Mini me swap or turbo the d16y7

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

IMAS

New Member
So I have a DX hatch from 96'. It only has 37k miles on it and I plan on doing suspension modification first (coils, control arms, sway bars, subframe brace, etc..) but I'm pretty new and want to push more than 107hp, after some research I found the mini me swap with the y8 for about a 20hp gain but also found that you can turbo the stock block and get around 190-200hp without even touching the internals. My goal would be around 200hp but semi-reliable as this is sort of my daily. So I have a few questions, how would I get to ~190hp with the y8 head? Which would be cheaper? (I'm in HS) Which would need more mechanical knowledge?

If this has been asked before sorry, any links to threads or informational documents about my car/engine are appreciated and thank you in advance, I'm pretty confused right now.
 
Welcome to the site! Glad to see some new youngsters out there getting on board :)

Getting close to 200hp without the head swap will be hard and push a lot of limits on some of the internals.

i would recommend both! do the head swap and vtec conversion, and then get a turbo together. Or, at least do it in that order if you can only afford one for now.

Neither is 'easy' and require some mechanical knowledge and likely will result in some down time if its your only car and you have to get to work, etc.

there are other ways, but the easiest would be
d16y8 head (96-98)
obd 2a -> obd 1 ecu harness
chipped p28 ecu (to control vtec, gets you ready for turbo later with something like crome or hondata system to control it)
run the wires for vtec
i think your car has a 4-wire o2 already so that should be fine
vtec oil sandwich adapter and lines for th head
 
welcome ! and as aforementioned above mods , Honestly a short throw shifter, coilovers, wheels/tire is going to be your most fun per $$$ upgrade IMO , save $$$ and just do a whole swap if you stay obd1 a b18b1 literally drops in with a mount kit and you plug everything up same and swap ECU's and gain significant more power and torque and honestly less complex for somebody new than doing a head swap and timing
 
welcome ! and as aforementioned above mods , Honestly a short throw shifter, coilovers, wheels/tire is going to be your most fun per $$$ upgrade IMO , save $$$ and just do a whole swap if you stay obd1 a b18b1 literally drops in with a mount kit and you plug everything up same and swap ECU's and gain significant more power and torque and honestly less complex for somebody new than doing a head swap and timing
Yeah I plan to do that stuff first, where would I find a b18b1? I looked over ebay and other jdm motor sites and couldnt even find one for sale.
 
welcome ! and as aforementioned above mods , Honestly a short throw shifter, coilovers, wheels/tire is going to be your most fun per $$$ upgrade IMO , save $$$ and just do a whole swap if you stay obd1 a b18b1 literally drops in with a mount kit and you plug everything up same and swap ECU's and gain significant more power and torque and honestly less complex for somebody new than doing a head swap and timing
Also do you recommend a specific brand for coils? I'm on a budget so I was looking at godspeeds or yonakas and also godspeed for the subframe brace/control arms/sway bar but I know when you buy budget coils your ride is shit so is there some kind of sweet spot for price+ride quality?
 
alot of cheapo coilover kits are made at the same place, lol with marginally different spring rates and colors.

ive used ksport in competition on my veloster turbo they have been fantastic.... another thing to remember alot of idiots just set and forget their coils, and the ride can absolutely be terrible if not managed properly (ie wrong spring rate, preload not correct, dampening not correct, bad alignment) REGARDLESS of brand and cost.

shocks and springs are so much easier for the usual blumpkin.
 
Welcome to the site! If I had to pick just one method, I'd turbo the stock block instead of going VTEC. No need to dive inside the engine, more power potential, and you really only add extra wear to the engine when you're boosting (not partial throttle cruising). If you're in an emissions checking area, you have a better chance of passing a plug-in OBD emissions test too with the piggybacks available now specifically for tuning boost (like an AEM FIC).

Suspension- if on a budget definitely go with a set of static drop springs and keep your shocks fresh. You don't want to slam the car anyway- some people might think it looks cool, but it'll destroy your handling.
 
Back
Top