easy modifications

i recently bought my first car a 91 civic ex 4 door and was wanting to do some modifications to it and i was wondering what were some mods that you would recomend doing

intake, headers, and exhuast are the first most common mods to do.

get about 40 stickers on there and a tip for ur exhaust and a tail you should be hella fast then :) ... maybe its not my time to play around

if your really serious and really want to get more horespower out of an ex your gonna wanna go with an engine swap wich gets pretty expensive depending on what engine you get. cause modifying that engine really is a wast of money cause you still wont be able to ride with most imports. engine comes with like 90 hp. stock. so you can put a lot of money into your engine and probley bump it up to like 120 give your take. it really your choice. if you got a real good mechanic that can do some internal work on that engine you can get some power out of that.

its all up too you!!

Come on don't play with the poor guyz head.. First I would get the car to actually look good, handle well, stop extremly well, and be able to take a swap.. Put a system in it, put wheels on it, get the windows tinted, lower it, get a new steering wheel, make sure it is nice and clean.... If you are short on funds and saving up on a swap will take awhile or you don't want a major swap add the header, exhaust, and a cheap intake... If you dropped a ZC (130hp) in you could still use that header maybe even the intake... But if you are actually looking to run with the big boyz (get a hatchback or a crx :) ) and want to do the b16a (160hp) then dont bother with pretty much any engine mods.. (except a cat back system that can alwayz be used) Wait do they make cat back for sedans? Oh well just have fun and create your own style.. If you are in it only for the race (get a hatchback or a crx) then do a swap immediatly! Those are just my opinions...

Originally posted by Redline_civic91
engine comes with like 90 hp. stock. so you can put a lot of money into your engine and probley bump it up to like 120 give your take. it really your choice.

the EX Sedan comes with 108 stock. It the Si engine in a 4 door.

Well if it's the si motor then the D16 shoud swap in real easy....it may not be as fast as the b16 but cheaper and somewhat easier to install.
gunnmen01

whats the difference between the D16 and the b16

abour 50 horsepower... the fact that d16 is sohc and JDM (japanese domestic market) b16a is dohc... b16a is a fairly expensive swap into the US 4th gen civics and crxs costing from $2000 (self install) up to $4000 pro install with some after market parts.. d16 came stock in the 4th gens... b16a came in japanese 4th generation civics

around how much would it cost to get the d16 engine and have it installed

U have the d16......

i picked up on a wrecked CRX Si with a b16 in it already. had a skunk2 manifold on it, AEM fuel rail and pressure regulator with pressure gauge, neuspeed header, random technology cat, neuspeed strut bar and lower tie bar, skunk2 coilovers and tokico blue shocks. i got it for $1360, and towed it home with my STD civic hatch. needless to say that was a funny sight, wish i had gotten pictures. i rebuilt the engine myself, and match ported and polished the head and skunk2 manifold, as well as the throttle body. the rebuild cost my just under 1000 bucks, this was using all honda gaskets and seals, as well as good bearings and piston rings. its a pain in the ass to wire a STD hatch up to a CRX Si engine harness, but it can be done. lemme know if you need help

You lucky punk!!! Yeah I am not looking forward to dropping $3500 to have the motorsport shop do the swap and switch from a auto to a 5speed manual.... Last October when I first looked into modifying a 4th generation civic B16as were cheap now they are going for around $1200... What a shame... I could fly over to Japan for $1300 go to a junk yard get an engine with the guage cluster included... Raid the rest of the cars (even if they are 4th generations) Take all the small parts and rare parts (for the US) and sell them all on ebay.. I guarentee that If I got enough parts I could pay off the cost of the engine, the flight, and maybe make a profit. People are making a killing just ripping us money induldged americans. I mean they go to japan or send some1 to japan and have them ripe out parts like the climate control... There is costs maybe $40 (don't know the exact yen conversion) or even cheaper.. They sell it on ebay for up $190.. It is ridiculous!

Originally posted by QuickSilverEF9
You lucky punk!!!

no doubt. i very quickly grabbed the cash, and prepared for the hour and 30 min drive.took me all of one afternoon and the next day to end up with the rex in front of my house. never pass up on a deal, even if it means being in debt to your grandparents for a year...


by the way, the car is fast, and handles better than any other car ive ever driven. now if only it would stop! i seem to remember pulling the rear suspension off of the CRX, disc brakes.......hmmm

wait... are you having the rex body rebuilt or swapping the engine into your STD?

the d16 has 125 hp, the b16 has 160 hp. the d16 will bolt to your tranny and into your car then you just have to rewire the ecu to run the new motor. Or use your old motor and get a rpm switch and wire the vtec that way....

gunnmen01

I was talking about the d16 that came in the si's

I guess I should have been more clear.. d16a8 (came in the US si)... But you could do a d16z6 (came in Japanese Si) engine is not that expensive and swap isn't either... Should cost around $2000 (after rebuild)

lol i messed it up again i meant the ZC was the d16a8

First thing I'd do is make it nice to be in. The stock steering wheels suck. That's the first thing I ditched and put in the matching shift knob. A half decent stereo would be good. I hated the hub capped steel wheels (they also got dirt in them and went off balance on my dirt road). You can get decent 14" wheels for not too much and put some decent rubber on them (don't be cheap on the rubber...buy quality). Headers are very expensive for what you get out of them and you can improve the car's behavior in other ways. Do the intake and exhaust BEFORE spending on the header.

my car already looks nice new paint job the only thing i need to make it look better are some rims
and i have already put an cool air intake in and hopefully sometime next week im getting my exhaust
so what the next things that i should do

