D16A ZC JDM building advice

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jmac201

New Member
I am in the process of converting a classic mini for a honda engine transplant and this forum seeems to have more information the the mini forums that im a member of. So, from what I can tell, according to the markings on the engine and the car the engine was from I currently have a D16A ZC JDM engine, at least I think so.

Im mechanically inclined so I have no problem working on the engine, but my background is mostly older V8 muscle car engines and motorcycles, so when it comes to tuning or improving performance on these type of engine, Im in the dark.

So, Im looking for advice on rebuild/performance add-ons, common problem parts to change in advance or even link to some good threads I could check out to educate myself.

I wanna try and make sure I have little or no snags with the engine after in (not a whole lotta room, after its bolted up.)

Oh yea, Im eventually gonna squeeze a turbo under the hood, so recommendations on bottom end mods or head improvements are welcomed.

thanks for the read
Jeremy
 
Also, from what I gather the engine is ODB0, and I will need to change to OBD1 to work with the mini wiring. What is needed/changed for the conversion
 
More info about the engine its labeled ZC1 on the engine block, so from a CRX 85-87 era
 
Dual cam ZC? If so not a bad little motor I think they made 137bhp or something like that. It is just over looked now since B swaps are so easy to do and the K is in full swing making over 300whp NA. I dont know a lot about ZC motors to much other than the OBD1 single cam vtec an non vtec ZC motors. From what I do know you treat it like a normal mini me swap the bottom end is pretty much the same as the USDM D16. If you plan to boost it then keep then compression around 9:1 and just stick with the stock cam in the vtec head, it is hard to find a cam better than the stock one to go with boost. A OBD1 conversion is the best way to go it opens up a world of tuning possibilities.
 
I believe there was a couple of swaps like yours in Grass Roots Motorsports way back..
If you want more room- look to the small sohc 85-87 1.5si motors, use a DX exhaust, make a turbo flange for a mitsu turbo, Vitara low comp pistons, reground cam, balance the assy, Get a larger throtty body, early B-18 injectors get someone on Redpepperracing.com to reburn your ecu. yadda yadda

Back in the day some were getting up to, or over 180hp and with your little 10" tires would be smokin and knockin down some good mpg.

E
 
DOHC ZC powered Mini

MINI_ZC-1.jpg
 
COOL rims! i got some cheap from a guy only to find out that they were 4 x 98mm (thought of machining out 1mm from each side)

That little mini is gonna be FUN! I spy a little mini truck back there!
What rim size are you gonna go with?
I can't remember what the steering ratio is on them, but you might not want to go past 15" for "rubbin"

E
 
COOL rims! i got some cheap from a guy only to find out that they were 4 x 98mm (thought of machining out 1mm from each side)

That little mini is gonna be FUN! I spy a little mini truck back there!
What rim size are you gonna go with?
I can't remember what the steering ratio is on them, but you might not want to go past 15" for "rubbin"

E
wish that was my mini in the background.. that was another user post.. thanks though
 
Are thier huge/minor differences between the A1 and the A6 motors?
Noted differences I can think of are; head/cam(s), timing belt, timing belt covers, harmonic balancer, intake manifold, fuel rail, distributor, injectors (depending upon which OBD generation), some of the sensor locations, ECU, minor wiring if changing OBD generation on injectors and sensor locations - well no, maybe not sensor locations - I changed them to match the old D16A6 and engine harness was just reworked for the OBD1 distributor and O2 sensor.

The blocks are essentially the same - engine mounts are the same, tranny interface is the same, clutch and flywheel I believe are also interchangeable. Had to use the front (LH side of car) mount (cast iron mount that connects to the engine block) from the D16A6 on the front of the engine to match up with the front engine mount that connects to the chassis.

That's about all I can think of. Exhaust manifold had to be port matched to the head and exhaust gasket - the intake ports and exhaust ports are spaced a little differently on the DOHC ZC I am running compared to the D16A6 I removed.

Some of the hose routing is a little different like vacum lines and the vacum port for the brake booster, since it's a JDM engine is pointed to the RH side instead of the LH side. Just takes a bit longer vacum line. Throttle body I used does not have the MAP sensor mounted on it so I used the stock D16A6 that is mounted to the firewall.

I'm working some kind of wierd shit CEL for the TPS sensor. The one I put on it had rough spots in the low end, so I replaced it with a 95 or 96 Honda TPS and it throws a code. I'll probably work that this coming weekend and see WTF's up with that.

ZC runs good, much more grunt than the D16A6 had above 5k RPM. I had the engine balanced, port matched, and head milled I think 0.045" to give it 10:1 compression with a 0.041" or 0.051" head gasket - don't remember but it's on my thread. I can go two steps up in compression to run 10.25:1 or 10.5:1 if I want to. May do that someday, but not for now. Running a P06 ECU with a modified P29 chipset in it - rev limiter is raised to 8000 RPM. If I increase compression any further, I'll change the ECU and have it tuned just to be sure it's right. Also, will change head bolts to studs.
 
The Dohc Zc is in the Jdm Crxs 2ed gen obd0 (1988-1991), also is in the del sols as a obd1. if you run it as a obd0 you want have as many maping ops. when it comes to tuning. obd1 has more ops for better tuning and what not. im going to put a Zc d16 jdm 2ed gen crx.) (black valve cover bolts are on the edge of vavle cover) dohc, in my 91 crx hf. d15. obd0, im going to run it as a obd0, 130hp. 109 ft.
 
Are thier huge/minor differences between the A1 and the A6 motors?


Keep this for your info:

Don't get the A1 and the A6 confused. D16A1 comes out of usdm obd0 integra, D16A6 comes out of the usdm 88-91 crx si, these are none jdm engines.

Dohc zc=jdm
sohc zc=jdm

Dohc zc=D16A1
Sohc zc=D16A6

Sohc zc vtec= D16z6 vtec

If you want a complete parts list of the jdm dohc zc go to the forums I posted and do some reading and research, something I assume you haven't done.:p:huh::mad::rimshot::(:eek:)
 
Dohc zc=D16A1
the JDM DOHC ZC is not the same as a D16A1 - the 84-87 DOHC ZCs were very similar to the 86-89 D16A1, but not exactly the same - the 88-95 JDM DOHC ZC is very different from a D16A1 - they do share some of the same parts, but are not the same - different block casting, different engine mount, different transmission attaching bolt pattern, different starter attachment, different head casting, different camshafts, different valve cover, different intake manifold, different timing gears, different timing belt, different timing belt covers, different oil pump, different oil pan and pickup - the 86-87 D16A1 is even more different - has different rods, different pistons, different distributor, different cylinder position sensor
 
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