Clarity needed

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

badbreedchiney

badbreedchiney

New Member
I have a 1990 honda civic dx with a sohc zc motor. i was told by my electrician that my ecu needs to be changed. was checking out which ecu would be best for my car when a few questions started appearing and i could not find a definate yes or no answer or one that would answer my questions properly so here goes.

When i search for the honda zc engine i keep coming across d15 and d16 motors. i get that the zc is a d series motor but does that mean it is a d16/z6 motor in particular or just a zc motor alone?

can any d series part fit onto my zc motor?

heard that the pm7 ecu would work best for my motor but it comes from a dohc and my motor is sohc. will this work ok? if so would there be any added benefits to using a dohc ecu on a sohc?


just trying to get my head straight and ensure my car runs at its best.
 
Most people use a PM6 ecu to keep it close to stock. the pm7 has maps that are close, but you tend to run a bit rich. The other option is chip the pm6 and have it tuned professionally.
 
reikoshea said:
Most people use a PM6 ecu to keep it close to stock. the pm7 has maps that are close, but you tend to run a bit rich. The other option is chip the pm6 and have it tuned professionally.
Click to expand...

is the pm6 ecu for a non vtec head?

is it better to run a ecu for the exact engine in the car or do other ecu's give better performance?
 
So, you're going into the twilight zone of the late 80's hondas. ZCs are a giant ? in this world. pretty much all the motors in the obd0 era (88-91) civics/crxs are stamped zc in japan/europe. There are even dohc and sohc varieties. If you have the sohc, you need to be using the pm6 ecu as its as close as you're going to be able to find.
 
ok cool thanks man. as for my other question. can any d-series engine parts fit the zc?

also is the zc motor from the d16 series or d15?
 
its LIKELY a 1.6, but the zc can be 1.5L or 1.6L.

if your engine looks like this:

zc-sohc_vtec.jpg


you should just work with the engine like it is a d16a6 (Honda Civic EX 1990-1991)

If thats not what your engine looks like, take a picture (camera phone is fine) and I, or someone else will help you ID it.
 
does it say vtec anywhere on the valve cover?

if not, then keep all the info i listed above? if its not vtec then you should just act as if it's an a6.
 
Are the spark plug wires at the front or back of the head?

Not all VTEC motors have VTEC casted on the valve cover, look for the VTEC solonoid.
 
GlassHeadlights said:
Are the spark plug wires at the front or back of the head?

Not all VTEC motors have VTEC casted on the valve cover, look for the VTEC solonoid.
Click to expand...

I was unaware there was any vtec motor without vtec on the valve cover (outside of the y8 he pictured above). But if you know where to look for the solenoid, you can see if it's there, but since the vtec solenoid is not something that is standard on most cars its hard to know where to look.
 
its not a vtec head(stated that above btw) the spark plug wires are at the front. i'll take it that its the d16a6.

so i'll go with the pm6 ecu and that will be another problem down :)...thx guys
 
and i told you to work on the engine as if it were a d16a6.
 
another question. when i bought the car the previous owner told me got the zc motor from a 1996integra. but i was doing some reading and i can't find a sohc zc motor for a 1996integra.

can i get some clarity on this and whether or not the pm6 ecu is still the right one and if i should still treat it as a d16a6 as stated above...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top