It has taken 3 dyno sessions to get the settings & tuning dialled in, with progressive improvements. Essentially, she's still retains her 1.6 litre naturally aspirated heart, with extensive work done on the engine head, the engine block receiving some beefing up to handle the power, & a transmission swap to the rare & highly coveted 98' ITR gearbox with LSD & a 4.785 final drive to exploit the increased capacity of the powerband.
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| From Rides |
The final output on the dyno reads 168.12whp & 147nm, which translates to 205.5bhp & 179.3nm at the crank (considering 18% transmission loss, which is typical for B-series engines). A stock B16A is rated to make 170bhp at the crank, & typically 120+ to 130whp. While the figures may not be much to shout about, if you put it in the same league with high performance cars like EVOs, STis or 350Zs; to put things into perspective, 168.12whp from a 1.6 litre NA engine ~ that's already an output of more than 100 wheel-horsepower per litre! 105.1 whp per litre to be exact, achieved without resorting to turbocharging or supercharging. Admittedly, that's a consolation for me, for not breaching 200whp mark which I earlier thought was easily achievable (not unless I stroke it to 2 litres *will discuss about it another time*).
Power figures aside, it's the driving impression that will matter most, at the end of the day. In terms of response & power delivery, it's very swift, extremely smooth & linear all the way to the redline (as evidenced in the last dyno chart); to the extent that the 'VTEC kick' typically felt during the VTEC transition could no longer be felt or heard as distinctly. Such is the characteristics of the most aggressive camshaft design from Skunk2, the Pro Series Stage 3 bumpsticks. *It takes a little used to (without the VTEC signature loud bark), to start appreciating how much faster it is from point to point*. To sum it up, the car pulls much harder now, with significant gains & useable power throughout the rev range, especially from mid range all the way to the redline. The real fun starts from 7,300rpm onwards ~ watch the needle sweep across to the limit in one fluid motion =D
The torque band feels pretty broad & easily accesible from as low as past 2,300rpm, making hard launches prone to wheelspin, but the forward motion & traction is effectively remedied by the LSD & the thicker profile rubbers in using.
0 - 100km/h? With this setup, I reckon it should be in the mid, to low 6 secs *if i don't get sucky on my shifting
Quarter mile? Yet to try, I'd be very happy to be able to run 14 second-ish passes
It just takes a spirited drive out in the open roads to put a grin on my face. Quoted "there isn't much out there that will beat the thrill of a high strung, naturally aspirated engine, angrily & furiously screaming its way up to 9,000rpm" ~ I can't agree more... =)
It feels much faster in the open roads, pulling easily across at century speeds (80km/h - 160km/h), and acceleration is ample even at high gears (got to love the close-ratio gears & high final drive). Though it may not be a blistering straight line performer (by tuned car's standard), I believe it's got enough to hold its own against higher spec-ced performance cars out on the open roads ~ "may not be able to beat, but won't go down easily either".
Though, she still needs a little more upgrade in the handling department. Now, I'm fairly contented with the new found power she's making, still getting accustomed to driving her effectively to exploit the finer points of her potential =)
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| From Rides |
Here's a bio profile on Project Civic:
Engine 1.6L NA JDM B16A2
Engine Upgrades Skunk2 Pro+3 camshafts, Skunk2 Pro-series valve springs, Skunk2 hi-comp forged valves, Skunk2 Pro-series titanium retainers, Toda Racing adjustable cam gears, head port & polish, Power Enterprise Kevlar timing belt, lightened crank pulley, B16B (PCT) hi-comp pistons, aluminium engine block guard, ACL main & rod race bearings, Walbro 255lph fuel pump, B18CR fuel injectors, NGK Iriway 8 spark plugs, Ultra power cables, Arospeed voltage stabilizer, Skunk2 Pro-series 68mm throttle body, Skunk2 Pro-series intake manifold, Top Fuel air ram + K&N open pod intake, Skunk2 Black Series billet oil cap, custom tuned-lenght 4-1 header + 2.5” stainless steel piping system, and Skunk2 Mega Power (60mm) universal muffler + silencer
Engine Management Hondata S300
Transmission S80 (98’ DC2R) manual gearbox with Helical LSD + 4.785 final drive, Exedy 4-puck Stage 2 racing clutch kit + lightened & balanced flywheel (3.8kg)
Handling / Chassis GAB HA series coilovers with AVCS, EG9 front lower arm & undercarriage assembly
Brakes EG9 front + rear disc brake system conversion, dual layer brake servo, and Improve stainless steel braided brake hose kit
Wheels & Tires Sparco Racing NSII 15”, Bridgestone Potenza RE001 195/55/15 semi-slicks (front), and Toyo Trampio R1R 195/55/15 semi-slicks (rear)
Exterior OEM stock standard, EG9 rear boot lid spoiler, and OEM EK9 rear emblem
Interior EG6 meter cluster panel + dashboard, Nardi Torino 3-spoke steering wheel, Skunk2 billet shift knob, Apexi’ auto-timer, EK4 semi-bucket seats
I try to keep the exterior & visible interior stock, simple & clean coz 'less is more' & to avoid unwanted attention. It's already enough having a bloody loud exhaust system. I had to cap it with a silencer to keep the noise levels within acceptable levels, & so that my neighbors don't hate me, at the expense of a few horses & a bit of fuel consumption due to back pressure from the restrictive silencer outlet -_-"
Measured fuel consumption now is 7.54 kms/litre, down from a fairly efficient 10.9 kms/litre before the extensive upgrade. So Project Civic is now officially a fuel guzzler that takes in premium 97-octane or higher fuel only (high-compression-engine friendly).
You got to be hardcore to be driving Project Civic on a daily basis. With the level of mods, she's a car that begs to be driven hard & fast. More effort & coaxing is required to drive her in a civilized manner (already detuned, with emphasis on favorable daily driving, rather than all-out track days), to blend in with the masses & keep under the radar of the men in blue. Yes, she's definitely a bitch to drive, in heavy traffic... xp
Project Civic ~ that's a true driver's car, for me =)
