92 Civic DX Performance Tweaks

Okay, maybe 92 Civic DX and 'performance' are mutually exclusive, maybe not... I imagine there could be some hope. Anyway, just passed my '92 Civic DX,1.5l, 5spd, 100% stock, on to my son who wants to work it up a little. The is so much shiny chrome plated crap on the market I'd like to help steer him toward products and an upgrade path which WORKS, looks are secondary.... I think he'll learn tons on this little project, me too as the last engine I souped up was a '67 Mustang.
His objectives:
More power on a teenage budget and retaining the car's reliability. Not interested in NOS on an engine with 140k miles on it.
A better (engine) sound.
It needs tires, so we're scrapping the OEM 13" skateboard wheels and going to 16" right off.

In poking around mfrs and enthusiasts websites, I think upgrading the intake and exhaust plumbing will be big improvements on this strangled little motor. I think that'll net him the 'sound' , too.

The intake end is pretty confusing. Whats the path of least resistance...? Does this engine NEED another manifold or can decent gains be had by simply working (or replacing) on the throttle body and intake air plumbing ? If a complete intake redo is needed, do you suggest go with an upgraded manifold swap, say from the local junkyard ? What Honda model(s) and year(s) would be bolt in replacements? (thats the kicker..) I see the '92 DX and Si share the same fuel injector, fuel pipe, and manifold, but different throttle bodies and what appears to be a slightly different intake manifold.

Does swapping the intake obsolete the stock ECM and fuel pump...?

It seems popular to add a little more ignition juice, upgraded plug wires, and sticking with the NGK V Powers we currently use.... What brand wires and coil, and___ really work on the Civic?

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated...
Thanks,
-Z-

Not to strangle your son's dreams, but the engine is a fairly poor platform for a quick car. You can still make it a semi-decent little ride with some pickup, but upgrading the spark, fuel, and piping will only free about 15-20 horsepower. Aftermarket Civic parts have become a lot cheaper since the dawn of import tuning though, because it's become so popular and parts widespread.

Cold air intakes can be found for $30-$150 depending on name brand. AEM intakes are the most expensive only because they are CARB legal for emission testing and shit, but if they aren't strict in your area I'd get a Weapon R or something for dirt cheap, and they do the same exact thing for performance. The great thing about Civics is they're so interchangable between the same engines/years (either sohc or dohc). An EX intake manifold will fit on the DX head too, widening her breathing.. A header and exhaust will open the bottlenecks too, and with all three it will give a great sound, but like I said don't expect to be pushed back into the seat while nailing the gas. Upgrading the fuel delivery system won't be neccessary until you get into boosting the car past 200hp or something, so you def won't have a problem with the stock pump/injectors.

An aftermarket camshaft and adjustable cam gear will give it some relatively great gains, probably as much as the i/h/e combined. You can buy those for (depending on brand and quality) $300-$400 new. All these parts will maintain the car's reliability just fine. Usually the only blown Honda engine is one where people ran too much boost or sprayed too much. Some plumbing and higher lift on the valves won't hurt at all unless the installs are screwed up. Hope some of this helps, good luck.

Thanks Ricochet...I appreciate the tips a lot.
You know he (I?) am not ready for a 'go fast' for him and when you think about it, 15 to 20 HP added to a wussy little base engine of about 105HP IS pretty significant, maybe not on a track or strip, but around town it'll be noticable and give a sense of accomplishment, and sound pretty cool in the process.... He'll (We) learn some 'wrenching' along the way and not piss away a lot of $ on useless (though highly touted) 'upgrades'. Oh and by the way, we're in FL, NO EMISSIONS testing nor state inspection of any kind required. Can anybody find my Cat, I lost my cat...
Thanks again,
Z

