i have a stock 1.5L honda civic hatchback and was wondering on how i can make it faster, i understand it takes a lot of money but any suggestions for someone just getting into the street scene??

180

Asked by NJ1982 May 31, 2012 at 05:35 PM about the 1990 Honda Civic DX Hatchback

Question type: Car Customization

30 Answers

595

I asked a similar question! join the honda civic cuope auto club and it will be there with quite a few answers!

9 people found this helpful.
1,065

Easy and inexpensive way is drop a 1.5 or 1.6 d series vtec head on your stock block. Or you can swap a d series vtec motor in your car, which isnt to expensive. the best way is to do what i would do and swap a b series motor in it.

22 people found this helpful.
695

If you are not into working on cars, engine swaps will become a big, expensive trip and drive you stark raving mad. They are ONE option among many, so consider these: What do you mean by 'faster'? How deep into the 'street scene' do you want to go? You could spend a fortune and still not have the fastest, best looking tuner car out there. If you just want your car to be as fast as it can be for a relatively easy project, I would suggest the following: A couple of 'bolt-ons': -Cold-air intake -Headers/high-flow cat/catback exhaust -Short-shifter -MSD ignition (this will kick up your mileage, as well) If you are able to or want to pay someone to do some work, do these: -port and polish the head -lightweight flywheel (replace the clutch, too) If you want to kick up your horsepower for not a lot of money, do a turbo kit. NOS is an option, too, but . . . ALL of these can be bought on eBay for such cheap prices, you'll wonder why anyone would pay more for another car's upgrades. Your era of Civic (EF) is so common and popular, there are piles of upgrade parts available. Without an engine swap, you won't ever have the fastest car out there, but these upgrades are the best way to go for a first go around. If you want to go faster, then find any one of the B16 engined Hondas that came out in the late 90's (Del Sol VTEC, Civic Si coupe) and upgrade those engines. Engine swaps are EXTREMELY complicated and require a lot of know-how. With the money you'll spend on one, you might as well just find a car that came with that engine stock and save yourself the money and retain your sanity. Hope you have fun working on your Honda, as I have on all the ones I've owned over the years, and that you'll come to enjoy working on and driving your cars.

48 people found this helpful.
2,445

info-gasm jeeze im doing a b16 swap on my car people think swaps are hard nut thy arent just do your research and you will find that alot of stock parts will drop straight into your car for cheap. you have an ef saay you could get a b20 bottom ffor 200 bucks for a really good block and a b16 tranny the mounts from a da integra and the head from a b16 for all around 1000 so 1200 gets you most of the things you need for the swap ebay header and test pipe together cost 200 shift linkage from a da integr 20 bucks and the axles i do believe have the same spline count so usse those and then b16 ecu and harness bamn you have a decent ls vtec. then when you have more money get a b16 crank and b20 rods and then p78 pistons then bamn theres a bunch more horse looking at 200+ at the wheels and you just learned a shit load to so that you can improve it more.. just saying.. i made it soundmore complexe then it is

22 people found this helpful.
180

thanks for all the answers guys, let me ask you guys another question my engine stock is a 1.5l but i see alot of people saying its an ef engine but my car is a 1.5l dx not and ef. also i wanted to let you guys know that my transmission is a 4 speed not a 5. my civic hatch was made in canada. but heres my dilema, i here a lot of "old school " racers say a 4 speed is better to go because the 5th gear is just pretty much overdrive, they were also telling me that if i can shift through my 4 gears faster than a person with 5 gears that my car could be faster because i have less gears. they were also saying about the older american cars that only came with 3 gears and they were beating cars with 5 gears, i dont know thats why im intrusting you guys for help because i here so much different stuff. thanks guys

4 people found this helpful.
180

also its a 1990 honda civic hatch dx model if that helps you guys?

4 people found this helpful.
2,165

for ur gears having a 4 or 5 speed wont make a difference on acceleraion a 5th gear with give u a higher top speed but for acceleration u need to look into gear ratios...my trans am has a final gear ratio of 4.10 which would accelerate faster than car with 3.80, but the car with 3.80 would have a higher top speed and accelerate faster in high gears(with both having the same amount of gears)

3 people found this helpful.
695

'ef' is the year/series/body code, not the engine code.

