Also if I get to into the Geartech and out of the gastech somebody say something... I will take the geartech power questions to
www.honda-tech.com those guys are great with geartech..

Ah, the 3 stage...hondata sucks!

Anyway, 3 stage will be hard, you'll have to convert to obd2 or run a chipped obd1 ecu and attempt to use iab stuff on the ecu to activate the second stage of vtec. Though it's a great engine, it's tricky.

Geartech is very welcome here, you'll notice a lot of h-t holdovers (but without being meanies), like myself.

Yes I too got here from Honda-Tech. Just a FYI I dont know crap about most tech stuff. My brother is a Honda Tech at the local dealer so I really dont ever have to or get to do anything. He doesnt answer questions on how to fix it he just tells me it is faster to do it himself so I let him. slowly I am learning though.

Oh ya and the link that I gave you came from here:
https://www.honda-tech.com/zeropost?cmd=tshow&id=1508680

Not exactly up the CX alley but some good info anyway.

Woot for FAQ version 2.0 I love that stuff.

Ben Ogle's page > *

Cool info guys!
 

Ok after pricing and talking with my honda guy here I think I will begoing with the JDM D16B 1.6 VTEC vs the JDM D15B 1.5 VTEC both are single overhead cam setups but the 1.6 gives me the higher base line HP and displacement and if I don't hotdog I should get great milage considering. Also this leave room for future work to the car... Cause when the smart car get released officialy over here (not ZAP) I am buying the roadster and using it as a daily driver and will then be able to play with the civic more. i.e. turbo, replacment cam, and retuning the car.

I used to want the 3 stage vtec. It's an awesome technology, but I really don't care for the 3rd stage. I just wanted the economy.

Perhaps something you can do (if you do decide to do this) is run the first two stages of vtec off of the ECU. It will essentially be a civic VX at that point. The other vtec actuator can maybe be manually activated? A button or a toggle switch?

Anyway, very few people have done that swap, and I imagine it's a lot of work trying to figure things out.

One problem with toggle Matt - no additional fuel/timing curve changes.

I love the idea of the 3 stage, but for a 5th gen Civic, it's just not worth it. Too much to change over IMHO.

Something to note about the D15B - It has the same head as the D16Z6 (P08 casting), and, drumroll ---- it has the same rods. Now if you don't know much about USDM D15 rods, then that don't mean much to you. But if you do, you know that they aren't the same as the 1.6 rods (smaller big end bearing, shorter, and thinner). This should be an awesome platform for both economy and power, as you have a little less displacment but have the rod strength (and aftermarket D16 rod option) to deal with boost, if you decide to go that route.

One down side is that the pistons/crank are JDM only - that means if you bust a piston you won't find it at your local Honda/Autozone parts dealer. But, at $300 for an entire engine it's not a major worry.

Not rly, as civicminded pointed out the head casting is the same as the z6, so it's built for a lot more airflow and doesn't have the same piston bowl swirling characteristic as the z1, which is why I stopped liking it.

Be wary of some of the advice given out on honda-tech, there are some knowledgeable people there, but there are MORE people that THINK they know what they are talking about and give out bad advice.

If you are having trouble with something geartech related, drop me a PM and I'll do what I can to help.