Spade

EDITED Transimission 11/15

I am tried of everyone saying swap. Sure, who the hell wouldn't want to but the thing is, Money. I don't know about everyone else but, $3000.00 (which is cheap for a swap) isn't that easy to come by. Hell, I know half of the people out there who have a hybrid are still paying off the credit cards that they used to get the engine. Enough with the rambling. Let's get to the things to do.

Intake: Obviously you should already have a tubular intake (cold air prefered). But, what sized intake pipe do you have? There have been dyno sheets that show a 3" pipe leading to the trottle body makes the most power. Once you get to the trottle body, you need to upgrade that too. Almost all honda
trottle bodies will fit onto the D series intake manifolds. The newer B series trottle bodies are all 60mm in size and of course the Type R is 62mm. The H22 is also a 60mm trottle body. While the Civic gets a puny 56mm. Up next is the intake manifold. For that you want the D16Y8, often referred to as the Type R manifold for the D series. It has short huge runners and a large chamber to allow the air to distribute to each runner properly.
Also, for the non-vtec guys out there, it has the common horizontal trottle body, which will allow you to use the larger CAI's (cold air intakes). Once you get all three of these upgrades, you should move onto the exhaust side.

Exhaust: Well, what can we say here, there is no OEM exhaust manifold out there that doesn't need work. The great thing about the HF exhaust manifold is that you can modifly them to add a turbo and not need to spend the extra money on a turbo manifold. But, for those of you who want to stay naturally aspirated (or don't have the money for a turbo) a used aftermarket manifold for the EX is where you want to go. There are a lot of people out there who by the time they can swap have already put a header on there D series and now need to sell it. (Note: not legal in some states) You will have to relocate your catalytic converter under the car to use this header configuration. Then of course we come to the Catalytic converter, those flow real well for the budget minded person. Unless there old, don't worry about it. For those of you who can afford to upgrade the cat, tests again have shown that a 3" free flowing cat has almost flown as much air as a 3" test pipe. In fact some people were shocked at how well a free flowing cat works (and it's legal). Or go with the 10.00 test pipe from Home Depot. That's right, people have even made there own test pipes with minimal effort. One thing we haven't talked about is Exhaust size. Most people recommend using a 2.25" sized exhaust for the little 1.6L. And a lot of the aftermarket exhausts are 60mm
or 2.3 inches. I agree that they should be at least 60mm. But, you also want mandrel bent piping and strait through desgins on both the resonator (if you have one) and the muffler. If you don't get the strait through desgins, you will loose power, it's that simple.

Transmission: The shorter the gears the better for the buget driver. The shorter the gears the easier it is for the engine to push the car. The VTEC engines have always had the shortest gears and it is a bolt on part. You guys out there with the HX, this should be the first thing you do. HUGE difference. Once you get the shorter geared tranny,
a limited slip differentail is the second biggest thing to have on a D series. The performance improvement is profound. A lighter flywheel is also an added bonus. Most people recommend getting a 10 lb aftermarket for around 250 or you can shave yours to 12.5lbs. This had been discussed quite often.
EDIT 11/15 http://www.aj-racing.com SRR has 4.7 and 4.9 Final Drives for the D series for those of you who like the lighter weight of the D. This final drive is something I am considering even before a CAM!!


Engine: Well, obviously the most prefered D series to have is the 92-95 OBDI D16Z6. Why? Simple, you can tune it. If you cannot afford to get the whole engine, there is the all impressive "Mini-Me". Get a VTEC head and put it on the non-VTEC block.

I know there is a lot more to talk about and all of the above mentioned can be expanded upon but,
I wanted to get this out there for those of you who feel the need to upgrade but don't know where
to go.

For those of you with additional knowedge to add, or feel that I was incorrect in one of my statements
Let's hear it. I am more than willing the explain what I said or put even more knowlege on the table.

EDITED: D series trannies will work with different generation engines....see post below.





[Modified by Spade, 10:53 AM 11/15/2002]

Spade

Cams: I have yet to do this but, you hear about the B series guys wanting bigger cams all the time.
http://www.crower.com sells VTEC cams in many stages all for 325. Thats right guys, 1 cam for 325 and you have performance. Sure, adjusting the cams for valve overlap isn't an option for us but, that is why we buy the cam right?
Zex is another cam company out there and from what I have heard, Sept of this year, Skunk2 is supposed to be releasing cams for the D series along with an intake manifold.

