Is it worth modifying a SOHC VTEC or is it just a waste of time and money?

im not sure if this has been asked or answered before, but im just wondering..

ive got a d16y1 sohc vtec civic with a cold air intake system and a catback exhaust system.. but im not sure if its worth modifying any further.. im not planning on doing a b16 conversion or anything at the moment as i dont have the time, money or expertise for a task that big..
later down the track i was planning on getting extractors and then upgrading/tuning the ecu

ive also uploaded pics of the car so yeah just wondering what you guys think..

cheers

ill get in here before people ruin your thinking.

no no point modify any further.

just save that money and then buy a b series to modify

Wrong section bud. But in answer to your question, personally I wouldn't bother doing up a NA D-series further than what you've already done. Maybe do the extractors if you really feel the need, but it isn't going to do much.

shitt sorry bout the wrong sectionn!! my badd.. thanks guys, but i have a friend with a b16 crx and ive raced him many times and won by about a car length.. but i get what u guys are saying, the b16 just has more potential?

More like your friend is either a shite driver/you're a good one, or maybe his engine is sick as a dog. An I/H/E SOHC VTEC will not keep pace with a stock B16A.


I have both engines in different cars. Done CAI and headers on the SOHC VTEC and at some point I'll do a hi-flow cat and cat-back, but I'll do it on the cheap and only because I enjoy it.
The B16A is a D-killer pretty much and worth your penny several times over by comparison.


For you I'd consider some cheap Ebay extractors but other than I/H/E don't mod your D any further - no ECU. Personally I love the D for what it is, but it's not really supposed to be a 'fast' engine (yes obviously you can turbo it) and to be honest you can spend all the money you want but ultimately you can't turn crap into gold at the end of the day.

hahah yeahh makes sense.. i dont know though, i dont have much money, so that rules out buying a b16 or turboing my d16.. but i love modding my car! i save up every now and then and spend what i have but im too impatient to keep saving and buy somethign better! heheh ill see how i go! thanks for the feedback guys

It takes some discipline to save like that for a B-series but it's worth it. You could get a B16A into your car for probably $3500 max :)

dont throw good money away, save it and buy a better car in a few years time

I think everyone has a different perception on everything. Im going to br building a D Series turbo shortly. If you wanna stay NA i'd say go B but if you want to go boost, stick with D :)

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

More like your friend is either a shite driver/you're a good one, or maybe his engine is sick as a dog. An I/H/E SOHC VTEC will not keep pace with a stock B16A.
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hmms i find it hard to believe that it can't keep pace..... b16 isn't lightening fast....

lols. compared to a d16y1 its a boeing jet.

why do people still have hope

but faster by more then 1 car length? :S

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Originally Posted by hisoka

lols. compared to a d16y1 its a boeing jet.

why do people still have hope

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Unboosted D, yes. Boosted D Series isn't that slow to be honest

this is an age old question guys...

the answer to your question is not a simple one. there are numerous factors that come into it including finances, how long until you can afford another car, how long until you can afford a B series if you wanted one, how far are you willing to go with the D series motor etc etc etc....

it is an individual value judgement. As you can see, there are people who think the B series is the answer to all of lifes questions, and others who think the D is a worthwhile investment.

you are not going to get an answer...

If you ask me... i'd do some simple breathing mods, maybe advance the timing a little bit, and then focus on doing easy small suspension mods to improve the driving feel...

Like I said, either he's a shit driver or his B16A is running sick.

But with identical health, stock B16A will screw a I/H/E D16Y1.

I drive an EF8 CRX SiR, compression was near new (215/210/215/220), has CAI, headers and axel-back. Made 99.4kw ATW.
My EH9 Civic VTi has CAI and headers and I reckon it's much slower.


Also, I already stated that you can boost a D which would make it fast.

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Originally Posted by firepower

Unboosted D, yes. Boosted D Series isn't that slow to be honest

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a boosted B series isnt that slow. if you want to be like that.

stop giving him hope with it.

do handling mods so your car will be a rapist when it finally gets its b series.

yes unless your going to boost your d series theres not much you can do... and honestly its pointless... spend your money on handling and sussy mods.. maybe even exterior and interior mods save and swap a b series

If you wanna stay N/A then either tune your car or if your really keen go b18 or turbo

As Firepower mentioned 'everyone has a different perception' on this topic. I was ready on how to modify D series for ages an was into it for some time, but then started reading on b20 and made my mind up to go b, so I have started a b20 build; but again the decision comes to the person and money.

The Issue why mod a D when you can go B OR why mod a B when you can go K will always exist in the Honda Community.

So at the end of the day it is your decision.

Personally my D has a CAI, DC2R suspension and by next week will have DC2R exhaust and that will be it.

Why would i lay out 3 and a half g's for just one car space, f that
FKV-T3C

lol, i agree with sajadeg, :) b16a eg is a nugget. go b18c7 if ur going to bother with a conversion, b16 is not worth the money

b16 is over rated lol.

i still cant get my head around the guys who think stock b16 with win by MORE then 1 car length vs a i.h.e d16... seriously? 1 car length is a lot...too many ****s on here think they know it all

Definately worth modifying and not flogging a dead horse like a D15 carby, but for bang for the buck for your mods wont be as good as a b16a conversion, which in turn wont be as good for B18C. Would love to have an eg vti d16 project one day myself, even though I already have 2 B16a cars and a B18c7 car.

