Ok, you know how when anybody asks this question everybody chimes in 5-7psi? Well, what does someone need to upgrade to turn the boost up? And what upgrades will allow how much boost?

 

On a boosted D, bottom end and sleeves are the most crucial upgrades.

 

I knew that was coming. I had typed, "please dont' tell me sleeving and bottom end," but I thought if I didn't bring it up no one would say it.

 

are you sticking with the supercharger, or going for the turbo? From what I've heard, stock D's can hold up to 200 whp. On stock, I think fuel injectors, vtec contorller or hondata, fuel pump, and a tune.

 

The truth hurts sometimes.

 

My brother will not leave me alone about buying my SC, and I have been thinking of going turbo. I have also heard that a stock D can hold 200, but I think it was in reference to the rods.

Would it be worth it to go to a thicker headgasket to try to lower compression for a little more boost or would it be negligible?

 

What would you estimate your CR at now, because going too low can definitely be detrimental. And stock D rods should be fine with 200 whp, but not much else.

 

A thicker head gasket will not lower your compression enough to really matter on a stock engine. The rods are the weak point and after that the pistons. Sleeves are over rated unless you plan on going over 350 or so whp. I myself have seen D series go for a good 230whp in stock trim and last just fine daily driving. I also know a guy that bought a fogger setup and all the correct fuel upgrades and hit the dyno with it pushing it till the engine self destructed. He ended up blowing it on a 200 shot but he did make 300+whp for about 4 runs on the dyno. Go rods, pistons, built head(cam/vlaves/valve springs/retainers/good p&p job), head studs, and if you want you can have the block posted if you feel unsafe about the sleves but really they are not a area of intrest to me unless you are going really big on power.

I know a guy making 425whp with a D16Z6 that is built and he is running stock sleeves.

 

Well, this guy who worked for my dad for awhile blew holes in 2 different Y8's, running a T-28 at 14 psi. The first one had JE pistons, Crower rods, and ARP studs, and the second one had Eagle rods, JE pistons, a blockguard, Skunk2 cam, and ARP headstuds (even though my dad advised him against the blockguard). I'm curious how long these people you know have been running these engines on a daily basis. It is a fact that D rods are short enough that they generate a buttload of excess lateral cylinder wear when too much boost is applied.

 

Man it all comes down to the tune, I will state I am in no way shape, form, or fashion a fan of any obd2 D series engine. The Y5, Y7, and Y8 all have oiling issues with the rod bearings. Rods, pistons, and built head is all that is needed as all 92-00 D series have forged cranks in stock form. Also a side note to all this actual whp dont matter as much as people say. A properly running 220whp D series will beat up on a ****ty running 250whp B series, plus there is also a weight saving when you stay with a D. A fully decked out D series with a turbo/piping/front mount will weight the same amount if not less than a B18C swap alone.

People all to often get caught up in the hp game and make all these plans to build up to this pre-determained magical hp number when it dont work like that unless you are part of a racing team. Reliability is the name of the game in the real world right along with drive-ability on the street.

I say this to the topic starter, pick your route, desired performance, be it strait line performance, road course performance, or street performance before you buy anything. If you want to swap do it but do remember there are allways hidden cost in stuff and while you can buy a swap for $1500 to $4000 you still have to spend money on other things such as water pump, timing belt, new gaskets, various sensors so it is not so cut and dry as it sounds.