Turbo sounds great but, to have a turbo do you not need to reinforce the pistons and do a bunch of other work?

 

I am a huge supporter of turbocharging; in fact, this is the first time i have recommended using nitrous to anybody. If you have the willpower, a bottle will last a long time. I think in this case it would be the most economical choice.

No you don't have to reinforce the pistons, but yes you have to do a tremendous amount of other work. Turbocharging is not something to be considered lightly. Plus you'll be likely to spend about 3k even for a conservative setup after tuning and gauges and all that other necessary junk.
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NelaCam cam

 

I guess my biggest questions is Should I do the mini-me swap or just replace the entire engine to the 1.6.si motor of the same year? Any one have any links to dyi on mini-me?

 

The mini-me swap will give you the same amount of power as the 92-95 1.6L Si motor. The mini-me swap will cost less.
The mini-me swap is taking the D16Z6 head and putting it on your block. The D16Z6 is the EX/Si motor.


It's not a link that I provided, but i told you where to find it:

Well, that depends on a number of factors, including the current condition of the block you will be using, and how much PSI you will use, and how much HP you are going to be pushing out. For example, if your engine has bad compression, it would not be wise to turbocharge your engine. Also, if it is in good condition, it should be able to handle possibly up to 12 PSI, and around 200HP or so with stock internals. Turbocharging your engine on stock internals is always a risk however if you do not know the exact condition of the engine.
I'm not saying turbocharging your stock engine is a bad idea, I'm just saying that it's a risk, and all steps should be taken beforehand to determine the current state of your engine.
Many people have successfully turbocharged a D-series engine with stock internals.
Plus, the mini-me swap should give you a little of an edge on this risk, because you will know the condition of the head and you will be installing a new head gasket with the engine (make sure to use a D16Y8 metal head gasket, and follow the instructions in the DIY to do this, as it is stronger than the D16Z6 head gasket).
Though, it's always a good idea to build your engine if you want reliability; however, it can get expensive.