PSYCHIC-TOMATO
Member
This was my favorite build so far. Not because of any spectacular power...but because I meticulously picked the parts to build the perfect No-Tec D-Series engine that would run as well as stock and be fun to drive. These days, though, I'd go F23 in a heartbeat. I've built dozens of D Series motors..it's time for something new. And I love the simplicity of SOHC setups.
This was it's final incarnation..
The Start -
Stock 93 D15B7 Block - Chosen because of the flat-top pistons. Excellent for compression..unforgiving if something like a timing belt decided to fail. Rods are on the weak side but I wasn't planning on boosting this..so they were no issue, really.
1991 D16A6 Head - Bigger, tougher springs than the B7 or the B2. It's just the obvious choice for something like this. Rebuilt.
The ZC Cam - The cam lobes of the D15B7 look kinda' weak when compared to some of it's peers. The D16A6 cam is a great choice...but I wanted something that no one had. I was able to track down a SOHC ZC camshaft from a guy in Canada. The SOHC ZC was basically just an A6 with a different cam. However, this cam gave the motor 10 more horsepower according to Honda. For daily driving, I knew exactly how I was gonna' set this up.
So far we've got the B7 block, the A6 head and the ZC camshaft.
COLD AIR INTAKE - I scored a cold air intake that went back and forth from short ram to cold air...regardless of the pics, it finally settled as a cold air intake.
HEADER - 4-2-1 Header. Simple. To the point
EXHAUST - 2" catback with cat delete and straight pipe. I don't recall which exhaust end I ended up using. I think it may have been a Greddy knock-off...but it sounded pretty decent.
The Goodies -
INTAKE MANI - Skunk2 d15/d16 intake manifold. May seem like overkill when you're not running boost..but when you tune it up right, they work perfect for these setups. Boosted or not. So do the Z6 manifolds...but the Skunk2 always felt more "open".
Cam Gear - Rage Racing D16Y cam gear to offset the half-tooth difference when using A6 head / ZC cam on a B7 block.
ECU - Chipped P06 and street tuned with Crome on my own p06 map
SHIFTING - Skunk2 Short-Shifter / Skunk2 weighted knob / Skunk2 bushings / linkage ..This thing just clicked into gear. It was amazing.
Gears - Stage 2 clutch on Civic Si trans.
Here is where it got fun. I wanted to feel the low RPMs. It was a daily driver. I didn't want all my power after 4k. I initially advanced the cam 3* and set the ignition base timing to 15/16. I did some pretty aggressive changes to the low to mid timing and went for 14.7s everywhere. After advancing the cam and playing with the idle speed, I had to tweak the idle speed on the ECU. But when I got everything together, it was FACTORY smooth. You would never had known that car was being powered by a something so pieced together.
I spent so much time street tuning it and going through plugs. Just full-on labor. Hah!
It was a completely simple, no frills approach to getting the most out of those big, fat, No-Tec cam lobes. Also, after doing the valve lash and going tight, the power was just amazing. It was, BY FAR, the most fun NA Honda I've driven to date. Wish I still had it set up. I'm Hoping to have an F Series story like this by the end of the summer. I have a video of a pull when driving that setup. I'll find it and post it..
Right after I painted it satin black...but hadn't lowered it yet. I loved the satin black. It looked great once the car was dropped 2 - 3"
This was it's final incarnation..
The Start -
Stock 93 D15B7 Block - Chosen because of the flat-top pistons. Excellent for compression..unforgiving if something like a timing belt decided to fail. Rods are on the weak side but I wasn't planning on boosting this..so they were no issue, really.
1991 D16A6 Head - Bigger, tougher springs than the B7 or the B2. It's just the obvious choice for something like this. Rebuilt.
The ZC Cam - The cam lobes of the D15B7 look kinda' weak when compared to some of it's peers. The D16A6 cam is a great choice...but I wanted something that no one had. I was able to track down a SOHC ZC camshaft from a guy in Canada. The SOHC ZC was basically just an A6 with a different cam. However, this cam gave the motor 10 more horsepower according to Honda. For daily driving, I knew exactly how I was gonna' set this up.
So far we've got the B7 block, the A6 head and the ZC camshaft.
COLD AIR INTAKE - I scored a cold air intake that went back and forth from short ram to cold air...regardless of the pics, it finally settled as a cold air intake.
HEADER - 4-2-1 Header. Simple. To the point
EXHAUST - 2" catback with cat delete and straight pipe. I don't recall which exhaust end I ended up using. I think it may have been a Greddy knock-off...but it sounded pretty decent.
The Goodies -
INTAKE MANI - Skunk2 d15/d16 intake manifold. May seem like overkill when you're not running boost..but when you tune it up right, they work perfect for these setups. Boosted or not. So do the Z6 manifolds...but the Skunk2 always felt more "open".
Cam Gear - Rage Racing D16Y cam gear to offset the half-tooth difference when using A6 head / ZC cam on a B7 block.
ECU - Chipped P06 and street tuned with Crome on my own p06 map
SHIFTING - Skunk2 Short-Shifter / Skunk2 weighted knob / Skunk2 bushings / linkage ..This thing just clicked into gear. It was amazing.
Gears - Stage 2 clutch on Civic Si trans.
Here is where it got fun. I wanted to feel the low RPMs. It was a daily driver. I didn't want all my power after 4k. I initially advanced the cam 3* and set the ignition base timing to 15/16. I did some pretty aggressive changes to the low to mid timing and went for 14.7s everywhere. After advancing the cam and playing with the idle speed, I had to tweak the idle speed on the ECU. But when I got everything together, it was FACTORY smooth. You would never had known that car was being powered by a something so pieced together.
I spent so much time street tuning it and going through plugs. Just full-on labor. Hah!
It was a completely simple, no frills approach to getting the most out of those big, fat, No-Tec cam lobes. Also, after doing the valve lash and going tight, the power was just amazing. It was, BY FAR, the most fun NA Honda I've driven to date. Wish I still had it set up. I'm Hoping to have an F Series story like this by the end of the summer. I have a video of a pull when driving that setup. I'll find it and post it..
Right after I painted it satin black...but hadn't lowered it yet. I loved the satin black. It looked great once the car was dropped 2 - 3"