hey what up?? i just singed up because im planing on buying a car to turn into a bad ass street car and just now actually thought about a civic. i had other cars in mind but a 96 civic hatch would be pretty cool, so i was wondering is 350hp at the crank a reasonable goal???

i know people usally swap in a b16 or b18 but wouldnt low end suck with such a small displacement??? so my question is what would be the best engine to turbo and get 350hp(crank) out of with street use being most important????

also iv never considered a fwd car for performance use so i was wondering isnt it hard to get a fwd car to hold power??? is the lsd fwd cars??? so again is a 350hp street civic hatch a reasonable goal??? thanks i appreciate it.

 

a 350hp crank civic is relatively easy to attain, and it would be easy with a b18b, b16a, b18c....pretty much any B series with pistons and rods with stock internals and a good fuel management on your turbo. Also, your question about tq. The turbo makes up for a lot of the minimal tq they usually offer in their naturally asperated form.

 

very doable.

some b-series transmissions come with an OEM limited slip diff, but its not designed to hold that kinda power. There are plenty of aftermarket options that will be fine though.

 

New pistons and rods don't really qualify as stock internals. 350hp isn't a huge goal for a 1.8L, but it's close to the point where you could have problems with warpage on the floating combustion chamber over time. It's more than twice what most Honda 1.8L engines make. If you're going to get any machining done for new pistons, I'd go ahead and sleeve it if I were you. That will allow you to eventaully exceed your goal without having to tear into the block again, and if you don't exceed that 350chp goal, at least it will be bulletproof and reliable.

The pistons and rods in my GSX are good for over 800hp, but I'm only making half of that. I'm not the slightest bit dissatisfied with them, and I know that nothing's going BOOM! when I lay down mid-12's at the track, back to back to back. Someday, I'll upgrade the turbo and injectors... I'm not the type to force myself to build the same engine twice by cutting corners.

Get: 9:1 Pistons, rods, sleeve (block guard), cams, metal HG, and turn up the boost.

A sleeved block isn't cheap, but it's worth it in the long run. If you're never going to break 350hp, and the car is going to be a street-only car, or something to autocross (which you won't need 350hp for in a civic) with...... I'd say a sleeve is overkill. But if you're building a street/strip car that won't be driven on long hauls, then by all means, go for it. Do it right the first time.

Edit: PS: You WILL have traction problems on street tires with any FWD 350hp car. That's the goal isn't it? You will need an aftermarket differential, a beefier front suspension, and sufficient dampening to prevent wheel hop. You would probably need to replace the front differential of your tranny to hold that kind of power under load. Kaaz and Quaife are the only ones I trust. There are lots of horror stories about people's Phantom Grip LSD inserts flying apart in more than just Hondas. Neons and DSMs chew those things up and spit 'em out. I think those things are just a band-aid fix for people that don't mind replacing their transmissions regularly.

 

theres cusco too. the intended purpose of the car (autox, street/strip, daily driver year round) also factors in to what lsd is right for you. IMO, quaife is the best all around (especially for autox) diff but it doesn't do anything over inconsistent surfaces (i.e, snow, ice, gravel, etc), kaaz is great for a car that will see snow/dirt driving.

 

really it all comes down to how deep your pockets are

 

it will just be a street car. mabey some time id take it to the strip but the main purpose will be a bad ass street car t roll out every time summer comes around.

to the one guy that said ur running mid 12's?? thats not a hatch is it??? a 400hp 2500lbs hatch should hit 11's. but like you said traction, im not really sure about going fwd. but you think i should be able to handle 350hp with the right upgrades right?(suspension,lsd)

ok so a b18 would be the best choice right??? for 350hp will the turbo be small enough that the low end wont suck being only 1.8l??? also how much around do you think a 350hp b18 will cost???? thanks

 

well, like widebody said, it all depends on your budget. If you can afford to build, a 2000+ cc b-series is easily obtainable. You could also think about the h22a, or K-series (its possible to get nearly 2.6l out of a k24, but not cheap or the best way to make hp). What is your budget?

 

If I were you, I'd build a sleeved 9:1cr LS motor. That would be the most cost effective and durable way to break the 350hp limit reliably. Getting a LS motor sleeved is less expensive than buying a complete GS-R motor. Depending on how you acquire it, that sleeved LS motor could very likely be the most durable and cost effective alternative of all. Expect to spend at least $3000 building a 350hp 4-banger.

Displacement might be king, but forced induction really re-writes that old rule. The LS motor is a solid (and cheap) platform for turbocharging. If you want low-end power, just pick your cams and turbo wisely because that will have more to do with your power curve than anything. You need cams that provide just enough duration, allowing your head to flow the amount of air that your turbo's moving or your bottom end will suck. A little lag is a good thing in a FWD turbo setup. Too much low end power sucks with FWD traction. Too big of a turbo can make you blow the tires off every time it spools.

It all has to balance out, and it sounds to me like you've got a lot of homework to do. Most machine shops will help you put something together if you can just bring them the core. You'll probably find the most info about the B18 series engines.

 

my buget will probly be around 15g's including the 96 hatch. so with that buget what would be the best to do with a 350hp goal???? thanks, i appreciate all your guys info. your all cool as hell.