swap or boost

[Skydive2144]

i recently bought a 94 civic, 2 dr coupe dx. it is an extreamly clean car that was owned by an older guy since it was brand new. it has reasonably low miles for how old it is. 130k. i am debating weather to do a gsr swap or to boost it. i have never had a turboed car before and i would really like to boost it. id like to put together a junkyard kit for like 800 bucks or cheaper. i have seen in several places that the D series motors are good up to 225 whp stock. id even be happy to just get to 170-180 for now. i want this to be just as reliable with boost as it was without. is this possible? what are some good turbos to look into? i was thinking one from a 1st gen eclipse. they are so easy to find and pretty cheap. id like to jsut get a pretty small turbo and run low psi. like i said, for now im not looking for a ton of power. i really just want to boost a car and still have it be very reliable.

 

[MoSeS]

i am going to tell you what every other senior member on this board will tell you... swap then boost. not my opinion personally but i like na.

 

[Skydive2144]

i know thats what most people were going to tell me but id kinda like to throw together a cheap turbo kit basically to learn how to do it right and have fun with this engine then when i do swap do a turbo set up that is much nicer and more powerful. and i wasnt going to do my swap untill spring. in march i will have the money to get a swap and boost it. so untill then i was thinking about putting together a cheap turbo kit for a d series. its basically jsut going to be for the fun of driving a boosted car and the fun of putting it together.

 

[99sidude]

Swap ftw! Although you could turbo and have more power than a stock gsr swap for alot less money. If you decide to turbo I would atleast upgrade to a z6. The d15b7's in the dx cars have pencil thin rods. I feel like 200whp on a stock b7 would be the limmit.

 

[dtob]

Upgrade to a z6 for cheap and then boost it with vitaras and tt rods. It would cost you less than a b series swap and you would get MUCH more power out of it.

 

[formby]

in your case i would turbo the car.
ohh
and no fmu get a chipped ecu, injectors and a wide band sensor

 

[Skydive2144]

do you think that engine would be ok even to like 150 whp? like i said my goal is not a ton of power out of this car. it is simply to boost and and keep it reliable. thats it. i really dont care how much power i get. i know someone who boosted a dx and it only dynoed at 145 whp but it was a lot of fun to drive that car

 

[eg6sir]

you could make 200whp on a boosted sohc easily

 

[dtob]

If you only want 150whp yes you can easily get that out of a boosted d.

 

[Skydive2144]

would 150 whp still be a very reliable motor? what is a good turbo to go with?

 

[dtob]

Yes if your engine is in good condition right now it should be pretty reliable on a smaller turbo pushing about 5psi or so. Maybe a ford probe gt turbo or get one from a 1.8t or older saab or talon tsi. Pretty much any 4 banger turbo car. Just make sure you have it checked out by someone who knows turbos to make sure there isn't too much shaft play etc. You can also use a manifold from a civic hf and get/make an adapter plate for the turbo.

 

[Dasfinc]

Mini-Me swap FTW

 

[dtob]

Mini me would cost just about as much as a cheap turbo kit and you wouldn't make 150whp stock from it. You'd have to run high compression, cam, port and polish, etc etc.

 

[driftslut6969]

Nitrous!!!

You should go with Nitrous. 75 shot max. just make sure you get your car compression tested and leak down tested before you install it. Its the most bang for your buck, and no one on this forum or anywhere is going to be able to tell you other wise. If you want to turbo charge it, its going to take alot more than 800 dollars. And honestly i would not put a 800 dollar turbo kit on my car unless i intended on breaking it.. and to do a clean swap is going to cost a shit load, my brother had his swap done at LHT racing in tampa, it cost him 11 grand to do a 01 b18c1 into a eg hatch. then again they did alot of other things too. just take my word, Get nitrous, mabey a stage one camshaft, I/H/E, get your car dyno tuned. and you will be set my friend. let me know what you go with.

