2000 civic si "STBT" (soon to be turbo)

[mal2000si]

so ive made a few decisions....

but first i have a couple noob questions, how do you turbo a car?

hahahaha! jk jk, i noticed a lack of activity in this section of the site of people ACTUALLY doing stuff and just asking questions and never following through with it...

i have a 2000 civic si (EM1) i started my turbo build a few days ago, i bought a b16 block crank and rods off a guy for pretty cheap

the pistons arent any good, the ringlands on 3 of the 4 pistons are broke...idk how either...but anyway, im looking for 280-350 hp.

but my biggest concern is this, i know buying rods will help insure the reliability of my car, but my tuner says i could just get the low comp pistons im looking at (wiseco 9:1 CR, stock bore) and use stock rods and be fine! is this true? id hate for my tuner to tell me that and then me throw a rod..

next, i want to know honestly, is 350hp streetable in this small of a car? my older bro has a '09 cobalt SS sedan and it FLIES and it has around 350... and its a bigger car with bigger tire circumference..

so any input whatsoever would be great

 

[charlie brown]

first off, good start to your build. imo there is no way around replacing both pistons and rods for a turbo build. Me, i have arias 8.9:1 pistons and eagle esp rods. i swear by them. if you do go low compression you will need to run a little more psi to get those numbers depending on the rest of you're set-up. i am running roughly 13psi and make like 325 or so to the wheels and need my cams degreed. anything over 300hp without a limited slip dif is useles imo, but really fun!

 

[mal2000si]

Thanks for your input man! Dannng, Ive discussed this with people before.

Wherevi don't have LSD I think when I hit full boost I'll just spin with a fully builtmotor and high boost numbers... Would it be better to just get stock pistons and arp rod bolts and headstuds?

 

[mal2000si]

And still turbo with a good tune of course..

 

[got traction]

if your going to do pistons, do rods.

 

[mal2000si]

What if I do neither. With colderplugs, intercooler, colder thermostat,and only 10psi... it's just I'm kinda anxious to start in on the build

Guess I'm just young and hungry for a car that actualy pulls... Haha!

 

[charlie brown]

doing niether is up to you but, imo its a bad idea. there are plenty of people who use stock motors and are fine. that percent of people is small tho. if you "rush to boost" there is a good chance of something letting go. a good tune is def needed in any case. if you have the time, use it wisely and build slow. i rushed a few things and ended up doing them all over again later. so, its up to you but i would take a deep breath and take my time.

 

[charlie brown]

if your going to do pistons, do rods.

simple yet profound. listen to this guy, for realz.

 

[mal2000si]

well, see, i want it done by summer, which obviously isnt rushing..haha!

my biggest concern is the factor that if i DONT have lsd im afraid im going to spin when i hit full boost, and that will be a waste, so im looking for alternatives to doing a full build and just sacrificing so ponies.

does that make any sense to anyone else? haha

 

[civhatch92]

I would do everything since the motor is apart and you want it to be reliable.

I've got 400hp in a hatch and can control it to not spin when hitting full boost... just don't drive it like an idiot on the street. It's still a lot of fun without LSD, though I plan on installing on in the future.

 

[got traction]

if the ringlands on the pistons were cracked, chances are the cylinder walls are scratched. So what you need to do instead of sitting around is order a set of pistons, then send the block to the machine shop to be bored/honed/decked. PM me about deals on pistons.

 

[mal2000si]

if the ringlands on the pistons were cracked, chances are the cylinder walls are scratched. So what you need to do instead of sitting around is order a set of pistons, then send the block to the machine shop to be bored/honed/decked. PM me about deals on pistons.

waiting on payday bro...im 16...

i had a guy look at it and he told me there was no way that the pistons are from that motor becuase how clean the cylinder walls are, we have bad snow here, so as soon as next week comes around and i have a day off, ill take it out to this shop down the road and ask him if it needs to be bored over and how far i could go safely.

if i did stock rods and pistons, lower comp head gasket, ARP rod bolts, ARP head studs, colder thermo, colder plugs, oil cooler, aum. radiator, and a block guard i think that would be the safest way to run stock internals on boost... idk though, turbo creates so much heat..

PM sent..

 

[got traction]

waiting on payday bro...im 16...

i had a guy look at it and he told me there was no way that the pistons are from that motor becuase how clean the cylinder walls are, we have bad snow here, so as soon as next week comes around and i have a day off, ill take it out to this shop down the road and ask him if it needs to be bored over and how far i could go safely.

if i did stock rods and pistons, lower comp head gasket, ARP rod bolts, ARP head studs, colder thermo, colder plugs, oil cooler, aum. radiator, and a block guard i think that would be the safest way to run stock internals on boost... idk though, turbo creates so much heat..

PM sent..

All you need is:

pistons
rods (eagle rods come with arp bolts)
head studs
oem headgasket

and obviously bearings/gaskets

oil coolers are not needed, a block guard is not needed a colder thermo is not needed, and we run ngk 4644 plugs.

 

[mal2000si]

Thinking about building it stock... Still.. Haha

 

[charlie brown]

Thinking about building it stock... Still.. Haha

please dont, youll get that thing done and then the boost bug will get ya! more boost I say! and you'll say it to, i promise

 

[mal2000si]

please dont, youll get that thing done and then the boost bug will get ya! more boost I say! and you'll say it to, i promise

like i said though, itl end up feeling faster if im getting traction, id rather have 250hp low boost and a good tune, rather than 350 highboost and not getting traction, and i dont wanna drop another 700 dollars into this, its already gonna be more than i expected.. horsepower numbers dont mean anything to me, i just wanna pull. b16s are SOOOO slow stock,

well, after riding in other things...

 

[Kensai]

Listen to got traction, he obviously knows something we dont, since he can get traction.

 

[charlie brown]

Listen to got traction, he obviously knows something we dont, since he can get traction.

 

[heylookitsdylan]

You asked for everyones advise, and dont seem to be taking any of it...

I see it simply like this: 16 year old kid + "stock" B16 + Turbo = BOOM
(Speaking from experence, Im 22 years old and Ive blown my fair share of engines. Import AND domestic.)

 

[mal2000si]

You asked for everyones advise, and dont seem to be taking any of it...

I see it simply like this: 16 year old kid + "stock" B16 + Turbo = BOOM
(Speaking from experence, Im 22 years old and Ive blown my fair share of engines. Import AND domestic.)

Haha!

This is funny!

so every little piece of advice you get you do exactly what that advice is?

No, engines don't just blow up for no reason, stock blocks can handle boost, just not a lot, first of all, do you even know why engines go "boom"?

I've built motors, yes, I have BUILT motors and I'm 16, I don't plan on keeping the car long, and want to make 250hp to play with while I have the car, there are people who ran stock b16 on boost for years, some guy told me he ran his on basemap for 7 years.

I don't drive hard, nor far, like 20 miles a day averaged..