2002 Lx Mods For The Poor.

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nutrawk669

Junior Member
I'm green, as far as mods go, and I've not worked on anything newer than a '90, so I'm going to need a little advice here with modding my '02 LX. Cheap's the word of the day. :p

I thought that perhaps I could install the VTEC into the d17a1 somehow(head swap?), add an intake, perhaps an ECU mod... Problem is, information is rather scarce on the newest gen of Civics, and I despise going in blind, especially with a machine which I have no experience with. I'm wondering if I'll have to do any fabrication, since I've been having trouble finding parts for the 7th gen Civics, etc. Also, if it's worth it, I may just install a nitrous system into the car, but again, I am without a clue. Any help from anyone who's had some modding experience with the 7th gens, please help out :p
 
Sorry, I dont have any info about what you need to know...but when i had my old motor/turbo i raced a 02 LX civic with the d17a, he had a 75-ish shot of N.O.S, and he beat me by a car length to 75. I ran 15.0x usually, so he would probably run high 14's.


I really dont know why i just posted that, maybe to give you an idea what you would be dealing with if you added nitrous. I dont know if swaps are common in the newer civics, but if they are and you want to go fast, i would highly suggest finding out what you want to do before you go and drop tons of money into a motor that is going to be swapped out anyway.
 
Yeah, that's my other option... But a swap isn't in my future for a while, at least. Nitrous is definately an option, since I don't wanna spend a lot of cash, though if I installed a NOS I'd end up spending for NO2 canisters. I know an intake's a nice viable option, and one I'd like to pursue... and I'm fairly certain that I could get up to 150-160hp without having to drop a new engine in, though I'll wager it'd be best to spend $2000 or so and just get a stock Si engine instead.
 
:huh: i also have 7th gen 2001 lx, and in the pursuite of cheap mods, NOS was an option until i saw pic of what happened to 3 diff. 7th gen civic with NOS(75&50shot), there heads blew up. reason was that the heads are made up of aluminium and plastic.......
Good Luck
 
Go to 7thgencivic.com and search for some good info.

Intakes don't do much for the d17 but people do them anyway. Most popular one's are the K&N FIPK, aem or injen. If you wanted to go turbo in the distant future, then don't even waste money on an intake.

Also swapping a k20a3 or k20a2 is gonna cost more than $2000. If you're gonna do a swap anyway, might as well go for k20a or k20a2 and on average they cost around $5500 just for the engine. You could wait a couple of years and it'll probably drop.

As for swapping in a vtec head, a lot of people think it's a waste of time and money since the vtec on there is only for fuel economy.
 
haha ok i have a 2002 lx and i really am in the same ball park

i wanna get a power boost without dropping more than 1500 on it

i have considered comitting some more cash if it came down to a swap but...

anyways main question is the anyway i could make enough room for a b17 in my civic?
 
Sorry, I dont have any info about what you need to know...but when i had my old motor/turbo i raced a 02 LX civic with the d17a, he had a 75-ish shot of N.O.S, and he beat me by a car length to 75. I ran 15.0x usually, so he would probably run high 14's.


I really dont know why i just posted that, maybe to give you an idea what you would be dealing with if you added nitrous. I dont know if swaps are common in the newer civics, but if they are and you want to go fast, i would highly suggest finding out what you want to do before you go and drop tons of money into a motor that is going to be swapped out anyway.

isnt a d17 a sohc tho?
 
man. My girl owns a 02 lx. man is it slow. I really wouldnt do anything to it. Even if you got I/H/E plus nitrous you still would be slow! $2000 budget is wasted and still cant even keep up stcok cars. Sorry if i sound heteful towards those engines.......i am. Its a great car dont get me wrong. just save your money and get a K20A3. its cheaper than a A2,still new,easier swap than a bseries and you can say you have a K!:ph34r:
 
D17 ftw??

there is always hope :) if you had a S1 Turbo Kit which would put you in around 170-180 whp - 150-160 wtq @ 5psi, and if you did the head swap "being a d17a1" to a" d17a2 " and pistons cams ems valves and springs you might top out around like 230-260 in that range depending on boost but that is about 8-10k :eek: so your better off just getting the K :)
D17_V31.jpg

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Auto-D17.jpg

Hard to read but more info at Dezod Motorsports LLC-We ARE performance.
 
i found this on wiki i ran it past a couple of guys and it sounds good to me One of the most popular and effective methods of achieving greater power from a D-series motor is replacing the cylinder head with one from a more powerful D-series motor. This is usually done between D16A6 and D16Z6 or D16Y7 and D16Y8 engines, however, can be performed in other combinations as well; such as a D16Z6 head on a D16Y7 or D15B2/B7 block. The Z6 and Y8 heads are VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) equipped, and increase horsepower significantly over stock levels. This operation is known as a "Mini Me" or partial swap. Mini Me's are popular because they offer a substantial performance upgrade by adding VTEC to the motor at a relatively low cost. Simply adding a VTEC head to a non-VTEC block will not increase horsepower alone. This is because the VTEC circuit must be activated and accompanied by a new 'high cam' fuel map from the car's ECU
 
i found this on wiki i ran it past a couple of guys and it sounds good to me One of the most popular and effective methods of achieving greater power from a D-series motor is replacing the cylinder head with one from a more powerful D-series motor. This is usually done between D16A6 and D16Z6 or D16Y7 and D16Y8 engines, however, can be performed in other combinations as well; such as a D16Z6 head on a D16Y7 or D15B2/B7 block. The Z6 and Y8 heads are VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) equipped, and increase horsepower significantly over stock levels. This operation is known as a "Mini Me" or partial swap. Mini Me's are popular because they offer a substantial performance upgrade by adding VTEC to the motor at a relatively low cost. Simply adding a VTEC head to a non-VTEC block will not increase horsepower alone. This is because the VTEC circuit must be activated and accompanied by a new 'high cam' fuel map from the car's ECU

Wow. Awesome first post, dude. Seriously...

1.) I think we all know what a Mini-Me is, you don't need to explain it.

2.) The information you posted is more applicable to the older D-series engines, not the 01+ models. The 01+ Civics use the newer D17 engines, which aren't compatible with the older cylinder heads.

3.) This thread is almost a year old. Nobody gives a fuck anymore.

Next time, check the dates before you post, k?
 
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