D Series frankenstein build with factory parts

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Exodus

Junior Member
Alright, I've got an 89 CRX Si for reference. Just got it, it's undergoing a full once over with the ol' fine tooth comb.
The powerplant I'm using is a D16Z6 complete longblock mated to the stock 89 CRX Si transaxle using the D16Z6 clutch, pressure plate and flywheel, as well as the 89 Si axles and shiftlinkage ( of course ). Everything is converted to OBD1 using non other than Rywire.com's OBD0-OBD1 conversion wiring harness, with VTEC sub-harness and distributor jumpers (it's tits to be probably the only guy in Ohio with this, let alone one of the few who don't have to do the ghetto-fab'd A6 dizzy on the Z6 head which is sooo wrong, ONE MILLION PROPS to Ryan at Rywire.com ). This is basically all stock, cleanly converted and will work very nicely in the CRX setup. SOHC VTEC + short gears + light car = ..well.. makes the D series not look so bad afterall ( I'm a B-Series whore ).

I've been doing some research on OEM parts compatibility between the engines to find the best possible combination of parts to frankenstein into one setup. This is where you guys come in, I need opinions and advice here...

I've got two options, turbo or NA.

Turbo...

It would probably go something like this... HF manifold, DSM adaptor plate, 14B turbo charger, 2.5BAR Motorola MAP sensor, Crome on my P28... still unsure of the of intercooler, various fittings etc... but the stuff I listed is the base of what I've got so far. The dynotuning will happen on either a DynoJet WOT inertia dyno or a DynoJet eddycurrent loading dyno, either way, it'll be tuned well on stock internals. Discuss...


Next up is the NA build, which I'm leaning towards.

The compression of one of these is approx 9.2:1 stock. Using the A6 pistons, you can cram it up to about 10.5:1 ( around 10.46xx:1 more specifically ). So, right off of the bat, it's basically a SOHC B16A :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Not really, but you understand. I'm currently using the A6 stock header, which I'm replacing with the 4-2-1 Z6 stock header here shortly.

A question I have is, should I use the A6 one piece stud girdle and if so, will it fit properly? It's very strong and I prefer a lot of strength in the bottom end of my engines.

Also, the D16A1\ZC rods are a lot beefier and seem more desirable. Would they raise compression further? Will they work on the Z6 crank? What bearings would I use?

What about the crank, the Z6 is pretty good already but I'm wondering if there is a better factory crank out there? I like upper RPMs, so this crank is okay so far, but if there are better options, I'd like to know. Basically, I'm looking for the best crank strength, RPM limits, power limits etc... in a stock crank, what will suit this NA build the best?

I'll probably use the Y8 two layer headgasket and raise the compression slightly.

Also, with any combination of the A6 pistons, Z6 rods, D16A1\ZC rods, Y8 headgasket... will I still have adequate valve to piston clearance, or should the valve reliefs be opened up?

Any input is appreciated, especially regarding my NA questions about engine building. Thanks in advance guys.
 
i doubt the other rods would raise the compression (unless i was lied to about storke and bore on the (unless the work magic on the piston skirt i dont know about), and i am quite sure they will work on that crank.

D series doesnt get a lot of help from other honda engines, but i think ZC pistons will help you raise compression, but i really couldnt tell you if it messes with your valve clearances. That is something that one of these EF swappers will have to help you with.
 
Im also not sure about the valve clearence, but i guess putting in the stock head(not shaved) would do the job.

about the rods, ZC has got much storonger rods as compared to other. but their bearings are different though similar to B20 but a lot diff then any other D. they wont fit on ur stock crank. ZC has got huge bearings
 
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Im also not sure about the valve clearence, but i guess putting in the stock head(not shaved) would do the job.

about the rods, ZC has got much storonger rods as compared to other. but their bearings are different though similar to B20 but a lot diff then any other D. they wont fit on ur stock crank. ZC has got huge bearings

So would using a ZC\D16A1 crank with the matching rods work then? I mean, will there be any crank fitment issues with the block? When does the crank lack sufficiency in the RPM range? Will it be able to rev like a Z6 or better?

I'm not quite sure those rods would change the compression either.

The ZC pistons will get me up to 12+:1 and that would take some major tuning.
 
z6 clutch will work as long as you use the flywheel, if you use the a6 flywheel you have to use the a6 clutch, the z6 flywheel is larger, different splines only were in the 88 ef tranny.
 
Yeah, the clutch, pp and flywheel do work. I've driven the car once or twice before bringing it back down again. The Z6 has a larger surface area on it's friction material, so I figured that is more bite for the same tranny I like to use :)

I'm gonna look a little further into some rotating assemblies and see about what can handle what and some size differences, I'll report back later.
 
The A6 has a sort of reputation as being the strongest of the D-series blocks, the main reason being that it has steel main caps instead of iron (as the rest of the D blocks had)....and with a Z6 head, your compression will be in the mid 10's. Z6 heads are also fairly easy to find, and fairly cheap as well.
 
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z6 clutch will work as long as you use the flywheel, if you use the a6 flywheel you have to use the a6 clutch, the z6 flywheel is larger, different splines only were in the 88 ef tranny.


thats right..nevermind...must of had my head in my ass when I posetd..duh..I know better!
 
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