New Del Sol

[Thenowhereman42]

I have a 93 Del Sol S. I realize the S came with a total crap engine, but hey, I got the car for free, so no complaints. So what I was wondering was what would be the best path to take with it? Should I do an engine swap right away, if so, which one? Or should I just gradually upgrade it, starting with CAI, Exhaust, and so forth. Last question is if I do buy a CIA or something, and then do an engine swap, will I be able to just transfer the part over?

Also, I heard of CAI hanging too low, and sucking up water, and just wreking a car. I live in LA, so its not too much of a problem, but when it does rain my town doesn't exactly drain well, and very deep puddles are pretty common. Is it true that this can happen? Is it rare or fairly common? Would a short ram just be safer?

[Plastic_Fork]

Originally Posted by Thenowhereman42

I have a 93 Del Sol S. I realize the S came with a total crap engine, but hey, I got the car for free, so no complaints. So what I was wondering was what would be the best path to take with it? Should I do an engine swap right away, if so, which one? Or should I just gradually upgrade it, starting with CAI, Exhaust, and so forth. Last question is if I do buy a CIA or something, and then do an engine swap, will I be able to just transfer the part over?

Also, I heard of CAI hanging too low, and sucking up water, and just wreking a car. I live in LA, so its not too much of a problem, but when it does rain my town doesn't exactly drain well, and very deep puddles are pretty common. Is it true that this can happen? Is it rare or fairly common? Would a short ram just be safer?

If you're looking for power, you need to decide how much power you want out of the car first. If you want to swap, the D16Z6 is a good alternative for a moderate budget. If you're looking for more power than that, any B-series is a good step but which B-series will depend on what you want out of the car. Then your standard bolt-on's would be a first step with it.

As for the CAI, it doesn't really hang low - no lower than your stock resonator does. I've had mine for around a year now without issues. Just be sure the plastic wheel well and liners are in place and secured well - that's what keeps water from drenching the filter. Also, I would still recommend avoiding deep puddles or buy a bypass valve for the CAI. If you're still concerned, the short ram will be just fine - the power difference between the two is negligible and there's less risk involved.

And the CAI for the motor you have won't fit on the D16Z6 - the throttlebody on the D15 I believe is vertical and the D16Z6 and B16A throttlebodies are horizontal. If you're going to swap, buy the CAI for the motor you want in the car, not for the one you have in there already.

[Thenowhereman42]

Right thanks. Where do you think I should check out getting a D16Z6? Should I ebay it? What is around a normal price that one goes for? From what i've seen so far I should be able to afford one no problem, but they might just be ebay prices that shoot up last second.

And where should I look about installing it? I have a friend who's pretty handy and can probably do it, but a little extra help couldn't hurt. Also, can I sell the old engine to any particular autoshop or will I have to find a private buyer if I want to get rid of it?

[Plastic_Fork]

Originally Posted by Thenowhereman42

Right thanks. Where do you think I should check out getting a D16Z6? Should I ebay it? What is around a normal price that one goes for? From what i've seen so far I should be able to afford one no problem, but they might just be ebay prices that shoot up last second.

And where should I look about installing it? I have a friend who's pretty handy and can probably do it, but a little extra help couldn't hurt. Also, can I sell the old engine to any particular autoshop or will I have to find a private buyer if I want to get rid of it?

There are a number of reputable websites that will sell the motor to you. I can't remember the sites off-hand, but they've been listed a number of times in other posts with people looking to do the same thing. I recommend you use the search function on this website to locate the sites and others' reviews on them. You should be able to make an educated decision that way. The '92-'95 Civic forum should have a lot of that information as well - our cars are VERY similar in respects to motors and swaps.

I think the average going price of a D16Z6 is about $800, give or take. Just a rough guess here. I think you can have it swapped at a shop for around $1,000 including cost of the motor. Don't know if you can sell your D15 though. It's not a desireable motor for performance applications, but if you know someone with a Civic in your area that needs a new motor or spare parts, couldn't hurt to ask.

[Thenowhereman42]

one more thing, will I have to swap anything else out like the tranny? Or is my car already set up to recieve a D16Z6?

And if I go with a "B" engine I will have to switch out trannys right?

[AudioGuy93DelSol]

D-D will more or less drop in, youll need a different ECU cause a z6 is vtec. D-B you need tranny, axles, ECU, mounts, shift linkage i think that all. Im all for SOHC's but its up to you and your funds

[Thenowhereman42]

Will that come with the engine? If not where can I get one and how much?

[Plastic_Fork]

Usually a motor will come with the transmission and sometimes the ECU, but that's usually it. Just make sure you know what you're getting before you buy it.

Some places will also sell you the entire swap, including motor, axles, ECU, and all that jazz. Just have to look around for it.

Also, is your Sol automatic or manual? Since you already have a D-series, you can use pretty much everything that's in your car already. You'll just need to change ECU's and transmissions (depending on what you currently have). Might be a couple more things I'm missing, but your car already has most of what you need already for a D16Z6 swap.

And like AudioGuy93DelSol said, if you swap in a B-series you'll need B-series axles, transmission, ECU, wiring harness, motor mounts, and the shift linkage from a Del Sol VTEC. Probably a couple other minor things but that's the majority of it.