More Power!

Hi,

I currently own a uk spec 93 hb VTi (B16A2).

What steps can i take to get the most power out of this engine, say i've got $5000 to spend, what would you do?

What i want is the fastest street car i can get out of it, whether that means supercharger, turbo, whatever, what would you do (other than swapping the engine)!!?

Thanks

get a turbo! you can adjust the amount of boost, where as in a supercharger its already pre set. do some internal work to, cams, port in polish and pistons. it may end up being a lil more then 5000 for everything together, depending on how much boost you plan to run

[pdiggitydogg]

I say DO NOT SWAP! you already got a sweet engine if youve got $5K you could very easily put in a good turbo (Apex ball bearing *drool*) and upgrade the internals of the engine - new pistons (low compression for boost), rods, head gasket new fuel pump rail, filter, and injectors. The fuel system would be key to getting max boost from the turbo so you dont run lean on fuel; pistons and head gasket just in case youre running on high miles.

This setup will run you around or just over the 5K so pace yourself and upgrade internal first, then turbo and run lower boost, and finally upgrade the fuel and inturn run bigger boost and go faster

you've got some big cash to spend...awhole lot...youre talkin like its chump change...just be sure to buy quality parts

(oh and if you turbo...for gods sake get a turbo timer and BOV!)

The only problem i've got with getting a turbo is the maintenance. I like the idea of bolting on a supercharger and forgetting about it (easy way out i know ) But if I got a real nice turbo would I have to worry more or less about this?

Also, I originally had ideas of getting at least some half decent torque throughout the whole rev range (quite hard i've heard!), and i suppose a turbo would just give me more top-end wouldn't it?

How does a turbo react with VTEC then? Would I leave VTEC at 5500 and set the turbo higher or lower (my redline is 8000).

Also, why is it not possible to run a supercharger and a turbo? I heard this was called a compound engine so it must have been done.

Oh, and do i have to worry that my engine just had it's 100,000 birthday!?

Thanks again

[ebpda9]

i think 100k miles is a bit too much for the engine for a turbo, but have the engine compression checked and you will figure out if you need to do some work on that engine or not. as for turbo and redline i think most of the peeps start boosting at 2200rpms, so that will provide you with some nice midrange torque

[pdiggitydogg]

SC are not maintenence free...yes they do require less attention but some check up and this and that are needed. I hear that the Jackson Racing one blows belts quite often...

either way, SC or turbo, youre gonna need to do some internal engine work if your miles are 100K new pistons, rods, gaskets, cleaned up, etc.

Sorry about this but how do I check compression? Can I do it myself? Do I just buy a compression testing kit? and if the compression was ok, that doesn't mean that theres nothing else wrong with it does it?

What sort of things are expected to go wrong on an engine like this after a lot of miles? What sort of things can I expect to be repairing (if I need to)?

Do you know anyone who has turbo'd a B16A2 and if so what sort of power/torque figures they were getting, anyone got any dyno results? (whatever happened to dynocenter.com?)

So if I did do the internal work, it would counter-act the ageing process then yeah!

Sorry for all the questions, i'm learning!

Thanks

[pdiggitydogg]

yep by adding new parts you are counter-acting the aging process Granted just replacing those few things isnt going to make the engine like brand new but it will help a lot. your best bet is to head on over to the turbo forums there are lots of people that hang out there that will probably be better adept to answering your Qs than we are here...seeings how its just civics n/a and f/i check back though cause im sure some one will answer every Q you have

[silver]

the question for you regarding maintenance is the key. both a sc and turbo are high maintenance. A turbo is just a notch higher imo. A turbo or sc can be tuned to perform any way that you want. If you want to sc for high, you can tune it for it, if you want major mid range, you can tune your turbo for it. You can go all motor as well, a little more expensive but the maintenance is a little easier. Expect to use higher octane fuel, at least 103. Don't forget that you will need a equally built suspension and brakes to counteract the power of the motor. Think about what you want from your car exactly, what power numbers, what type of handling, then ask again with a more descriptive version of what your ride should be, it'll be alot easier to tell you what to do.

btw: a blow off valve and turbo timer are the two most worthless things in a turbo setup. everyone that makes a big deal out of them doesn't understand the way that a turbo system works and how to properly use one(not saying that you don't pdiggity, just maybe that you heard wrong).

[Addict]

If you are interested in turbo, ask teh 'turbo gods' in our turbo forum. There's quite a few boosted people on this board.

Originally posted by silver
btw: a blow off valve and turbo timer are the two most worthless things in a turbo setup. everyone that makes a big deal out of them doesn't understand the way that a turbo system works and how to properly use one(not saying that you don't pdiggity, just maybe that you heard wrong).

How can you say that? BOV's are like music to my ears. Granted they may not produce any additional power.

Turbo timers aren't worthless. They do help to cool the turbo system down.

i use nitrous.. it kicks ass.. just get a bottle.. VERY MAINTNANCE free...

nitrous

Originally posted by silver
btw: a blow off valve and turbo timer are the two most worthless things in a turbo setup.

shows what i know.. i always thought that it released pressure in between shifts... which i would think is pretty important?

but i really dont knwo dick about turbo.. so how abotu you fill me in..

[Addict]

Originally posted by oc civic
i use nitrous.. it kicks ass.. just get a bottle.. VERY MAINTNANCE free...

nitrous

Very true. So much fun too.

[pdiggitydogg]

they do release gasses between shifts...dont they?? it prevents back pressure on the turbine (?)

^^timers are key to cooldown...you can sit in your driveway for 1-2 minutes but who wants to do that?

[silver]

Originally posted by oc civic
shows what i know.. i always thought that it released pressure in between shifts... which i would think is pretty important?

but i really dont knwo dick about turbo.. so how abotu you fill me in..

a bov releasing the built up exhaust gas that would otherwise create backpressure and slow down the turbines of the turbo. An externally vented bov, which everyone is referring to, will cause your vehicle to run rich. After your airflow is measured by the maf, you then lose air due to the bov, therebye causing your vehicle to overcompensate in fuel causing a rich mixture. Have you ever seen a civic w/ turbo shift, here the bov, and see a little plume of smoke come out of the exhaust, that is why. A by-pass valve prevents this by venting the air back into the intake. The biggest gain that a bov will give is that it keeps you from leaking boost.

A turbo timer does not cool down a car, the car cools down the car. How intelligent is it to walk away from your car...while it is running? In order to cool down a turbo the best way is to drive it easy for the last while of your trip if you were driving hard earlier. Sitting and idling actually does not do much good for cooling off turbos(which is what your turbo timer will do), there is no movement of air.

well basically i'm looking for the fastest street car I can get out of it.

I'm aiming for about 300hp in the long run (is this possible?) with some decent torque aswell.

Suspension wise I'm willing to spend a lot, and quite a bit on the brakes but not as much.

I'm been pretty much convinced to stick my current engine, but I don't know where to start doing the ground-work for building up the engine before i start boosting.

[Addict]

Get all of your suspension done. Then move onto things like fuel & spark. After that you can get the turbo and then work on internals. I wouldn't do internals before the turbo because it will take some tuning and generally you will want to lower the compression on that B16 (since its at 10.5:1). Lowering the compression will result in a 'slug' if youdon't have boost.

[silver]

if you lower the compression you will have to raise the boost to compensate for the loss of power.

and plan on spending at least $1200 on brakes for a 300hp car.