Increasing KW's (1 Viewer)

[Tim035]

Hey
I'm currently driving round a 1990 honda civic (duel carburetor).
Got a stainless catback exhaust from the drivers seat back with resinator taken out, now looking to squeeze more KW's out of my civic. Because of where the air filter is located I don't think a high flow pod or pannel filter is currently an option.

Any sugestions besides get a better car?

 

[DaddyK]

Get some hose and fit it to your air sensor unit, and manouver it down next to the radiator at the bottom and fit a pod filter there. You will have room to fit one, and you will be sucking in actual cold air, not the hot shit around your engine. Better yet, get a quote on a whole new cold air induction.

 

[DaddyK]

Also whats your bbbbbudget?

 

[petar13]

I know nothing about civics. Below are some general options available to you.
You can get some high performance weber carbs. I see you have a dual chamber carb, but you can adapt that system to have two (2) dual chamber carbs - more power to be found there, I'd imagine - or you can go EFI (electronic fuel injection). I assume some of the later civics run on a swappable EFI system. I think the older Alfas had double carbs... Both of these options will greatly increase fuel consumption, though.

Now lets not kid ourselves, a catback exhaust on an NA 1.6 does little good. Your only advantage there is the fact that you'll be getting a new pipe and muffler, as opposed to the carbon clogged system you had before - but buying a new stock system has the same performance upgrade.

Is it a manual? Get yourself a shortshift kit, it may feel like more power, and definitely feel more responsive. Is it an auto? Get yourself a high torque stall converter. In both cases (but mainly the manual) you can lighten the flywheel (any reputable machining shop can do it) and it will climb the revs MUCH more quickly, and it will FEEL more powerful. Or if it's auto, convert it to manual...

Schrick offers performance camshafts for BMWs. Do you know of an aftermarket solution for performance cams for Hondas? It's possible. It will feel very responsive in the upper ranges, and definitely add a few kWs up there.
You can also get yourself a performance differential. I don't know what kinds are offered in civics, but generally a numerically lower differential will offer greater acceleration, at the expense of RPMs at high speed cruising. It will almost feel like a new beast - these can be called a poor man's supercharger.

Considering it's carbed, ECU upgrades are few - but check out if any chips are available. Though I doubt it.
One of the cheapest ways of improving power is losing weight - your car can go on a diet by removing things like rear seats, air con, or even more extreme - door trim, insulation and even dashboard. A 100kg reduction will give a difference you can feel.

That's what I can think of the moment, short of forced induction. I think one of the first things to do, before actually 'upping' the kWs, is checking your car is in optimum condition. DO a tune up, get new spark plugs, leads, change some gaskets, if you must, clean out the carby (you can do that yourself), do a compression test, change the oil, flush the coolant, do your brakes, and after you've done that - go nuts.

 

[Tim035]

Thanks heaps for the info especially Petar.
umm to answer a few questions quickly
- Yes it is Manuel
- My current budget at this present time would be around $500 tops (I know thats not alot).

Giving the engine bay a check up and clean sounds like a good thing to do this weekend to make sure everything is in optimal condition. Aftermarket camshafts aren't something I've done a lot of research into so I'll talk to some of my mates to see if they know any tradies or shops in Sydney that can order them in for my model civic.
Short Shifter is definatly something I'll be purchasing in the near future.
Weight reduction is probley not in my favour atm seeing that I have two 10" tube subs sitting in the boot and two 6x9s on the parcel shelf.
In the big picture being my first car my aim is to get it to a mildy tuned level for the next 2 to 3 years and then move on to a more serious project such as a 180sx or Soarer.

 

[7th Sign]

just go for things like POD filters, Exhaust set up, short shifters imported form the usa, extractors and cannon.

You cant do much with $500 but its a start, give ebay a shot and alos maby second hand bits

Good luck,,

 

[Serius]

hmm theres alot you can do with an old civic, not alot you can do with 500$

the best advantage of it is that it is so lightweight. why do u need subs in it? its not like its a big car, decent speakers put out more then enough bass. I would get rid of them, get rid of the back seats and thats a fair reduction in weight right there.

the best thing to do would make sure everything is in tiptop shape and running smooth btw do u put in unleaded or premium? premium makes for a smoother ride so that might help out[meh hes got a small budget]

new tires maybe? traction is a must for a good takeoff, lol my tires are sooo shit that my car looses traction when i take off a little 2 quick

 

[DaddyK]

Just to give you a heads up, aftermarket camshaft set ups do not come cheaply. Also i'm pretty sure taking out your backseats is illegal (defectable) unless you have an engineered roll cage.

 

[7th Sign]

hmm theres alot you can do with an old civic, not alot you can do with 500$

the best advantage of it is that it is so lightweight. why do u need subs in it? its not like its a big car, decent speakers put out more then enough bass. I would get rid of them, get rid of the back seats and thats a fair reduction in weight right there.

the best thing to do would make sure everything is in tiptop shape and running smooth btw do u put in unleaded or premium? premium makes for a smoother ride so that might help out[meh hes got a small budget]

new tires maybe? traction is a must for a good takeoff, lol my tires are sooo shit that my car looses traction when i take off a little 2 quick

yeha I agree with this kid a big ass sub box may weigh down your car...

if your riding with a big ass kid who is like 100kg+ a 60KG sub box...

theirs a extra 160kg in the car...

