Honda civic how to make more power

[1carman jon19]

I just bot a 96 honda civic lx. I want to keep the stock engine I dont wont to swap it. Can you tell me all the things I can do to give the stock engine more power. I already bot a air intake. Also is a mod chip a good idea a read it can give you up to 20hp is it true and is it safe on the engine. Thanks

[bluevp00]

LX and power don't really go together. Unless you do a swap, then sorry, it can't me made much faster that it already is. You can add a turbo, but that costs $$$ and only adds about 40 HP at most. Either swap or just enjoy the good gas mileage and reliability.

Originally Posted by 1carman jon19

Also is a mod chip a good idea a read it can give you up to 20hp is it true and is it safe on the engine. Thanks

NO. In reality you'll end up losing horsepower, all it does it make your engine increase how much fuel is delivered, therefore running rich. It also makes nice clouds of black smoke come out of your exhaust whenever you acellerate.So DON'T BUY IT.

[1carman jon19]

Originally Posted by bluevp00

LX and power don't really go together. Unless you do a swap, then sorry, it can't me made much faster that it already is. You can add a turbo, but that costs $$$ and only adds about 40 HP at most. Either swap or just enjoy the good gas mileage and reliability.



NO. In reality you'll end up losing horsepower, all it does it make your engine increase how much fuel is delivered, therefore running rich. It also makes nice clouds of black smoke come out of your exhaust whenever you acellerate.So DON'T BUY IT.

Do you think a turbo for the stock engine would be good at all.Also what engine would I swap for if I was going to do it and how much would it be and where would I find it. Thanks

[bluevp00]

The turbo for the stock LX engine is VERY impractical, it was just saying that it could be done if you don't want to swap.

There are 2 main kinds of swaps than can be done:
1. "Mini-me" swap - which is swapping the cylinder head from the EX to gain a VTEC engine. This gets you 128 HP total (20 HP increase). On the plus side it only costs $200 - 300 for the head, so it's a pretty cheap HP gain.

2. B16, B18 Swap - This is the engine from the Civic SI or Acura Integra and is good for 160 HP or 180 HP, respectively. The bad part is that it costs a lot more (we're talking $1000 to $3000) since you have to buy the whole long block (head & block), but it puts out a lot more power.

Search around in the Honda forums for more details on engine swaps.

[1carman jon19]

Originally Posted by bluevp00

The turbo for the stock LX engine is VERY impractical, it was just saying that it could be done if you don't want to swap.

There are 2 main kinds of swaps than can be done:
1. "Mini-me" swap - which is swapping the cylinder head from the EX to gain a VTEC engine. This gets you 128 HP total (20 HP increase). On the plus side it only costs $200 - 300 for the head, so it's a pretty cheap HP gain.

2. B16, B18 Swap - This is the engine from the Civic SI or Acura Integra and is good for 160 HP or 180 HP, respectively. The bad part is that it costs a lot more (we're talking $1000 to $3000) since you have to buy the whole long block (head & block), but it puts out a lot more power.

Search around in the Honda forums for more details on engine swaps.

Would this work I found it on ebay.(MINI ME SWAP COMPLETE D16Z6 D16Y8 V-TECH CIVIC SI HEAD)

Hello to everyone. You are bidding on a complete mini-me swap for a 1992 - 1999 honda civic D-series motor plus maintenace parts like a new head gasket, timing belt, and water pump.. This is a cylinder head off of a 1997 honda civic ex w/ vtech D16y8 motor with 75K miles on it. This head will fit any 92-95 civic as well as 96-99 d-series motor and is a better head than the d16z6 as it has the ability to withstand more pressure. The head is in perfect running condition, no rust, no warpage, and is ready to bolt right on as it is included with pretty much everthing you need. It will include:
1. D16y8 cylinder head (complete, assembled) from a 1997 honda civic 1.6L w/78k miles on it
2. original honda valve cover
3. brand new head gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, valve cover gasket, new valve stem seals, new valve cover screw caps, vtech soleniod gasket, etc.
4. vtech controller soleniod
5. all bolts and studs that where originally attached to this head (excluding head bolts which you can re-use from your car.) intake and exhaust port studs, vtech soleniod screws, distributor screws, valve cover screws, etc.
6. Honda original brand new sealed timing belt for d1678 (this is the one you need for the swap for either civic)
7. Brand new oem water paump w/new gasket seal

Everything that is included is all in the pictures. Again, this came from a perfectley running car. If you dont already have a distibutor for it, then you will need to purchase a obd2 distibutor for the 96+ and a obd1 if you have a 92-95. For more info on the swap go to: http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=554053

[thefooshmeister]

yeah that will work. you'll have to run vtec wiring and probly get a different ecu but that looks like the cheapest/easiest way of boostin some power.

