b16 or turbo??

[Mr_ET]

Ok I need a little advice.

I currently have a 91 ef hatch with a zc sohc with about 70000 km

no leaks good compression all across no smoke even if i shift at cutoff.

I am wondering how much a turbo kit would run me. I'm looking at keeping the cost down and would be happy with 160-170whp for now.

I hear legendboy can put pretty good kits together any prices from the guys that have done that?

or should i just scrap the turbo idea and get a b16a1 for now

can a decent reliable kit be put together for 1200-1500$??

b16 is 3k and it's out of the question for another year

that gives you an idea of my budget.

ideas, comments experience?? all is welcome

[QuasarCav]

Two completely different builds.

What are you looking for in your ride?

The b16 can give you 160whp with some mods but you wont have nearly as much torque.

[CIVIC_MAN]

if you know what you are doing you can find all the pieces for your turbo kit for just over a grand

[Aleks]

This question is coming up more and more every week. The correct answer is turbo. If you have enough cash, and are willing to learn a bit of basic maintenance, nothing beats a well put together and tuned turbo kit.

[Mr_ET]

i expected that from you aleks :P

how much did the kit run you?

i understand the torque issue also.

That's why i'm thinking more and more turbo.

Will it require a lot of expensive dyno time?

a lot of maintenance and be less reliable then a b16?

In the end I want reliable daily driven power.

i want something capable of going 13.75 at race city.

would the d16 be able to turn the power needed to do that with stock internals?

most of all I want a good quality product that will not break the bank but will still be reliable and fun

[rage2]

To run 13's you'll need a turbo. It'll cost a lot more than $1200-1500. That barely covers the cost of the turbo + manifold. Check out the official legendboy turbokit thread for an idea of pricing. Dyno time is fairly straight forward on that setup. 2 hrs max. A well tuned turbo kit is very reliable, assuming you're not going for power limits of pump gas.

[gpomp]

Originally posted by Mr_ET
i want something capable of going 13.75 at race city.

would the d16 be able to turn the power needed to do that with stock internals?
d16 turbo with your budget will hit high 14's.

[Mr_ET]

What kinda turbo kit can I put together for 12-1500$

can i expect 140-150 whp?

will i be able to swap out the turbo and get bigger injectors, better fuel management later on to achieve my goal?

I just want something faster for right now and a zc dohc does not make any sense for the extra 10hp over the sohc version i have.

would you have a link to the turbokit thread my searching does not return anything useful

thx for all the help

[Aleks]

What about this thread?

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80961

If you can make your own stuff and put it in you can have a nice kit for 1500 bux provided you found cheap used parts. If you have to have others do work for you to get 200whp (to be close to hitting 13s) you need 3grand and up. This does not include the suspension and clutch which helped me achieve 13s.

[Mr_ET]

13.75 can be in a couple of years high 14's i'd be really happy with right now


stock right now i can only do 17.6

it's capable of 17 but it was my first time there

[rage2]

Save up. Otherwise it'll cost you a lot more replacing a broken motor.

[Mr_ET]

b16 it is then thanx boys!

[TegLover]

I can't see why you can't piece your own kit for $1500, if you're buying somebody overpriced shit then ya just the turbo and manifold will run you close to that. If you wanna achieve over 200WHP it can EAILY be done with about 2G's. All this is assuming you know what and where to get all these parts if not then you will need to be another sucker for those overpriced parts.

[jaylo]

In my opinion, don't even bother swapping a B16, trust me you will be disappointed. Save up around 2000-2500 and piece together a homemade turbo kit for your current engine that will spank stock B16's any day.

[TegLover]

^ :werd:

[Mr_ET]

My knowledge of engines is quite good. Turbo's i know very little and have no contacts to get parts. I woul not trust myself putting it all together without any help.

i'd for sure end up overpaying someone to help me unless i find very giving souls here :P.


I would love to have turbo power but this is a daily driver i cannot afford a lot of downtime and i own a house and have a new baby so i cant dish out 2000-2500 at the moment. right now i only have 1400 available to me. thats why i was asking if something reliable of proper quality could be put together and would be worth it.

anyone here have a d16 turbo with homemade kit?

where did you get parts?

what was the cost?

everything running nice and smooth?

[TegLover]

You will definatly have down times, i know i had lots with my turbo setup, kinda makes you wanna go b16 in the first place, but then again its all worth it. In your case scenario it doesn't sounds like these downtimes are very convient for you. I know you can get a kit put together with $2000 for sure. Hit up homemadeturbo.com it'll be your best friend, don't ask too many questions just read all you can absorb and if you really don't get it then ask or you will guranteed to get flamed.

[Aleks]

If the kit is put together properly dowtime will be minimal to null. I've had 0 downtime due to tuning.

About 5-6 days since installed (9 months) downtime due to stupid little stuff like bolts backing out which is pretty much unavoidable. 5-6 days out of like 250 is not bad at all!
The car was driveable it's just I didn't like hearing the exhaust leaks. (fixed for good now). In the process I learned how to take the whole turbo kit off my car on my own, change my own oil, plugs, check all the connections etc etc. Before any of this I didn't really have a clue how to do any of it! I guess I've been lucky, my car is running perfect now, I don't abuse it, but it is driven hard at the track at Race city doing the drag only.

I say just save a bit more and do it. You'll always wonder what it would be like if you don't do it. I had to find out for myself and trust me, it puts a huge grin on my face every time I hit boost!

[Mr_ET]

my original plan was b16 turbo but that would be in like 5 years :P


i dont even know if people will still support ef's by then and if b16 parts are not super hard to find.

I will still have the car for sure but i'm not that patient.

that's why i ask all the questions

d16 turbo from what i have been reading will not be as reliable as a b16 when all is said and done.

I don't baby my car it is my driving tool.

I don't drive like a maniac either i'm 25 :P


but i must be able to put it away wet drive the crap out of it at race city on and on and still have it start and stop every time i ask it too.

I do take proper care of it oil changes are done every 5000kms

with synthetic mobil 1

plugs are changed regularly

top up all fluids and follow honda maintenace schedules.

Every single little thing works on the car and if i don't see fit to have aftermarket it is all oem honda.

I appriciate all the help and I do wan't to become a more competent wrencher but i cannot afford downtime and to maintain anything that may break from a turbo kit.

it will always be a dream and someday i will hit boost (12-14 psi should suffice)

I will not do anything half assed and that goes for the turbo install as well.

just wanted to see if 1200-1500$ was realistic for a good turbo setup.

appreciate all your great input, that is why i asked here and not some other forum i.e. 403honda, honda-tech.

i'll start buying mounts linkage and next year b16 as i think it is my best option.



someday i will have vtec boost!