valve/cam timing

i have a 91 civic dx 1.5 5spd my question is will changing the valve/cam timeing(or getting an adjustable cam gear)help with performance or gas milage any i plan to do a multi port converstion soon also header 2.5" cat back and "testpipe" converter any advice would be helpfull please dont tell me to DO AN ENGINE SWAP this is not what i want to do already buildin a small block for my camaro

yes it will help in both regards so long as its tuned properly.

I wouldn't bother with an engine swap if you're not looking to make more than about 150 HP.. you can easily get that with a D15B2 (The engine in your car).

Provided that you don't wanna go with Vtec.

List of things to do:
1. Get a cam from an A6 engine (Civic Wagon)
2. MPFI swap
3. H/E/I
4. Adjustable Cam gear, and lots of tuning.
5. Chipped/Socketed ECU (Lots of ppl on here do it, you might find a local shop)
6. At least a mild understanding of hex editing and programming ECU maps.
7. Common sense about engines.
8. More Tuning

The D15B2 has 92BHP stock.. the D16A6 has 108BHP I believe... you'll be putting an A6 cam on a smaller displacement engine, so you'll need to adjust the cam timing anyway, hence the adjustable gear. With that, you'll get about 98-102BHP. The H/E/I should give you another 4-6BHP, putting you up to 106-108. Chipping your ECU and tuning it properly with the correct maps for your application will give you better Fuel/Air ratio, giving you a couple more HP, at this point, you should expect to see around 120BHP if all the other mods are done.

Wrapping your header and the first part of your exhaust almost to the cat is another thing commonly overlooked... this keeps the temps stable in your exhaust, and allows better flow due to increased exhaust temp (doesn't allow the exhaust piping to diffuse the heat) Higher heat in the exhaust = faster velocity = more vacuum in the cylinder during overlap times (scavenging effect).

There is no point in swapping to an Si head, the part numbers are the same.. they're the same head. Hence why you just need the cam... while you're at it, you should check/replace any accesible part in the head that needs it, and do a compressed air leak test on the cylinders. (With all four valves closed, pressurize the cylinder to ~45-60 PSI, and give it about 30 seconds per cylinder to "leak out". At this point, it should NOT drop more than 5-6 PSI, if it drops at all. (You need to put about a teaspoon of oil in each cylinder before doing this test, or do it when the engine is mildly warm... NOT HOT.)

There are several other things you can do, but they're all posted elsewhere on the site, and to keep this post from hitting the Guinness Book for longest forum post ever, I'll cut it short here... those are the beginning basics, have fun with it.

And now that I've re-read your first post, I realise that half of that doesn't apply to you... you're running a D15A unless your engine was previously swapped... I believe that's a 8 valve head... so you'd have to swap the whole head.. in which case, you should either get an Si head, or get a B2 head with an Si cam.

its a 16 valve head tag on timeing cover says d15a2 valve cover says 16valve so with that just intake and cam swap with camgear will this require computer mods not tryin to go crazy my camaro should be over 400 horse before i spray it but this car is weak as hell and my wife took over my grand prix so its mydaily driver now and its boring to drive so here i am trying to go fast and save gas thanx guyz keep the info comin

not many people bother with the 1.5's. Since you wanna play with the cam and timing..Ive heard in other posts that an si, or other aftermarket cam will up your performance. I think that would be the easiest change you could make. Of course without the swap your limited. A different header suited to giving you power where you want it to in the powerband, cold air intake, lightweight flywheel with a strong clutch. BTW dunno what you've owned but an SI tranny is leaps and bounds faster and torquier than that dx tranny you have.

if ya know how to rebuild tranny's you could always use an Si trans with ZC final gear, if you can find one... or just use the Si tranny for starters... if your head is 16valve, use the A6 cam (Si) get yourself MPFI setup, only requires ECU and some wiring, along with (obviously) the necessary parts, which can all be obtained from a junkyard.

Don't worry about what anyone says about your distributor, you can use one from an Si OR from an HF... they're the same part. not even the internals are different, the coils are the same, all of it.

You must use a Si or aftermarket intake manifold, for best results, or (I think) one from a 92-95 Civic, but dont' quote me on that.

Edit: as it turns out, you CAN (and I have) use the intake from a 92-95 civic, although the locations of things that need to be wired will be slightly different. PS, you DON'T need to cut and extend plugs, you just have to cut the convoluted tubing off wires, and cut the tape around them, then draw them back to where you need them.

Injectors can be from either 92-95 or 88-91, if you use 88-91, you must use Injector resistor box as well, you CAN (and probably should) use it even if you use 92-95 injectors, in case of the event that you ever change them to 88-91 injectors, just for flexibility.

There are several great walkthroughs for this swap, both on and off this site, forgive me for not posting any of them, but use the search function, you'll find something quickly.

so a 95 intake and ecm will work now i did some looking at the junkyard and found one but what all will i need i noticed several vacume lines going to the throttle body do i need the box they go to

wrapping the header and exhuast is not a good idea on dd vechile. Keeping on that heat will wrap and crack the header. Wrapping the intake pipe though would be a better idea.

the 95 is a different engine...I can't say if it will work with a straight swap. I have a d16z6 out of a 94 and its 130hp stock. i would assume the internals of the head are different and the compression ratios are different. I could be done but not with the ease you want to do it. Drop zone was just referring to the intake manifold and injectors from that generation

basically, the engine that you're taking the intake parts from has to be a D series engine... which all 92-95's are I believe... they're bolt on... but you have to match the fuel rail with the intake manifold.. the EF rail won't fit right on the EG manifold, and vice/versa.

I wouldn't use the OBD1 ECU tho, unless you plan on chipping it, and changing a bunch more wires than you need to... find an ECU from a multiport EF civic... Even one from a CRX HF will work, but it will be a dog.

What you should be getting is a 90-91 Civic Si or CRX Si (PM6) ECU... they go on ebay for around 30-50 USD

and if youdo get an adjustable cam gear you'll have to get it tuned...you can actually loose hp if you don't know what you're doing

*off topic* I love that .gif in your sig... that lil fight scene thing... what's that from? @ BLUCIVIC

i don't knoe...ATMDC found this
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=4906641&postcount=14

oh, a basic idea is that you can run any engine you want in your car, making it fit can be an issue, but you can downgrade the engines emissions standard to work with your ECU setup... all you need is a basic multiport swap wiring setup... the idea here is that you only wire the components of the engine that your ECU recognizes and uses... you can also upgrade your OBD status w/o changing your engine, but you have to retrofit sensors to the engine you have... or you can use the emissions standard of the engine you're using.. by far, the easiest of these options is to keep your car's OEM emissions standard, and adapt your engine to fit.

(PS, if you don't wanna do the wiring for the multiport yourself, google "MPFI swap wiring harness")