He'll (We) learn some 'wrenching' along the way and not piss away a lot of $ on useless (though highly touted) 'upgrades'.
Yeah gotta crawl before walking. I did everything myself when I had the stock DX engine and learned plenty of new things that still help me where I'm at now. If you install everything at the same time you'll really notice the difference in power, but one at a time it won't be as much. Have fun with her :)

well, you could think about the 1st gin B16A1 for it... it will need a converson to OBD0 from OBD1 (cant remember the site for the harness) the motor can be found @ http://www.osakajdmmotors.com/honda/index.html one of the many sites anyway, or you could put in a B16A2 and not have to worrie about the conversion, it bolts in. the A1 is 160hp, the A2 is 170... that might be more than you are looking for(?) but at any rate i would not put money into the Dx... swap the Ex motor in it, same price as the cam (about) and about the same HP gain, but more room for improvement (like turbo) later down the road; if you choose. oh, the Dx has like 88hp at the wheels, the Ex has 108 at the wheels. i could be wrong about the DX, but i remeber seeing that somewere...

B16A1- $1100 (160hp) +ship
B16A2- $1900 (170hp) +ship
EX - $300 (120hp) find locally
Turbo(ex)- $1200 (170-180hp?)

Yeah I say go with the b16a1, that engine is pretty fast. It will run you around 1000-1340 with the mounts included. The b16a2 which is found on the 99-00 Si, wil cost you a lot more, around 3,000-3500 since its a lot newer.

The b16a1 will perform almost exactly as the a2. It is a 1595 cc engine, 1.6 producing 160 hp at 7600 rpm and 111 lbs torque at 7100. The great difference is that this engine has the "real" performance vtec. Dual overhead cam, revs up to 8000. This swap will take the car to another level making the car sprint from 0-60 mph in the low 7s.

As others have said, investing money on a DX engine is not really worth it. If you dont want to spend 1000 dollars, try the EX engine which is around 400-500 dollars, 127 hp.

"As others have said, investing money on a DX engine is not really worth it. If you dont want to spend 1000 dollars, try the EX engine which is around 400-500 dollars, 127 hp."

Excellent info, thanks. Okay then I poked around some engine sites and saw prices and HP ratings for the various engines ya'll mentioned which seem to be right on.

So don't dig 'into' the DX engine. Wouldn't bolt on accessories like a header/exhaust system and some sort of better Air Intake also bolt right up to the 'new' engine or would that be a 'maybe maybe-not' fit...? I'd think the exhaust manifold bolt pattern is pretty consistent amongst these motors of similar displacement.... Opinions ?

Transmission: Its got a 5spd, original clutch and all (at 145k mi). My last engine swap was a heavily modified 302 cid Ford so I'm outta my element here. Will a new heavy duty clutch coupled to the stock half shafts handle a 125HP Ex engine, or the 160 HP B16A2 for that matter...? At some point the stock drivetrain won't be happy.
Thanks again,
Z

With a swap to a B series motor (the 160hp one) you would need to get what's called a full swap. Motor, trans, shiftlinkage, ecu, axles and so forth. Probably more than you would like to bite off from the start.

First I'd probably do an intake swap for a EX manifold. The worst part of the DX is actually the intake. From there, do the cold air intake, header and catback exhaust to start with.

If you want to bypass the Cold air intake, and header. Just get the Greddy turbo kit for about $1600 for the 92-95 civic. Very easy first project to get you aquainted with the car. Since all the directions and so forth are there. Turbo's really do add a lot of fun factor into the car. Not every kid around is driving a turbo civic. Check out www.turboD16.com for some good info. From there it's pretty limitless, currently I'm building up for about 375-425 hp from my little D16 motor. Last run at the track was a 13.88 @104 on 17" chrome rims and street tires. That's with a stock bottom end with 93k miles on it.

