d15b7

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

crxpower24

New Member
i need some help with my civic i wanna put a small turbo to it bt how many pounds can i run it with everything its stock!!!!
 
First question - How many miles are on the engine? Any thing with high mileage I wouldn't turbo unless you go through it. You are adding alot of stress to parts that were not really meant to handle it.

Second question - Can the rest of the car handle the turbo? you are going to need to go over alot of the car to put a turbo on properly. The fuel system needs to be upgraded, you will need gauges and the ability to monitor other variable for tuning such as AFR, oil pres, oil temp, fuel pres. (at least that's what I would watch.)

After all of that and assuming the engine is still good and can handle it I wouldn't push more than 5-7lbs. (but I am quite conservative) I have seen upwards of 12-15 on D15's but there was work done to the internals of those engines.
 
well the car has high miles but still run strong and beside changine the fuel pump and gas do i still need to chip it????
 
It would make it easier to tune which will be a necessity weather you tune it yourself or have a shop do it. Most shops will have you chip it or sell you a chipped ECU.
 
The pressure you can run is dependent upon too many things to take a guess over the internet. I'd stay well under 200whp on a tired old d15b7.

Strap the car on a dyno, and have someone tune it with a chipped ECU. That's the right way (and the only way) to do it IMO.
 
First off as was said what is the condition of the car overall?? Is the motor in good shape, no major leaks, good compression no burning oil ect. I would for sure do a compression test, if the results are on the lower side I would not boost the motor. Rebuild it with good pistons, rings, rods and ARP rod bolts and head studs, get it balanced as well. That will make a pretty strong motor that can handle some power, sleeving the block would make it nearly bullet proof but $$. But if the motor is strong then it should handle around 200whp safely. Are the brakes in good shape? is the cooling system in good shape, clean radiator, good T stat, working fan, clean coolant? Is your suspension in good shape? Struts, ball joints, bushings? All are important when significantly increasing HP, If you brakes are bad, cooling system is shot and or your suspension is shot you will run into issues. As said you need to upgrade the fuel pump and injectors and get it tuned. A chipped ECU like Chrome will do fine and is very inexpensive, my tuner charges like $70 for a chip and base map, dyno tuning is more of coarse. IMO the best may to go is a Hondata. I run the S100 and it is worth every penny. Upgrading the clutch is a very good idea as well and is almost a standard needed upgrade when boosting. A old worn out clutch will slip really quickly.
 
First off as was said what is the condition of the car overall?? Is the motor in good shape, no major leaks, good compression no burning oil ect. I would for sure do a compression test, if the results are on the lower side I would not boost the motor. Rebuild it with good pistons, rings, rods and ARP rod bolts and head studs, get it balanced as well. That will make a pretty strong motor that can handle some power, sleeving the block would make it nearly bullet proof but $$. But if the motor is strong then it should handle around 200whp safely. Are the brakes in good shape? is the cooling system in good shape, clean radiator, good T stat, working fan, clean coolant? Is your suspension in good shape? Struts, ball joints, bushings? All are important when significantly increasing HP, If you brakes are bad, cooling system is shot and or your suspension is shot you will run into issues. As said you need to upgrade the fuel pump and injectors and get it tuned. A chipped ECU like Chrome will do fine and is very inexpensive, my tuner charges like $70 for a chip and base map, dyno tuning is more of coarse. IMO the best may to go is a Hondata. I run the S100 and it is worth every penny. Upgrading the clutch is a very good idea as well and is almost a standard needed upgrade when boosting. A old worn out clutch will slip really quickly.

All good info, and he is right alot of people just slap a turbo on and call it good. There is alot of extra work that goes into it. If this is a first time running a turbo the best way to do it is get something that is turboed factory and messing arround before starting a ground up turbo project. You will learn quite alot and find out just how much is affected by just increasing stock boost by a few pounds. If you want to go for it be my guest but I gaurenty there will be an expensive learning curve. Just my $.02
 
+1. My first boosted car was a 87 Supra that I swapped a JDM 7MGTE into and did basic bolt ons. Learned a lot about turbo systems around that time, it was my first turbo car and I was becoming a very decent fabricator. With my 98 Civic I have done a lot to the car way before looking at doing a turbo. I did the suspension replaced all needed parts, upgraded the brakes with all wheel disc and better pads, serviced everything.
 
First was a 87 Subaru XT stock boost was at 6 PSI. Being the dumb kid I was decided all I need to do is throw a $15 Ebay boost controller on and pump it up... I was so wrong, after going through the entire cooling system, fuel, ignition system and mild tuning I could do with it at the time was able to get 11 PSI reliably. Learned so much by trial and error.
 
My Supra stock boost was 7psi and fuel cut was 11psi. I ran 10psi with a boost controller and slightly increased fuel pressure. Stock tune could handle 11psi no problem though.
 
mmk everyone else is being nice I will be the dick, throw the d15 away and start with a decent power making engine before even wasting your money on a d15, you will be let down I promise you that
 
^ Of coarse a better motor like any B series would be a better start. But I have seen some fast D series turbo Civics on the road. If you are stuck on the D15 I would put a Vtec Z6 head on it and ARP head studs and boost it. There is a JDM Vtec D15 that makes 137hp, that is a good D series engine to start with. But apples to oranges B series is better.
 
What.........throw the d15 away!!!!!!!!!!!! You kidding me Yo!

The kid wants to learn, this is good base to start on. I didn't get the part he wanted 400hp.

Safe on Fi, under 200hp, how many pounds depends on the size of your turbo.

find yourself a decent "kit", alot of these are flying around forums that can be purchase for decent price.

IF your serious about this, atleast do a compression test and leak down test. If your pronoid add some arp head studs. If all will and done, get her tune and enjoy your car. This is how you get your feet wet.

do some reading..........
 
I agree a D series is a fine place to start and are great for budget builds. I have never been big on them personally but that is not to say they are not capable motors. I did pretty much throw away my D16 but I had the D16Y5 Vtec E motor, not a motor you can do anything to. Sold the full swap for like $300. I enjoy seeing a well built D series, they are kind of cool and old school. Not may well built D motors out there and you never see one in a car mag anymore. When my EJ becomes to much for a DD I will most likely pick up another Civic with a D16 and do a mild build on that as a DD, just because it will be cheap and fun to drive.
 
mmk everyone else is being nice I will be the dick, throw the d15 away and start with a decent power making engine before even wasting your money on a d15, you will be let down I promise you that

Your lack of intelligence amuses me.

There was a build on Honda-Tech a while back. A d15b 3 stage VTEC with a simple turbo setup. The builder took the time to plan the build out and do things right the first time and the car ended up making over 250whp, and got 50+mpg on the freeway. What a waste of money, right?

A properly planned out build can produce power AND maintain efficiency. Just takes planning.

My point: the d15b is not a throw away engine.
 
Back
Top