D16y4

[dougie_504]

Are there any noticealbe gains from a standard I/H/E setup?

Hardly, because it's SOHC. You'll mostly just make it sound louder. If anything you'll get some very small high-end gains.

Will a heavy duty clutch or lightweight flywheel help as well?

A HD clutch will make your clutch pedal feel heavier whereas a stronger clutch (sports organic, for example) is entirely unnecessary for your car at this stage.
A light weight flywheel will help the rev's go up faster and make the engine feel 'peppier' or a little quicker off the mark.

Or is it better to go down the F/I route? Being on L's soon to be P's, turbo charging the civic is not viable for a while..

If you're on your L's then I wouldn't consider this until you're about to come off your P's, but ultimately if you want power then F/I is the best route for results.

I've read quite a bit about "mini-me's" and it does seem quite hard to source d16y8 head's for the conversion. Has anyone had any first hand experience? My cousin's friend, told my cousin it wasn't worth it at all.

I haven't done this but I imagine it's a lot of hassle for what you'll get out of it. I'd keep the engine standard if I were you, and consider swapping the entire thing later down the track rather than just play with a new head.

In terms of stock power, is it sufficient as a DD? Can the d16y4 keep up with most of the daily needs? Or does it feel underpower'd when rev'd hard.

It's sufficient as a daily driver in that it will get you from A to B. It will keep up with traffic fine and you shouldn't have any problems overtaking (unless you're being sill at the time.
At the end of the day the feeling of 'power' or being 'under-powered' is really subjective. I used to drive an '86 Corolla with a 1.6L carby and when I upgraded to a 1.6L SOHC VTEC Civic it felt really fast. Now I have a CRX with a 1.6L DOHC VTEC engine, which is quick, and I'm modifying it to be faster yet.

I ain't a hoon, but I want to know if it'll have that "oomph" when pushed. What about the low-end torque , strong? If so, is it worth upgrading the d16y4 is anyway or is it complete waste of money? There are numerous threads arguing that the b, h and k series are much better for base blocks. I'd like to know about the d16y4 in particular, so no flaming of the d series'

It will go enough when you need it to, but I guess that really depends on what you ask it to do. The low-end torque will probably feel sh!t because it's a SOHC 1.6.
As for upgrading I think it's very worth it! I love modifying my 1.6 SOHC VTEC engine because it's fun. I just try to do everything as cheaply as possible and although the gains are minimal it's enjoyable to get your hands dirty, make it look nice, sound great and if you get a few extra KW that's just a bonus IMO.
Ultimately the B, H, and K series engines are far superior to the D because they produce more power and have a greater potential to be modified, but don't let that deter you. The D-series can be murderous when modified appropriately, but that's a very expensive path.
I think just enjoy what you have, an economical engine. You can get a small amount of extra power for a cheap price, but also consider other upgrades such as suspension. If you were to get some front/rear strut braces and a rear sway bar, with maybe some sporty shocks/springs I guarantee you'd have more fun than you would with extra power!


GL and start a worklog