Originally posted by Calesta@Dec 17 2002, 08:41 AM
Yes it's cost effective... your engine is still pretty new, so it should be in good shape. Perform a leakdown test just to make sure it's healthy for turbo before you boost. A few of my friends run boost on their D16s, and they're really happy. All of them were putting down over 210hp to the wheels, along with a boatload of torque... all on stock internals, all with standard bolt-on turbo kits and decent tuning. One was on a Greddy kit, another on a DRAG, and another on a Rev-Hard.
Considering that you won't be swapping out the engine, you'll avoid the cost of a new engine- plus parts are cheaper for you. You'll put more power down to the ground than someone who just swapped their Civic, and probably spend the same amount of money. Granted, you'll "top out" sooner, but most of the swap guys out there don't do much extra to their engine after they put it in. You'll still be faster than they are.
Now the question is... do you have a D16Y8 SOHC VTEC or one of the non-VTEC models? If you don't have VTEC, you might want to swap in a VTEC head to gain some extra breathing room for the turbo. This is called a "mini-me" setup, and shouldn't cost you more than $500 to complete on your own.
D series turbo is a very potent setup- you won't be as fast as the B series with boost, but you will be faster than the standard swapped Civic.
Professor C. I love it when you don't talk down on D-series.