[bluevp00]

Yep, that looks like a really complete set. It comes with all the bolts and gaskets which you need to do a sucessful swap. Plus it comes with a new timing belt & water pump, which is great. Just make sure the seller has a good feedback score (read feedback comments) before you bid.

[_93civchatch_]

plus he would also need a trans, wiring harness, shift linkage, axels, motor mounts... etc, its gonna be exspensive... this is if you were going to do a complete engine swap... for the mini me swap.. you could probably just go to your local salvage yard and get the whole d16y8 engine... it will bold directly into everyything you already have, you would just have to run a vtec wire...

[thefooshmeister]

93civic if you read what he wrote youd see that he was looking at the mini-me swap. why should he swap in a whole y8 engine?

carman if you can get that for a good deal i would buy it because its gonna be relatively easy to install. since it comes with a good bit of replacement parts id go for it. running the vtec harness is easy, you can use www.rywire.com to buy a premade harness. i bought from them when i did my swap and they were really helpful.

[el_napo_520]

ok, I recently bought a 97 civic ex. It's a SOHC and it's got an AEM V2 and some headers (came with the car). I DO want to swap out that tired engine but i don't know what to put in in. I know about the b18c1 and the b18c5 but don't know which one will be better suited for my car. I originally was thinking about doing a K swap, but some shit happend that kind of killed that dream, so i got to get my ponnies cheaper now. Need input as to which road to go cuzz stock ain't cutting it!!!

[eckoman_pdx]

Well, as far as swaps go, are you planning to go forced induction down the road or stay NA. If you are going to go forced induction, I'd recommend not getting an ITR (B18C5 or JDM B18C redtop) or B16B CTR motor. Both are great NA motors, but not recommended for FI. The compression ratio is high, these are factory hot rod NA motors. If you want FI, I'd go B18C1 (GSR, or blacktop jdm SiR B18C), B18B1 or B16A. These motors are better suited for FI than the ITR and CTR. All can be made NA though, even the B18B1 if you do a LS/Vtec conversion down the road.

Before choosing a motor you need to know your plans for the motor. Forced Induction or NA? Mods or swap it in and thats it? Also buget comes into play, how much can you spend once you've saved up?

[el_napo_520]

I want to stay NA, at least until I can recover economically from the purchase of the engine. I want to be able to make decent power, even without turbo. Now, how much am i looking at money wise.

[eckoman_pdx]

Originally Posted by el_napo_520

I want to stay NA, at least until I can recover economically from the purchase of the engine. I want to be able to make decent power, even without turbo. Now, how much am i looking at money wise.

Are you EVER planning to go turbo? If you EVER plan on turbo the motor, I'd stay away from the ITR and CTR motors, and do a GSR swap (B18C1) or a B16A swap...or do an LS/Vtec (B18B1 block, B16A or GSR head). I'd lean towards GSR in your case over B16A, a little more torque than the B16A. LS/Vtecs can be good if built and treated right and all, but I sense it's more than you want to mess with right now. Any one of those swaps stock will give you more kick than the d-series motor you're running. And unlike the ITR and CTR, you can boost them later. LS/Vtec and GSR will give you more torque than B16A, but unlike the GSR, the B16A head can take type-r parts. if that matters to you. As for price, I did my swap so many years ago, I don't know what they are currently running, but I'm sure it costed more back in the day.

[el_napo_520]

I might wanna do turbo later, thats always an option. Thing is i want good power now, NA, and then later have FI as an option. So i should go b18c1?
Now, the type r engine has a six speed tranny does it not?

[C2Z06]

Some guys gave me some suggestions and links on where to buy parts etc for a build up I'm doing. Here's the link to the thread. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=601466

Exospeed has a nice head set up that I like...it's the H22 head package from Exospeed. $795 before taxes and shipping. So $1k would be about right and gives better power curves and more hp/tq than an original VTEC EX head.