Why are the zc engines so popular? They're less that 150 hp stock aren't they?

 

correct you are!...i dont have one in my car yet but i will by the end of summer...i'm guessing they are popular for the following reasons...
1. bolt into 88-91 civic and crx's with the factory engine mounts
2. if you have an hf or si the harness should plug up to everything with modification on one wire somewhere...changing the dx wiring harness is quite simple too...or so i've heard
3. almost as much horsepower as a b18 swap will yield but not as much torque...for much cheaper

...there are probly more reasons people do it...everyone else let this guy know why you think the zc's are so popular...maybe somethin i said about the wiring harness stuff isn't all the way true...just going by write-ups i've read...let me know if i was wrong...later

 

thanks for the info :thumbup:

 

Its cheap and its easy. Thats why people do ZC swaps.

 

say you were going to swap one into a crx... how much would that cost vs how much a b16 would cost?

 

you would save over a grand doing the swap probably more like 1500 depending on what mods you had on your stock d series engine. ZC is about 525 to 800 shipped and bolts to all the stuff you already have. b16 is about 1100 and up with tranny then you need mounts 350 and up and lastly you need shift linkage. I believe none of your performance stuff you already have will work except your exhaust with the b series. The b16 is nice and pulls nice and sounds cooler but for the price you could get a few zc's or boost one and have a spare in the garage............

 

They're also under-rated compared to the b16. I've beat my fair share of b16 powered crx's. They're lighter, so that helps. I mean, they don't have v-tech (j/k), so I mean, they aren't a ricers wet dream....but they get the job done.

 

i just got a price quote yesterday and zc is 735 dollars with tranny and ecu. doing the install myself plus 125-150 shipped

b16 is 1399.99 with y1 tranny and pw0 ecu, plus the 125-150 shipped plus id need 350 for motor mounts and 125 for shift linkage. so u see the issue over that 23 extra hp.

i can easily save that extra thousand bucks and buy a zex nitrous kit for 500 and have money to spare, but i'll soon have both engines, as my b16 is on the stand waiting to be rebuilt i'll let u guys know the difference between the 2 engines soon.

 

how hard would it be to get a ZC into an 86 crx? And are there turbo kits and other aftermarket goodies for them? also, how do the trannies, more specifically the gearing in the trannies, compare?

 

yah there are tons of goodies and u can turbo it quite easily and the lower compression rates make it easier to boost without problems than the b16 check out whiterice's link in his signature