Hello! Fuel Economy Noob Here!

[JesseCRX]

Hello Everyone!

My names Jesse. I'm a virgo..I enjoy long walks on the beach and playing love songs on my guitar

I'm kiddin! I've been a lurker here on Gassavers.org for quite a while now, trying to gather information on what engine to go with for my 91 Honda Civic Hatchback. I've been into Honda cars since 97, and I've had a deep love for all things 88-91 Civic and CRX.

I went through the whole speed phase looking to get the best track times but it got to be very expensive. Now that prices on gas are hitting hard I thought it was time to rethink what I want out of my Hondas.

Just recently my DOHC ZC blew it's timing belt on the freeway(yeah, I know..I shoulda changed it but procrastination got me). So now my Civic hatch is laying dead in my driveway. So for the past 3 weeks I have been thinking about engine options like the D15z1, D16a6, D15B(92-95 SOHC VTEC), DOHC ZC(exact same replacement) and even a B16a but after reading several articles about the D15b 3-stage VTEC-E motor I decided to go with that one. I really liked the pep that my DOHC ZC had and when read that this motor not only has fuel economy but decent power as well it was the obvious choice. That and I am getting older(32 now...and I gotta think about bigger priorities like having kids..etc)

My friends and I are no strangers to doing engine swaps but this particular swap is gonna be something none of us have ever tackled before. I called Steve and Hmotorsonline.com and got my hands on this motor swap. He was telling me how this one and the D15Z1 are starting to sell like hotcakes lately(go figure!lol!)

Right now my car is wired for OBD-0 and it's my understanding that the engine I am getting is OBD-2. I hope that I can find the help I need here to wire this motor up. I know Honda-Tech has alot of great people on there but lately I haven't been getting much help and almost always get referred here when asking about the 3stage vtec-e motor. The DOHC ZC gave ok gas mileage on the hwy...roughly 30-33mpg depending on my driving mood.

Anyway, here are a few shots of the car I am going to be working on. I had to fall back on my CRX Si project...how else was I going to get to work?





The horror!


Here is what I am driving now. Stock motor CRX Si with mild suspension mods. The SOHC D16A6 gets ok gas mileage. The previous owner had it rigged with a chipped ECU and an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator and a CAI. MPG was HORRIBLE! It's ok now that I got the whole thing back to stock specs(minus header and exhaust and K&N Filter). It's got a sticky throttle cable that's getting on my nerves too

Depending on how well the D15b 3stage VTEC swap goes in the hatch I may drop the same motor into the CRX






Anyway, glad to be here and I hope to learn as much as possible.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

there is a guy on here that has done this or something like this. his screen name is suspended hatch. here is a link to his garage.

http://www.gassavers.org/garage/view/1545

I figure he would be more help than anyone.

[JesseCRX]

Yeah, so far I've only found a few people who have done this particular swap(with the guy you mentioned being one of them).

The engine is scheduled to come in by the 28th of this month. Once I get it I'll post up pics and do a step by step install both asking for and giving info.

[nowhhs]

I would have thought that the hard part would be finding the engine. From what I've read, they're hard to come by. Congratulations on that part. Could you rig it up OBD1 using a P07 ECU, just like a z1, and an RPM switch for the second VTEC stage? Since the P07 is always in closed loop, fuel enrichment shouldn't be a problem. Just thinking out loud here. I'm very curious to see what you come up with. Good luck.

[JesseCRX]

Originally Posted by nowhhs

I would have thought that the hard part would be finding the engine. From what I've read, they're hard to come by. Congratulations on that part. Could you rig it up OBD1 using a P07 ECU, just like a z1, and an RPM switch for the second VTEC stage? Since the P07 is always in closed loop, fuel enrichment shouldn't be a problem. Just thinking out loud here. I'm very curious to see what you come up with. Good luck.

I could go OBD1 and just run it like any other D15B VTEC motor but I really wanna go for the 3 stage OEM setup.

I have run into my first problem though. I cannot find an ECU schematic for the P2J ECU. You were somewhat right about the motor setup...the motor was easy to find, but the ECU is what's rare. Doesn't make any sense for motors to be plentiful yet ECU's are tough to find but I have one coming.

As of right now I am buying gaskets, timing belt, belts and whatnot but I have yet to find out what exact wiring gear I am going to need. If anyone knows EXACTLY what wiring harness I need to get this project going in an 88-91 Civic please let me know..

I already received my Innovative D-Series replacement mounts. My old mounts are in pretty bad shape so instead of spending the money on OEM mounts I bought these for $175 shipped

[Markmysite]

Gotta love a good project car. Good luck on the mods!

[JesseCRX]

UPDATE:

Ok, the engine was delivered today and I was pretty impressed on how well it was packaged and secured to the skid. I took a few snapshots of it.







You can see how far back they cut the harness(back to the ecu?)


And here you can see the dual VTEC Solenoids. Anyone know what the gray plug is for?


Anyway, time to start replacing the usual parts this week. Stay tuned!

[nowhhs]

Gray plug is EGR. Where did you get the engine and what did you have to give for it, if you don't mind me asking? I might have to think about something like that.

[JesseCRX]

Originally Posted by nowhhs

Gray plug is EGR. Where did you get the engine and what did you have to give for it, if you don't mind me asking? I might have to think about something like that.

$800 to my doorstep. It was a little high, but I don't trust any motor vendor except Hmotorsonline.com

I've bought all my engines from them in the past for my performance swaps

Would have been cheaper had it been shipped to a biz or picked up at a terminal.