Are there any internals (cam, valves, etc.) that i can swap from other cars that will work in my 98 dx and increase a little performance?

 

There are a range of OEM pistons you can swap in to bump compression anywhere from 9.6:1 (that's what you have stock; D16Y7 is the engine code) to 12+:1, depending on your choice of cylinder head/headgasket. Having the block decked and head milled will also bump compression a bit. A popular cylinder head swap is that out of VTEC models. I usually recommend using the head out of a D16Z6 because of cost, ease of use, and performance. Search for "mini-me" for some write ups on how to do that.

 

before you go about ripping stuff apart i'de suggest reading up on things b/c your goin to run into problems along the way and its agood idea not to tear apart your daily driver to do this b/c you will get little set backs that can take a long time to fix or make work

i'de read up and do research first

 

^ Good advice.

 

I have done a lot of research on the mini me swap and i plan on doing that but i havent been quite sure if i should go with the Y8 or the Z6. Are there pistons and rods from a diff civic i should toss in there while i have the head off? It is my daily driver and i dont want to mess anything up so i would definetly take my time and get major help.

 

If you don't plan on tuning it, put in the pistons from the motor you have swapped the ECU to in the mini me. If you plan to convert to OBD1 and chip your ECU, you have a little more leeway with piston choice as you can tune the set up. As far as cylinder heads, from the way I understand it, the Z6 is the best vtec head in stock form, the Y8 has the potential to be better if ported properly (though I've only seen it used well in a few builds), and the A6 trumps them all as the best flowing D-series head (but is non-vtec). That's all hearsay though, I would need to do more research to confirm all of it. All I can confirm atm is the Z6 head has been proven to work well with it's simple straight port design, and is cheap.

 

So if if wanted to do a mini me with the Z6 i should get the head with all the valves etc. and should i get the pistons from it as well? Will those pistons match up well in my y7 block? What would i need to do for ecu conversion? And im sorry but ive never been good with obd1 etc. so could you explain what that is?

 

Yeah, you'll want the pistons from it so the motor will run correctly. You might be able to use a slightly higher compression piston with the stock Z6 ECU fuel and timing maps, so long as you ran a higher octane fuel. I'm not 100% sure though. Maybe Marty can chime in at this point. As far as fitment, yeah they'll fit. Almost all D-series have a 75mm bore.

As for the ECU, OBD stands for on board diagnostics. I'm not really sure what that means honestly. I used to know, and I could look it up, but I'm not going to bother. All I know is they've changed OBDs throughout the years to meet stricter emissions standards. OBD1 has the most tuning options, and is generally what everyone uses if they can.

I've never converted one from OBD2 to OBD1 myself, so I'm not sure if you'll need a special wiring harness. I think you will. They're not too expensive though. You might find a DIY on that somewhere, not sure. You'll also need a Z6 ECU (P28), and vtec solenoid.

 

so would i have to convert the ecu if i went with a mini me swap or what if i just swapped the intake mani's, would i have to switch it then?

 

I tuned my D16z6 with 10.5:1 compression JE pistons on stock rods and crank, though they were all balanced to each other. So the d16z6 can hold more. The catch is to make sure the timing is accurate. I ran Crower Stage 1 cam with the je pistons, stock rads and crank, and it ran like a champ even while racing. It was my daily driver and the timing slipped 2 clicks and poof....up in smoke.

Research is Key. Taking off the head in it's self takes me 5 1/2 hours and I've done it a few times before. removing the head is a lot more than just a few bolts.... so if you plan on it, get some plastic bags, a perminate marker, and lable EVERYTHING. new gasket set would also be recomended. it's just better that way.