Tuning a D15B2

[blue4g2def]

what possibilities are there with the D15B2 engine? I want to make the car a little more agressive, and im not afraid to swap heads or something, but im not really up for a full engine swap. I know there is the MPFI swap...

Do people often tune these engines?

any stories?

[4g4d_getone]

i got a 88 dx and the first step in my opinion is to swap out the dpfi and get the mpfi!!!! its worth it. when i got my car back i was running the hell out of my car cause it made a big difference.

[4-Door Flunky]

Unless you're willing to spend about $6,000 and go for a supercharger, 'tuning' a D15 won't get you where you want to go.
If you decide you've just gotta have some more power and can't do the B16/or ZC swap, here's your list, in the order of Bang-for-the-Buck!
1. MPFI swap.
2. Cold air intake.
3. Header.
4. Hi-flo catalytic converter.
5. Performance muffler, wider diameter exhaust piping.

And that's all you can do. Anything else, any other order of performing the upgrades, will just waste money and time.
I also recommend putting on at least a front upper strut tower bar. If you just make the car a little faster without increasing the handling, you're asking for trouble. Handling will get you out of lots of accidents. Good tires on 14 inch wheels will help you stop, and that's a far better benefit than any engine modifications.
Flunky
PS-I got the intake, header, and cat on my own D15, so I know. It makes almost no difference without the MPFI. Do MPFI first!
PPS-Welcome to the forum, dude!

[4g4d_getone]

the mpfi is just the first step i took so far, but im still not sure what motor i want to get just yet.

[sparq]

Originally posted by 4-Door Flunky

Anything else, any other order of performing the upgrades, will just waste money and time.

IMO - what you just listed was a waste of money and time. You can go buy all the crap, and spend $1000+ and you wont see much gains at all except your car will be louder. Where as for less then that you can buy a ZC motor, and even mated to a DX style tranny will be much faster. Then when you figure you saved a few bucks and start adding mods to it - the high HP and DOHC will give it an advantage over the D15b...

[blue4g2def]

yeah...i guess ill go for the zc. Just...pain in the ass and im considering it a last resort.

[4-Door Flunky]

I'm a cheap bastard, so it didn't cost me $1,000.
$160 Megan Ceramic 4-2-1 header off of ebay
$120 4 strut bars, front, back, upper, and lower
$ 35 Cold air intake.
$ 60 Hi-flo cat =
$375

I spent $375. Damn, it does add up. The $250 I spent on rims and $340 I spent on four Goodyear Eagle HP tires from Sears were well worth it. That brings my grand total up to $965.

If/when I do a swap, the wheels and tires will still be doing their job, as well as the strut bars. And I've put 40,000 miles on my car since I got all that stuff on there, and had a lot of thrills going fast around corners.
Flunky
PS-Except for the wheels and tires, I got all of that stuff off of ebay. I'd get a different/better/more expensive header the next time around, though. Plus, I never had that money all in one wad. Being poor, I was able to do it one piece at a time. It's what I could afford.