Gaining 10-20 hp

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hunter4life

hunter4life

Rotary Man
Hi i'm thinking of buying a 1992 integra gs and I was wondering what is the best and easiest way of gaining 10-20 hp at the wheels ( I realize there may be multiple answers to whats 'best" and "easiest") Anways I am on a budget and would only like to spend around 0-1000 bucks. Is this acheivable also as you can tell I am not that experienced with this type of thing so any advice would be great. I already looked at some of the reference articles and would not like to rebuild my motor as I dont have the skills to do so. So thanks for any help.
 
easiest way? that car should have an ls motor in it. pick up a vtec head and build an ls/vtec. you should be able to find a complete head for $300 or so.
 
a_white51 said:
easiest way? that car should have an ls motor in it. pick up a vtec head and build an ls/vtec. you should be able to find a complete head for $300 or so.
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too bad that isnt' the easiest way.

the easiest and cheapest way is nitrous. there are several easier ways, put on some extremely light weight wheels and tires should put more power to the ground. change the flywheel will make less drivetrain loss.

a 1992 gs is a slug and 10-20hp is not going to do much for you. just leave it stock and enjoy 25mpg.
 
may not be the easiest but when done right it is more reliable than nitrous.
 
get_nick said:
very true.

elma eh? i know where that is. i used to live in graham/puyallup area. so what do you do in "elma"?
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hahaha nice. if you know elma then you know what there is to do; absolutely nothing. its nice though. where you at?
 
Just get a huge wing a 6 inch muffler and a whole bunch of stickers. Seriously though I would get a VTEC head and the ECU to go with it. You will spend maybe $600. Another $350 for the VTEC conversion kit which comes with a gasket ARP head bolts and everything else you need. Once you get that it's a matter of switching the heads which is not that hard and running a few wires for the new ECU. I would also reccomend getting a Haynes or Chiltons manual to help with the head swap and future maintenance. All said and done right about $1000 and you have a nice little setup.

Here is a link to the conversion kit
Lightning Motorsports - Golden Eagle - Lightning VTEC Conversion Kit COMPLETE -
 
b16 head for 3-400? Sign me up if thats true. B16 heads go for 500+ on the street and that is usually with a distributor.
 
I just though of something. Why not do some weight reductions. That is the easiest way for anything and then you will have a better power to weight ratio. y try to gain the horses when you can put your car through a weight loss program. I agree on the B16a head Idea for power but lose weight and no need to add power till you have some good saved up cash.
Making it short, just do weight reduction and save power for later.
 
Some cams, B16 pistons, and a port n' polish would do wonders for your motor, but it sounds like you don't want to spend much or rip into the motor, so I'd say intake/header/exhaust and a small shot of nitrous...
 
$0-1,000....plenty of options.

But if I had $1,000 I'd just go ahead and buy the $600 nitrous kit I'm saving up for. NX sells a kit adjustable from 30-50-75 whp.

Or you can do...
Short ram intake - $50-100
DC sports header - $250
Catback exhaust - $200-1,000

All depends on quality and shipping, and the parts above should get you at least a combined 10 hp if they're decent, close to 15-20 hp if they're good. I haven't dynoed my Civic yet, but I have an Akimoto racing sports short ram intake, eBay header (probably dumb idea), and I'm not sure haven't measured but I believe the cat-back piping was replaced with 2.25-2.5 inch piping because of the deep tone my car has with the muffler, doesn't sound like a fart and I bought it that way except for the header I bought myself. I'd guess that gives me maybe 10 hp.
 
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B16 heads for $500? I am gonna start stocking up and selling them for $400 on here and make bank. I would say go with the head swap if you can find the head for less than $500. wire vtec and get the ecu for it. Then with any money left over from that $1000 add an intake, cat back exhaust, and a header if you can. If not all 3 do them in that order. That will add more than 10 hp probably around 20 or more.
 
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LS_VTEC said:
b16 head for 3-400? Sign me up if thats true. B16 heads go for 500+ on the street and that is usually with a distributor.
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well i hope you aren't paying 500+. i picked mine up for $200 and it came with whatever I wanted to pull with it.
 
as is ALWAYS the case, if you want the most bang for your buck, forced induction is the way to go. boost it or juice it. either way, dont be another ricer spending 1000 or more on stupid, way overpriced "name brand" bolt ons(like i/h/e). if ever there were a place to save on a build, its on avoiding overprice flashy intake/exhaust parts that make little to no difference. at least get some real power out of your money
 
i live in aberdeen... whats ur name?? a_white51???? and ls/vtec is not easy unless u throw it together
 
Are we talking about Washington or engines?
If we're talking about Washington, I used to live in Bremerton! Shitty place, but the scenery's great.
If we're talking about engines, I have no idea lol. I know I'm not much help :D I just wanted in on one of things I DO know about lol.
 
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