 

[Skydive2144]

i dont know what the hell you are talking about. you can very easily put together a reliable turbo kit for under a grand. and second a swap does not cost 11 grand. your friend definatly got ripped off. i did a b18c1 swap in my last car. it took me 2 days and for the car, the swap, and any other parts i needed i spent 1300 bucks. i realize that is rediculously low, but i bought both cars from friends who had them just laying around. but even to buy a jdm gsr swap its goign to cost you all said and done 3500, maybe 4 grand at the absolute most. what im leaning towds now is getting a jdm type r front clip and doing the type r swap and RHD conversion. i am doing a RHD conversion right now on a friends STI and really like how its comming out.

 

[driftslut6969]

uhmm......yeah he didnt get ripped off. LHT did a gsr 4 wheel disc brake conversion, walbro 255 fuel pump, skunk 2 intake manifold, 60mm throttle body, greddy exhaust, bigger injectors, and tuned his car, the motor alone was 3500, plus parts and labor.
and no you cannot not get a reliable turbo kit for under a grand....you mabey might be able to get a running run, but it wont run for long. you have to understand all of the work it takes to create, own, and maintain a non factory turbo vehicle.
but whatever if this kid want to destroy his car, idc

 

[dtob]

You can make a reliable turbo kit for under a grand. You cannot buy one but you can make one. I did and if you are mechanically inclined and have any kind of fabrication skills you can make most of the stuff yourself like intercooler piping, down pipe, etc. Also this guy wasn't asking for all that other stuff your buddy put into his car. He was just wanting to know how much a swap would cost him. Not a 4 wheel disc brake conversion, walbro pump etc. I'm sorry driftslut but you are a douche.

 

[Dasfinc]

Mini me would cost just about as much as a cheap turbo kit and you wouldn't make 150whp stock from it. You'd have to run high compression, cam, port and polish, etc etc.

I've dropped less than $350 on my MiniMe Swap, and this includes the cost of replacing my Headgasket, all my topend seals, and this is INCLUDING the price of getting my old P05 ECU Chipped from Phearable to take advantage of the setup, not just a Stock SI ECU.

With my setup I will be good for around 135hp (Aftermarket: Intake, Intake Mani, Header, cat, UDP, and Exhaust), and won't have to worry about Bringing it to a shop to get tuned, Nor will I have to worry about Blowing my shit up.

If you can find a turbo setup for less than $500 thats RELIABLE Power to you, but It'd be all junkyard parts and that would hardly be 'reliable'

Really, if you want 'speed' and not just 'hp' Pickup an SI or EX Transmission, that alone can shave a good half to full second off a quarter mile time regardless of engine because you have a DX Tranny and can be found for less than $200 (Also a good time to upgrade your flywheel and replace/upgrade your clutch)

Boosting a stock engine without SERIOUS support modifications is a waste of money, and dangerous IMHO.

 

[Dasfinc]

Oh, Also if I got my Head P+P, with a Cam, It would be good for 150hp, *This could cost up to $500 or more, but still, with the $350 I have in the rest of it, I'd still be Well shy of the $1000+ For a decent turbo setup, and will remain far more reliable and can boost in the future for much larger gains.

 

[Dasfinc]

You can make a reliable turbo kit for under a grand. You cannot buy one but you can make one. I did and if you are mechanically inclined and have any kind of fabrication skills you can make most of the stuff yourself like intercooler piping, down pipe, etc. Also this guy wasn't asking for all that other stuff your buddy put into his car. He was just wanting to know how much a swap would cost him. Not a 4 wheel disc brake conversion, walbro pump etc. I'm sorry driftslut but you are a douche.

FYI Alot of people may have fabrication skills but most likely don't have, or can't afford the kind of equipment it takes to make Intercooler piping or Downpipes, or any kind of metal working (Home made Turbo exhaust mani for Example)

I do agree Turbo can produce very high and reliable numbers, but he just got the car and should really cover Maintance before doing anything HP related.