I am new to this forum and this is my first thread. I ride a Evo IX and though a wonderful car, I want to start a new project to work with my son. I thought about a civic because they are great cars in every way. In order to start right , I would like to ask which of the Civics should I buy. I am looking for a car that will deliver good power and handling for the track. 400whp would be a target number. Could you help advising me which of the Civics could deliver this and with which mods? If you could outline the basic mods, or who to contact that could sell all the parts to make this work I would appreciate it.
Thanks for the help.

 

There's hundreds of ways you could reach that goal.

I suggest using a 92-00 Civic with either the B16A2 engine (99-00 Civic Si), the D16Y8 (96-00 Civic EX), or the D16Z6 (92-95 Civic EX and Si). The 92-95 Civic is the easiest to tune because it is OBD1, but with the use of an ECU conversion harness you can put an OBD1 ECU into the others and tune that.

Basically what you're going to have to do either way is build the engine and turbo it.


What's the financial situation for this car?



Here's a rough sketch of what I would do for a 400WHP track car (if I had money ):

Buy a 92-95 EX or Si (Si preferred because it's the hatchback)... OR buy any 92-95 CX Hatchback and swap in a D16Z6

• Build the engine
  • pistons
  • piston rings
  • rods
  • ARP rod bolts
  • sleeves maybe... idk how much stock sleeves can handle
  • ARP head head studs
  • cam
  • stainless steel valves
  • retainers
  • valve springs
  • 3 angle valve job
  • new valve seals
  • ported/polished head
• Cooling
  • full size aluminum radiator
  • slim radiator fan(s)
• Transmission
  • slightly lighter flywheel (14lb or so, not that light *** 7lb), or even just new OEM flywheel
  • short shifter
  • energy suspension shifter bushings
  • stronger clutch (stage 3 or 4, not sure which... for brand i'd pick ACT or Exedy)
  • braided steel clutch line
• Turbo kit
  • medium size T3/T4 turbo on semi-high boost
  • rest of turbo parts
• Tune
  • Hondata S300
  • tune
• Suspension
  • Full Coilovers... something real nice
  • front and rear sway bars
  • 3-point front strut bar
  • 4-point trunk brace (strut bar)
  • cage
  • racing seat and 5-point harness
  • ASR rear subframe brace
  • buddy club P1 camber kit (front and rear)
  • wheels and tire sizes/types according to what kind of track use you're talking about
  • manual steering rack (comes in the CX hatch already so that would be a good reason to get the CX hatch and swap a D16Z6)
  • energy suspension master bushing kit
• Brakes
  • braided steel brake lines
  • 1" bore master cylinder and brake booster
  • Brembo slotted rotors
  • Hawk HP Plus brake pads
  • rear disc brake conversion and 40/40 prop. valve if it's a non-Si hatch (Si already has rear discs)

 

For suspension I would add Skunk2 or Function 7 rear lower control arms(lighter than stock, look a ton nicer, and polyurethane bushings that'll last longer)

And megan racing or some other brand "hard rubber" trailing arm bushings.

How could I forget? Magnaflow high flow cat(direct fit versions are available) and an exhaust, like greddy sp2 or apex'i ws2

 

Yeah, look into Function7 lower control arms, as well. I have a set on my '99 Si, and they are extremely light and well made. For the car, I'd get a 99-00 Si; they come with a DOHC B16A2 that's semi-quick in stock form, rear disc brakes, and some other goodies. However, I am slightly biased.

 

^+1

However, I would recommend a 92-95 coupe or hatch, just for the fact that it is stock OBD1. I have a 99 Civic EX (OBD2b) and I use a step down harness as trust mentions. Even though I am not throwing any type of CEL, or emitting horrible gases from a bad tune, I'll still fail a "regular" inspection/emissions test by a "regular" mechanic. If you get OBD1 from the start, you shouldn't have this issue I have. Also, this may be a state-by-state thing as some states do not even have emissions testing. I am in PA.

Quick edit* I agree with almost everything Trust says above, but maybe an 11-12lb flywheel (just my preference), and look into Clutchmasters clutches, too (I heard somewhere that Exedy makes it 3x as hard to push the clutch in). For the cam, I would suggest looking into a Crower stage 2. I believe stock d16 sleeves can hold up to 450-500hp.

 

Thanks to everyone !!! That really helps to make a choice. Budget is no problem but that does not mean I will throw away money on useless mods. Who would you suggest as vendor to get all the parts from. I suppose there are many around there but I am not familiar with the Honda tuning world. Finally, how streetable will a car like this be? My experience with big turbos on the street is not a good one, they have quite a bit of lag.

 

If you can, find parts on ebay. Parts are cheaper there than local shops or other sites and if you can do some of the stuff yourself that's even more savings.

I would only go with a big turbo if you're going to the strip.

 

ditto, just make sure what you're buying is something good and not knock-off crap. The easiest way to tell is that if you find something on ebay but can't find it in a reputable online store, it's probably junk.

 

thank you very much! I want to ask.... besides ebay, which are the best honda vendors out there? or better to say, honda tuners?

 

everything outside of ebay is pretty much the same, search for a part, multiple sites come up, all are literally the same