Mild power gain for a 5th gen DX hatch?
 

Hey folkes,

I have a 93 DX hatch that's been in the family since ... uhm, 93. I just inherited it and it's only got about 100k and I don't want to have to fiddle with it too much.
Well since I got it a few months ago, I put in a cold air kit and some accel spark plug wires. My exhaust is rattling and it's in my Todo list down the road.
I'm wondering what you guys would recommend as a decent upgrade without having to resort to taking it some place (as in the case of the exhaust). Should I invest in a distributorless ingition system & coil? or maybe a cam swap or new head? injectors perhaps? What's the next logical step?
Also, from a suspension point of view, any must-have's I should consider? like maybe a sway bar or a coil overs kit? Looks are not too important to me, the car is beautiful enough as stock. Budget is not a very big issue either, but again it has to be something doable in my naked garage and I want to take things slow and gradual 'till I know the car very well.
I might spray it mildly next summer too.

No feedback? Noone cares?
Thanks.

i would say exhaust if it rattles... i know you dont want to go to a shop... you don't have to. if you have a ratchet and wrenches you can do it!
other than that you could look into a mini me setup! do the major boltons tho... intake/header/exhaust and a high flo cat

Is it easy to clamp together the pipes or would I be better off taking it somewhere to get the whole thing done?
I'd love to do the piping myself, doesn't crappy tire sell pre-bent pipes? Just seems easier to let a pro shop do it, they'd get the right measurements and will likely weld it. better than what I can offer.

pipes? go to an exhaust shop, if you're looking for gains too go for catback not just axle back, you can get prebent pipes but most likely they'll be crush bent not mandrel bent... if you want to go for gains do it right, if you just want to experiment on your car etc then do big jobs like exhaust yourself... :shrugs:

I am looking for power gains and I'm aware that doing that on exhaust typically means taking it to the shop.
That's why I said I'm not worried about exhaust right now, anything else I can do to gain a few horses?

exhaust can be a bolt on affair man... get a catback system and you can literally bolt it on

^^ yep, catback exhaust are easy to install yourself... Dont waste your money on the digital ignition, maybe when you get the nitrous think aboput it, but even a mild 55 shot you wont need it... Personally I would start with a complete tuneup.. New spark plugs, cap and rotor, fuel filter, maybe a pvc valve... Those are all things you can do yourself, and also become more familiar with the car and how its setup...

Head swap, you will need more than a naked garage to finish the job properly (like you will need proper tools, and the knowledge..)

Suspension, Get new struts (koni, Tokicos, or KYBs) and the lowering springs at the same time...Trust me on this one, save your money and do it right.. Then add some swaybars front and back, then strut bars, and lower tie bars.. and of course get some nice solid rimms and rubber! Then you can start looking at your brakes.. Personoally IMO you should concentrate on suspension and brakes before the engine.. my reasoning is that its safer for when you do go faster, and a d16y7 will never really be fast anyway ( I own one with nitrous on it, and yah d series are slow), so might as well have a sick ass handeling car:D

Awesome advice bro.

You just opened a whole new can of worms though...

New spark plugs: What's a kind type? Do I have to buy the tool to yank them out? or just rent it somewhere?

cap and rotor: Does that really help?

fuel filter: does that mean I have to open my gas tank? or is it located somewhere else?

maybe a pvc valve: I just got a new stock one of those, what does it do and how can it help?

... Those are all things you can do yourself, and also become more familiar with the car and how its setup... : indeed

For all the suspension stuff, I'm gonna have to bug you 'bout some of those things later. Thanks again!

First I'd recommend doing the maintenance on your car which means the exhaust....

and then your next step would be timing belt and water since they do need to be replaced... and I'm sure theres of things as well... just can't think right now

yes! do the timing belt if it hasnt been done yet... its crutial to have it done every 100k as preventative maintenence...

My advice would be to get a shop manual for your car first.. Read up on all those maintence things, then ask any questions you cant figure out in the book..

and the fuel filter is under the hood..very easy to replace.. and the cap and rotor is regeualr maintenece...whether it will help or not depends on how bad the old one was.... you have new plug wires, do a TCC search on pluggs read what other use, then make a decision, most people will say to buy copper pluggs... then do the cap and rotor, and your ignition sytem will be like brand new:thumbup:

The shop manual will guide you though all these installations... spark plug socket with a long extention for it would be a nice purchace for you :D cheep too...

When I said this I ment before the performance improvement engine stuff..

do all the engine maintenece stuff before anything..like even before suspension tuning ect...

you should consider boost or a B18B swap, but do brakes and susp before you make any further mods.

I changed my pads & drums all around recently.
My timing belt looks in REALLY good condition (the car was driven by a lady for 9 years). I mean the engine is brand spanking new!
Remember, it just turned 62,000 MILES (american car).
I already dropped a set of ACCEL wires, seemed to help a little. Gonna do my plugs and rotor next weekend.
So fuel filter is a simple change... k, keep that in mind.
I hear the water pump is really hard to access.
I bought a service manual for the car, it's taught me a lot. I used it to install and wire the radio antenna which didn't come with the car, what a nightmare that was... had to remove the whole front dash, seats, steering, airbag, ...
For the B18B swap... isn't that an entirely different engine? I'm not looking to discard my cheesy B15B7 yet, it's too young to die.
Thanks guys for the input... really.
If okay with the webmasters, I might post a few pix to show off points of interest.

yeah, if you can post pics that would be primo!

you are right, the D15 is too young to die... just do intake, header, exhaust... and ignition upgrade, perform a mini-me build to gain VTEC, and you'll be in good shape.

VTEC on a 93 DX? <confused>
Don't I need a new ECU and everything else that goes with it? Is that even possible on an SOHC? Sorry for the n00bness

Also, the point where the header & exhaust meet... is that a weld or a bolt? Thanks

yup vtec on 93's the si's came with a d16z6 wich is a vtec version of a d16. you need a bit of stuff but it would be one of the best mods you can do... ima do it to my d15! and the header bolts to the cateletic converter and the cat bolts up to the b piping i think

Great! (re: bolts for header)

I might tackle the vtec mod later if it is doable.

this will be a mild setup for your car so bare with me


brakes:
brembo blank rotors (no slotted or drilled) with AEm pads for the front seegin how you have drums in the back

motul brake fluid
stainless steal lines

suspension

H&R sport springs with kyb AGx shocks 1.5 inch drop

or for a more stock look pro kit's with koni reds

strut bars yada yada

get an alignment

motor

i/h/e then call her quits until you wanna swap the mtoor out cause a d series isnt' worth the effort unless yoru gonna turbo charge it or spray the **** outta it

light weight rims (rota make excellent ones) 15 inch or smaller

falken azenis rubber all around

then probobly a stronger clucth for the harder driving you will be executing....a exedy organic with a lightened fly wheel with a short shifter and stabilizer bushign will help shifting alot

this all is a good 5-6000 easy for good parts......

That's a lot of exterior/suspension work and little engine work!
Not to mention a LOT of work, something like stainless steel lines I assume is a nightmare to install.

Remember, the engine is still young, Not ready to swap it anytime soon. And when I am, the car will be too old to work with.
There's gotta be a way to get more HP's than just i/h/e
I'm thinking a more agressive camshaft or get myself an ECU programmer?