Ha ha ha - this thread is funny - everyone knows what they are talking about, but screwing it up when typing and probably confusing the new guy with the EX 4-door..
Let me throw in my $0.02 :)
New Guy (91civcex4dr) - Welcome to the board..Nice to see some other sedan owners looking to make the 4-door go. I am sure someday there will be more 4-door peeps here than hatchies ;)- Long live the sedan!! :devil:
You have the same motor as the US Si hatch - a d16a6 - it makes 108HP. As the first reply mentioned, you can add an intake (cool or cold air), an exhaust (expensive but Thermal R&D makes the best for 4-doors), and headers. Except for the exhaust, you can buy aftermarket parts that go on an Si hatchback since you have the same motor. These 3 mods will net you 6-8 HP, maybe. Do you have an auto or a 5-speed? Trannies make a big difference too..The autos suck the life out of our little motors...
A lot of us are doing engine swaps to make us go faster. I have a DX 4-door, so I have the d15b2 motor, which makes 92 HP :( - I am swapping in a JDM (as mentioned, which is Japanese Domestic Market) ZC motor, which is pretty close to an EDM (European ;)) d16a9. This motor's block is very close to the d16a6, but has DOHC, and makes 130-ish HP. This motor was out of the CRX & Civic Si in Japan. Kinda shitty they always get better stuff than us, huh? Since the ZC is a d-series motor and its block is almost identical to the d16a6, the ZC will bolt into your car, along with bolting to your tranny, like your stock engine. It will run on your stock US Si ECU, but would greatly benefit from having either an aftermarket ECU (rechipped), or a JDM ZC ECU.

The b16 motor referred to in this thread is a b16a, from the JDM Civic Si-R. This motor has VTEC and makes 160HP, but since it is a b-series motor, does NOT bolt into your car's mount locations. It will need an aftermarket mount kit, tranny (b-series motor isn't compatible with your stock d-series tranny), axles, an ECU, and some shift linkage mods.

For me, going from 92 to 130 HP (ZC) will be great...and the cheapest..since ZC's are around $500 for just the motor. I have spent about $750 to date to rebuld my ZC after a good deal and a complete tear-down.
Since you have 108HP, a ZC may not be enough HP to be worth your while. b16's run about the same price from places like hondamotorsonline.com, however, with all the other required stuff to go with the b16, you are talking $1500-2000 if you can do the swap yourself. Most people recommend that no matter which engine you get if you decide to swap, you should spend ~$1-200 or so getting all belts, (incl. timing) and things like water pump, plug wires etc., replaced since no one really knows how long that motor has been sitting before you bought it.
Hope this answers some Q's and clears up confusion. And if I made mistakes, please correct me fellow 4th gen peeps! :cool:

Edit - It took me a damn hour at work to type this as I was getting interrupted..so ignore the part about an intake since you have one. :)

Dude I just said that... Around $2000 after a rebuild

ok... i have a 4door LX... if you want to go faster than you would with a B16 swap, get a turbo. the T25 turbo off of an old mitz. eclipse GST is a nice little turbo with little to no lag, and it spins hard from 2200 rpms on up to redline. plus, with that you'll be safely in the 14s, while with a B16 swap you'll be lucky to run a 15.3 in a 4door... trust me, i've checked out every available go fast option for a 4door.... i would advise keeping your current motor. (plus there is some showoff value in having a turbo'd 4th gen 4door... don't see many at all...) you're going to pay about 4000 for an engine swap, while you could get a turbo, intercooler, boost controller, etc... for 2000.

how easy would it be to put in the turbo, intercooler and boost control would i have to modify anything to put it in

well as long as you have the piping, you can put in the turbo and boost controller with very little modification, besides making a few brackets here or there... in order to get the intercooler to fit, usually some modification has to be done to make it fit behind the bumper... try www.homemadeturbo.com

Originally posted by QuickSilverEF9
wait... are you having the rex body rebuilt or swapping the engine into your STD?

STD baby, everyone knows that the hatch is a lot cooler(theres room in the back for shaggin)

nah, the rex was too destroyed to use. i was lucky though, it was wrecked from the hinges on the driver door all the way back to the taillights.

Don't forget you can do SOHC VTEC swaps from newer Hondas. I think they are better than a ZC because they make about the same HP but the engines are newer and ZCs really should be rebuilt because they sit around and decay, but a D16 with VTEC would be a newer engine and you could come across one for cheap by finding someone getting rid of one to do a bigger swap in.

Yeah the SOHC VTEC swap is looking more and more attractive compared to the ZC. Though the DOHC is still nice and you could probably sqeeze more power out of the ZC than the SOHC but I bet the SOHC would almost never give you maintenance problems. INU just think you already have a complete wiring harness in the CRX all you have to do is make it work in your STD.. That is what most of the labor costs are for when you have a pro swap it in... I still say you are a lucky bastard!!! Damn I wish I could find a sweet deal like that! :flash:

Originally posted by QuickSilverEF9
INU just think you already have a complete wiring harness in the CRX all you have to do is make it work in your STD.. That is what most of the labor costs are for when you have a pro swap it in... I still say you are a lucky bastard!!! Damn I wish I could find a sweet deal like that! :flash:

your right, all i had to do was make it work. it works now, but it is a headache. im glad i learned it, cause now i know, and i can start charging people to do it...hahahha

I read a website on doing a SOHC Vtec head swap onto a stock D16A6 block. Since I'm rebuilding my bottom-end anyway would this be a good head to put on it? Also the only thing that's kept me from looking in to it was it said you need a Vtec controller, any idea where I could come across one of those?

hey darkimportgray, how much boost (if any) can a d16a6 with stock internals handle??? After a little more thinking and reading i am taking that into consideration. -thanks