What kind of motor and transmission should I drop in it? Also anybody know of any sweet body kits for it?? Links are appreciated.

hmmm, I see some fast responses on some other posts on these boards.....I really do need the help. I know jack and shit about this crap but I would very much like to get into it...... So can anybody send me in the right direction??

Well I'm just a silly Hillbilly... but even I know theres a Honda/Acura forum here on AF... why dont you go ask there im sure they know more than us... seeing as it is a Honda/Acura forum.




There... I've pointed you in a direction... now march son.:cool: :p

Thanx! Any start is A start!

hmmmm a 96 civic coupe. well they are slow as dog and is totally gutless in stock form. since you want to drop a engine in there. i would say don't swap the motor. just turbo that thing. if you drop in a B18C5 or any other v tec motors, your not gettin that much better of a power to weight ratio. however, with that same amount of money you can build up your motor with forged piston's, rods, and lower your compression ratio, then put in a nice turbo and yoru ready for boost, and you will beat any and i mean ANY stock n/a 4 cylinder cars. but remember if you were to get any car. get it in 5 speed *manuel transmission* and for your info. all dohc vtec motors only comes in 5 speed.

Not much better power to weight ratio? Shiz.. a 50+ horse jump seems a like a big improvement.

And oh yea.. since you(Pondscum) know jack shit about what engine and trans to drop in, maybe learn to drive and control a mild vehicle before jumping into anything wild.

get a B18C5 and an Apexi turbo kit and some other stuff

fat ninja your missing hte point. hes goin to be shelling out 5G's for a 50 hp increase and he'll still be running 15's. does that seem like a good deal to you? for that money can he built and boost his shit to run low 14's. that seems like a better deal to me.

Somebody had told me that dropping a B18c1 would be good, but if that won't give a huge performance increase vs. putting a cheaper motor in and mod'ing it hardcore then I should go the mod route then?

Ok, no matter what anyone says don't get the B18C5 over the B18C1 is your going to turbo charge it. C5's are rarer and more exspensive and the only performance gains are from head work which is useless if your going to use forced induction.

If by some strange twist you can get them for the same price, then sure, go for the B18C5. If not, then stick with the C1. Personally I believe the best honda engine choice to be a turbocharged B18C1. But first, what are you going to to with this car, what are your goals. Do you want to drag race(blah...j/k guys;) ) auto-X. If you want to drag race what kind of times do you want to run?

Originally posted by TatII
fat ninja your missing hte point. hes goin to be shelling out 5G's for a 50 hp increase and he'll still be running 15's. does that seem like a good deal to you? for that money can he built and boost his shit to run low 14's. that seems like a better deal to me.


Actually, it depends on his disires with this that determines the 'better' deal. And like I said, it's probaly stupid for someone to start driving a low 14 second car when he doesn't know shit about his car anyways. Secondly, that c1 or c5 will give him superior reliability over a boosted D series, although the D series will be quicker. And if he ever feels like hitting low 13's or quicker, that B series will pay off in the end. Why? Well the B series has much potential(more displacement, dohc vtec, etc).


So my suggestion is to swap in a b18c1, learn to drive, then go turbo. And like the Captyn said, don't get a b18c5 if you're gonna go turbo. You'll have to rip open that engine and lower the CR.

fatninja i don't think he knows that CR stands for compression ratio.

Thanx for the replies so far. I am learning alot fast. I plan on doing alot of body work and interior/exterior work to the car to make it show ready, its gonna be 80% for looks, I just don't want it to be a total pansy too, so I will take it out to a quarter and see what it can do etc.....

you see thats the problem, you can have mostly show. becasue the body kit will slow you down. plus those crazy ground effects will only reduce your cars ability to drive out in the streets becuase whatever little bump you hit, it will crack your bumper up. there is a fine line to balance out looks and speed, you can have most of or just one. you need to settle if you want both.

hmmm, so what would be a good settle point? I have a list of the exterior body parts I am planning on adding....would you know if they will have the clearance I need to race a little as well??

one of the main things to keep the body work safe is to not lower the car too much. 2 inches should be fine, maybe a little much. Also, don't waste money on 17 or 18 inch wheels. If you get them too big they'll rub and also they weigh more and that will slow you down a LOT. Get a nice looking set of light weight 16's and anytime anyone gives you crap about your "tiny" wheels ask them if they have any idea how much time they're 18 inch chromes add to their 1/4 times.

And if your going to be doing body kits and other such things, either learn to do it properly or get a REPUTABLE shop to do it. Nothing looks worse than mis-fitted body parts.

If you're going 80% show, just get some basic bolt ons for your D series. And how the hell would we know if theres enough clearance to do what you want if you don't tell us(not that I'm so interested or anything..).