If you don't mind trying regrinds. Hondasaver, is working on some great D series cams.


[Modified by Spade, 7:48 AM 9/25/2002]

Spade

Links:
http://www.hondasaver.com
http://www.driveshaftshop.com
http://www.summitracing.com
http://www.crower.com
http://www.zex.com
http://www.import-pro.com
http://www.importbuilders.com
http://www.fastbrakes.com
http://www.sohfast.com
http://www.hondata.com

[Modified by Spade, 9:30 AM 8/23/2002]


[Modified by Spade, 7:49 AM 9/25/2002]

MyWhiteCivic

iTrader: (1)

Your awesome! Thanks!

WAFFLES

SWAP damnit!!!!

hondafrk

I D series

vivid02

The 96-00 tranny will bolt on a 92-95 civic. I have done it my self. I had a 93 EX coupe and I messed up the tranny very bad over the years. I installed a 97 EX tranny and used my same regular clutch with no problems at all. Just use the tranny mounts that corresond to the car. I used my stock 93 tranny mounts on the 97 tranny. A 97 civic will need its own mounts to use a 92-95 tranny.

vivid02

Also the D16Y8 head gasket is the thinest oem gasket you can buy. That will raise your compresion ratio up a bit on a D16Z6.

RyanR

I believe that the Y8 and Z6 use the same gasket. The A6 engine uses the paper gasket. But even with that, once it's compressed, it's the same thickness as a Y8/Z6 gasket.

vivid02

The y8 and z6 use different gaskets. The part numbers and the price is different. The Z6 is more expensive compared to the Y8. Now if both gaskets look and have the same thickness I don't know.

JaeOne3345

i personally think the d16a6 has way more soul the z6. but thats just me. HP numbers may not reflect it. but theres just somethin about the a6.

Intake: y8 manifold/cold air intake/ h22 or GSR TB all portmatched. or..find yourself a set of used dual carbs..yes thats right dual carbs sucka. dual 40/45 weber. dual 40/44 mikuni..


Header: i see nothin wrong with a dc 4-1 or 4-2-1 for the money. or u can have a custom one made. the OMP USA 4-1 header used on scca ita cars is great too.

exhaust: cat? what cat? hollow that bitch out. exhaust. 2.25 piping.

headworkkay in all the fast *** sohc's i have seen, headwork was a big key. i suggest getting the new grass roots motorsports. excellent article on DIY beginner porting that actually works. one reason non vtec sohc is the **** is because u have so many more options as far as cam grinds go. match your cam wisely with the rest of the build up. cam gear of course.get some good valve springs. dont wanna touch the bottom end? it is not too too expensive to have the chambers welded alone. high comp NA= . I'd mill it enough to leave u some room to mill it again if need be.
y8 headgasket is cheapest metal one i believe. dont forget the arp headstuds!

bottom end: if u running sohc non vtec head d16a1 pistons new are game.(but i know several people running these in sohc vtec motors with no problems but clay!!).
d16a1 pistons. like 30 a piece from acura.

the GX pistons and pictures are up on the d series board. nice dome. and appears to me made with sohc vtec style head in mind. but those valve reliefs seem to be very small or non existent.
GX pistons (natural gas motor)



u can run ls rods if u want but i know many people with the NA route running stock rods shot peened just fine. i would highly recommend ARP rod bolts if u plan to be spinning this motor. im not sure if the sohc vtec oil and water pumps do their job better but its a thought.

tranny wise: for cable people=ZC tranny with Si final drive.bad ***. for hydro people the sohc vtec tranny is cool but if u look at the gear ratios,.its nothing but a weak *** LS tranny. refer to bones pages for 3rd and 4th gear swaps. hmm have we forgotten the ultra cheap SRR final drives in 4.7 and 4.9 rates? those are bound to do some damage. honestly d series gets a bad rap for power. but i think if u know what youre doing power isnt the problem..d series lacks in the gearing department. oem flywheel to 12lbs or aftermarket. good act clutch

fuel wise. with the stuff ive listed. is fine on stock injectors. i dunno how many companies play with sohc ecu's but i got friends running stock ecu's with AFCs to help with the mixture running fine. some run Dohc maps too. fpr and a afc..and a dyno is your friend. with carbs and carb jetting, u basically have any "ecu" u want as if u have tons of jets to play with and dyno time u can fuel your combo exactly to whats needed. and carbs can idle big cams well.

