I have heard many different tales of how to apply a turbo to a '97 civic EX with 94k miles on it. What do people mean by "build up the engine"? Does that just mean, that I buy a kit, install it, tune it, and I'm ready to go? or are there more painfully expensive purchases to make. Also, how do you go about installing these things? I have no mechanical experience, but if I have to install it and tune it, that's getting pretty pricey. Is it at all possible to try and dyi, then take it somewhere to be tuned? What company makes a reasonable turbo kit for what I'm trying to accomplish? I've heard HKS USA is the best, but that's probably overkill. They don't have a kit for the 97 civic ex on their site anyways. In all honesty I want enough power to safely maneuver on congested highways (if you've been to atl (or probably LA), you know what I mean), and have that kick to outdo my friends. Don't get me wrong, my friends drive stock cars, but mommy and daddy bought them bmws and mustangs, while i saved my pennies and bought and bought myself a civic with my money. In short, I need a lot of bang for my buck that won't compromise the life of my car. If that means cutting my hp gain, whatever, i just need more than the stock 97-99hp.

If you skipped that, here's the gist - what is a reasonably priced turbo kit that will not affect engine lifespan, that gives a reasonable boost.

Thanks

 

Well I have a 96 Ex, I dont post much but i read a fair amount on here, our motor makes 127 by the way:P, haha anyways I would say go with a DRAG turbo kit or Edelrbock the edel is very complete, they both add a lot of hp and if you put in new pistons, rods, and sleeves you can crank the boost for when u need it and it will really move that car. Somebody more experienced might want to change or add on what i said.

 

ok building up the motor means replacing your internals: forged pistons and rods

usually people get eagle h rods with pistons, im not sure about the compression that you want with the pistons on the d series....

also by building up the motor some people get the engine bored out and/or get it sleeved. you dont need it sleeved unless you want to hit 400 whp. the sleeves protect the internals so when you run high boost then you will be fine

some people build up the head as well by putting in cams, springs and retainers. there is also a port and polish that can be performed on the head

now with your turbo question....

if you do not have any mechanical experience i do not recommend you installing your own turbo. there are many fine details that go into installing a turbo. i would first read up on turbos and how they work, which you can find here: http://www.beesandgoats.com/boostfaq/g2icturbo.html
the site will help you understand what each part of a turbo does

if you install the turbo right then you will be fine with low psi, but you would want to get the car tuned profesionally by a shop that is known for tuning. Jeff Evans is one the of the best tuners on the east coast, he is located in PA. i don't know about the rest of the country. ok now before i can tell you what kit to get, it should be known what you want to accomplish with your turbo. what whp do you want to make? is this a daily driver? all that jazz, so that would be helpful. there are many kits out there like greddy, turbonetics, full race and rev hard. but a lot of people piece their own turbo together. Pete put together a nice shopping list that you will need and you can make your own turbo kit for around $1000, https://www.hondacivicforum.com/m_196090/tm.htm

about engine life, it depends on how much boost you run on a daily basis and also how well the car is tuned. i hope this answered some of your questions. have a good day

 

oo the bees and goats guide is very good. read that and you will be golden.

dollar for dollar, you will run laps on a kit you piece together vs. one you buy pre-peiced.

 

Hey, thanks a lot guys! Oh, to answer your questions, yes, the car is a daily driver, and I need the engine to last a long time. So, stock the engine has 100-127hp, and I'm looking to get around 200-230hp. If that is a ridiculous goal, then nevermind. I'm not going to race or anything, I just want that extra kick. I have some more questions of my own. When piecing together my own kit are there any companies I should seek out or stay away from? Is there a way to choose when to use boost? as in, can i turn it off if i'm driving on a highway, and then turn it on if i'm driving in the city? And, this might be off the wall, but how do these mods affect my insurance? Sorry for the naivety, but atleast I'm willing to learn and do research before slapping on a cheap kit and blowing my engine. Thanks again.

 

ok now to keep your motor in good condition with a turbo you need to have it tuned and not run lots of boost all the time. 200-230 hp is not a ridiculous goal, its a very reasonable goal with a turbo. when you piece your own kit together stay away from the xs and ss auto chrome turbos on ebay. you should look for greddy (18g is good for daily driver), garrett, turbonetics, drag, rev hard and full race. but with other products in the kit, you will be fine with anything for your first turbo kit. you can set the boost at whatever psi you want to, there is no way to turbo the boost off, you can run 4 psi on a daily basis and be fine with it. i am not sure if the mods will affect the insurance or not. i have posted a couple of links in the forum for you on the last post, check those out.