Single Cam Mods...what should we do?

Hey everyone....just wanted to gain a little bit of advice from u all.
My friend and I are workin on a little project. We're trying to get a 97 Civic EX (SOHC) to go as fast as it can?? Any tips on what kind of performance parts we should get?? Cams? Intake Manifold? Throttle Body? Just wanted to know what u guys think before we start.....
Thanks!!!:help:

get a different engine. from what all i've read it is almost a waste of money to mod out a d16 unelss you fully rebuild it and go forced induction. for maybe $1000 you might be able to get about 20+ hp, and for that much you can get another engine. most cost effective would be a new cam ~$300 that can add 10-15 hp, and a cold air intake ~7 hp $100-200.

what kind of engine can you get for $1000? I've never heard of that before

PROBABLY THE SAMEONE THAT'S ALREADYIN THERE.....HEHEH....

well i have a d16 engine also (civic ex engine) i dont want to swap just b/c everyone is swapping now...i want to eventually put a turbo on it with zex but u need to build up internals for doing that

well u need to give us an idea of how much u are willing to spend on your engine...some quick hp is i/h/e

you should move this...to the technical forum. you will get much more help.....what type of budget are you on....and what type of numbers do you want to acheive

I also have a 97 ex coupe..mine is white..i want to go all motor....My first mod is going to be DC sports 4-1 header...good for 10-14 HP, CAI is good for around 7. The easiest way to milk single cams for power is forced induction. it is also, in a lot of cases the cheapest. If you are trying to stay N/A after header and intake. A chip is porbably the next thing. after that it is internals and port and polishing the head and such....then you get into big bucks

well, you can get a b16 for like $1500. a little more than $1000. and from that you are getting 30 extra hp over a d16 and you will have dual overhead cams and more play with timing and can get more from cam gears and such.

Originally posted by silvercivicgrl

well u need to give us an idea of how much u are willing to spend on your engine...some quick hp is i/h/e

quick HP from i/h/e? free up like..10-15...for over 1000 bucks? no thanks....

swap it, and sell me yours for the cost it'd cost you to get your new one shipped.... i'd be more than happy with a d16 ;)

Originally posted by GURLSVTEC
PROBABLY THE SAMEONE THAT'S ALREADYIN THERE.....HEHEH....

HAHAHA! But really though.. you can get a good motor for a grand. I can get a jdm B16 full front clip for under a grand.

I'll be moving a copy of this thread to the Tech Forum, and closing it in this end. Hope you find the answer that you're looking for :)

Originally posted by Quetzolcotl
well, you can get a b16 for like $1500. a little more than $1000. and from that you are getting 30 extra hp over a d16 and you will have dual overhead cams and more play with timing and can get more from cam gears and such.

You can get a 1st gen b16 for that much. But she has a 97 ex so i would suggest a newer motor if you are going to swap. It should be easier. But you need to decide if you want to go all motor or FI on your current motor.

NA mods:

Bore and resleeve the block
High compression pistons
Upgraded rods
Port and Polished Head
A nice cam
Upgraded valvetrain
Cam gear
A good header
good intake
Intake manifold
Large Throttle Body

FI:
Nitrous
Turbo
Supercharger

Take your pick.:)

read the current article on SCC, about this dude Foo, hes got a civic with head work and stock bottom end and auto cross races it agaisn't tons of other cars that you'd think are better and does really good. It gives all the detail of his mods and where he got 'em,who did it. So I say head work, T.B./I.M., turbo, underdrive pully, and congradulations on being different and useing a sohc

Best bang for the buck is Nitrous Oxide. :D

i/h/e will get you a little bit, and make the engine bay look real nice, but you really won't get that much more kick in the seat. More serious engine mods like head porting, cams, a compression bump, or forced induction are required for that. But in general, the better a base engine you start out with, the better gains per dollar you're going to get.
:cool:

Theres still hope for the 92+ SOHC Vtec motors. Lets assume your the average guy who just wants the basic mods. No crazy pistons or going turbo. Pretty much sumthing reliable and without really touching the block or adding alot of parts such as a Turbo kit.

Lets say you have the basic I/H/E. The next thing to do is get a cam gear, fuel pressure regulator and a cam. People talk about the ZEX cam like its the only one out there. I have built single cams and I use special grinds and they only cost about $200. The VTEC SOHC motor we built are with headwork and cam cost about $1100. With tuning, we were able to get a 97 SOHC vtec motor into the low 14's. This is on a stock block. This is an option for the person who is not planning to spend the time and money into installing a B series motor.

Dont forget that you just cant buy a reg $1200 B16 complete swap. THose usually come with a cable transmission and with a 97 using a hydro trans, you would need to get a gsr or B16 trans which will set you out another $500-800 depending on the deal.
plus theres installation and the mounts.

So for the average performance enthusiast, check out the head and cam combo. It puts out pretty good HP for the $$ and its not out of reach. Good luck on the Single cam upgrades!!

