Honda D Series Forum banner

D16A8 Turbo build Help!

7K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  Paterico 
#1 ·
Hey guys, so i'm not very good at this whole forum thing but i need a hand. I'm currently in the middle of rebuilding/building my D16a8 as a turbo Build. I've purchased:
4 Nippon Racing Honda D16 Vitara Turbo Pistons
SCAT Honda Civic D16 Forged H-Beam Rods with ARP Rod Bolts
King Silicon Coated Connecting Rod Bearings
NPR Gas Nitrite N-51 Coated Racing Piston Rings
High Strength case Hardened 9310 Steel Wrist Pins
8 Sprial Lock Wrist Pin Clips
and thrust washers so far.

I'm in need of main bearings that are std size as i spun a big end but have since got the crankshaft linished and fixed. What type would be good for this and what do i look out for?

I know i need to do some work to the top end but that is coming a little bit later as there is foreign object damage around the valve of cylinder 2, but will include Valves and valve springs, head studs and possibly cams.

How would i go about engine management to allow to tune the turbo build as it is OBD0 and i cant seem to find anything that will work? Is obd1 conversion possible and how would i go about this?

The compression ratio should be around 8.5.1 and i'm looking for around 300HersPers to 400HersPers what turbo would be efficient at doing this? (Not looking for one that starts to spools at redline)

I Have been researching for weeks now, On every single lunch and smoko break and when i get home but i am having great difficulty finding everything. This is my first time building an engine by myself but i am trying to do everything as right as i can, getting as much knowledge of as many people i can and not taking shortcuts to make sure its atleast semi reliable.

If i have left out anything that anyone thinks should be covered/changed please feel free to point it out!
Any help would be greatly appreciated Thank You
 
See less See more
#2 ·
but have since got the crankshaft linished and fixed.
I'm not sure if you meant "polished" or "finished". In either case, what is the status of the crankshaft? Remanufactured off the shelf/recut at a machine shop or removed one from a known good engine?

Remanufactured crankshafts are almost always cut down and will need oversized bearings to account for the cut.

In either case, the remanufacturer company and/or the machine shop should have specified what they cut it to so you can buy the appropriate oversize bearings for it.

If they did not specify, you should measure what your main journals are at with a micrometer and compare this to the OEM specification in the service manual. Subtracting the two values will tell you what they cut down to. Common cut sizes are 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75mm. Sometimes you may see 1.00mm as well. In either case, you want to get a bearing set that is +0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 oversized respectively so the bearings take up the space where the crankshaft material was removed. Bearing sets will specify the oversize on the packaging/listing. If it says STD, it is the standard size bearing set (not a disease lol).

If the engine/chassis is OBD0 you can buy an OBD0 to OBD1 conversion harness that allows you to install an OBD1 ECU to your chassis and still use all of your OBD0 engine/chassis components. This will allow you to get an engine management system like Hondata/SManager or Demon2/Neptune installed for tuning purposes.

If you are looking for around 300-400HP, don't skimp on engine management or fuel system components. A decent in-tank Walbro fuel pump like the GSS341 (88-91 civic/CRX) or the GSS342 (92-00 civic) will do you well. Also couple this with a good adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Your fuel volume requirements for your HP levels, you will not have to upgrade the fuel rail or fuel lines using these pumps and a decent regulator.

Use this fuel injector calculator ( Fuel Calculator Page ) to determine appropriate injector size based on desired HP levels. You can specify if the power level is Crankshaft HP or Wheel HP. It is best to keep fuel pressure at stock levels when determining injector sizing, this way you won't undershoot your volume requirements. You can always fine tune and adjust the regulator and injector pulse width if needed when the tuner is dyno'ing the car.


Also think about a breather/catch can setup, as you will be moving more blowby gasses under boost through the crankcase than normal. You want to prevent blowing oil past any seals by maintaining safe crankcase pressures. You may need to modify the valve cover to weld/attach appropriate fittings.

Transmission upgrades? Not sure what you plan for the car or the purpose, but that's a lotta power for any Honda and you may want to couple that power to a limited slip differential capable of putting most of it to both wheels. I've heard people pushing the stock transmission open diffs to crazy power levels but there is a higher tendency to torque steer and one-wheel-burnout with the open diff. Depending on the application, like drag racing, you can combat most of the negative effects of the open diff by using drag slicks that have tons of grip. I've seen guys get their civics dialed into the 11's and 12's in the quarter mile using stock open diffs and drag slicks, swap in an LSD and only cut maybe .1-.2 seconds overall. It does help most in the 60' though. Road/circuit racing where power balance through corners is needed is where LSD benefits really shine.

