power Increase
 

I'm curious as to how I can make more power out of my D17A1, I've done the intake, waiting on Magnaflow cat-back. Do they make a trottle body spacer for an 03 lx auto? What bold on's should i be looking at? Would a header swap be a good place to start?

Any input on this subject would be appreciated, I've got all my suspension products lined up and i'm done with all my braking! I just need a bit mor eget up and go is all!

I dont think you ll make much power from those mods... Maybe a few HPs but you ll probably wont even notice it too much. Headers are nice but they dont make a huge difference.

You could also do a mini me swap with a D17A2 ( civic si) head and a stage 2 cam ... I ve seen a few people doing that.

As much as I'd love to turbo my ride, from a reliability standpoint i just dont want to mod my ride that much! plus that's more costly than I'm looking to get into! I'm just wondering if it's possible to get fair power gains, from performance bolt on products, without major drivetrain mods?

For instance, fuel delivery, oiling system, pully swaps, cam swap, manifold?

Once you start adding the cost of those bolts on , you may be surprise to find that you gain very little power and that for a little be more you could ve 10 times the power gain ...

I believe the D1 engine makes 115 crank HP , therefore I would guess around 100 at whp ( roughly). Lets supposed you add

exhaust- 500
headers- 500
cam - 500 ( i m not sure about the price , just a guess)
others - 500

total- 2000

After all that you may be at 118 WHP maybe ( if lucky , which i doubt)

Now you can have a decent turbo install in your car for 3000 plus 500 for a good tune ( which will make it reliable) and you ll be putting out at least 160-200 WHP

I ve spend 600 in my exhaust , previous owner put headers , and the car still feels powerless ...

Even putting a D2 head in your D1 would give you 15 HP plus you ll gain vtec .. And it will probably cost you around a 1000....So if you consider a D2 head, cam, exhaust , headers, and misc , it will probably run you close to 3000 ....


Personally I think putting a D2 head with vtec would be good enough to feel a difference and you wont be spending too much plus you ll gain the almighty VTEC !!

Ok now I'm very much intrigued, thanks for the awesome breakdown Rick!

I'll definatly be looking into those mods!

no problem. Soon enough you ll get more opinions from others. So keep checking the thread.

Im not too familiar with the D17 engines though , so my estimates are pretty rough... :ohwell:

The main problem with our SOHC engines are that they do not gain much from bolts on ... A friend of mine had a camaro and he gained a lot with simple bolts on !! ( bigger engine)

from a reliability stand point a properly installed and tunes turbo setup is just as reliable as what you have.

I disagree.. Anytime you double the power your vehicle was meant to handle, it can never be as reliable as factory.

However, zeeman has been driving his turbo B16 for a few years now and I believe he's put well over 100,000km on it. So it can be reliable, but IMO not as reliable as a factory built engine.

Omg not another "get more power" question.
Intake/exhaust/header on a stock motor is like throwing cash out the window. Other than sound it won't do much. As said, turbo or engine build is the only solution.

Now just a question, you mentioned auto in one sentence. Are you serious? No offence to anybody driving auto but don't bother doing any work. If turbo'ed it will need a lot of work to make the transmission handle the power. Moreover, a manual car with less power will still take you. Tracking an auto is just brutal and not fun.

Enjoy your gas millage...maybe slap an axle back exhaust for some noise and call it a day.

Thats a good point

However putting a D2 head to add a few HP plus vtec wouldnt be bad. His tranny should be able to handle a D2 head , about 15 HP increase and 4 torque

I totally agree Chris. I guess I should have been more descriptive. Your always going to have maintenance but if you don't push the limits you can have a very reliable turbo'd car.

Thanks for everyone's input, all of it very helpful! It looks like I'll go with a D2 head for a mild gain, and perhaps re-visit more serious mods in the future. I just dont see a tranny swap in the near future, it's just not feesable since I'm not putting my ride on the track.
When i win the lottery I'll gut the car and start from scratch since the body is absolutely mint!

its not worth changing from auto to manual. May as well just geta manual

A d2 head is a great way to start and you ll def see a difference. The swap its call a mini me and you can search it on google.


good luck

If you will be doing more serious mods you will either need a good transmission shop to rebuild your auto to actually handle and work well which is absurdly expensive or swap to manual. With a turbo or even a wild all motor build, you will be breaking your auto trans regularly.

you can boosted it

Boost and honda automatics do not mix well. lol

Very expensive and not worth it to modify the auto trans to handle the power.

Agree

You can boost it , no problem , but the tranny wont be able to handle it. Unless you want to keep changing transmission every 3 months .

I'm really thinking of doing the head swap from my D17A1 to the D17A2 VTEC. I've read on the DIY forums that the Apexi VAFC2 controller is the easiest way to go (bypassing the Si ECU/harness/reflash). Anyone know a good place that has done this particular swap?

Thanks!

Contact Hivelocity tuning.

I advise against using an Apexi VAFC. Use a proper ecu or have it tuned.