The EngineThe Honda D16Y engine-it's the little engine that seems to have started it all. When this motor was introduced in the Civic/CRX line-up, the little Japanese econoboxes were suddenly praised for having a sporty nature, signaling the end of the "economical = boring" equation that occupied the minds of consumers at that time. With the engine pushing a factory rated 108 hp at 6000 rpm, the engine doesn't sound too impressive now, but relative to the cars available at the start of that decade it was good enough. Coupled with the car's suspension technology and relative cost of ownership, the Civic became a highly desirable vehicle to own.
Even years after the engine was introduced, several manifestations of the motor proved their worth, including the proprietary sohc VTEC model, but the non-VTEC 1.6L engine managed to maintain its general integrity. On the number-crunching side of things, the D16 sported a 75 mm bore with a 90mm stroke, putting the final displacement at 1590cc. The 108 hp teamed up with the 100 lb-ft torque (available at 5000 rpm) and still managed to produce an efficient 28 miles per gallon (32 mpg on the freeway). Now that we have a cherry-condition Civic Si on our hands, we're going to see just how high we can make those power and torque numbers go.
Performance ComponentsSome of us like to race up the performance ladder, skipping steps here and there. Others, perhaps limited by budget constraints, like to take one step at a time, reaping the rewards of each part added and enjoying the satisfaction of completing a job well done. Since this generation of Civics is still a popular platform to build upon, in spite of their 14-year existence, we are taking the road most likely traveled by the beginning tuner-one step at a time.
Our first step would be to swap out the factory intake system. Chances are, the stock air filter has been replaced a few times, but even this maintenance will never net the power gain of replacing the intake system with an AEM Cold-Air unit. We don't need to let you know all the benefits of the AEM CAI-chances are, you've probably heard it all before. So, our main focus here is to upgrade the factory system with a sportier, more efficient power-adder that adds, as a side benefit, that 1.6L intake sound that can almost be described as a "throaty growl."
Our exhaust system comes to us courtesy of A'PEXi and is of the WS variety, A'PEXi's new flagship exhaust system for the performance oriented street-driven consumer. The WS is constructed of the industry standard SUS T304 stainless steel and is engineered into oval design muffler. The muffler is packed with composite sound dampening cubes placed in an optimal flow configuration that keeps the World Sport system true to its name-sporty and legal in most parts of the world. The large exhaust tip lets people on the street know that you mean business and it's highly polished for a show-quality appearance.
The new Powercore header from Landspeed Racing is a header that is well known to us here at the Tuner offices. In a previous Power Page, this header made an outstanding amount of power on a B-Series Honda motor. Now, with applications for D-Series Civics and many more to come in the future, this header is sure to start making even more waves in the import performance industry. The header is of a one-piece four-into-one configuration. This allows for an equal amount of length among the runners and a maximum flow rate at the collector/flange area. The header is constructed of stainless steel and is highly polished to a mirror finish.
Dyno TestingWe strapped our almost-teenaged Civic to the Dynojet at the Import Tuner Tech Center and laid down a few baseline runs. Surprisingly, the car made 95.2 hp and 81.5 lb-ft of torque. This came as a shock to us because of the car's relative old age, but it was a pleasant shock, nonetheless. At least we know that this motor is a keeper.
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