R1600Turbo's Civic hatch - steering rack project FINISHED!

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CodeRedR51

CodeRedR51

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Some of you have seen the car already, some haven't. Thought I would try my hand at one of these project build threads. Car is a 1996 Civic DX hatchback (D16Y7) and is currently my daily driver. Only history I know about the car is that it spent a lot of time on racetracks in California. (Willow Springs mainly) Some lingering evidence of that left over with the holes in my front bumper from the air canards and the rather large dents at the top of my front shock towers from too much suspension travel. My friend traded his street bike straight across for this car and a 1992 Si. I then bought it from him for $1,300 before he moved out of state last month.

Only mods at the moment are a Dropzone full coilover suspension, eBay header, gutted interior, Si brakes front and rear, and 15" Drag DR-21 wheels with Falken Azenis RT-615 tires. I do have lots of plans, although at the moment things will go slowly due to my limited budget and the fact that things keep breaking. Had to replace the water pump last week after it failed, and the input shaft bearing in my transmission is on it's way out right now. Hopefully things will pick up soon as I am currently looking at employment options.

Current plans include:

- D16Y8 transmission (being installed next weekend)
- D16Z6 head with Y8 intake manifold and head gasket
- ARP head studs in preparation for turbo
- T25 turbo setup (SSAC reinforced manifold, 440cc injectors, Hondata)
- EK power steering rack w/Integra GSR pinion gear for 3.2 turns lock-to-lock
- Koni Adjustable shocks
- Ground Control coilover spring kit
- ASR rear subframe brace with 22mm Civic Type R rear sway
- Front and rear Password JDM shock tower bars
- EK9 front end conversion
- 6-point roll bar

Picture of the car as it sits right now. I'll keep this thread updated as I go along. Baring any other part failures the mods should start soon. Our first track day is next weekend so I should have some photos from that as well.

DSCN2528_800.jpg


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Just finished changing out the transmission in the Civic. The original DX transmission's input shaft bearing was on it's way out and making lots of racket. (common problem on the DX transmissions) Switched it out for a Civic EX unit with shorter gearing in 2nd, 3rd, and a shorter final drive.

Drives better now and no more rock tumbler sounds from the transmission. :D

-

Next up is an alignment then Password JDM shock tower bars. :)
 
I hate Hondas... shorter gearing is always just a box-swap away... :lol: ...If only Mazda had a simple shorter final drive gear solution for the G-series transmission boxes... (simple means cheap!)

Good job!
 
Looks and sounds nice mate:)! But 440cc injectores is a low number for a turbo. Im thinking you wont get much higher than 350hp or so! Either way hope you get that one going fast:)!
 
horde_r35
Looks and sounds nice mate:)! But 440cc injectores is a low number for a turbo. Im thinking you wont get much higher than 350hp or so! Either way hope you get that one going fast:)!
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T25 flange turbos aren't exactly huuuuge, you know... they don't flow buttloads of air, so his injector size is just fine. It's not like he's working with a ton of displacement to spool a big turbo, either... I'd say he's going for a very balanced and adequately powerful setup for a light FWD car.

I can't wait to see it finished... keep us updated!

Oh and I just got some great news in regards to my S2000 project in terms of aero pieces... so excited I can hardly sleep! I'll post more on that in my own thread when they're in my possession. :)
 
Nice to see a thread about the car, always interesting to see what people are doing with their Civics, especially when they're going for the track-biased approach.

horde_r35
Looks and sounds nice mate:)! But 440cc injectores is a low number for a turbo. Im thinking you wont get much higher than 350hp or so! Either way hope you get that one going fast:)!
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Only 350bhp? He may as well give up now, right?...
 
Mate, these smart boys are messing with my words. If your looking for some corners thats a nice setup to start:)! But remember when i say a small cc injector is never ok! A saturated injector can fail and blow up your engine at any time. 300hp its ok, 350hp the injectores are in max and satured. Injectores are cheap these days! 600cc is what i recommend:)!
 
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R1600Turbo
- EK power steering rack w/Integra GSR pinion gear for 3.2 turns lock-to-lock

- Front and rear Password JDM shock tower bars
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If that steering rack mod actually works, please make a huge deal out of it. I searched so long and hard and only found one guy who tried the mod. He wasn't even done with it yet, he was just theorizing and had the parts. I never got around to it but yes, the EK rack is god awful slow.

Also, like I mentioned before, I have Password bars waiting to be sold. Where the nuts tightened on them they're a bit squished, but you could use a washer if the nuts don't line up perfectly.
 
Glubags
I'd say he's going for a very balanced and adequately powerful setup for a light FWD car.
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Exactly. This motor is only good for ~200whp anyway, so I figure a T25 is perfect and the 440cc injectors are more than adequate. My turbo Miata made 195whp on 230cc injectors. 👍

Keef
If that steering rack mod actually works, please make a huge deal out of it. I searched so long and hard and only found one guy who tried the mod. He wasn't even done with it yet, he was just theorizing and had the parts. I never got around to it but yes, the EK rack is god awful slow.

