Realize the full Performance/Economy Potential of a Honda Civic VX

[suspendedhatch]

Originally Posted by topher

Suspended hatch. It's good to see you again bud!. You have many of the same wants for your car as I do down the road. Just wanted to say that it's good to see everything working out. I would chat some more but, I just got out of class and have work in 30mins.

So untill next time take care bud and check out my build thread,
http://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=7019
Chris

It still hasn't changed! Update it if you're going to tell me to take a look!

I wish I could have Bisi tackle my 3 stage VTEC cam. But I guess if I wanted a fast car I'd get a B18C for my Integra that's wasting away under a car cover on the side of my garage.

[GasSavers_topher]

Things I Would Really Like To Do To the Car
but I'm a poor broke-***

Junk the distributor and get the AEM EPM ~ $300 and requires down time for AEM to tweak my EMS.

Get an alignment.
Yes

Get an AEM V2 Intake.

Get a 4th HX rim and some decent winter tires so I can put the Rotas back on my Integra.

Get some Bosch Ionic wipers. They work the best and they're aerodynamic.
I have these and they work pretty damn good. The only time they don't cooperate is when the are frozen. I don't think you have to worry to much about that. I have seen on a few cares though where they can tend to miss decently sized portions of the window.
Get an antenna delete cap.

Get a stainless steal braided clutch line.
That's on my wish-list to somewhere

Get some Koni struts and Eibach Ground Control coilovers.

Get some good, locking lug nuts.

Replace the bushings with new factory rubber.

Replace the rear engine mount with new factory.
I would just get the poly insert for the rear. That's just me though and I know your aware of them. If your worried about the "poly sqeak" the black inserts are embedded with carbon to minimize any sqeak sound. Plus the minimal movement of the transmission will allow your internal shifter forks to survive occasinal abuse. (Info I learned from Bone)

Get the AEM Pencil coils so I can run regular *** NGK's instead of these screw cap Autolites.
Around here almost everyone quit carrying NGK's. So for now i have the autolites as well. Not cool

Replace the carpet.

Replace the door window trims and weather seals.
That's on my list as well. I was thinking JC whitney but, I havn't looked at the honda dealer yet.

Get some lower profile side mirrors. I kinda liked the knock-off spoon mirrors I had on my last hatchback, but I would find something higher quality this time around.

Reupholster the seats and door panel fabric with black and dark gray stitching. Would be nice for the Integra seats to be a perfect match of my interior.
I have done tweed on my coupes and I love the way it came out. If your on a budget. Tweed is a very durable material and fairly easy to work with. It may need some persuading on tight corners though.

Get a custom spare tire sub enclosure/amp rack, a square Kicker sub, a 4CH amp (Kicker or Alpine), some front components mounted in custom kick panels.
In my old hatch, 81 civic, I mounted the amp under the front passenger seat and tucked the wires. Mounting it there would allow you to have more workable space in hte spare tire hole.It worked out pretty good for me. Not sure how big you amp is though.

Get a quiet, straight through custom exhaust. Two Magnaflow resonators and a new Magnaflow muffler, with mandrel bends and no chrome exhaust tip. That way stupid ricers and stupid ricer-haters would leave me alone. Also, I could use the bluetooth built into my stereo (I can't hear it over the exhaust).
I agree with you 100% on the stupid rices! If your looking for a quit, yet freeflowing exhaust look into exhaust dimpling. I believe this is what Larry did.I also was thinking that pontiac produced a few cars from the factory like this back in the 60's
Convert to R134a and charge the AC.

Get some Endyn roller wave pistons to boost compression as high as I can with 91 Octane. Also have the oil pump serviced for improved flow and get some ARP head studs and a new headgasket.
Endyn's oil pumps look amazing when there finished. Plus not only do they flow more, they take every anti-reversion step possible.

Get an EGT sensor.

Spend countless hours on a load-bearing dyno perfecting my ignition timing, fuel, and injector phasing for the light to medium load region of my calibration. Then pay someone to re-tune the heavy load portion for more power with all the new modifications I would have by then.
If you have the access and the time....DO IT. And I thank you for never holding back information.

Have a custom manifold made with 4 bungs for individual sensors so I can tune individual cylinder trims.

Get some body work to fix all the minor scratches and dings throughout the body.


Anyone have any suggestions/recommendations?