Wil www.exospeed.com
89 CRX All motor SOHC-nonvtec 13.6@99mph.

email me if you need any help on a single cam or any setup.
[email protected]

i\h\e will free up 10-15 hp to the wheels. if you want to go turbo on your block down the road don't invest on a header because you are going to be using a downpipe for the turbo instead of a header. with a greddy turbo you can run it at 5.5 psi and have about 139 hp and 130 ft-lbs to the wheels. if you want that at the crank that's about 170-175 hp and 145-150 ft-lbs at the crank. with that you will be able to beat most civics on the street and beat out gs-r's. on a stock block you could probably run 7 lbs and be safe. and as you add mods like fuel management injectors ignition upgrade etc with the proper tuning it's possible to run 10-11 psi on stock internals. it has been done before so i'm not making this up ;x then with a rebuilt engine you can boost up to the max of the greddy kit at 24 psi. boost doesn't break engines, bad tuning breaks engines. you're looking at an investment of 5-8k total for a low 13 second civic ;x lets see a swap do that for you :)

Well ive been building my SOHC for 2 years and when people tell u oh go buy a b16 yeah throw it in its faster (BULLCRAP), I smoke many B16's and most wont even want to race later!!! Personally i had a B16 and blew it to shit, what ur gonna replace it wih another one and spend another 3 grand. I went to 1 d16 already and replaced it easily with little money, whats a d16 goin for i got mine for 600 dollars, half a paycheck. Throw a Turbo and a Blowoff Valve and Exhaust and ull be dustin b16's.
Hey if u bought a b16 what 2500 ull never have enough for a turbo another 3000!

turbocivic4 you made a good point i forgot to add. you blow a d16 and it costs 600, chew up a d series tranny 200-250 bucks. do that to a b16 or b18 and your out a few thousand bucks :) and my civic with just i\e runs very well with si's... it's neck and neck up to mid 3rd once i get my header it will be even better. I've beat a couple of si's just because i am the better driver, si's aren't that much quicker than the ex's stock.

have any pics of your car turbocivic?

Originally posted by pushVTEC
i\h\e will free up 10-15 hp to the wheels.


WOW! so I can have as much power as a Type-R Civic just be doing I/H/E! Wow thanks man, thats some really awsome advice, and you've saved me thousands of dollars in mods I didn't need, like head porting, cams, ECU etc...
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

uhhhh

moppie, you from cleveland?

Originally posted by pushVTEC
moppie, you from cleveland?

Im not, but I do wonder if prehaps you are. :D

Its great that your helping members and providing information, but its even better if the information you provide is acurate.

You will never gain an extra 10-15hp at the wheels just by adding I/H/E to any Honda motor.

About 6psi is a safe boost level on stock internals and fuel/spark managment.
Any more boost and you need to richen the mixture above what the Honda ECU is capable of. And if you want the motor to have some kind of measurable life expectancy then you need to at the least lower the compresion ratio. Yes you can run 10psi on stock internals, but how long do you think those internals are going to take it? (and I won't even mention problems with detonation)

:cool:

i meant 10-15 hp peak :( which is very doable if you have a combination of top end related boltons

I've got a SOHC VTEC also..AND..its automatic..im keeping both..everyone tells me to swap out the engine and tranny..blah blah blah..I want to keep the engine and tranny cause i want to build up a less superior engine and go out and smoke cars "bigger" than mine and to be able to tell em its a SOHC Automatic =). I know its going to take alot of work but i've got faith in "her" so far i've got an i.h.e im saving up for my JRSC now..going to buy a used unit and jus replace the belts and clean it out. also going to get a new cam, Fuel pressure Reg, Jacobs ICE pak or MSD SCI w/ blaster coil, Vtec Controller,and whatever else i can think of..

Originally posted by pushVTEC
i meant 10-15 hp peak :( which is very doable if you have a combination of top end related boltons

Yes it is, if you happen to have a 1960s era British inline 6, or an early American V8.
But on a small capacity and well enginered Honda engine 10-15hp from bolt ons is about as likly as Liv Tyler showing up on my door step needing comforting after being chased by Orcs.

*knock, knock* OH! :eek: Hello Liv! :rolleyes:


Ill give you an examble. The 2nd generation B16a has 10 more hp than the first generation. Honda had to raise the compresion, redesign the cams and exhaust manifold and then reprogram the ECU to get that extra 10hp. If simple bolt mods would have acieved the same goal then dont you think they would have saved the time and money they spent on retuning the engine, and simply slaped a I/H/E on the later SiR Civics?

On almost all N/A Japanese engines you can expect maybe a 5% increase in peak hp. On some engines useing aftermarket headers may even cause a loss of peak hp. e.g. Most versions of Toyotas 4AGE engine suffer a hp loss if after market headers are used with out a new cam to match. The factory header is as good as you can get when combined with the factory cam.

Hatchback d16y8

Headwork
Bored 33cc over
Forged pistons
Rods
Crank
Cam
Valvetrain
Inividual Throttle Body injection (custom built)
Full exhaust
AEM plug and play
zex 100hp shot

This car has crapped on every B motor swap its ran against and several Vette's

Think about weight/hp ratio thats where the secret is to a fast honda!!