4 people found this helpful.
1,365

ok well takoda, a b20 bottom end would be a cr-vtec, b18 bottom end would be ls-vtec. 5th gear is sort of an overdrive. all b series trannys are 5 speed. personnally i am building a b18. if your looking for quicker excelleration get the b16 tranny, it is shorter gears. if you plan on going N/A try to get as much compression as you can. if your going for boost, keep the compression lower or you will blow the motor with higher psi from the turbo. get basically the drive line off the integra, everything will match up. if you can find a b18c motor you will be looking at alot of power for cheap, you can find these in the 94+ integra gsr or the jdm integra si/sir

6 people found this helpful.
2,445

ok i thought an ls vtec was just a non vtec block with vtec head but there is only so much compression that you want even for a na setup especially if you want it for a dd. and there are alot of guys that do high hp k series turbo builds that use the a2 and just put in a metal headgasket and arp head studs that can make absolutley rediculous power with minimal boost and a good tune

180

HEY GUYS IM BACK QUICK QUES. I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE TELLING ME TO GET LIKE A B16, OR B18 TO GO FAST BUT WHAT ABOUT A ENGINE FROM LIKE A 1998 HONDA CIVIC, THATS WHAT IM DRIVING NOW. ACCORDING TO THE INTERNET MY CAR STOCK, MY HATCH COMES WITH AROUND 70 HORSE POWER, COULDNT I JUST DROP 98 ENGINE INSIDE?? ITS A 1.6L I GUESS WHAT IM TRYING TO ASK IS INSTEAD OF BUYING A B SERIES FOR $2,000 WHY NOT JUST PUT A 1.6 THATS GOT AROUND 127HP THEN AD A HEADER COLD AIR THEN IT SHOULD BE AROUND MAYBE 150HP MY HATCH. I KNOW HATCHES OUT THERE ARE PUSHING 500 HP BUT I DONT WANT TO DROP MY LIFE SAVING INTO A CAR?? JUST ENOUGH TO GO SOME WHAT FAST?? IS 150-160HP FAST FOR A HATCH BACK?

5 people found this helpful.
1,365

yes the 1.6 does make a difference. im running a stock d16y7 in my 96 hatch, and ive blown the doors off of my buddy with a d15b7 in his 95 hatch, he has a cold air intake. mine is staight out of the air box. i would suggest getting a vtec head for any engine you put in. will make a difference. just make sure to get a vtec ecu, one of my buddies didnt by mistake.

5 people found this helpful.
180

THANKS KEITH I HERE ALL THE TIME GUYS WANT TO PUT BOOST AND TURBOS AND ALL THESE GADGETS BUT LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET FULL!! THE REASON WHY I ASKED BECAUSE IM GETTING THE ENGINE FROM A LOCAL JUNK YARD BUT I DIDNT KNOW LIKE YOU MENTION ABOUT THE VTEC HEAD ANY IDEAS ON WHERE TO GET ONE, LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET, ALSO MY CAR STOCK WITH THE 1.5L IS ONLY 70 HP SO IF I WENT TO A 1.6L WHICH IS ROUGHLY ACCORDING TO GOOGLE HAS BETWEEN 127-132HP WOULD THERE BE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, KEEP IN MIND I WANT TO ADD COLD AIR, AND HEADERS SO MAYBE PUSHING 165 WHAT DO YOU THINK? I HERE GUYS SAY THAT SINCE HATCHES ARE SO SMALL IF YOU PUT 150HP IN ONE YOU WILL BE FLYING DOWN THE ROAD, YOUR THOUGHTS??

