87civichb

hi i have a 88 civic hb 5 spd non vtech 1.5l. im looking to give it a little more power. i alrdy got exshaust headers cold air intake. i want or was hoping to hit around 225hp. any ideas. and i would rather not swap motors its a good running motor and i see no point in swapping if it can be done. thx for readen

Civvyftw11

rebuild internals, turbo. nuff said

MindBomber

Whats your budget, 225hp is a lot to squeeze out of a 1.5L motor. If you want to hit 225hp I'd suggest swapping, since that would be the most reliable, inexpensive, practical way to go.

87civichb

ok i have found a few turbo kits on ebay with intercooler for like $650. that would put me right around 250. but i would need to rebuild some internals to handle that. what pieces should i buy to reinforce it.

Civvyftw11

i have heard mixed reviews about ebay turbo kits, but if you don't run it at too high of a psi, it should be fine. As for internals, look around for parts built to handle higher pressure, they have kits built specifically for that but its been a while and i dont remember the names. Also if you are planning to push 225 hp out of a 23 yr old car i highly suggest you redo the cars suspension first or youre going to fly off the road.

MindBomber

No, it will not be fine.

If the OP were to use a $650 turbo kit he bought off ebay, not only would he not hit anywhere near 225hp, but he would also need to buy a new motor since his would be destroyed. One of those kits would destroy the engine and maybe put him around 175hp, even less at low boost. Not to mention that building the internals would cost thousands more. Your totally correct about the suspension though, that should come first.

The reason why people swap motors OP, is that your motor is not designed to be high performance and trying to make it perform will cost twice as much as it would on a better motor. Look into swaps, because with the right swap you could be pushing 225hp with just basic bolt ons and a lowish budget. To properly turbo your motor to 225hp, I'd say your looking at 3k on the low end.

87civichb

ok thx for info. but im alrdy around 150hp now. and at 8psi boost with a guaranteed 50-100 hp gain from manufacture of turbo kit. so 175 doubtful and if not money back. as for suspension alrdy did shocks a arm strut bars . and my internals i know if i bolt that right on it would blow. thats why i am doing some internals first. i dnt want to swap cuz evry1 swaps out of this motor i want to be different not the same car that 500 other peope have

87civichb

ok so ive decided to do a mini me swap from a d16 dohc vtech. what else will i need if any1 knows. ecu, head, ?

"goose"Jay

what a zc head? timing belt for a zc, arp head studs, very A++++ quality head gasket. make sure to unscrew the one bolt on the block deck. i might recommend swapping the bay harness so you dont have to hotwire the vtec salenoid