Honda Car Forum

88 Civic CRX with a D16 DOHC engine???my friend in AZ says this is an AWESOME engine and it is capable of being tricked out to go crazy fast...I know NOTHING about honda so any street racers want to answer this please?

Your friend is obviously a moron and probably a ricer to boot.The D16 is not a DOHC, it is a SOHC, and its not a good engine to tune. Overall it is a very weak engine, its meant more for economical use and the connecting rods in the D16 are notoriously weak, using forced or chemical induction could prove to be a problem.Now if you had a B16, which is a DOHC VTEC, in that little CRX that would be a great engine...and the B16 has plenty of aftermarket support too. The B16 can be quite worked over, yet still retain daily driver status. I own a 00 Civic Si with a supercharged B16 and I love it...it's fast, reliable, and can stil be a daily driver.

there is not substitute for cubic inches baby. have u heard bigger is better? well u have to ask yourself what kind of LEGAL racing u want to do.hondas are expensive.. for 10000.00 u can have a real car worth driving and keep as an investment instead of a rice burner.

It has potential but being near 20 years old step 1 would need to be a tear down and replace bearings and rings and hone the cylinders at a minimum. It would suck to drop $$$ on a bunch of high tech bolt ons and spin a bearing or burn a ring. Also lighter and balanced pistons and rods would be nice as well. If you want to go fast and for a long time take the time and do it right plan it all out, especially if you plan to spray it. Stock internal parts can not take much spray

I guess some of you are willing to take that crazy risk.I'll certainly be watching out for you.

Single over head is weak and thats so old school now days the k is in people don't even talk about SOHC no more B18 and B16 is also goin out once the price falls the k series is gonna get out of control just like the B18.

Your friend is right... in a sense. Yes the D16 single cam engine can be tricked out 2 make massive power... BUT it will cost you a small fortune 2 get you there. Stock hp is 108 at the flywheel (not very powerfull compared to the B16a which makes 160hp stock). Greddy makes a nice turbo kit that will fit your motor and is good for about 170 wheel hp and the kit used sells for about $900. This will make your lil light weight CRX fly (good for low 14's in the 1/4 mile). BUT you need 2 keep in mind that your stock D16 motors stock rods and pistons are not very strong when going with forced induction (turbo) and most likely will fail on you after a few 1000 miles (even under low boost). After market rods and pistons will solve that problem but will cost you about $1000 not installed! In all honesty, it's probably wiser for you 2 keep your d16 stock for now and save your money for a b-series swap into your CRX or if your really on a tight budget, a DOHC ZC motor is an excellent choice (motor costs about $350-600 depending on where you buy it). The DOHC ZC makes 130 hp stock and with simple bolt on's (intake, header, and exhaust) you can make about 15 more horse power. A few years back when if first got my 89 crx si. I had pretty much every bolt on product on my stock d16a motor. AEM cold air intake, DC headers, JG cam, AEM camgear and pulleys, Greddy exhaust and i was only able 2 manage 112 wheel hp (good for about 130 flywheel hp). These mods alone cost me almost $1500 and my car was still not very fast (2 it's credit, all parts were carb exempt and was completly street legal!) I was able 2 spank on stock integra LS and civic ex's but that's not saying very much! My best 1/4 mile time with that setup was a 15.7et and palmdale (not a slouch but not fast compared to other crx's with B or K series motors). Save your money and go with a motor swap! i learned the hard way! hope this helps you out from one retired street racer 2 the next generation. latez