I do not know that much about engines. Should i swap out my 1994 honda civic lx sedan engine (d15b7 with 50,000 miles), with a b16 engine or should i just buy performance parts and make the engine in my civic faster. What would be needed to do an engine swap and how much is a b16 engine? I really do not know much about the b16 engine, as i am new to cars and engines. Any help would be great.

 

the miles on your motor arent high, you might consider a used turbo kit, usually can be had on ebay for between 1000-1500, but keep the boost low(under 6 psi) if reliability is high on your list. the b16 is more responsive to mods but is more pricey, if youre not worried about smog, you can get a jdm(imported from japan, but not legal in CA due to smog restrictions) engine swap for about 2300-2600, or a couple hundred more for a CA smog legal one. be prepared when doing this swap to buy a whole bunch of little crap that adds up quick, hoses, hose clamps, that kind of stuff. also, from experience, replace the timing belt and water pump, and maybe the clutch, BEFORE the motor goes in the car. theres nothing more disheartening than finally getting it to fire up, no check engine lights, everything sounds great, then back it out of the garage and see a trail of coolant from the blown out water pump, oh yeah, for 20 bucks, throw in a new thermostat too.

 

I will probably end up buying a turbo before a new engine. The price for a new engine is high, and a turbo is a lot cheaper. Do you know how much more horsepower i may gain from my 102 horsepower engine?

 

a rough estimate is around 10hp per psi, it will probably be a little less for the sohc non-vtec, i'd realistically expect 8-9 per pound, dont run more than 5-6 unless it is intercooled, then add about 2-3 psi. this is my opinion, others will tell you more is ok but i say better safe than sorry and if you have a money race or something, you could bump it up a little and pour in a couple gallons of race fuel, dont rely on that octane booster in a bottle crap, the "7 points" they advertise on the $8 bottle is literally.7 octane points so youll go from 91 octane pump gas, to 91.7

 

If i buy a turbo, i will buy an intercooler. How do i know what size intercooler will fit in my car? Also, is it better to have a smaller intercooler or a larger intercooler?

 

As far as intercoolers go I would say just find one that is designed to fit your car (greddy, but $$), unless you want to cut your bumper up. As for psi sacicons is right, my friend blew his motor (96 DX) up just by pushing 9psi, with an intercooler, so be very carefull. One pound too much for too long and you might need to spend lots of cash for new internals.

 

oh, and as for size, something that will not completely fill up your bumper. I know that looks good, but if no air gets to your radiator you might run into other problems.


Plus the more piping between the turbo and the engine the more pressure is lost, so in some cases smaller is better.

 

thanks beasly. its nice to see someone with some common sense. ive seen too many people say 10-12 psi is ok for a d-series. it might be, but is it worth the risk? and also, thats a good point on the sizing. if someone is going to go fmic(front mount intercooler), it is ridiculous not to upgrade the radiator and cooling system as well. you can find high capacity radiators that bolt into the stock location for like 120 shipped on ebay. if youre only running 5-6 maybe 7 psi on pump gas and stock motor, then a smaller intercooler would be fine, and you can always sell a used intercooler on ebay and upgrade once you are able to build your engine for more boost.

 

hey im in the process of a b16 from a d15b4 swap....i have installed type R internals exhaust extrators and intake with a few other mods......i wanna put a turbo on it...whats the way to go

 

i have a higher milage D15B7 (>100k) is it still worth a turbo/inter kit. And which do I get, there are so many on ebay for <1000 bucks from SSAUTOCHROME.com. What do I look for. It sound like a better deal than swapping engines. thanks