Not sure if I mentioned this before but, If the z7 cam is anything like the z1/y5 cam they only really need help on the exhaust side. If your on a budget that would be the way to go. Sorry if that's a re-peat but, I have dial-up so I can't go back.

Take care,
Chris

EDIT: SH: Post 21 -23 were all updates that I added.

[thisisntjared]

Originally Posted by suspendedhatch

I refuse to vent it to the atmosphere.

and rightfully so for ecology and for power. the vacuum in your im will provide lower pressure in your crank case than open atmosphere. it also helps cycle the air in the crank case.

Originally Posted by suspendedhatch

I would want it to drain back into the crankcase.

i disagree here, i would be concerned that the residue would be more than just oil and the oil that is there would probably be acidic from the water that would be caught with it

Originally Posted by suspendedhatch

slashcut valve in the exhaust system.

i dont understand how this would work. do you mean using the exhaust velocity to make a draw in the crank case??? if thats what you are saying then i disagree as that could almost be the same as dumping it into the atmosphere.

Originally Posted by suspendedhatch

So you can see essentially that I've set the bar high and I stubbornly adhere to the "do it right or not at all" mentality.

i understand your point completely and agree, but something could be better than nothing right?

[Loserkidwac]

Originally Posted by thisisntjared

i dont understand how this would work. do you mean using the exhaust velocity to make a draw in the crank case??? if thats what you are saying then i disagree as that could almost be the same as dumping it into the atmosphere. i understand your point completely and agree, but something could be better than nothing right?

The slash cut system does use the exhaust velocity but the catch can is in line which is separating the the liquid and anything going out the exhaust would only be vapors and I imagine...

I've used home made catch cans out of an air tool water/oil separator plus added some steel wool as a baffle...it seems to work fairly well on the 2 turbo cars I own...

[suspendedhatch]

Originally Posted by Loserkidwac

I've used home made catch cans out of an air tool water/oil separator plus added some steel wool as a baffle...it seems to work fairly well on the 2 turbo cars I own...

I'd be worried whether it could flow enough or whether it's going to force oil past your valve cover gasket at high RPM and load. I've seen it more often than not. Check valves are definitely integral in a good system. I designed a turbo PCV system on paper that should provide vacuum under all conditions (w/out going to the exhaust), it's closed aka environmentally friendly, and would flow adequately. Now that I've decided to stay N/A I'll have to take a second look at it.

[suspendedhatch]

Originally Posted by thisisntjared

i understand your point completely and agree, but something could be better than nothing right?

Seeing things rigged up on a car makes me stick to my stomach. IMO, "something is better than nothing" vs "do it right or not at all" is no contest.

My second philosophy is "do it right the second time" LOL.

[suspendedhatch]

Originally Posted by topher

Get some Bosch Ionic wipers. They work the best and they're aerodynamic.
I have these and they work pretty damn good. The only time they don't cooperate is when the are frozen. I don't think you have to worry to much about that. I have seen on a few cares though where they can tend to miss decently sized portions of the window.

I have them on the Integra. They don't chatter on the freeway. They wipe evenly.

Replace the rear engine mount with new factory.
I would just get the poly insert for the rear. That's just me though and I know your aware of them. If your worried about the "poly sqeak" the black inserts are embedded with carbon to minimize any sqeak sound. Plus the minimal movement of the transmission will allow your internal shifter forks to survive occasinal abuse. (Info I learned from Bone)

I have the black inserts on both front lower mounts. I wont put them in the rear. I had them in on my previous hatch and it just caused a ton of vibration. That's pretty ridiculous for a daily driver that isn't fast. "Do it right the second time", in this case, get new OEM for the rear.

Get the AEM Pencil coils so I can run regular *** NGK's instead of these screw cap Autolites.
Around here almost everyone quit carrying NGK's. So for now i have the autolites as well. Not cool

I've never had any trouble finding them. Worst case scenario I'll order them online or just get Denso's from the dealership.

Reupholster the seats and door panel fabric with black and dark gray stitching. Would be nice for the Integra seats to be a perfect match of my interior.
I have done tweed on my coupes and I love the way it came out. If your on a budget. Tweed is a very durable material and fairly easy to work with. It may need some persuading on tight corners though.

I'll be paying a professional to do it; after carefully screening different shops. On my last hatch I did the carpet myself and it came out like ***. I'm not happy unless it's perfect. Before I get the upholstery done, I think I'd like to get a racing seat mounted low and further back.