theres a guy from the hybrid board. crx si. full interior. street tires. d16a6 motor. a1 pistons. totally stock head. y8 manifold, gsr TB. did some 14.4's. and think. thats basically just some cheap pistons.

and remember. another good point on the sohc motor is that they themselves can be looked at as a way to save weight. i believe they are about 75 lbs less then dohc arent they?

its all preference. i hope we dont get some wack *** D vs B post out of this. dohc is bad *** if u know what youre doing. and sohc is bad *** if you know what youre doing. this is merely a post to show different routes, not to show "yO dIs iS bEtTer".

note: if u see your pics and arent happy about it. sorry i just saved them to my own junk collection of pics. ill take em down if theres a problem


[Modified by JaeOne3345, 1:55 AM 9/1/2002]

vivid02

But where can you buy SRR final drives? There is not much info on them. What do the cost? Any links? Thanks.

JaeOne3345

aj racing has them for right under 400 i believe.

vtecvoodoo

That`s it, after this post I`m seling my 2liter b18c and going back to single cam. I didn`t know the options out there were so limitless!!!!!!!!!!!! haha

Spade

Figures your *** would come in here and do that.

vivid02

An other option for the 92-95 civic's is to use the cable ZC tranny with Si final drive hybrid tranny and use a place racing tranny mount that allows you to use a d-series cable transmission in a 92-95 civic. Costs about $153.00. And yes they do make that mount too. You will have to either swap over to a clutch cable assembly or do cable to hydro conversion just like the hasport kit for the b-series. It is not that hard to do.

l

3 things you need in a SOHC buildup
1) compression
2) lightweight vehicle
3) an engine that flows...

this is all great stuff guys!! i calculated the cost of a SOHC buildup that should run high 12s/low 13s (track proven; light CRX)and the cost came out to be approx. 3000

and mods... dick with people who try and hate on this thread....

i think a lightened HF CRX with a d16a6,(p29 pistons), mild port head, valve springs, resurfaced head, a nice cam, blue printed and balanced would be fun! for the mild drag racer and the road race enthusiasts... suspension also haha

Tetsuwan Atomu

this thread

HXMan

Good Thread man!

Captain Save-a-Hoe

I met a guy yesterday with 170hp at the wheels on a d16 NA. I've seen twin cams that barely make that.

civicsitek GanGsTa

I'd like to thank the academy.....I mean Spade for this thread. I have considered a swap for the last year but the d16z6 in my 94 si has just been too reliable to just toss aside. I never know you could throw a y8 manifold on a z6 head, I guess I was just ignorant. I question though....for the amount of air flow NA of course, is the throttle body upgrade to a dohc that vital? Bigger isn't always better a far as flow goes, so is it absolutely a KEY component? Im looking to set up exactly as was described. 3" intake (short ram) y8 intake, dohc throttle body (undecided), ported head, cam (either zex or Skunk, depending on if Tony wants to hook me up), dc header, 2.25 cat back, balanced bottom end, a1 pistons, head milled 30, flywheel, clutch, and vafc, and 200,000 mile reliablility. jdm b16's can't promise that!

B_1_8_hatch

here's what i have done to my d15b7 motor:

88 crx si cam
aem adjustable cam gear
d16z6 tranny (installed sat)

so what should i do next? i was thinking of finding a bigger throttle body of another civic.

93hb

Sohc-Vtec

How much boost can the 96 d16 vtec handle without internals?
What are main trouble areas with pushing boost in this engine?
(i am getting a turbo in like 1-2 months and need some input from experience)

willyboyK20

those are all good upgrades but i think the most important factor for the d-series is weight.

what am i to do in my heavy *** 4-door. if i had a hatch or something would go all-motor D16 for sure. but for me i think a turbo would be the best thing

batibot

this thread is tiiiiteee i love my d motor!!! do you have to get an si ecu too if your going to get a mini me swap?


[Modified by batibot, 7:19 AM 8/24/2002]


[Modified by batibot, 7:19 AM 8/24/2002]