Apart from these recommendations, this forum and most others call Vitara-type builds "cookie-cutter" builds, because they are so common and there is almost a common step-by-step template when it comes to the engine mechanical components. This is because they are so popular and overall reliable. Seems like you've bought a decent D16 rotating assembly that will be fairly reliable in the power range you are looking at, but PLEASE do not short engine management or fuel system components! Your tuner and your engine will love you for it. For reliability's sake, it is critical these components are of good quality and have a good name following.

Hope this helps!
 
#4 ·
I'm doing something similar, I have a d16y8 I plan on installing in my 99. And was curious if it's best to use a low compression or mid, or high ...I have found this kit I plan on buying, I do understand ima have to sleeve the block, I have my own thread just haven't gotten any response so I jumped on this one, sorry my car is my daily, just wanting some thing build strong, and rite that I can rely on, it's an auto, and my daily
 

Attachments

#7 ·
Polished works too, the crankshaft came back with std sizes apparently, I ordered some king performance main bearings but was told he didn’t need have any left and they are the only “performance” bearing I’ve found. He did have king oem replacement but I’m not sureness about if that will cut it or not. Would they be ok? Or is it better to try look for something “performance” and what do I look for while buying main bearings?
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
I’ll look into it, where I ordered the other ones from originally is a website called precision international who are in Victoria it said available upon request so I bought some thrust washers and asked to get some and that’s when he told me he had none the thrust washers came the next day.

So I found the catalog for king race bearings and the ones that were through precision were actually for 1.6L SOHC 16v D16W part# MB5568XP

There’s some for 1.6L SOHC/DOHC 8v/16v ZC
Part# TW 140AM

I’m not sure of the difference

http://kingracebearings.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Honda-brochure.pdf

Ok so the only place I can apparently get the bearings in Australia are through precision who don’t have them for the d16a8/DOHC ZC and ACL don’t have bearings either. ?
 
#11 · (Edited)
ACL also makes "performance" bearings. Using a STD set in my Y8 right now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ACL-RACE-R...h=item286056bd82:g:wlQAAOSwA3dYZvIt:rk:1:pf:0

I'm not sure right off the top of my head about D-series journal cross-compatibility, you may find shared crankshaft journal sizes across the D series that might cross to your engine.

Maybe someone with specific knowledge of interchangeability will chime in here!
 
#12 ·
Just got my package of forged internals and it turns out it comes with main and conrod bearings, only problem is they are oem replacement will this be good enough for the power I’m looking for?

I’ve also been looking at info about them and they are for a lot of different engines similar to mine but doesn’t specifically say mine, am I over thinking it? Should it be ok? They are king brand which is good but I’m not sure.

Also my phone is terrible at d-series so sorry for spamming and what not
 
#13 ·
Polished works too, the crankshaft came back with std sizes apparently,
so the machine shop said the journals are still within factory spec?

or is that an assume?


either way it should get plastigauged when assembled ,that should clear things up for you...
 
#14 ·
They said it was std size, I got Flexi gauge that’s correct for the clearances in the workshop manual but I read through the book and it doesn’t state my engine just similar ones like the d16a6, so I’m hoping it’s around the same. I also can’t find a head gasket that is for boost does anyone have any ideas?

Also what turbo should I run for 300-400hp with efficient boost starting around 3k rpm.
 
#16 ·
Cheers for that EFB055

Ok next question for everyone, what head gaskets fit the d16a8, like are they all compatible? I found a steel one on bisimoto’s website and was chrious if it fit
 
#19 ·
#22 · (Edited)
If the OEM HG for your engine is multi-layer steel (MLS), I would run that over any aftermarket brand. For the SOHC engines, the Y8 MLS gasket is considered the best HG by many members of this forum.

In regards to the size, even the OEM gasket will work fine with a 75.5mm bore. I believe the OEM Y8 HG is around 76mm.

In regards to tuning, you can run turboedit without converting to OBD1 if your ECU supports chipping. I suggest this option if you’re tuning it yourself as it’s much easier to learn compared to more modern tuning options like Hondata. But a word of caution...turboedit will NOT work well with saturated injectors so if you plan on using any newer “skinny” style injectors, turboedit isn’t a good option.

Just figured I’d mention that since turboedit is free, is simple, and doesn’t require an OBD1 conversion. Tuner express is the “newer” version of turboedit with some additional cool features but requires that a license be purchased.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top