I have some real expensive speakers in my car and every one thinks in running a 10 inch sub lol their that good...

 

[loquasagacious]

Hmmm Petar is pretty much on the money but from a guy who knows abit about Hondas I can add:

Cams - source these from the various aftermarket suppliers OR from a JDM civic (possibly even integra - check this first though).
B18A - that is to say get an Integra engine (might lay hands on one for $500).
B16A - CRX engine (eg second mass prodced engine to make 100hp/L).
LSD.
Port and Polish the head, intake and exhaust manifolds (probably best bang for buck).
Supercharger.

More seriously though for $500 I would recommend CV joints, sway bars, new nolathane suspension bushings, new bushings on the shifter, tyres, etc (obvioulsy you couldnt get all of these though).

 

[Tim035]

Yeah I took the two subs out of the boot today and just drove around with the 6x9s thumpin and If I'm going to go for KW's I think they will be more then sufficient.
I got a fresh set of Pirelli tyres put on back in decemember thanks to a defect notice for driving round on bald tyres. Although they've got decent grip for daily cruising they are a hard road tyre which means I'am still having some traction issues if i rev to high off the lights.
A nice weight reduction would also be to get rid of the spare tyre when I'm just driving around locally don't know what the boys in blue would say about that but.

When I said my budget was $500 that is how much money I was Right Now sitting in the bank. My long term budget for the next 2 to 3 years though I suspect will easily go up and over a few grand.

Umm an engine conversion to a B16 or B18 is to much work just at this stage I'd say.
I try to run her premiun when ever I can afford, which is about 75% of the time.

 

[Serius]

Just to give you a heads up, aftermarket camshaft set ups do not come cheaply. Also i'm pretty sure taking out your backseats is illegal (defectable) unless you have an engineered roll cage.

what about putting in custom light-weight back seats? i saw them on discovery channel ages ago, they just look like these flimsy peices of crap and weigh nothing but and pretty strong for their weight. Would that negotate any legality? if so i can imagine they would be fairly cheap and they look pretty snazy, like racing car styles

removing the spare tire sounds like a good idea, goodwork with removing the subs i would imagine that getting rid of the spare tire is legal, and even if it isnt how often do cops check for that went they pull you over!

goodwork with using the premium, not many people take the time and money to look after their car that way anymore

 

[bowman]

my mate got defected for having the nut holding the spare wheel not on tight enough. the cop who did this was being a cunt to us for no reason?

 

[DaddyK]

Thats fuckin low as.

Serius - Yeh as long as the seats are safe and suitable to take passengers with the correct seat belts then there sweet.

 

[loquasagacious]

It should be VERY cheap to get an engineering certificate for rear seat removal - basically you just need to change the details to: "safely carry 1 passenger plus driver".

Rotate your tyres, eg put those swanky pirellis upfront on the wheels that do the work eg drive and steering wheels. You will notice an immediate difference in terms of cornering speed - eg it will be up!.

Put a couple of drops of dish washing detergent in your coolant as this prevent bubbles forming against the engine block.

Change the gear and engine oil to the lightest grade you can get away with (and for gods sake get a good quality synthetic) this will improve fuel economy and power.

Remove boot trim.

Replace front seats with lightweight buckets.

Remove airconditioning and power steering. eg Less weight and more power.

 

[55psi]

lol, man dont waste ur time on a carburetor engined civic. your maximum gain if u were to do the moderate modifications would probably be <10kw, and the power u get isnt that great, it may be more responsive, but man, its not worth wasting several hundred bucks to several grand in getting shit all power from a honda engine (since theyre known to be hard to get extra power from).
The best thing to do would be DIY stuff instead of going to a shop and getting quotes on useless modifications even though there isnt much DIY stuff to do. Learn about the engine and stuff of ur car instead of getting people to do it as its not worth investing money into the shitbox (sorry, but true).
Just leave it how it is, u dont want to look silly with a fully sick drift style muffler on the back of an old honda civic, thinking it gives u extra 5kw. It wont.
Or if u dont really give a shit about looking silly, do whatever pleases you, im just giving u some good advice which will save u money for a better car later on.

Edit: all those posts are noob posts, how the hell can he afford new camshafts and all that shit when he has only got $500 budget. wtf. And its a farken carburetor too, (heaps easy and cheap to get power from...)

Jas

 

[DaddyK]

Uh actually i already pointed out he wouldn't be able to afford cams.

 

[55psi]

i know

 

[ohdato]

The car was never built in the first place to be driven
much harder then it can at the present time.

$500 wont get you anything worth that money that you
havent already got (exhaust).

That said I know of a 80's model civic built to pull 13
seconds on a budget of $2k including the price of the car.

Either get a bigger budget or get a car with more potential.

 

[petar13]

A 13 second quarter for (less than) $2k in a Civic means that you have to be extremely adept at doing ALL of your own work, and maybe as far as fabricating most of your own parts. I do not think Tim is at that stage (nobody here is).
First of all, Tim said that $500 is his current budget, but was planning on spending much more (in the vicinity of several thousand) - so comments like these are hardly helpful -

all those posts are noob posts, how the hell can he afford new camshafts and all that shit when he has only got $500 budget. wtf.

Realistically, with around $1k-$2k into a project like this, you will get a nippy little car that can get you out of tight spaces, and might out-accelerate cars upto the 2L-2.2L range. You can make it pretty exciting, but at the end of the day, it IS a budget Civic.