EF9 tuning.

[Alpine]

I have a 90 Civic Si with a basicaly stock D16A6. I was wanting to tune it up. I'm not looking to run a 9, just fast enough to stomp ass on all the ricers and people who think all civics are ricers. I was thinking of saving up and swaping for a B16B, but do you think tuning the engine in it would be fast enough? I'm pretty much clueless about tuning.

 

[Alpine]

Well, I'm not planing on doing this overnight. I'll go out on a limb and say $5000, piece at a time.

 

[Alpine]

I was planing to do a lot of research. I'm probably going to plan out everything I'll do to it before I ever start building. I'm thinking about a mini-me.

 

[Andrew]

If you want cheap power, consider doing a stock-spec rebuild(basically just rings and bearings), and turbocharging it. You could have a 0 mile motor with a snail stuck to the exhaust manifold for wellllll under 3-4000

 

[Alpine]

I've heard a lot of people say swap to a B16, B18 or an H22 but I don't really know if I want to spend that kind of money or time on a car I don't plan to make just a race car.

 

[Andrew]

Like I said, I'd just go with a stock rebuild and a small turbo setup. it'll be plenty fast, and you'll still have great drivability.

Cheap, easy(after reading so much info that your eyes start bleeding), and will make for a great daily driver.

 

[Alpine]

I was digging around on Google and found a supercharger for it. But would a turbo be a better idea?

 

[Alpine]

I saw the super and thought it'd be nice to have one on my civic but everyone I've talked to said get the turbo.

 

[801CRX]

Noone mentioned the "mini-me".
Take a D16Z6 SOHC VTEC head and mate it to your block. It will give you a good amount of ponys.
Itll be pretty cheap dont even think itll reach $1k and still maintain a great MPG.

 

[K2e2vin]

If you're going turbo, go for the Y7 head . No need to wire VTEC, and you'll end up with the larger valves and ports.

 

[Alpine]

I've read that if you get a D over 200whp the connection rods can snap.

 

[K2e2vin]

Yea, that's if you use the stock rod. Tuner Toys sells D16 H-beam rods for like ~$200 IIRC. Other options include bushed and milled LS rods, or milled LS rods with PDN pistons.

 

[Andrew]

it's a risk you take.
if you get them cleaned up and shot-peened, you won't have to worry as much about it snapping, but it's still a very smart idea to get new ones.
rods aren't cheap, but it's worth it.

 

[Alpine]

Wow, thats insane. But how hard is that on his car?

 

[Andrew]

how hard as in... how hard is it to produce those #'s, or how hard is it on the drive-train?

A good turbo setup and a GREAT tune will get those kinds of numbers all-day-long. however, you can't expect the motor to last very long when pushing it to the limit like that.

 

[Alpine]

It'd be aweosome to run times like that in a SOHC. Personaly though I'd do everything I could think of to withstand that before I tuned it like that.

 

[Alpine]

I probably will build it. I'm not sure where to start on it though. I'll probably but a turbo on it last. And if I ever do need a new engine, for whatever reason, I'll probalby put a B into it.

 

[Alpine]

I'll say 200, 150 if I don't put a turbo in. That doesn't seem to out of reach and not too hard on it.

 

[Alpine]

I have a cold air intake and I think its a performance exhaust. With a mini me would that put me close to 150? And I also heard I could make a homemade turbo kit from the one out of the 1st or 2nd gen Talon and Eclipse. Should I worry about cooling or ignition?

 

[Alpine]

How much would a mini me run me? I heard a y8 head was the best choice.