Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

Hi everyone, I have a huge problem. I cant decide on what engine/upgrade to make on my car. I use it as my DD and I autocross the hell out of it every sunday. Right now its a 95 Civic Si Hatchback with a stock D16Z6, I bought the car about 3 months ago. Suspension is all taken care of and I just need info on the engine problem. I would like 220-250whp (give or take 30hp) and the most torque I can get. (I have looked into an H series swap but will not go that way)

I am not a top end/120mph person at all. I like my low end power and torque! I will only do one of the following, but what do you think???

Keep the Z6 and bump up the compression between 10:1 and 10.5:1 and get a Jackson Racing Supercharger.

Keep the Z6 and turbo it with a small 14B or T25 turbo

Swap in a B20B stock. Later add VTEC and some bottom end insurance parts.

So....?

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

Do you care at all about what autocross class you will end up in?

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

good point

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

The turbo/supercharger probably won't affect the weight too much, so you could probably keep your suspension tuning the same. I would think that you'd have to adjust it with an engine swap. I would think that a turbo would affect your car's reliability, so it wouldn't be suitable for a daily driver. Just my 2 cents.

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

i would do suspension first and some good tires, maybe some weight reduction then worry about power, its not what autocross is about

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

You're driving a Honda, you need to rethink your decision.

You can pull 225ish out of a supercharged GSR pretty easily. However, I don't care what you're driving if you want to perform well at AutoX/Roadcourse/Drag Racing you need to keep the revs up. You simply will not make power down low.

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I will be in the SM class with any of these mods. Classes arnt a big deal for me, we have about 8 cars that come out everytime.

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

work on the suspension and try to lose some vehicular weight. MXS should be able to help you out with the suspension side of AutoX, everything i have read from her (whether her own words or those passed on from others) is info that everyone should read. Most people make the mistake of building power first and dealing with the suspension after, which can lead to excessive body roll and brake dive reducing your entrance and exit speeds into the sharp corners that are associated with autox.

Work on the suspension until the suspension is too good and the car can only be made better with more power. It's the fundamentals behind any great performance/sports car. Muscle cars had power and nothing else. suspensions were crap, brakes were crap, everything was pretty much crap, except the engine/tranny and rear diff. With a vehicle like that i would not want to race in (unless it's a straight line) because with all the power and nothing else, you will find the deficiences in the stock setup very quickly.

RE: Whats best for my DD/AUTOX Hatch?
 

He already said suspension is taken care of, but I'm curious to know how the car is set up. Personally I'd stay away from the turbo, but the other ideas could work... what's your budget like?