LS Turbo to 300 HP in a 90 Hatch.

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luciusad2004

New Member
Hey all.

I was thinking about doing an LS-T setup in my 90 hatch and was looking to make somewhere from 250-300hp. Could this be done reliably enough to be driven daily? I read in another thread that this is pretty low for an overall goal. I've never really driven anything over 150hp though, is 250-300 going to be as enjoyable as I'm imagining or should I just look to go higher? The car's my daily driver but I would like to do the occasional autocross or track events with some of my buddies. I'm not expecting to stomp people on the track or anything, just want to have some fun.
 
250-300 is going to be a lot of fun. after about 250whp is where traction starts becoming a real issue on street tires. in a little ef hatch with some decent radials or slicks i would expect it to run 11s in the 1/4.
 
Seriously? I wasn't expecting to go anywhere near that fast. I looked at a couple LS-T builds for coups and later gens and they were running 13-14s, i think it was.

That'd probably be more than enough for me then. I actually already have an LS swap but i'll probably buy a second engine to put on a stand and rebuild as time and money allow. But when it's ready it shouldn't be any issue putting it in the car.
 
if you are running 13-14s with 300whp in a 2000lb ef hatch something is wrong. the guys that are running those times are probably doing it on street tires in a heavier car. also, practice at the drag strip can lower your time a lot. in other words, you wont run anywhere near your best times at first.

i ran 13.2s with my 2600lb integra with only 240whp and little crappy 205/50 bfg drag radials. but that was with launch control and a fair bit of practice. the first few runs i was high 13s- low 14s
 
Do you think 300hp could be done and still be reliable enough to drive regularly? Id probably be content with less. I could always turn the boost down for daily driving I suppose.
 
Yeah it is reliable My ex brotherinlaw had a 88 4dr civic with a ls turbo it ran good and was tuned good never had a problem ran like a low 13 it also beat a k20 in a ek hatch. It was a fun car to drive it was the first turbo car I had driven and I miss it to now I want my own. (thinking in my head should of kept that giant H2D holset turbo off a semi that would push 600hp and almost 50-60psi) but it was to big for a honda unless I put a T4 exhaust housing on it. damn Im day dreaming now sorry......
 
250-300 certainly can be done reliably on a stock ls

check out this epicly long thread on just ls-t setups, if you haven't already found it that is.

LST / LS-T Turbo B18A B18B setups - Honda-Tech

Thanks for the link. I did miss that. I haven't look around to hard yet since it's been a back and forth debate in my mind over an ls-t set up or saving up for a vtec engine. The LS engine is more in my price range though and i can work my way up slowly from there. I've also never built an engine so I figured i would start with a cheaper engine in case I break it or just don't finish for some reason. I'm really in this for the learning experience. At the moment i'm leaning heavily towards an LS engine and then turbo somewhere down the road. It's gonna be a while so I haven't researched heavily yet. Probably wont look to get an engine until next year. Then i want to completely tear it down and rebuild it, i'm sure that'll take me a while since I've never done it. Then who knows when i'll get the money for a turbo set up.

In the mean time I'm going to try and get some bolt on's for my current engine and try to get stuff i can reuse when I'm ready for the new one. Intake Mani/Throttle body, Probably upgrade the fuel, ignition, and cooling systems when i get some spare change.
 
It could be a reliable DD with some smooth tuning, I personally believe going all motor is easier and more reliable than boosting, just do a LS-VTEC with minor bolt ons, intake, exhaust, you will easily be in the 200-215 and have a very strong and reliable setup that you will not be disappointed and not a huge chunk out of your wallet
 
It could be a reliable DD with some smooth tuning, I personally believe going all motor is easier and more reliable than boosting, just do a LS-VTEC with minor bolt ons, intake, exhaust, you will easily be in the 200-215 and have a very strong and reliable setup that you will not be disappointed and not a huge chunk out of your wallet

Thanks for the input. I thought about LS-VTEC but wasn't sure how easy it would actually be to do. Isn't it around the same price as a turbo kit for one of the vtec conversion kits? Was also kinda scared to attempt to wire in the vtec stuff.
 
Thanks for the input. I thought about LS-VTEC but wasn't sure how easy it would actually be to do. Isn't it around the same price as a turbo kit for one of the vtec conversion kits? Was also kinda scared to attempt to wire in the vtec stuff.

Np bro, its really not that hard at all honestly, if you have the will to learn and you have any ploblems im here to help, and if not there is PLENTY of imput here also, and prob threads if you look for them with pics of the whole swap, and yes the motor, trans, ecu, head, everything you need you can pick up for about the price as just the turbo kit, and have a beast of a motor thats reliable, and have none of the problems to worry about boosting, and abt wiring the vtec theres hundreds if not thousands of forums on how to wire it, forums on here is actually how I learned to wire mine, and this site is how I learned how to convert from dual point to multi injection, we are here to help bro all u gotta do is ask
 
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