* Do Not block your entire radiator with your intercooler. Have you seen the size of your radiator?
* Do use aftermarket high-flow radiator fans to aid cooling as much as possible.
What better sleeper could there be than a Honda Civic? Thanks to thousands of over-lowered examples equipped with manhole-size exhaust systems, fluorescent-green windshield wipers and purple headlights, nobody expects a whooshing, popping onslaught of boost. And if there's a frugal way to learn how to modify cars, this has got to be it. The car costs less than the parts used to modify it.
Honda Civic Coupe
Engine
Engine Code: D16Z6
Type: In-line four, aluminum block and head, turbocharged and intercooled
External Modifications:
Nissan 280ZX turbo, custom built 2 in. log manifold, Street Imports front mount intercooler and aluminum radiator, Custom 2.5 in. downpipe and exhaust, Tial 35mm wastegate, Stealthmode oil lines, McCord exhaust cut-out, Greddy Type-S BOV, MSD Blaster Coil and Cap
Engine Management Modifications:
DSM 390cc/min. injectors, Walbro 255 lph in-tank fuel pump, GReddy Profec-B boost controller, PLX Devices M-300 wideband, Chipped P28 ECU with Uberdata 1.7
Drivetrain Layout:
Transverse front engine, front-wheel drive
Suspension
Front: L-Con traction bars
External
Wheels: 14x6 in. Integra GS-RTires: 195/60-14 Falken Ziex
Interior
Fastlineperformance.com road race shifter, Autogauge carbon fiberboost gauge
David's Example
Without gaping ducts, ground scraping bodywork and a biplane wing, this Civic is in a position to be one of the great sleepers on the road. David Andrews' 1994 Civic EX is a shining example of the stealth engineering required to surprise the hell out of an unsuspecting Camaro owner. The only visual cues, if you can call them that, are the stock alloy wheels from a 1992 Integra GS-R.
As a matter of fact, there is little evidence the car has been modified at all-even when the hood is open. That's because David has managed to hide all of the turbo piping inside the stock intake plumbing and even hide the blow-off valve in the stock airbox. A trimmed Miata heat shield cloaks a homemade tubular manifold and a Garrett T3 turbocharger from a Nissan 280ZX turbo. David had originally intended to use a Mitsubishi TD05H 14B turbo, but after test-fitting, he found that he wouldn't be able to retain air conditioning with that setup.
Although the T3 is designed to work with substantially more displacement than offered by the 1.6-liter Civic, the turbo still manages to make 10 psi by around 4000 rpm. And thanks to a Tial 35mm wastegate, boost stays rock solid at that pressure (7 psi) for everyday driving chores. The plus side of the late-boost equation is that gas mileage hardly suffers, and the blow-off valve can stay silent from light to light.
Simply slapping a turbocharger onto a high-compression engine that isn't designed to cope with the increased load is a bad plan. Fuel injectors were swapped out for some 390cc/min DSM units. A fuel pressure gauge, being the only under-hood clue to the boosted nature of the otherwise stock engine, allows David to program his Uberdata 1.7 accurately.
David designed and built a 2.5-inch mandrel-bent exhaust system from scratch, in which the flow passes through the same muffler two times, a la Mugen. There's nothing suspicious about the 2-inch exit pipe under the rear bumper, and David's exhaust is barely louder than stock. (If the 2.5-inch cutout is closed).
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