I didn't mention a swap because you said your son just wants a bit more power.. You can buy complete b16 swaps for aboud $2250 at www.hmotorsonline.com and it's really easy to put in if you have a lift and impact tools. 160hp for $2250, or the same amount in mods on the dx engine to end up with ~130hp.. hmmm :)

the B motors (b16/18/20) exhaust header is not the same as the Dx's (or any other D motor) however, if you do the Ex swap you can use your header, your tranny, your stock clutch (though i would replace it while you have the motor out) and everything else, oh, you will need the EX ECU. for the gen 2 B16 (b16a2) it will come with a header, tranny, ecu, clutch, and some come with AC. the axles on your car will not work though, because the B16 uses = length axles to help with torqe steer. so go to autozone and buy integra LS or GSR axles, those will work and will handle the HP of the stock motor and up to something like 250, after that you could snap the axle. oh, by that time you will have needed a new clutch. in fact you MAY consider doing a clutch upgrade while your at it... that is if your son can drive stick good. i would put in a stage 2, that would be enough to handle prolly all you will ever do to it.


whatever you decide to do, do not buy a trubo KIT for the motor, they are overpriced and usally made of shit parts. peace one togeather yourself, and do not use an FMU. go buy the damn computer from HondaTA. it will work better, allow for more boost safer (on stock block) and give you better HP gains from the same componits. -with a 'turbo' ECU you can safly run boost into the car untell your rods/pistons/crank can not handle the pressure anymore- unlike in an FMU were you will brake the motor at much lower boost levels due to detonation.


witchever you decide to do (the swap or turbo) they will come up with about the same HP after all is done. ...the turbo will be funner to drive, the swap will be better in the long run!

Thanks Gents....!
I think at $2k (plus) the complete swap will be waiting a while unless the motor blows or something.... Regardless, a header and cat back system would not be wasted $ then as I understand it, whatever engine ends up under the hood, turbo or non, whenever that happens....

Ya'll ought to look into tucking one of your 300HP 4-bangers in a jet ski hull, hmm would that be freaky (maybe lethal?)
-Z-

well, the only thing that would affect if buying exhaust was somewhat of a waste is if you go turbo after you put a NA exhaust setup on it. typical NA is about 2in, normal turbo is 2.5in. it wouldn't hurt you to much when you first put the turbo on, but when you start playing with boost (over like 10psi) you will be loosing some power due to the restrictions on flow. if you are not sure which way you want to go do this-- go to an exhaust shop and have them make a 2' for you, it wont cost more than say $200 (i've done it before) and will give you decent gains - not as much as a 'real' exhaust will but still decent. just give them the muff you want put on it with the piping. that way you still get that exhaust sound, some acctuall HP gain, and didn't spend $400 on something that you might change later on. oh- i would advise aganst crush bent piping... it will be cheaper, but i dont know if it would even give you any more HP lol. get mandral bent.

My son also has a Civic DX, a 1994 DX 5 speed.

The head gasket blew and while we're fixing it we thought some of the above performance mods might be in order. We're using the upgraded gasket, the tri layer metallic. We've got headers and a K&N filter and intake and are looking at a EX intake manifoldand throttle body from the junk yard and a ZC camshaft from a DelSol.

Do you think the ZC cam is really better?

Del Sols didn't come with ZC's, but if you find a real ZC cam, they do have a little more lift and duration. I swapped a ZC cam into my old crx and it made a nice difference with the right ECU.

And to all those that suggested to the man put a OBD 0, cable clutch having motor into his sons OBD I hydraulic clutch car, you should just refrian from posting here anymore till you learn somthing.

DO NOT waste the money on a OBD 0 motor in your car. By the time you spend them money converting it to OBD I and buying a new/conversion kitting hte tranny, it is going to cost you the sane as the RIGHT motr.

May I suggest to you that either a mini me, a D16Z6, or a B16A swap is the best way to go for more power. That is in order of cost, the list backwards is order of power.

The mini me is simply adding a D16Z6 head to the D15B2 block. Very easy, pretty cheap, and yeilds good results.

