ZC Versions

Hey guys,
Has anyone ever heard of different versions of the ZC motor? I thought I heard something about this, and you could tell by the serial # on the block which version it was. Does anyone know about this? Does anyone know if one or the other won't work in the civic? Moppie, are you out there? I need some help!!!:confused: :confused: :confused:

Well there was a SOHC VTEC ZC and then a Non-VTEC DOHC ZC. Each made about 130hp and were 1.6 liters.

I know about the brown and green and SOHC ZC, but I thought I heard something about a second black valve cover ZC that came out of a 1G integra in Japan, or something, that was the same HP but slightly different mounts, or electronics or something. Am I imagining things?
Thanks for the help!!:D

from d moores page:
- [email protected] tells us that ZCs with a serial number starting with 2 is from Civic/CR-X and with a 5 is 2nd-gen Integra.

The link that jason gave you is also good.

Here is my stamp :P

http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/2002725294220185956117.jpg

Well i think the above all pretty much covered it,

But I have seen ZC's in:

3g Civic Si, both Hatch and Sedan.
1g CRX Si.
4g Civic Si also Hatch and Sedan
2g CRX Si
and 5g Civic, both GTi here in NZ, and 20th aniversy model from Japan.
1 and 2g Integra, in a variety of models.

The early engines 1g, teg, 3g Civic/CRX all have a Brown rocker cover, and I believe only about 115hp.
The later engines all seem to have a black rocker cover and between 125 and 135hp.
Im assuming that the new the engine the more hp.
So the last of the 2g tegs, and the 5g Civic would have 135hp, while the 4g Civic/CRX only has about 130hp.
But they are all essentialy the same engine.
The only differnces will be auxluries, and the engine mount bolted to the block (which can easily be swapped) as well as small differnces in Cams, CR and ECU between all the differnt years.

So say I ended up with a ZC out of an integra, would it work in my civic HB? What changes would need to be made, and would the parts be the same, like timing belt, distributor cap, etc.??

OK, I got my new ZC and installed it. The funny thing is that it was lots different than my old one, and the serial # starts with a 3. Anyone have any ideas? This motor was weird. It had a different dizzy, injectors, intake manifold, throttle body, fuel rail, and other stuff. One of the motor mounts didn't work either and I had to take the old one off my blown ZC.

Anyone have any ideas what is going on??

The motor runs fine, but is throwing a code (I don't know which one yet, no time to work on it right now), and seems to be a lot more responsive than my last one. Overall I'm pleased, although a little confused.

:sun: :confused: :sun:

hey Moppie....the 88/89 TEGS from the USDM market came with a D16A9 I beleive right....well isnt that the same as a ZC....so does it bolt in....I have heard both sides of the argument....some saying yes....some saying no.

Originally posted by slammedcivicsi
hey Moppie....the 88/89 TEGS from the USDM market came with a D16A9 I beleive right....


Yeah, I believe its the USDM version of the ZC. Basicly from what I can gather the ZC is just a differnt version of the D series block, which mostly have a DOHC Head that is derived from the old prelude Si B20 engine, (the bottom end of which is used as the basis for the B16a).
There are also SOHC VTEC and non-VTEC versions of the ZC avliable, but im not sure what cars they came in.
This is why they are such and easy swap into 4g's, they are basicly a D series engine, with a differnt oil and water galleries in the top of the block, to fit the differnt head.

Anyway, the only real differnce between the differnt DOHC ZC engines are the heads, pistons, ECU's, and the engine mount subframes on the engine block.
So you can take one from an integra and easily fit it to the Civic, even if the engine mounts in each car are differnt. (but I dont think they are??)
anyway, if they are differnt all you have do is bolt Civic D series mounts to the ZC block.

I have been told that the motor does not drop straight in, and that you have to change the motor mounts on the driver side, but that the rest work, because they are on your transmission. So you have to take the driver's side mount off completely and replace it with the one from the old civic motor. There shouldn't be any problem getting it to go over. I don't know how this works if you use the integra transmission, but it may still work out. I think it's funny that only one of the mounts on this motor is actually on the motor. I haven't been able to find any really good information on this swap, though. I think it has to be more advantageous to just go buy a ZC, since you don't have to worry about pulling it, or screwing around with anything like that. Most ZC's are cheap enough that it is worth it for the convenience. That's my 2cents worth.....

Originally posted by slammedcivicsi
hey Moppie....the 88/89 TEGS from the USDM market came with a D16A9 I beleive right....well isnt that the same as a ZC....so does it bolt in....I have heard both sides of the argument....some saying yes....some saying no.

hey guys...the 88-89 USDM Teg motor is a d16a1 - Which does NOT bolt into a Civic, and only makes 118HP, which is why most peeps don't bother, when the ZC at 130-ish is so readily available and DOES bolt in. Oddly enough however, it seems 95% of the parts from the d16a1 head fit the ZC. I have been ordering US '89 Teg parts to rebuild the head on my ZC and US '91 Civic Si parts to rebuild the block. What the big difference between the ZC and d16a1 is (other than 12-15 HP and the mount location on the block) I am not sure???? :confused:

The differences between the teg and ZC motors are stuff like: The ZC has domed pistons, which gives higher compression and power, the ZC has more aggressive cam grinds, which gives better air/exhaust flow and better power. The ZC also has more aggressive timing (so I'm told) which gives the ability to rev higher and produce a different power curve. I'm also told that the rods on the ZC are a little bit beefier and can withstand greater power, although I have never compared them side by side. You can, however, see a huge difference between the cams and the pistons, and I think that this accounts for the bulk of the power disparity.

Hey dude...thanks...that makes sense to me and all of those things together certainly can account for 12-17 HP IMO :cool:

Its becasue the D16a1 in the USDM teg, is the basicly an early version of the ZC!
Certialy the early ZC's in the 1st gen tegs and 3g Civics in Japan only had about 120ps, or wait for it, about 117hp. :rolleyes:
They also have tan/yellow rather than Black Valve covers.

And did I not mention that the mounts might be differnt, but since they are bolted to the block and ALL THE BLOCKS ARE THE SAME, its very easy to swap it for another mount.