DOHC ZC vs. SOHC VTEC

People seem to always prefer one over the other when it comes to these engines and they seem to run about the same in price. I need to know which motor actually performs better when lightly modified (intake, header and exhaust) and which will produce faster quarter mile times. I know your going to tell me to "search" but I’ve tried and all I found was an argument between friends and it offered no help. Thanks in advance.

-Derek

search!


Just kidding, actually, they will both produce very similar times in the quarter mile. Basically, it depends on the driver which one would win, its that close. Personally, I chose ZC because its an easier swap and I like that fact that its DOHC because I plan on adding turbo down the road and that will make it much easier to tune.

Thanks for the info. I'm leaning towards the ZC because I like the fact that it's DOHC as well. Also I was looking into a ZC trans over an A6, I've read that he ZC is better for acceleration, but is it a big difference?

-Derek

It is better for acceleration but as you may already know, when your cruising down the highway at 70, your tach is gonna be up around 4 grand as opposed to the a6 tranny which would be more towards 3.2 grand. so, either you accerate real fast and get mediocre gas mileage, or you accelerate fast and get better gas mileage. Anyways, I have a ZC trans that I can sell you. It comes with intermediate shaft and you can have it for $200

I'm still curious, how much faster is the ZC trans over the A6, is it like a tenth of a second difference, or something not even that noticible?

And about the one your selling, what kind of shape is it in? Any grinds? Thanks.

-Derek

I think it definitly would take some time off your 1/4 mile but I dont know first hand. The one Im selling came with my engine, I never drove it but they said it has less than 50k on it so it shouldnt grind and looks to be in good condition.

Originally posted by 91civichatch2571
Anyways, I have a ZC trans that I can sell you. It comes with intermediate shaft and you can have it for $200

damn...if there was no shipping i would probably get that so i dont have to use my dx tranny when i swap in my z6.

they make the same HP basically, i think the ZC is 130 and the SOHC VTEC is 129, but the ZC has more torque...

i would prefer the ZC as well, MUCH easier swap, no hydrolic clutch to deal with, no OBD1 bullshit... plus they sound so GOOD, like no other motor...

i personally like the sound of a wrx motor with exaust. mmmmmm my fav. sound, even more than a farariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiii!!!

Does anyone know where I can find a good deal on a DOHC ZC, Hmotorsonline is sold out.

-Derek

you dont have to use hydro tranny, or OBD1, z6's are newer and probably have alot less miles, theres tons of aftermarket support, and the gsr sounds the best out of honda imo

Does anyone know where I can find a good deal on a DOHC ZC, Hmotorsonline is sold out.

You can get one from www.Nippon-Motors.com They are really friendly and have great prices. Just tell them Ryan Brady of Xtreme Illusions sent you. Good luck!

well i think that they have the same amount of torque, so that cannot really be a factor

so you have to ask yourself yes i know you would like a fat dual cam in your engine bay its lovely but a lot of times when you buy those zcs you dont know what shape their in some people get them and they run cool but others blow them or something fucks up realy quick because its still a 14 year old motor ya know

so with the sohc vtec you buy from someone that you know what shape its in because thay had it in their car other than kinda taking that risk with the zc...but sounds like you've already decided anywho

Originally posted by 90civichatch
Does anyone know where I can find a good deal on a DOHC ZC, Hmotorsonline is sold out.

-Derek

dude come to glen burnie and goto hondamans and ask, they can get you a motor, it'll be way cheaper from ordering from nippon motors too because they are in cali......shipping...yea....shyt ill even meet you somewhere and show you where they are at one day

i was faced with the same question you are...which to go with. they have about the same hp so i took these things into consideration....

*most jdm engines are said to have 40,xxx or more miles and have possibly been sitting. a rebuild is recommended. i was able to find my engine with 12,000 out of a '00 EX for $500. no rebuild there.

*the zc requires a laundry list of parts off of different cars for all it's maintance parts. with the z6/ y8 you just go to the parts store and get the specific part

*although most aftermarket parts can be made to fit a zc...the sohc vtec has it's own support in the market

i'm not saying zc is the anti-christ...just giving you my personal reasons for going z6/y8 over zc. it really boils down to personal opinion

Can't you just use the D-series aftermarket parts for the ZC?

The simple answer is yes but its kinda complicated. As Ami said, you will need different parts from different cars. But it uses a lot of parts from civics/crx's (mostly bottom end engine stuff) and other parts from integras (mostly the top end stuff) I dont think its very hard at all to find OEM and aftermarket parts for ZC's. But thats not to say that it isnt easier to find them for the SOHC Vtec. Sadly I think a lot of people choose ZC's over American engines just to be able to say, "Its JDM". So, if your going to choose the ZC, make sure its what YOU really wanna do.

I drive a 69 SS Chevelle...

My friend has a honda del sol and he wantsto do a engine swap. He was talking to about it and he wants to go from the V-Tec to a DOHC engine but he doesn't really knnow alot about Cams and things.. I have read the forums and i am still at a loss.. i need to know which is better with mods.. i understand the way that dohc and sohc works, but on a motor like mine itwould be easier to keep thesame motor and do better interior motorr parts and then heads and a full exhaust... is there a diffrence betwwen doing this either motor... he is eventually going to put a Turbo on this motor, price is not that much of a concern but if you know i would highly appreciate it....

Thankyou

But thats not to say that it isnt easier to find them for the SOHC Vtec.

i care to debate that :biggrin:

i don't see how that can be true. go into any parts store and ask for a 92-95 si/ex or 96-00 ex part and they will gladly look it up for you. ask for a zc part and they will give you a :uhoh:

the same goes for aftermarket. look in any magazine and you will find more 5th & 6th gen parts than 4th gen and you will find next to no parts made for the zc. you can made some other parts fit but not everybody is down with that.

i know CWBETB bolted a d series header to his zc...but he had to take his dremel to it for the ports to match. to me, that was too much drama. and that is exactly what i am getting at. different strokes for different folks. you just need to decided what is right for you

Sadly I think a lot of people choose ZC's over American engines just to be able to say, "Its JDM". So, if your going to choose the ZC, make sure its what YOU really wanna do.

AMEN to that!

Rebel02hl, here are some what is vtec and how does it work type sites.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/question229.htm
http://asia.vtec.net/spfeature/vtecimpl/vtec1.html
http://cayotic.com/VTEC2.html
http://www.leecao.com/honda/vtec/index.html

as for turbo, it depends on who you talk to. in general you will always find a group of people who are all about the zc, others are all about the sohc vtec, and then there are those who say piss on both of those and go b series *cough* SiZ *cough* :icon16:

Thanks Ami for sayin that, cuz I just learned something. I was gonna go ZC because I wanted something with a little more uumph than my d15 :icon16: but I didnt really want to do with b series because of the cost. But now that I'm thinkin about it, and now that you cleared that up, I'm kinda weary to do so. I'm gonna start lookin into SOHC engines and comparing them to some b series, I thought I knew a little about engines...then somethin like this gets posted and I find that I know next to nothing...

But at any rate, thank you, you probably saved me lots of potential headaches.