30 replies to this topic

[black/red 87'REX]

Any of you !G rex enthusiasts...I NEED HELP....i've found all the parts i i want for the 2G rex...the only problem is i don't have one...what are some cheap or even average mods..and even help me with some more expensive mods i can do to my engine to increase power and speed....the problem is my rex is carbureted....i need help...let me know some stuff i can do to upgrade it..

thanks a lot

[Omega Mugen]

From personal experience, I gained a lot by using a Weber DMTR 2 barrel downdraft carb and CAI over the stock carb. That can be done for around $200. Used Webers or even small Holley 4 barrels are the way to go if you want cheap. DATRAs or DFTAs should work too (but you may have a lower top speed with them being 32mm). DGVs work also. Dual sidedrafts (DCOEs) give you the most power, but are not going to be cheap. Alternatively, you can set up FI with the CRX Si's parts. Depending on how well you find cheap parts, this will cost about the same, but will take more time due to the wiring work involved. I just think the stock carb gives pretty weak performance.

Other bolt on mods like headers, exhaust, etc. will get you only a little. Of course, there are a number of free mods, but you can search around for those. Machine work will give you power, but will be expensive unless you can do it yourself.

[Rampage]

Sounds to me like you already are against Carb.

Thats okay.

You need to decide first if you want to go with carb or FI. Naturally, going FI is going to cost you, because you will have to do the swap.

If you are looking for power on your carb, here is a good formula:

2" Exhaust, no cat... side dump for lightest wieght and lowest restriction, glasspack for maximum quiet/flow without being obnoxious.

4:1 or better, 4:2:1 header.

I have seen one of these motors making over 100whp without a carb change, so I would leave it, that gets costly and complicated.

Your biggest gain: Camshaft regrind. Stage 2, aggressive grind will find you the most power gain, at the cost of low end driveabilty and gas mileage.

Cheers,
Mark

[-=Playboy=-]

i wouldn't mind knowing how increase the performance of my 1.5i crx
nothing wrong with being faster!

[Jack ffr1846]

i wouldn't mind knowing how increase the performance of my 1.5i crx 
nothing wrong with being faster!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Besides engine mods, think about what else can speed you up. For straight line performance, a limited slip will get whatever power you have down to the pavement. Reduce weight all over the car. The less that your engine has to pull, the bigger it acts. Much more work, but not a lot of money would be an engine swap. 1st gen Integras are excellent sources for larger, more powerful engines for very little money. Find an entire car that's running and swap it in. You'll need 3 CRX motor mounts and 1 teg mount with a notch in the mount near the timing belt....easily done. Swap in the wiring harness and computer from the teg to be absolutely sure that everything will work. Just keep your eyes open and snoop around and you'll find a teg that someone wants gone for free or very little money. Mine cost me $120 for an 89 with a black top.

I've only been in the Honda world for about a year now and am amazed at the ease of modifications, availability of parts and low cost of everything.

jack

[Omega Mugen]

Sounds to me like you already are against Carb.

Thats okay.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Against Carb? That is not true. I love my carb setup. I don't think it's the carb setup is right for everyone though. If you want to be big shot in the tuner crowd, you'd better go with the FI. That's the only reason why I put that comment in there. I personally don't care about the tuner scene. I just want what works best, and carb is cheapest and capable of good performance in the hands of someone who knows what to do with them.

[cbstdscott]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote]

For straight line performance, a limited slip will get whatever power you have down to the pavement.
jack

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote]


Wrong. A limited slip helps to put power down going around corners. In a straight line, a standard diff does not slip (or need to) because both wheels are turning the same amount.

Carbs are great..... if you are stuck in the 1930's. Carbs are a major pain in the ass to keep adjusted to changing climatic conditions. For a street driver, FI is the way to go.

Side draft carbs have a HP advantage in racing because they pass a greater volume of fuel and air. IF you could find a large enough TB/intake combination, you could make the same power with FI.

But there is no commercially available TB/intake combination to pass the same volume as the sidedrafts, they are the HP champs.

Swapping engines is a good alternative.... if you have no imagination. The D15A3 is great design with a stout bottom end and it weighs less than the D16 or B16. With some P&P and better induction it is possible to make 120+hp in a FI street engine.

Scott

[lemons]

Find a set of Mikuni PHH's or Weber's if you want to pay the price. You wont be able to have a turbo unless you're super smart or something. Rampage has done the Si swap, but he is crazy. I'm seriously concidering carb b/c the car i bought has Mikuni's on it already. I'm also exploring a direct port nitrous system. I think and 80 shot would do great. 100whp plus 80hp equal.... alot of wheelspin .

Other wise a CAI, cam regrind, header (a 4-1 header will provide the most topend power, and a 4-2-1 will provide better midrange and less topend then a 4-1), port work, Si inner and DX outer springs (I might have this backwards), valve grind, short sifter, weight reduction, grippy tires, wider wheels, etc.

[Rampage]

Omega:

I didn't actually mean you

I think it would rock to stick some sidedrafts on an EW and rock the tuner scene.... imagine johnny ricer's puzzlement when you pop the hood to show off your juice....

"whats that... steam power?"

Ricers....

Cheers,
Mark

[Omega Mugen]

[quote=cbstdscott,Jan 5 2005, 11:10 AM]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote]

For straight line performance, a limited slip will get whatever power you have down to the pavement.
jack

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote]


Carbs are great..... if you are stuck in the 1930's. Carbs are a major pain in the ass to keep adjusted to changing climatic conditions. For a street driver, FI is the way to go.

