Tuboed Auto or Stick??

[Chezi82]

Hey guys,

I'm a long time reader, first time writer. I own a 97' CIvic DX hatch auto and a 92' Civic Xx stick with a EX engine. I've recently acquired the APEXI Turbo kit for the 92-95 Civic EX or SI. Based on your experience which car do you guys think I should drop the turbo in? I could make my commuter (97') a mini me with an EX head and a transmission swap or I could just drop it on my 92'. However all I have right now is the kit and no intercooler or fuel management upgrades. Please help me out. Thanx to all.

 

[Shiznit]

drom it into the stick! why would you bother modding an auto when you have stick!

 

[ReggieSD]

you'll probably have a huge turbo lag since you're boosting a sohc...just think, running on first gear and 2nd gear...and then it changes to 3rd before the turbo even starts spooling up....i know i'm exhaggerating but that's what'll happen if you turbo an auto...a sohc auto i mean.

 

[iamcivic]

Yea you will have a ton of lag in an auto, since it shiftes really early in the rpms.

 

[05]

auto's shift when you tell them to shift, if you floor it it will hit redline, you can downshift and control your rpm's to an extent but its not like you have to shift at 4k or anything, but i would think that that much power on a 4 speed would be kinda lame, and i doubt it will last as long as you will want it to

 

[hoffman_20]

ya its not hard to make an auto shift. floor it and when uv reached you desired rpm you let off then floor it agian. auto will shift everytime

 

[Chezi82]

Thnaks for all your information, it's very helpful. Would you guys have a recommendation towards fuel enrichment? I'm new to turbos and so i'm trying to absorb everything I can about the sujbject. I now that expensive is not always better, so please any additional info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[black n red CX]

ya but in the auto u wont get the sensation on chirping 2nd and 3rd gear unless u have alot of HP.

 

[hoffman_20]

ya my 3rd gear does suck. try to get outa that asap

 

[Ace$nyper]

honda autos dont like to take too much power stock i'd say if your doing it on the auto *dont but if you wanta* get a TQ converter and a tranny to take the extra power.

 

[lkailburn]

don't go auto. you'll kick yourself. manual is much better in so many ways.

for fuel management i say pick up some dsm 450 blue tops, with clips and resistor box, and run dyno tuned uberdata on a socketed ecu. the ecu will depend on what motor you decide to boost. no matter what it is tho, you'll want obd1 so you'll need a conversion harness if u turbo the y7. if u turbo the stock dx, use a p06. if u do a y7/y8 mini me first, use a p28 ecu. if u turbo the 92 with the ex engine, its already p28 obd1(assuming you meant a d16z6 engine was swapped in). so u can just have it socketed.

good luck with the project.

 

[Chezi82]

I will be going with the stick, so the 450 DSM w/blue tops should be good enough uh. How about regulator-wise, there are a ton of regulators out there. And on top of that I still have to go with a boost controller, APEXI's one seems very complete. Lastly the engine has about 105 k miles, is there anything internal i should change, cams, pistons, pulleys, gaskets?

 

[lkailburn]

stock fuel pump and regulator are fine.

boost controller's aren't required, they are only able to turn up the boost. however they can help you spool faster at the same pressure as opposed to without it since internal wastegates tend to open up a bit at mid boost pressures.

any ball and spring manual boost controller will do the trick.

i HIGHLY recommend you buy a new oem headgasket and some arp headstuds. D's are notorious for head lifting and those should help prevent any issues.
new timing belt, water pump etc etc can't hurt but atleast get the hg and studs

as for internals. do a compression check on each cylinder. that will give you a good idea of how stable your internals are

 

[Chezi82]

Thanks for all the info, i've done some research and I can get a full gasket set from Eristic for about $100. Would you recommend using this since i've never really heard of them?

 

[lkailburn]

NO. buy an OEM honda gasket. don't trust no name company's. i even hear bad stories about cometic.

goodluck with the project

 

[M1DN1GHT_EJ6]

dont go for auto at all for any reason, even in a car that has some balls to beigi ith they still suck, my car wid a stic would run mid 15's but im stuck hittin a 17 ... amybe when i go to the track this year it will be better than the bone stock run.

-- Melt (dont feel like loggin this guy out)
94 accord ex 4dr

 

[Chezi82]

thanks for all your help guys, i'll post up some pics before I start the project.