Get a custom spare tire sub enclosure/amp rack, a square Kicker sub, a 4CH amp (Kicker or Alpine), some front components mounted in custom kick panels.
In my old hatch, 81 civic, I mounted the amp under the front passenger seat and tucked the wires. Mounting it there would allow you to have more workable space in hte spare tire hole.It worked out pretty good for me. Not sure how big you amp is though.

I would never put it under the seat on my own car. I really want a custom rack / spare tire sub enclosure. I'll do the install myself as I'm an advanced MECP, and I'll have my former shop manager do the custom work.

Get a quiet, straight through custom exhaust. Two Magnaflow resonators and a new Magnaflow muffler, with mandrel bends and no chrome exhaust tip. That way stupid ricers and stupid ricer-haters would leave me alone. Also, I could use the bluetooth built into my stereo (I can't hear it over the exhaust).
I agree with you 100% on the stupid rices! If your looking for a quit, yet freeflowing exhaust look into exhaust dimpling. I believe this is what Larry did.I also was thinking that pontiac produced a few cars from the factory like this back in the 60's

I've never heard of dimpling or how you'd go about doing it. But I just quit my job to work at an exhaust shop as an IM Tech so I should have a new exhaust here in a little bit.

Not sure if I mentioned this before but, If the z7 cam is anything like the z1/y5 cam they only really need help on the exhaust side. If your on a budget that would be the way to go.

Be interesting to find out whether the Z7's VTEC-E lobes are the same as the Z1/Y5. I know for one thing that the Z7 doesn't have roller rockers. I wonder if the Z7's high lobes are the same as the Y8. I'll probably never know. I don't have the money to even dream about that.

Thanks for the feedback!

[suspendedhatch]

Holy ****ing ****

I have figuratively walked into a goldmine. Or at least that is how it feels for someone who hasn't had the most luck in life.

What happened is that I got fed up with the stupidity at the place I was working for as a senior advanced MECP installer (car audio/security/video). So I told my manager exactly what I thought of him and then quit. I went home, checked craigslist, found a job, drove down there, talking to the manager, took an I/M Pretest, and got the job the same day. Even though it's a pay cut, it's an hourly wage vs a commissioned wage where I had to bargain for and justify every dollar that I made.

Well that's not the goldmine. That's more like recycling cans. What happened was that after 5 days of working there, I was about to go home for the day, we're BS'ing about cars and I'm showing them my car... talking about the AEM EMS and the COP conversion etc, when one of the guys offhandedly mentions that he has a goddamned LOAD BEARING DYNO. The guy that leases the garage attached to our building has a dyno that he doesn't ever hardly even use!

Tomorrow I am on a mission. I'm taking my passport, my vehicle title, my birth certificate, my son's birth certificate, the keys to my Integra, my bank card... I'm putting them in an envelope and offering them up. I want him to show me how to use the dyno and then give me the keys to the garage so I can spend the entire weekend tuning the **** out of my car. Tuning the VTEC-E and VTEC crossovers. Tuning the ignition timing advance and the pickup delay comp (a setting that corrects for the lag time of the ignition as RPM's increase). Tuning the injector phasing at all loads and all the way up to the high RPM's. Tuning the fuel to within a percent of the target AFR. Tuning the acceleration enrichment. And basically becoming fully capable and comfortable with tuning.

The end result is that I will have optimized my calibration for max power and economy well beyond the conservative OEM tune. And since this is such a peculiar engine and peculiar setup (no one on earth has an AEM EMS on their D15Z7 except me)... the results will be purely academic. So I wont have any qualms about posting the logs and calibration up for all to see.

The goal goes beyond perfecting my setup. The goal is to break out and start tuning cars for a living and making some real money instead of scraping by on these $10 an hour jobs endlessly making minimum payments on credit cards I racked up when I sustained a head injury in 2005 that left me with double vision for six months at which point I was turned down for disability because it didn't last for a minimum of 1 year.

Yeah and then there's this whole back story about how I emerged from being a single parent and a teenage dad getting a bachelors degree in Sociology which hasn't paid off one bit. Anyone want to use my story for a made-for-television drama, send your paypal offer to:

suspendedhatch@suspendedhatch.duh

God bless me.

[thisisntjared]

nice! i am looking forward to seeing your findings. thanks for sharing the blessing!

[GasSavers_Erik]

Congrats- it sounds like quite an opportunity. I'm anxious to hear how many hours it takes to tune in each of the variables you mentioned.