2 people found this helpful.
180

THANKS KEITH I HERE ALL THE TIME GUYS WANT TO PUT BOOST AND TURBOS AND ALL THESE GADGETS BUT LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET FULL!! THE REASON WHY I ASKED BECAUSE IM GETTING THE ENGINE FROM A LOCAL JUNK YARD BUT I DIDNT KNOW LIKE YOU MENTION ABOUT THE VTEC HEAD ANY IDEAS ON WHERE TO GET ONE, LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET, ALSO MY CAR STOCK WITH THE 1.5L IS ONLY 70 HP SO IF I WENT TO A 1.6L WHICH IS ROUGHLY ACCORDING TO GOOGLE HAS BETWEEN 127-132HP WOULD THERE BE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, KEEP IN MIND I WANT TO ADD COLD AIR, AND HEADERS SO MAYBE PUSHING 165 WHAT DO YOU THINK? I HERE GUYS SAY THAT SINCE HATCHES ARE SO SMALL IF YOU PUT 150HP IN ONE YOU WILL BE FLYING DOWN THE ROAD, YOUR THOUGHTS??

2 people found this helpful.
180

THANKS KEITH I HERE ALL THE TIME GUYS WANT TO PUT BOOST AND TURBOS AND ALL THESE GADGETS BUT LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET FULL!! THE REASON WHY I ASKED BECAUSE IM GETTING THE ENGINE FROM A LOCAL JUNK YARD BUT I DIDNT KNOW LIKE YOU MENTION ABOUT THE VTEC HEAD ANY IDEAS ON WHERE TO GET ONE, LIKE I SAID I LIKE MY WALLET, ALSO MY CAR STOCK WITH THE 1.5L IS ONLY 70 HP SO IF I WENT TO A 1.6L WHICH IS ROUGHLY ACCORDING TO GOOGLE HAS BETWEEN 127-132HP WOULD THERE BE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, KEEP IN MIND I WANT TO ADD COLD AIR, AND HEADERS SO MAYBE PUSHING 165 WHAT DO YOU THINK? I HERE GUYS SAY THAT SINCE HATCHES ARE SO SMALL IF YOU PUT 150HP IN ONE YOU WILL BE FLYING DOWN THE ROAD, YOUR THOUGHTS??

1 people found this helpful.
1,365

for the vtec head, you can take it off any honda d series eninge. the 96-00 civic si has a 1.6l one. and yes hatches are much lighter, for your year the hatch is about 200 pounds less than the sedan.

10

Hey i have a BIG question if someone can answer it ill apriciate...so i have a 98 honda civic Dx 4door AUTOMATIC n I want to slap on a b16b without converting it stickshift anybody knows wat I need????

1 people found this helpful.
10

pull all the injection system out, wire a supply/ feed to vtec and bolt on the side a twin carb, increases the power and sounds the dogs.

1 people found this helpful.
20

I have d15 engine with 8 valve. I have plan to swap just the head. what year and model can it fit on my d15b8 block, and I need to get more horse pwr. I don't have lot off money to buy b18 can some one help?

2 people found this helpful.
10

Whats the biggest motor I put in my 1995 civic vtech 1.6 I wanna replace my d16z6 without changing my transmission ???

1 people found this helpful.
10

Simple-ish question for ya'll. How many hours does it take to take a b18 swap out of an 89 civic dx hatch, to change the throw out bearing, or simply drop in a new clutch and tranny. I've been told there are two ways, one to pull the block, or drop the suspension/exhaust and pull the tranny that way. Really, I just want to know a relative time frame to get this done.

1 people found this helpful.
40

I have a question I have a 1988 Honda Civic hatchback with a 1.5 I'm wanting to turn in into a 5 speed instead of a 4 speed is there any transmission that's compatible with it without me having to change anything else?

4 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 1998 honda civic EX with doch v-tech 5 speed b16 series m motor its ok has stock 127 horsepower and 108 ft pounds of torque im planning on keeping engine the same and rebuilding the inside with performance from v-tech

10

How hard is it to do i d16 to b16 swap on a 91 civic hatchback?

1 people found this helpful.

Hey I have a question no have a honda civic with a d16a engine and I want to turbo charge it with out doing internal work to it

I have a b18 with a automatic transmission in my 94 Civic 4 door it's in but it won't shift thru the gears I'm stuck what do I need to do to get it to go thru the gears

10

Can d d15 b 7 be change wit d 1.6 liter engine???

1 people found this helpful.

I have a 94 Honda Civic hatchback with 1.5 engine D15b. I want to know if I can swap for another engine. Using the same CPU and harnesses

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