Side draft carbs have a HP advantage in racing because they pass a greater volume of fuel and air. IF you could find a large enough TB/intake combination, you could make the same power with FI.

But there is no commercially available TB/intake combination to pass the same volume as the sidedrafts, they are the HP champs.

Scott

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote]

I found these comments almost humorous. Stuck in the 1930s? Buddy, carbs are still being used today. In the V8 muscle car scene, that's all they want to use. Climatic conditions? I have been monitoring my carbs performance with a wide band O2 sensor for a couple of months now. The barometric prssure and ambient temperatures have very little effect on the performance of the carb, I'd say no more than 5% in terms of air/fuel ratio. Pain in the ass to tune? Carbs are easier to tune than FI. Have you ever tuned your FI, or manipulated any ECU, for that matter? You would benefit from changing your 1987 computer program for today's gasoline, but that is another story.

Your right on one count, when the engine is cold, carbs don't perform well. When the engine warms up, they work consistently and reliably. But that has nothing to do with the weather. In fact, when I get my Si head, pistons, and CDM manifold installed, I bet my carbed dx will go toe to toe with your Si and I don't have a heavy sunroof, AC, or rear wiper.

If you are concerned with the volume of air, why don't you switch to ITBs? You'll get the volume and the FI that way. Why do sidedrafts outperform your 1987 stock FI? Four butterfly valves instead of one and fewer bends and distance to get air/fuel into the engine.

Edited by Omega Mugen, 05 January 2005 - 11:54 AM.

[skrzastek]

going to a driving school is a great way to get more performance from your car

[IamNOTaRicer]

Actually, I'm going to have to agree with Scott here... FI is, for 90% of all applications superior to a carb. The reason muscle car guys still run carbs is that's the way they have been brought up. There is no way on God's green Earth that a typical 4-barrel setup will give the even fuel distribution that a multi-injector setup will. Go to a weekend drag race where there are some serious competitors some time. Take a walk through the pit. I'll bet that the number of them switching jets and making other adjustments will surprise you. The only reason top racing classes that are carbed stay with it instead of injection is because the rules say so. Case in point, find me one new car or truck in North America that isn't fuel injected. There aren't any.

--Danny

[Omega Mugen]

Actually, I'm going to have to agree with Scott here... FI is, for 90% of all applications superior to a carb. The reason muscle car guys still run carbs is that's the way they have been brought up. There is no way on God's green Earth that a typical 4-barrel setup will give the even fuel distribution that a multi-injector setup will. Go to a weekend drag race where there are some serious competitors some time. Take a walk through the pit. I'll bet that the number of them switching jets and making other adjustments will surprise you. The only reason top racing classes that are carbed stay with it instead of injection is because the rules say so. Case in point, find me one new car or truck in North America that isn't fuel injected. There aren't any.

--Danny

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where in my reply did I say carbs were superior? I said they were easier and they are. The reason why FI is prefered by auto manufacturers is because off the assembly line, FI is already tuned and stays tuned as the engine gets older because most customers don't bother tuning their cars. So if you want to make major mods to your engine and keep the FI as stock, be my guest, but there's more power to be had if you tune. I'd rather dink around with jets than computer program and burn chips. That's all.

Edited by Omega Mugen, 05 January 2005 - 03:41 PM.

[OVNi_CIVIC]

........

Cheers,
Mark

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

am i seeing this right....?? Rampage??

as far as the topic concerns... change your spark plugs- NGK's of course,
as well as your wires, also NGK...

Weber carb as omega mugen, suggested..

exhaust and cam- as the mysterious Rampage said,

Later an si tranny with shorter gears, mated to a lightend flywheel, and stage 1 clutch,

light rims and sticky tires are really nice to have....

[Madkore]

"Wrong. A limited slip helps to put power down going around corners. In a straight line, a standard diff does not slip (or need to) because both wheels are turning the same amount."

[quote]

Wrong. A limited slip will help in a straight line acceleration because it will limit wheelspin and improve traction. A standard diff does not put power down to both front wheels simultaneously. It puts power to the right front wheel only until it senses slippage and then shifts power to the left front wheel. When the left front wheel starts to slip, power is transferred back to the right front wheel. This is why Hondas do right wheel only burnouts. You can feel this shifting occurring when you nail the throttle in the rain, or do a standing start burnout. The stock differential is designed to shift power from the right front wheel to the left front wheel when the right front starts to slip. Otherwise, if you got stuck, you'd stay stuck.

The LSD made a big difference in launching my Civic. Instead of smoking the right front tire, both tires hook up together and launch the car. It's simple physics, you have two tires providing traction for forward motion as opposed to only one tire. Better traction (times two) equals better acceleration.

The LSD does make a big difference in corners. Without the LSD, I could overwhelm my front tires in a turn if I floored it. I could break the front right tire loose and drift out another ten or twenty feet. Not good.

I have driven the orginal HKS turbo CRX without an LSD, and that car could not hook up. It just spun it's tires and didn't go anywhere. My Civic with the LSD launches much harder from a standing start.

Carbs are simpler and cheaper. EFI is superior, and does develop more power in identical engines. Car Craft and Hot Rod magazines have already proven this on a dyno. And the V8 Drag Racers are converting their cars to EFI as it gets cheaper, and easier to tune. A typical EFI setup for a small block V8 costs about the same as a complete long block crate engine. Very expensive.