Also, like I mentioned before, I have Password bars waiting to be sold. Where the nuts tightened on them they're a bit squished, but you could use a washer if the nuts don't line up perfectly.
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I'll definitely post an update about the steering rack. I plan on doing that one soon, because the stock manual rack is really driving me nuts.

How much you want for the bars?
 
R1600Turbo
Exactly. This motor is only good for ~200whp anyway, so I figure a T25 is perfect and the 440cc injectors are more than adequate. My turbo Miata made 195whp on 230cc injectors. 👍
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Well i didnt realize it was a stock D16 engine... I was thinking more of a B16a or B16a2 with Darton... was a misunderstanding from my part. In this case the 440cc injectores are more than enough:)! In a 300HP+ turbo engine it would blow up after a few miles:scared:.
 
I see some really cheap and shoddy parts in that first post.
Dropzone is about as bottom of the barrel as it gets.
Besides the ground controls, is there no other spring you can put on the yellows? Nothing against the GCs but that's all I ever see couple with yellows.
I had an eibach kit made for the yellows.
 
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Glubags
Pretty sure he bought it like that and will rectify the situation asap. 👍
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I will when the funds become available, but it's not at the top of my list. To be honest, having driven on the drop zone stuff for over a month, they are really not that bad. The spring rates are a bit stiff which you can definitely feel cruising through rough parking lots or over rough roads. But most of our roads out here in town are fairly smooth and the suspension doesn't do too bad. I haven't had them on track yet, so not sure what to think of them there yet.

Plans right now are to get the strut tower bars, get the vtec head ported and polished then installed with ARP head studs, then get the turbo stuff rolling. Replacing the drop zones will come after that.
 
Spent the day adjusting the valve lash, putting more tension on the timing belt because there was too much slack IMO. While I had it off, painted the valve cover then spent a couple hours scrubbing the engine bay down. Not 100% finished yet, but it's getting there.

DSCN2536.jpg

DSCN2538.jpg
 
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Small update. In preparation for the next track day, I will be performing the following:

- Power steering rack swap w/Integra pinion gear
- Energy Suspension steering rack bushings
- ASR rear subframe brace
- Si rear sway bar
- Super Blue brake fluid flush

I would like to shave a few tenths off my best time. :)
 
R1600Turbo
To be honest, having driven on the drop zone stuff for over a month, they are really not that bad.
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Yes, they are.

R1600Turbo
The spring rates are a bit stiff which you can definitely feel cruising through rough parking lots or over rough roads..
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They aren't stiff actually, it's just the crappy damping making them harsh on anything but smooth roads.

My entry level Buddy Club N+ coilovers were miles ahead of the Dropzones, even with stiffer rates. In fact, I drove a civic once on whatever the cheapest Skunk 2 coilovers are, which were so low that the bumpstops looked like someone took a sledgehammer to them, and they felt better than the Drop zones.


Just sayin'.


Otherwise car seems to be coming along good, but IMO you should definitely address this before turbo-ing the car. Also, 440cc injectors seems to be a bit much for the kind of build you seem to be putting together. Unless you get an awesome deal on some DSM 440 injectors or something.
 
I plan on changing to GC's and Koni's shortly.

And the turbo plans have changed slightly. I will be running 550's with E85 on a t3/t4. Hoping for somewhere around 230whp.
 
R1600Turbo
I plan on changing to GC's and Koni's shortly.

And the turbo plans have changed slightly. I will be running 550's with E85 on a t3/t4. Hoping for somewhere around 230whp.
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My buddy has a Civic with a 16y8 with a t3/t4.

Doesn't build boost until about 4k.

Do you really plan on tracking this thing? Because that would would be just about useless around a track. You get on the gas, it takes forever to build boost, and then once it does, the tires light up. You let off the gas to stop the wheelspin, and it power falls out, so you get back on it, and you get that second of turbo lag before it comes back again, hard. You would probably be able to drive it much faster without the turbo altogether, especially around as tight as a track you have locally.



Run a smaller turbo with more psi. Which is actually what my buddy is trying to do now.

EDIT: Look how long this takes.


 
You'd be better off on a tight track with swapping in an LS engine. Lots more torque than what you have now and super cheap and common.
 
For a moment there, I was wondering, why the heck would he want an LS1? :lol:

A turbo can work... just don't go for a big one, a smaller on designed for around 200 whp or less will spool up pretty quickly... depends of course whether you want to race competitively or just lap... as most series have a multiplier for turbos that may put you at a disadvantage.

Otherwise, yes, just go for the B18 swap... or, if you're adventurous (and have some extra money), a K20... :D
 
I don't make a lot of money. In my current position in terms of budget, turbocharging the current motor he a hell of a lot cheaper than a motor swap. IF I had the money to do a swap, I would B20 vtec. (Don't ask why or try to persuade me otherwise)

I still am not 100% sure on my setup, other than the fact I have a t3 manifold sitting on my floor right now, some 550cc injectors in the pipeline, and a goal of running E85. If I splurge on a turbo I will probably do a Garrett 2554. MAYBE a 2560. IDK yet.
 
Just ordered a T3 to T25 adapter. Picked up a free intercooler from a co-worker/friend tonight from a Mazda 626. With some slight modifications, it'll work perfect.
 

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