I thought they were a bit of a joke with just a hint of vtec from my prev experience with stock eg vti in Aust. I had a chance to try a fren's eg4 d15 vtec in HK and was seriously impressed. It was modded of course, still 1500cc cos they only had 1500cc to keep rego fee down and hence B16a and above are always above most ppl's budget over there to keep on the road for rego and insurance etc so ppl resort to moddy D15's over there. This engine had an aftermarket taiwanese cams ie toser, mfactory similar with power fc, taiwanese 4-1 headers, cam gear, thinner head gasket, mildly ported head, IM and bigger TB and had the stock airbox to keep it street legal. Not only it sounded really good and onsong but 0-100km/h was within 0.5s of an ek4 with b16b drivetrain, logged under same conditions with my Performance box gps datalogger. Gearbox was stock, but it had a taiwanese 4.7FD and flywheel was a lightweight one too. With your bigger d16 bottom end it would go even better.

You wont need to worry about the usual conversion bits with this route and dont need another gearbox but cost is still far from cheap with the parts you need to source from say mfactory and the labour involved, and the tuning needed. It will be more special than the usual stock b16a conversion though and the front end will be slightly lighter too.

The B16A is a fantastic, revolutionary motor with a soul behind it's history. It lacks torque because it's a 1.6, but the B16A is supposed to be rev'd hard and when you know how to drive it it goes very well if it's healthy and unrestricted.

When you talk about 'one car length' how far are we talking about racing? 200m?

Like I said I have a B16A CRX and a D16Y1 Civic and I'd put my B16A up against any D16Y with I/H/E.


The main point we're trying to get across is that the D16Y is an economy VTEC motor, not a performance one. It's stock power and potential are both infinitely more impressive than a D16Y. This is why we advise people against heavily modifying their D - once you spend 2-3g on a D16 you may as well have considered a B16 simply because yes they might be just as fast, but at least with the B16 you still have room to keep modifying.

Rep for you hisoka.

D16s are fun to build bro and you'll get good power out of it. Just need to know the proper parts to put in.

lets put it this way why did they make a sohc vtec even at all? to make it to the grocery shop a bit faster

spend time making it handle better:

first is there any kind of leaks on this engine or low compression/signs of head gasket failure, if not I'd at the very least consider doing the following:

get some suspension with good adjustment variations (konis with decent springs or a set of coilovers)
rear sway bar (asr brace, dc2r rear sway kit, lcas)
upgrade the brakes (if it has rear drums change over to discs and get some slotted rotors up front with some nice street or oem pads)
change the bushings that are old and deteriorated (changing the rear trailing arm bushings will make a nice difference)
put in a sportier clutch and flywheel
get some nice 15's and some single dirtectional street tyres
dc2r steering wheel
a nice drivers seat with some form of side bolsters

in a nutshell spending on both can be a bad idea, I'd much rather a car that can pull up and handle bends than one with power alone

end of the day, dont touch the sohc, and dont even bother with a b16a conversion LOL unless ur trying to make a replica eg6, otherwise a b16a2 is pretty shit conversion for a power increase.

MY 2c :)

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Originally Posted by hisoka

a boosted B series isnt that slow. if you want to be like that.

stop giving him hope with it.

do handling mods so your car will be a rapist when it finally gets its b series.

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I never said boosted B series is slow either. Boosted B is super quick! I don't want to sound all big. I am no mechanic nor am i an engineer but I've been through many vtec motors and that when you boost a D Series, you have reliability and power together. If you're on a tighter budget a boosted D is a better option. Think of the cost, how much will a B16 cost to buy? How much will it cost for the conversion including installing? At the end of the day, like i say if you want to go NA then go B series but if you feel it's not worth the hassle then stay with the D and boost it. D can be boosted without requiring any internal work anyway.

Funnily, i use to sneeze at D series. I have a JDM 98 spec ITR with mild tune pulling high 13s and also an 01 S2K. The funny thing is my close friend's D15 Turbo keeps up with me on the straight once his turbo is done. Specs are basic. Home made exhaust manifold with T3/T4 turbo, Hondata ECU, Evolution injectors, exhaust etc. His car runs consistent 14.0 on street tires on drags. With semi slicks, he's as quick ITR.

To add, like everyone says here, do handling. Nearly everything of an ITR will go into your car and that's a good start to make your car handle better. Op for 98 spec parts as honda has revised the suspension setup to handle better. If you want to do a B series conversion then go buy yourself a B18C block and a B16A head. Drop in some B16B pistons and get ready to kick ass. Don't just drop in a B16A

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Originally Posted by firepower

I never said boosted B series is slow either. Boosted B is super quick! I don't want to sound all big. I am no mechanic nor am i an engineer but I've been through many vtec motors and that when you boost a D Series, you have reliability and power together. If you're on a tighter budget a boosted D is a better option. Think of the cost, how much will a B16 cost to buy? How much will it cost for the conversion including installing? At the end of the day, like i say if you want to go NA then go B series but if you feel it's not worth the hassle then stay with the D and boost it. D can be boosted without requiring any internal work anyway.

Funnily, i use to sneeze at D series. I have a JDM 98 spec ITR with mild tune pulling high 13s and also an 01 S2K. The funny thing is my close friend's D15 Turbo keeps up with me on the straight once his turbo is done. Specs are basic. Home made exhaust manifold with T3/T4 turbo, Hondata ECU, Evolution injectors, exhaust etc. His car runs consistent 14.0 on street tires on drags. With semi slicks, he's as quick ITR.

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Good point! And also, if you turbo your D you can get yourself some Suzuki Vitara pistons and a Vitara Kit = pawnage.