Help me through my engine depression issue...

D15, D16, D17 and Mini-Me swaps
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Help me through my engine depression issue...

By DJSilkie
- Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:34 pm #65903 I have come to the conclusion that the be series engine are beautiful, and the d series...well...atleast MY D series is nothing to gawk at...

yeah, I've got headers and exaust, and a fancy intake. I did a wire tuck and the whole bit...but I have...what...like...110 - 120 hp? what's cool about that?

From what I understand, the d15b7 single head over cam 1.6 liter 4 cylinder honda engine is pretty much the bottom of the berrel as far as these engines go...

...tell me...is there anything great about them? I am just very upset to know that its going to cost me thousands upon thousands of dollars to get me to where I would "like" to be...because I'm so far...uh...behind?
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By suspendedHatch
- Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:38 pm #65931 Even with those upgrades you're probably at about 90-105 whp. A D16Z6 might get you 110-115 whp. The thing is, you don't even "feel" horsepower. The force that puts you back in your seat is TORQUE, and not many Honda engines have it. The B16A for instance has very similar torque to the D16Z6.

Seriously, no matter what Honda engine you have, an intake, header, and exhaust are not going to net you any impressive gains.

If you really want to have some fun with a Civic, drop a B18C in it and leave the engine stock (except maybe the intake since you don't normally get one with the swap and it probably wont fit right anyway). The 2 stage intake manifold that comes stock on this engine brings the power in early and keeps it going all the way up to the ridiculously high redline.
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By DJSilkie
- Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:12 pm #65993
suspendedHatch wrote:Even with those upgrades you're probably at about 90-105 whp. A D16Z6 might get you 110-115 whp. The thing is, you don't even "feel" horsepower. The force that puts you back in your seat is TORQUE, and not many Honda engines have it. The B16A for instance has very similar torque to the D16Z6.

Seriously, no matter what Honda engine you have, an intake, header, and exhaust are not going to net you any impressive gains.

If you really want to have some fun with a Civic, drop a B18C in it and leave the engine stock (except maybe the intake since you don't normally get one with the swap and it probably wont fit right anyway). The 2 stage intake manifold that comes stock on this engine brings the power in early and keeps it going all the way up to the ridiculously high redline.


Unless I can drop a b18c in my engine bay with no training and 20 bucks. It aint gonna happen. As it is I can barely make it up hills.
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Re: Help me through my engine depression issue...

By teal_dx
- Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:25 pm #65997
DJSilkie wrote:From what I understand, the d15b7 single head over cam 1.6 liter 4 cylinder honda engine is pretty much the bottom of the berrel as far as these engines go...


hey it's a step above the D15b8 (70 hp cx motor) :hehe:


Learn to love your D15b7's fuel economy, that's about all it is good for.

If a full swap makes you nervous, you could always try a mini-me swap with a z6 or y8 head.
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By BAXTER_EJ1
- Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:17 pm #66007 As soon as school is done I'm saving for a JDM B18C :thumb:
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By DJSilkie
- Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:05 am #66021 It's not that I'm nervous...it's that I'm broke lol. I mean, I have lots of friends that do swaps. I have a friend actually that did a b18 swap into his rex. He'd be able to help me just fine.
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By Faded_Milano
- Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:14 pm #66124 at least you have 16 valves :x

you're 30 bhp ahead of me
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By biretsu89
- Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:22 pm #66157 To make a CIVIC fast.... it will take a decent amount of money. (especially if you dont put cheap parts on) If you want to feel faster and be faster..c.. I would do was suspendedhatch said.... OR you can put in a b18b ( Ls motor with 145 hp/ 127ft lbs of torque i think?) .... if you want a little bit more power... do a head swap with a d16z6 head and then maybe in the future ... turbo? (turbo does cost a pretty penny though)...

I dont know what hannibalhekki is talkin about getin a d16z6 for 150$ lol... but I would recommend a d16z6... I used to have a honda civic Vx d15z1 (92 hp/ 97 ft lbs)... the z6 is way more zippier and the transmission from the si motor is freakin awesome compared to the vx's trans.
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By DJSilkie
- Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:40 am #66192 I have always contimplated an engine swap, but If I was gonna save up to take all the trouble in swapping out engines, I wouldn't go through all that for a "slight" engine upgrade. I would want to save up several thousand dollars over a year or so and swap out my d15b7 for a b18c Type R (200 hp at 8,200 rpm) AND a full HKS turbo kit. I'd also shave and repaint my entire engine bay, get woven hoses, and finish my wire tuck by moving all the hard stuff.

I would want to the project to be pretty massive and one big jump.
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By OleFolk
- Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:44 am #202913 Damnit now im all depressed cause I just blew my load on a D15b Vtec for my little hatch...

Now im broke.. :cry: ..Cant even afford headers
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By OleFolk
- Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:53 am #202914 theres ss headers on ebay for $18 dollars
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