99 EX: 175 - 200hp?

[CivicRacerX]

I have a 99 EX, and I've been holding off on doing mods aside from small cosmetic stuff because my income severely changed. To make a long story short, it's back at its normal level and I'm making money again. I'd like to reach what I hope is a realistic goal of 175 - 200hp. My question is this: Am I gonna be able to do this all motor, or should I break down and buy a turbo/supercharger? As far as reliability, I assume having an all motor car is more reliable (this car is a daily driver, I only drive it about twice a week tho ) than forced induction, but is it going to be easier if I give up on an AM application? I am not prepared to do an engine swap. I am mechanically inclined, but I've never rebuilt an engine. I know with the typical bolt-ons like headers, intake, exhaust, etc... I'm probably looking at an increase of 10 - 15 horses, so I know that's not the most cost-effective route, but can I hit 175-200hp without swapping motors or going forced induction?
Second question: How important is it to have all the extra "monitors" if I were going to do FI? Personally, if I do it I'm going to do it right. I'd like to know what's going on in my car (A:FR, Oil Press., etc..) but some people have told me it's not necessary and actually kind of silly to bother with anything like an aftermarket fuel controller, turbo timer, or even extra gauges as long as you're keeping the application small (which I know it would be just to add 60hp). Any advice guys?

[F20C]

You going to need a lot of mods to reach 200hp without swapping engines.

[NSX]

Originally posted by CivicRacerX
I have a 99 EX, and I've been holding off on doing mods aside from small cosmetic stuff because my income severely changed. To make a long story short, it's back at its normal level and I'm making money again. I'd like to reach what I hope is a realistic goal of 175 - 200hp. My question is this: Am I gonna be able to do this all motor, or should I break down and buy a turbo/supercharger? As far as reliability, I assume having an all motor car is more reliable (this car is a daily driver, I only drive it about twice a week tho ) than forced induction, but is it going to be easier if I give up on an AM application? I am not prepared to do an engine swap. I am mechanically inclined, but I've never rebuilt an engine. I know with the typical bolt-ons like headers, intake, exhaust, etc... I'm probably looking at an increase of 10 - 15 horses, so I know that's not the most cost-effective route, but can I hit 175-200hp without swapping motors or going forced induction?
Second question: How important is it to have all the extra "monitors" if I were going to do FI? Personally, if I do it I'm going to do it right. I'd like to know what's going on in my car (A:FR, Oil Press., etc..) but some people have told me it's not necessary and actually kind of silly to bother with anything like an aftermarket fuel controller, turbo timer, or even extra gauges as long as you're keeping the application small (which I know it would be just to add 60hp). Any advice guys?

if you're not gonna race your car much, you don't need the guages
do you have manual or auto?

[Swonder67]

getting to 200 hp isn't impossible, but it will cost money. But if Si's, which aren't the same exact engine, but close, have 160 hp, I think its do-able

[CivicRacerX]

Ok, so while getting to 200hp with my current engine isn't out of the question, doing it without jumping up to forced induction is gonna be tough, and most likely expensive...So how much reliability do I give up if I decide to go with a turbo or a supercharger, and what kinds of mods can I make that will help safeguard against excessive wear because of the boost pressure? For the record, it's a 5spd, and I would like to AutoX the car eventually.

If I was going to swap the engine, could I swap in a B16A from the 90s, or is that a really difficult swap? (I know some engines are pretty easily interchangeable and others are considered a nightmare)

[Swonder67]

Anyway you look at it, Forced induction or all motor, it will be expensive. You can go all out on your existing engine, like, taking it out and building it back up from basically the block. new cams, pistons, rings, pulleys, ecu, exhaust, intake, headers, cat, etc. You could get to your goal. 200 hp is actually pretty reasonable. there's another post on here about a kid tryin to get to 500 hp.

[CivicRacerX]

Yeah I saw that post from him. Isn't he driving an Accord LX Auto. and trying to get to 500hp with only about $1000 to spend? Crazy kids

The just of my problem is that I don't object to forced induction as long as I'm not losing a lot of reliability. I'm pretty sure that rebuilding the engine as you described would be more costly than just getting a small SC/turbo, right?

[Swonder67]

Well, remember, when you buy a turbo, you aren't just buying the turbo, you have to buy a new exhaust manifold, intercooler, downpipe, and lots of little stuff that adds up. And forced induction is definitely not as reliable as naturally aspirated. If you have forced induction a supercharger would be a little more reliable. but with forced induction, you'll have to pay close attention to it all the time to make sure its running efficiantly

[F20C]

If you take all the proper steps I don't see why Force Induction is not reliable. Maintenence is just basically letting the car warm up and cool down before and after driving. You have to change the engine oil often and no trying to extend the period a little longer etc. Also a suficient size amount intercooler etc if you are turning up the boost. Instead of running 200,000 Km on N/A engine you can speed up the engine life and make more power. The downside is you probaly need to rebuilt your engine no later than 100,000 Km.

[Swonder67]

well what I mean is you have to know about engines to get forced induction. you can't just get it, and never look under the hood again. you have to make sure the turbo is running ok.

[Racing Rice]

This is plain and simple...

Yes, If you go all motor it is going to cost you a Big chunk of money, and time to get everything right, being that you only have a SOHC engine it will make things even harder, Im talking about head work, cams, valves, etc.. to get you to 175-200 hp to the wheels. An all motor engine can be just as unreliable as a FI motor if its not properly tuned, you should probably have some guages, and stuff like that to help tune a NA car.

The fastest way to get the most power is a Turbo. For $1600 you can get a Greddy turbo kit, then buy some guages and get it dyno tuned.. Then you can do your basic mods to it like Intercooler, fuel, ignition, guages, etc.. and run 8-9 lbs of boost (maybe more if very well tuned) before you even need to touch the internals of the motor. This should have you well past 200 hp to the wheels. Then if thats not enough power you can upgrade your block, rods, pistons, etc.. and push about 14-15 lbs of boost with the Greddy kit.

The most important thing to remember is DYNO TUNING, getting you car dyno tuned will do a couple of things... Get the most power out of your car and Ensure great reliablity. A well tuned car with FI is just as much reliable as an NA car. Just remember to have your motor check before installing the turbo. Compression Tests, and making sure your gaskets are in good shape are essential.

[Dezoris]

It is impossible to get that type of power at the wheels with the d16y8, even after spending 10k on internals, if you go N/A.

The only way is internals and FI to break 200hp

[dubolox]

racing rice has it right, trust the dyno, it will give you not only hps and torque, but also air/fuel ratios which is EXTREMELY important. Within reason, a FI car is just as reliable as a NA car, just look at what they do in Europe w/ turbo diesels because gas is sooooooo $$$$$, if you do it properly I wouldn't think that moderately FI car would be any less reliable than a NA car... just don't forget about the bottle (nos)... as long as your a/f ratio is right it's the best bang for the buck.

[quickcivic]

be careful with the nitrous. a friend of mine had a leak in a nitrous line, and started to get high while driving. luckily he didn't get pulled over.

[Racing Rice]

N2O is ok when your drag racing, but on a street application its kinda pointless, you only have whats in the bottle, and its only being used if your holding the button (unless your using a wet setup) but if you use nitrous enough, youll have to make a trip to the fill station all the time. Eventually it would have been cheaper to buy a turbo or Supercharger. Just my .02