cmiller_01ex

i want to build a kit my self what all do i need? like specs and everything for piping and what not. i dont want to buy a kit because i want more boost then they give.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

what's your HP goal..?

cmiller_01ex

lets put it this way there is no max hp i want to reach.lol as high as i can go. and i dont care about how much im going to build this over time.i just want to be smoking the s2000's, si's and so on at the strip. i also want the sound.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

well, if you build it right, you can make retarded horsepower.. there's a guy that was making 489 horsepower on his D17A2 with a stock bottom end, so you need a horsepower goal and or build budget before you go about trying to find out what you need

cmiller_01ex

im thinking i want a first hp goal of 400 then. and money aint an issue i'll buy parts till im 30 if i need to.lol i just want to learn how to do it and then go out and do it. i have a group of friends that also own civics i had the best till one pulled out a 08 lol but now i want to be the best again.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

But, to answer your question (assuming no budget in mind), and make sure you read all of it instead of skimming over it.

Obviously, you'll need the turbo. The aforementioned build (and the turbo I've been looking at getting) utilized a Garrett GT3076R ball bearing, oil/water cooled turbo. If you don't feel like shelling out the money for that turbo, a T3 should do you fine. With that said, you're gonna need to get a turbo manifold to accompany this. You'll also need to get oil to/from the turbo, as well as getting engine coolant to/from the turbo. Obviously gonna need piping, intercooler, BOV, wastegate, etc... The basics of a turbo kit. Depending on how much boost you wanna run, you're prolly not gonna wanna run with the OEM plastic intake manifold, so you'll have to get some custom fab work done there. That pretty much sums up the basics hardware of the kit. But you're not nearly done there yet.

The most important part of safely running a turbo is your fuel system and management. Now, I belive that if you want to run at least 5 psi, you need at least RSX injectors. That takes your OEM 215cc/min injectors and upgrades them to (I believe) 310cc/min. Future higher boost might warrant the use of 450 or 525 cc/min injectors, or even as high as 1000cc/min injectors (rc I think is the company) You might also want to look into converting to a return style fuel system. That requires either getting a custom fabbed fuel rail (to support high volume fuel if you wanna run higher boost in the future) or modding your OEM fuel rail and adding an external fuel pressure regulator. To facilitate this extra fuel demand, you're gonna wanna upgrade your fuel pump, as well. The walbro 255lph is what everyone seems to be running. To manage the extra fuel delivery, I guess you can start off with a GOOD quality piggyback unit.. I've heard the AEM FI/C yielded promising results. But if you want ultimate reliability, a standalone is what you wanna get. The management of choice is the hondata k-pro. This, however, requires that you find a donor RSX, RSX-S, RSX-R, etc. ECU. That will run you $1175 plus the cost of the ECU. Now find a good tuner and a dyno to work with all this for you. You may want to run a wideband O2 sensor to monitor. Don't bother with those cheap-o a/f gauges that monitor narrowband because all that'll give you is a pretty light show that sweeps back and forth, flashing red, amber, and green in your face. An AEM UEGO wideband will work fine. Also, the stock MAP sensor can only handle 10psi, so you may want to upgrade that as well (AEM makes high capacity map sensors that can handle 1BAR, 2 BAR, 3.5BAR, 5BAR (1 BAR = 14.7psi).

Now, i've heard you can run 8psi safely on stock internals. If you wanna run higher boost, you'll want to upgrade the engine itself. The D17A2 runs a relatively high compression for boost (9.9:1). Wiseco makes a piston set for the D17 that lowers the compression to 8.8:1. The lower compression makes it safer to run higher boost. You also may wanna run with forged rods just for safety purposes, too. Also, to run ridiculous HP numbers, you're gonna wanna upgrade the cam. All of the cams that crower makes (stage 1, stage2 n/a, stage 2 turbo, stage 3) are the same price, so might as well shoot for the sky, right? From what I've read, the d17 is still streetable even with a stage 3 cam. However, with the stage 2 and 3 cams, you will HAVE to upgrade the valve springs and retainers.

You'll also need an clutch that'll handle the higher torque, so make sure you look into that, too.

That pretty much sums up what you'll need. Just remember, the thing that'll make or break your setup is a GOOD TUNE. Make sure you find a tuner that knows what the hell he (or she) is doing. If your tune ends up running lean conditions, beefed up internals will only last a bit longer against detonation damage as opposed to stock internals. If you get a good tune, detonation shouldn't be a problem. Your money should be primarily spent on engine management and a good fuel system. Keeping your engine happy is the #1 priority, and if you can keep it happy while throwing more boost at it, you should be fine.


