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Ok guys i am new here, though not new to cars in the slightest. What i want to do is build i mild performance motor. In all honesty I want 250, maybe 300 HP max. what i really mean by this is, I want a realistic number of horsepower, with proven inexpensive parts (more honestly 250 at the max ).

I want to accomplish this with a turbo running about 8 psi, and if i can get away with it stock internals.

the turbo I am looking at is the T25.
new ones seem to be cheap on there own, and from my own research they are on many factory production cars (in other words not crap that will blow up)

amazon link Amazon.com: Godspeed Universal T25 Internal Wastegate Turbo Charger: Automotive
(yes i know its amazon, but I am looking around suggestions welcome)

honestly I do not care about a high performance set of headers unless it will make a massive difference, I would rather go with some cast ones.

like these (obviously the exact ones will change depending on the exact b series i can find)

Civic Integra del sol B B16 B18 Cast T25 Turbo Manifold | eBay

from there on i am a little stuck. and need some help with things

1. I have no idea what kinda of ecu is appropriate.

2. What kind of Blow off valve do i need. what are the major differences?

3. the built in waste gate is set to 8 psi, i don't really need another waste gate if I want to stay at 8 (which i do)

4. what are a good set of injectors? please remember i am not trying to go crazy.

5. I have read that i can snag an inter cooler from a junk yard, at the level i am on, am I really going to notice a difference with something that costs about twice my turbo.

what else do i need, I know i need piping but i don't know how big how much or how to put them together, I am an awful welder, but i have a friend who is really good (art student in sculpture)

is there anything else I need?

what else should i know, obviously this wont be for a while, as i am still the the process of finding the car and the motor.


Please remember i am new to not only the Honda world, but turbo'd engines and imported cars. I don't yet know who makes the best parts or which website to buy them from.

As a final reminder, I am not trying to go nuts with this car. I just want what would be a "factory" turbo set up, so my idea of 250 HP may be unrealistic.


please keep the arguments to a minimum, I am looking for info!

THANKS

~Alex

 
Rep Power: 284

I'm going to be honest, it sounds like a turbo set-up might be a bit more aggressive a build than your prepared for. I'll do my best to help you though.

Running a small turbo is fine, but it will undoubtly limit the amount of power you make. On that turbo 250hp is actually quite optimistic at 8psi, I would think you would be closer to 225hp. Also keep in mind that just because OEM manufacturers use that design of turbo, doesn't mean the quality is the same. I would hit the junk yard or craigslist and search for a deal on a mitsu 14B or something similar. You don't need a ebay turbo exploding and destorying your engine.

RC makes good injectors, 350cc would probably do, but I would go with 450cc so you have a bit more room while tuning.

A cast turbo manifold is just fine, not all are created equal though. OBX also makes a relatively inexpensive turbo manifold that comes with a lifetime warranty, you just need to just need pay for shipping on warranty claims though.

You need ARP head studs, a better head gasket, and a ton og of random oil lines and fittings.

On the ECU you have 3 solid options; chrome, neptune or hondata s300. Chrome is cheap and it works, but it doesn't have some of the built in safety features to prevent destorying your engine; you can ask my friend who blew up his 800hp B-series on the start line last week lol. Neptune is fantastic, I hate that they don't offer a system for K-series engines. It's more adjustable than chrome or Hondata and has the built in safety features that you definitely want. Hondata is great, but it has the downside of needing to buy a $600 handheld tuning unit to connect to the ECU, which at one point wasn't a big deal, but now you can buy a $200 laptop for tuning the other systems with and just keep it under your seat.

Your going to need to budget for a couple hours of tuning, don't forget that and it costs a solid $150 an hour.

My last peice of advice, don't buy a B-series. Save some money and get a good D-series like the D16Y8. Put the money you save there into spending a bit more on the turbo and getting a set of stage 2 turbo cams and you'll make more power than you would on your planned B-series.

 
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OK, that makes sense. but honestly i am ok with 225 ish. Part of the whole project is learning, and this is the first step for me. Honestaly i didn't know about the tuning part. also there is nowhere is Massachusetts that will do it, i would have to take it to guys out of state. Could i learn to tune it myself.

also this project will slowly be pieced together, so i don't mind taking my time and getting slightly better quality parts.

could you maybe send me some links to low price turbos that are not gonna blow on me. or if there are some in a sticky i missed it.

I read you article throwing a turbo on accord.

so using that info, could i just tune it myself. if that is completely unrealistic then it is no big deal. the tuning will just be the last part.

I plan on doing everything myself. and i might document it for all to see.

BUT this will be a long process. I don't even own a civic yet : P

i just want to go in with a plan and learn all i can ahead of time. I am hitting up dealerships and people this coming weekend to get an idea of what is out there.

d and b motors seem to be most plentiful around me, and the cheapest so i know i am going with one of those cars.

that and i am a college student, but hey i have time to put together a motor and I don't mind if this happens over the next few years


some questions

what sets the d16y8 apart so much that i should consider it over the b series. not arguing, but like i said it a precess of learning.

 
Rep Power: 284

Stock any B-series is better than a D16y8, simply because they're built for performance with dohc as opposed to sohc style heads. When built though the D16Y8 has massive potential though, I have 3 friends running over 500hp on them. A D1Y8 is the stock engine in a 6th gen Civic EX and has fewer moving parts to be upgraded, so building that engine will work much better with a low budget and it's less expensive up front.

For an inexpensive turbo just buy a used one of of a skyline, talon, eclipse, impreza, volvo etc and rebuild it. That will give you a quality peice on a low budget.

Tuning, no, you can't do it yourself. A street tune is sketchy at best, even if you have a lot of experience and have a superb understanding of the way an engine works you'll get moderate results. You want to be tuned on a dyno (at least a $70k machine) by a good experienced tuner who specializes in Honda engines. To put in perspective how important tuning is: I know someone flying a tuner in from Florida, I live in Vancouver, paying all his expenses plus $500 an hour.