Engine swap advice

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J

jux

New Member
I'm at the point where i have to decide between a new car or a re-powering of my 1996 Civic DX. I am the original owner of the car so the car is the devil I know and if I buy another car it's the devil I don't so I'm wondering if there's some way to make the Civic more what I'm looking for.

I have a stock D16Y7 in the Civic with an automatic transmission, 250K miles. I drove a 2007 Volkswagen EOS this weekend and loved the torque (200HP, 207 ft/lbs) even with the automatic transmission. I would like to keep the automatic in the DX since I do a lot of driving in traffic but have the same kind of power as the EOS. I would like to do the re-power for between $4k-$7k.

Any thoughts?
 
drop in an automatic B18B/B20 or you could do an H22/23 swap

im not sure exactly what needs to be done or changed to keep the auto trans... but either of those would give you more power and tq than you are currently dealing with... neither will give you the numbers of the EOS in stock form... but your civic is also over 1000lbs lighter... so power to weight being what it is a B or H swap should increase your smiles per mile

either swap can be done well under your budget, leaving money to update and refresh your suspension, brakes, etc...

nothing you can do is going to give your civic the interior quality, features, or comfort of the VW
 
Could do a k20 swap for around 7-8K dollars, that would give you a decent amount of TQ. or could just do like im doing, rebuild my block with all new parts, do a mini me swap on the head, and boost the hell outta your d series.
 
turbo the stock engine... for ~ 2k you could have it faster than that VW, for around 4k you could have it WAY faster and done RIGHT
 
Auto Honda and relatively the same numbers as that VW? Uphill battle my friend.

Maybe.....B18B swap (LS) with a turbo kit around 7-9lbs on the stock bottom end and it will last if your foot isn't made of led lol
 
Thanks for the suggestions. My current D16Y7 does have the 250K on it and burns a fair amount of oil (1qt/1K miles) so I don't think I'm going to try and build on that platform. After looking around it appears the H22 is a tight fit in a Civic and I like to have elbow room, at least a little.
It seems that everyone in agreement on the B18B, I am curious, why the B18B and not the B18C?
 
not much point in doing a k20 swap if you wanna keep it auto.

Maybe an auto accord K24 (plenty of those around), but if you want 200+ ft/lbs of TQ with an automatic trans then maybe look into the J-swap. A K or J swap isn't the best choice for a beginner, but anything is possible if you're willing to put the work in.
 
M4SSHOL3 said:
i have a stock 2003 honda civic lx, i was wondering if doing the b or h swap would be a good idea also.
Click to expand...

first of all start your own thread dont thread jack someone elses
and to answer your question :no: you should not do a B or an H in a 2003

jux said:
It seems that everyone in agreement on the B18B, I am curious, why the B18B and not the B18C?
Click to expand...

because you want to stay auto and a B18C on an automatic transmission is so full of fail its not even remotely humorous
that said the B20 will give you even more tq and will still be perfectly fine running off of an automatic LS tranny
 
Do the J swap. You will need custom mounts built for the auto trany but there are plenty of J's running around for around $600 and plenty of auto tranny's since everyone doing the J swap wants a manual. The latest Honda Tuning has a article on the swap.
 
I did some research on the J swap and it does look like it would be ideal except that the kits for doing it don't seem to be available for a 96 Civic DX and it doesn't look like I could get the hood closed after it's in. Other than that it has the torque and the automatic transmission like I would want. I don't want to blaze new trails with this swap so I think I'm going to put that in the "I wish" category and move on.

The B20/B18C specs are very similar with the B20 having a slightly larger displacement so it seems as though a B20B swap would be the right candidate for me, maybe with a Turbo kit?
 
jux said:
I did some research on the J swap and it does look like it would be ideal except that the kits for doing it don't seem to be available for a 96 Civic DX and it doesn't look like I could get the hood closed after it's in. Other than that it has the torque and the automatic transmission like I would want. I don't want to blaze new trails with this swap so I think I'm going to put that in the "I wish" category and move on.

The B20/B18C specs are very similar with the B20 having a slightly larger displacement so it seems as though a B20B swap would be the right candidate for me, maybe with a Turbo kit?
Click to expand...

Just FYI there are mount kits avaliable for the J-swap into a 96 civic J-Series (EK) - 96-00 Civic (EK) - Civic/CRX - Mounts

But your b-series turbo would prob still be easier.
 
I have a B20 in my 94 sol and I love it. At memphis speedway I ran a 15.5 complete stock. Not worth bragging about but def better than the D16 that came with it. Watch your mounts though the beast has alot of torque and riped my drivers side mount during my runs. Not to sure about OBD issues and what not being that yours is a OBD II. I'm a big EG fan.
 
Oh and the dual Height kit will allow your hood to close but i heard when it is in the full down you only have like 2" of ground clearance.
 
i would have to agree that a b20 with auto ls trans is your best bet. with boltons and a tune it will be pretty peppy. it will be very cheap as far as swaps go, and it will be a significant diifference over your tired old d series.
 
Hell I've seen a Auto 95 Integra RS run 15.2's all day with H/I/E (but I still think it was a freak of nature or a really really nice Wednesday motor)
 
B18b or b20 and turbo that biotch!! But Ls is better cuz it have thicker walls which means less chances of throwing a piston or rod through it. But its ur choice, I'm doing 1 now on my eg6 fully built Ls turbo..lol. just like The sound of it. But wit a Ls turbo on 8 lbs ull be in The 200+hp and trust will be plenty of torque on that beast. And that addicting sound of turbo spooling and BOV..good luck!
 
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