until i get this engine, right now im drooling... j/k but im am really excited. im only 16 and im gonna have a zc crx.. holy ***** thats not a good combo lol. but yeah my friend is loaning me the money and im sending the money next week tuesday! ahh im dying! and im gonna get some experience as i tackle the project with me and my dad who absolutely hates rice burners lol. but thanks everybody, the forum is still open for zc discussion. i found a very helpful site called http://www.thezcresource.com it has everything and anyhting u would ever need to know about edm and zc equipped crx/civics

 

Congrats on researching...I hope everything goes well. Just be patient with the money situation, and it'll all come sooner or later...trust me!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Loaded Butane &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My ZC has been very reliable in the year and a half I have had it.

As for 1/4 mile times i ran a 15.4 @ 91 in my 88 DX with I/H/E , heavy 16s, and a dx tranny.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Geoff your car is slow haha well it is now
i've never seen anyone go through so many trannies..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by firstgenrex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey thanks for that 91civicdxdude, wow that zc is pretty close to your LS. and u had to buy mounts, wiring harness, shift linkage,etc. ok also, from what ive now heard, the ONLY thing u HAVE to do for a zc swap is change the sensor from the Si spot on the distributor, to the zc spot on the exhaust cam. am i right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Take a look at the 60 ft times. If that's what it looks like, then the LS is a lot faster than the ZC. The LS had a horrible time coming off of the line and still managed to 'catch' the ZC. Also, 4 tenths isn't really that close. My guess is that the ZC trans and the driver of the ZC both suck. That's a poor time for a ZC and I don't think its the track because the LS did fine considering how poorly the first 60ft went. I knew a guy with the exact same car as me except with an LS swap. He ran 15.0s and 15.1s while I ran 15.2-15.3 at the same tracks on the same days. If you can get a deal similar to 91civicdxdude's, go with the LS. A ZC will be a dissappointment if you pay more than $500-$600 total for it IMO.

The ZC should be good for low 15s though. I've had one for 4 or 5 years now with no major problems. It's fun. It revs pretty high. You can beat it just like any Honda motor and it will take it. I ran the hell out of mine for 3-4 years, then turbo'd it and it's still holding together... somehow.