Hey what's going on everyone?

I used to think along the lines of this: "There's no replacement for displacement"
I now know otherwise...

I was riding with a buddy of mine in his 1969 Camaro... Very nice car, BTW, regardless of your preference in Import Vs. Domestic IMO.. and I happened to see a C5 Z06 and a Honda Civic Hatchback lining up for a race...
Me and my buddy were like, "Wow, this 'Vette is going to eat this thing alive! What was that dude thinking?"

Light turns green and the Vette takes off like a bat out of hell by jumping about 1.5 CL's ahead of the civic, but that little "four-banger", once it caught traction, started walking him horribly... I'm guessing they shut down at about 100-110... With the Civic clearly ahead, flashing his Hazards...

No longer do I think that four cylinders suck.... Because with a little help, a $3000 Civic can kill a $50000 z06

Sooo, this brings me to consider purchasing a civic hatchback, and I was kinda hoping to get some insight from some of you guys in terms of motor swaps and the like...

Couple of questions:

If I were to do a motor swap, will I need to change out/ fabricate motor and transmission mounts?
What are some good websites for finding parts like intake, headers, exhaust, and the like?
Are the internals for Honda motors reliable if boosted?
Is there a six-speed tranny on the market?
Is there a particular year model to stay away from?
And, the 2nd Gen. are the 93-98, right?

-Thanks
-MurDoc [0110,0110,0110]

 

yes.
ebay.
if done right.
not really.
its easier to work on ones newer than 92, IMO.
no.


the motor and tranny mounts come from other Honda/Acura models, so yes you have to change them, but no, you dont need to fab them. if you get one older than a 92, you will need an aftermarket mount kit, but you can get them all over the place.

ive yet to find a place that consistently beats ebays prices, though you have to watch out for crappy product and scammers, but you can post links here and we can check them out for you to help with that.

Hondas are generally higher compression than most cars. stock runs from about 9.5-11+, so you have to find a balance when boosting on stock internals, but it is done all the time without problems. of course, people blow motors all the time because they screw it up.

the only 6-speeds ive found are in the new acura RSX-S's and that is a whole new kind of engine swap, and its in a whole new kind of price range. there was an aftermarket unit available from Quaife, but i cant find any info on it anymore. and it was over 16 grand.

in 92 they went through a design change and the suspensions and engine bays are very interchangeable with more powerful Acura Integras, so its easier to get drop-in swaps for the post 92 cars. though the 91 and older cars are generally lighter than the newer ones. if you get an old one, stay away from carburators (SP?) it'll complicate everything. for a swap, the best one to go for is the 92-95 SI, as it comes wired for VTEC, and loves a high revving dual cam. but pretty much any civic can be turned in to a performer. Good luck, and welcom eback from the dark side

 

oh yeah, and the generations we use the most are
4th gen--88-91
5th gen--92-95
6th gen--96-00
the 6th gen had a slight body change (headlights and front end, along with the tailights went to red and clear, with no yellow) from 99-00. the 7th gen is 01 and up, but most of us here dont think of them as race potential just yet. they changed EVERYTHING around on us, itll take a few more years to figure everything out with them.

 

Nice to hear that you've seen the light...

 

very very glad u came to the light, and the civ type r has a 6 speed tranny too.

 

true, but only the new body-style, and not in the US.