Now, after reading all that, it may seem like I've been there, done that, got that t-shirt. No. I tried boosting my civic a while back, but decided to do it the cheap way. Bought a kit off another member, decided to go to (what I thought was) a good tuner, and he convinced me to tune with an APEX'i VAFC-II. Terrible idea. All this information, I really have to give credit to andyman97 because he's the guy that made the ridiculous turbo setup. Ever since I've gone back to n/a, I've been trying to re-learn everything I thought I knew about turbos. I'm not gonna slap a turbo on my car again until I feel 100% confident that I know what the hell I'm talking about and have the funds to do it right. I have an AEM FI/C sitting around in my room right now, and I think I may re-start my turbo setup with that and run MAYBE 8psi. I'd be happy breaching 200whp, but if the turbo itch hits me bad enough, I'll upgrade to the k-pro and go ***** to the wall with it.

Search the F/I forum (both the general and the 7thgen specific one) and you'll find some good info.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Here's his mod list related to his turbo build. He made 489whp and 360.4ft-lbs torque @ 31psi

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Damn that's one hella post Good info but you haven't answered MY question. Can I boost 31lbs with an ebay kit and stock internals to make 550whp? With a Vtakk head?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I will drive up to Ontario to kick you in the *****, Tom..

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

And I like to pretend I know stuff sometimes

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Sorry dude, I guess I skimmed through it... lol

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

bwahaha

cmiller_01ex

bro...that just blew my mind.lol honestly i have never even attempted to do something like this i am probable going to start out with a good turbo but run it at a low boost. will that be a good thing? then i could do all the other stuff? or should a do it all at once? i mean i wouldnt mind just having the sound for a little while and a little more power.i mean is that the way to go?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Starting off slow is how I'm gonna go about re-boosting my car. When I decide to re-do it, I'm prolly gonna start out at about 5-6 psi. From what I'm to understand, you can safely run 8 psi on stock internals. Also, a big make or break thing for most engines is partial boost tuning. The tuner I went to only did WOT tuning, so when I wasn't flooring it and the turbo was spooled up, the engine wasn't receiving enough fuel. For metering, a good investment (as mentioned in my monster post) is a wideband a/f gauge. It's a bit pricey, but well worth it. I'm not boosting right now, but I still have mine hooked up, and I've definitely had to use it, still.

cmiller_01ex

so going slow is the best? and dude i see the begining of a great friendship.lol thanks a lot man. oh also if i turbo it can i spray it too? or would that be to much? and i have always wanted to turbo and super charge. just to say i did it. is that possible?

cmiller_01ex

oh and i forgot a probably major point. i have a automatic. is that going to change alot or what?

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

No turbo and super charge. It's one or the other. Besides, they never made a supercharger for these engine anyway so your only option is turbo. Automatic is not ideal that's for sure. I see a tranny swap in the future, 5spd is so much better anyway. The transmissions on these cars are pretty bad I wouldn't boost on it.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

The auto tranny can't handle very high torque. I'm not sure how high the auto boosted members are running, but I can't imagine it's more than 5psi.. And they don't make a SC for the D17. You'd have to go through all sorts of fabrication to make, say, a D16 SC fit the D17..

The D17 auto tranny is pretty shitty as ^^ mentioned

Edit: ^mentioned that they don't make a SC for the D17.. reading > me

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

I vote Josh (xrice) for forced induction mod! Who do I suggest this to?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

uh.. another mod or admin?

but.. I have little experience with it.. lol. I just know how to read and I'm good at remembering important ****.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

That's all you need man... you knaw more than you think you do.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

We will see... I wanna see some pics of this car miller !!! pics FTW.

cmiller_01ex

im gonna take some probably tomorrow or the next day its like raining outside and i have a party goin on.lol and how much you think a tranny swap is? and how hard is it to do and what all do i need?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Prolly kinda pricey to swap..

http://www.7thgen honda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18057

Take the space out of the URL

cmiller_01ex

bumer even if i do it myself? could i get a used trans? i mean i have a few junkyards around here that are bound to have one then ebay has also been a friend. lol but is it difficult?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Hell if I know.. My car's been a stock from the get go.. I can't imagine it'd be a fun swap

cmiller_01ex

lol damn.... but oh well it'll be worth it. i mean i know it'll probably already have the hole for the trans to go through and then i'll have to swap the console but imma get it done

cmiller_01ex

hey i got another question when doing a trans swap should i just go ahead and rebuild the trans? and if so would it be better to just buy a housing?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

If it's a good transmission, you shouldn't need to rebuild it.. I'd say before you drop it in, get it looked at by a tranny shop to tell you if it's good or not..