d16a1 build?

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79Civic

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is there any hope for the 110 hp dohc d16a1 motor? i got one for free for my project car, i really wanted a dohc vtec pref a b16 or 18 but you cant beat the price of free. i figure if its going to cost me 1000+ bucks for a b18 (160hp) maybe it would be cheaper to build the d16 and get more hp possibly. the motor has to be NA. turbo is NOT an option, DONT suggest it please! i do want to run nitrous, just a small shot, like 75, 100 at most. so what do you guys think? is the d16 worth building since it was free? or should i just leave my car sitting for prob another yr and save for the b16/18.

any info would be great. thanks.
 
If you are not going turbo, don't even mess with it. The reason for this is you will spend thousands of dollars on the motor and still won't be happy with the results.

Why are you against going turbo? That is the cheapest and most reliable way to get these little motors to make decent numbers. Nothing wrong with built n/a engines, just not something you really want to consider if power is your biggest concern.

Just save for a b-series engine.
 
im not against turbo, but this swap is going in a 79 civic. there is no room for the motor let alone a turbo and intercooler and piping. it just doesnt fit lol. so turbo will just not work. i would love to turbo it, but i dont want it sticking threw my hood lol.

im only looking to get 200 hp. and 1000 bucks into the d16 should get around 200 hp right? maybe more?
 
O ok, I didn't know what car it was going into. Yeah, the d16a1 should work good for what you want. But if you can fit a b18 in the bay I'd just save for that. An ls engine with a b16 trans will have that car movin pretty good. Add a 75 wet shot and you will have some decent numbers

Are you wanting the 200 hp to the wheels or crank? 200 crank shouldn't be hard to achieve but 200whp can get kind of expensive.
 
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crank is my aim, wheels would be awesome.

i think ill prob just run this motor for a while, do some small mods to it, and then in a few years swap in the gsr.
 
well im kinda eating my words on the turbo, i might try to figure out a custom turbo set up. but im sure the motor needs some work first, dont want it bone stock, any more ideas?
 
If you're aiming for a modest hp goal, there really is no need to open up the engine. Just make sure everything is working correctly before you add any type of FI.

To save space, you also may want to consider going with a sohc motor. A d16z6 has a little bit better numbers than the d16a1. Putting a turbo on the d16z6 is a really easy thing to do also. Using this engine, you could easily achieve the 200whp that you are wanting.
 
If you're aiming for a modest hp goal, there really is no need to open up the engine. Just make sure everything is working correctly before you add any type of FI.

To save space, you also may want to consider going with a sohc motor. A d16z6 has a little bit better numbers than the d16a1. Putting a turbo on the d16z6 is a really easy thing to do also. Using this engine, you could easily achieve the 200whp that you are wanting.


i dont want to switch engines thought specially to a sohc. im only using this motor because i got it for free. when i switch engines which i plan to in a few years, it will be for a gsr. for now i found a few parts for this motor finally, i think i can crank some power out of it, and i might work in a turbo, other wise just nitrous and call it good.
 
110 hp in a 1600 lb car will be fun enough for me.

i agree, mine is less than 1600 pounds, it should be less than 1300 easy, im hoping for closer to 1000, and im thinking ill get about 150 hp out of this motor. it will be plenty quick for goofing off in, thats a 13 second car easy.
 
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