The D16Z6 swap is a little more expensive, since you're buying a whole motor (get the tranmission too, it has better gearing), no more labor intesive than swapping a head really, I think it is less in fact. But you will come out about the same Hp wise as a good mini me.

The B16A swap is IMO the way to go. It is a great motor, not real powerful, but it has balls. It is the cheapest of the DOHC vtec motors, and has a WORLD of aftermarket support, comparable to a small block chevy motor.

You want to track down one from a 92-95 Civic/CRX. Or the 94-95 Del Sol vtecs had them here in the states.

www.hmotorsonline.com
www.importautosalvage.com
www.passwordjdm.com

are good places to get the motors online, have great reputaions for shipping out quality motors.

Jcrx is correct. The '94-'95 Del Sol VTEC models had B16A2/3 motors that were OBD I. The '93-'95 Del Sol Si's had the D16Z6 OBD I motor in them. Any motor in a '96-'97 Del Sol is OBD II.

I would take his advice and either do a mini-me, D16Z6, or B16A2/3 swap if you're looking for any significant gains for your son's car. Another option would be the B18B1 ('94+ Integra LS) motor swap. This motor is relatively inexpensive, OBD I, good power and torque, lots of aftermarket support, and is non-VTEC so you would have less wiring to do to the car. Otherwise, just work on the current motor to get more familiar with it.

There is a large market for the D-series motor, but it won't yield very large gains unless you put a lot of time and money into it.

I was thinking about the B18B1 too, good motor, but for a 1.8 I'd spend the extra and go B18C1 (GSR motor) or save a little more and drop in an ITR. BUt yea the non vtecs have less wiring, so less to go wrong in a swap.

Thanks for the information. I've located a D16Z6 VTEC Head with intake for the MiniMe swap. What modifications, if any, need to be made to the ECM?

The head gasket and header install turned out to be relatively easy.

Use the D16Z6's ECU.

ECM = Electronic CounterMeasures
ECU = Electronic Control Unit

You gonna spoof the cops in that beast of yours?
j/k ;)

My other car is a PT Cruizer where it's a PCM.

After further review we are getting a 95 VTEC from an EX which has a thrown rod. I reviewed the Head/engine swap info on this and other boards and there are a few things I noticed.

D16Z6/D16Y8 head gasket withthe D16Y8 being half the thickness

The oil control jet must or must not be removed

The VTEC ECU will work unchanged or
Using the D16Z6 ECU you will have to run three wires to make VTEC work: the VTEC solenoid, VTEC oil pressure and VTEC oil pressure ground.

Also you may use an after market VTEC controller actuated by RPM (Summit Racing RPM activating switch from Summit Racing)

Any hints here?

These seem to be small changes that make a big difference

My other car is a PT Cruizer where it's a PCM.

After further review we are getting a 95 VTEC from an EX which has a thrown rod. I reviewed the Head/engine swap info on this and other boards and there are a few things I noticed.

D16Z6/D16Y8 head gasket with the D16Y8 being half the thickness

The oil control jet must or must not be removed

The VTEC ECU will work unchanged or
Using the D16Z6 ECU you will have to run three wires to make VTEC work: the VTEC solenoid, VTEC oil pressure and VTEC oil pressure ground.

Also you may use an after market VTEC controller actuated by RPM (Summit Racing RPM activating switch from Summit Racing)

Any hints here?

Didn't know other manufacturers used different terms for their control units. Learn something new every day. :)

As for your questions, I would stick with the D16Z6 head gasket. The current DX motor and the D16Z6 are both OBD1, and the D16Y8 is OBDII. Get the head gasket originally designed for the head you're putting in.

Not sure about the oil control jet. Someone else will have to answer that one.

I would also use the D16Z6 ECU and just run the three wires. The ECU is already programmed with the correct VTEC tables, etc. so I would rely on that rather than an aftermarket VTEC controller. I'm just paranoid though, but I'd rather use what Honda already tuned as opposed to something that may not use the correct values for the motor.