finally started little d16 project...
 

After many hours of research ive finally decided to go for my project... boosting my 98 civic dx on 7-8 pounds. Injectors are on there way, RC370cc injectors.. I read into this a lot and came to the conclusion that 370cc should be sufficient for my goal! I really hope that all of you guys agree lol... so I have one step out of the many I have left out of the way... next I want to decide is my turbo/mani setup and the common question of internal vs. external wastegates and such, and the routes to take to save money but still have quality parts... My goal is a budget but reliable daily, I really dont want to spend an arm and a leg to achieve my goal, but I know a lot of people on here are smart and creative with their builds and didnt have to! any opinions and suggestions are welcome!

Keep in mind I am an ex DSMer and mustang guy so im not completely illiterate when it comes to engines and forced induction, but I definitely won't try to admit i know everything about it! ;) so bare with me lol

external wg are more reliable and wont allow boost spikes like an internal does...but ive seen a plenty of ppl do the dsm thing with no tune and it runs for years... this is just what i have done. 450s on 14lbs come on dont be a -----

Yeah definatly for the small amount of extra $$$ and time, external waste gates are much more reliable.

Do you have any other plans for the car? My buddy boosted a civic 97 dx (ALL stock minus new injectors) and had so much fun that 4 days later he ended up buying a new clutch. :\

good info, much appreciated for the opinion, ill go the external wastegate route then.

wouldnt mind racing it here and there at the strip but i just honestly miss having a turbocharged car and the feeling of boost... not to mention my buddy who recently passed away in a motorcycle accident had a black turbo d and he kind of inspired me to go for this! I have looked into the clutch upgrade for people who had the same goal and ive researched around and found people who did go for a better clutch and ones who just kept stock, so im kind of torn.

Both are true examples. Ive never owned a civic, so I wouldnt know what the clutch feels like and everything under more hp/tq but Ive heard of some people installing racing clutches and having a hard time getting the car moving (most complained the clutch was extremely touchy). But that problem also has alot to do with switching the flywheel out for a lighter one, I wouldnt recommend the lighter flywheel on a civic. As for your opinion, once you get the turbo and everything on I would drive around and decide wether you like the feel of the stock clutch or not.

If your still wondering about a manifold most people on low budgets (and then some who arent) lean towards ebay.

yeah ill probably just end up doing that to see what it feels like and how it responds to the added power, thanks for the advice. Well update on this is i got my hands on a little 50 trim, a fmic with all the charge piping and a turbonetics wastegate sprung to 8 lbs as well as the 370cc injectors that came in... so its starting to come together a little bit now, gotta find a mani (my minds set on cast iron, ive heard the horror stories lol) , downpipe, bov, oil feed and drain lines, and figure out something for the most important part, the tune. In due time though its a work in progress.

was talking to a guy whos had experience with turbo hondas and his advice to me in my case was a p06 ecu since its obd1 and the jumper harness for obd2 to obd1 and to have it chipped with a basemap strictly to get it to a tuneshop to where they will fully re-vamp the ecu and tune it fully for what it has and what its doing.
his main point was his stressing of the importance of the tune.

You should post up some pics if you get a chance.

Cast iron manifolds look like junk compared to SS, but they are nice because they retain more heat from the exhaust gas meaning your turbo will spool a few hundred rpm sooner. For whatever horror stories you heard.... IMO its not entirely whether the manifold is cast iron or ss, I mean both have their ups and downs; but it is who made it and the way it was machined. Shitty work = Shitty product. Some people also just have their stock manifold ported and they fabricate some kind of flange or they make the existing one work. Personally I would have a cast iron for the reliability.

p06 sounds good being that its obd1.... and while I know almost nothing about honda ecu, I know that with boosted d16's some people run p28. I have no idea whether it would work for chipping or not, just a thought.

congrats on the build! should be a sweet running little car when you get er' done. if i may suggest a company to look into for a quality manifold.... it would have to be PFabrications. I had one of there log manifolds on my S2000 build and it was excellent quality and spool time was great!

if you want to check out the website here it is: PFabrications - PFAB D-series Log manifold

Not a bad price for what ya get. the price is down since i bought from them ... i believe i payed like $400 + dolars. so you'll save $100

good luck with the rest of the build!