1993 Honda Del Sol - Ryan Basseri - Honda Tuning Magazine

Your Questions Answered
Questions Answered By Honda Expert, Ryan Basseri Of Rywire • Www.Rywire.Com

I have a '93 Honda Del Sol with a D15 and want to swap an H22 in its place. I know I will need mounts, harness, '94+ axles, linkage, and ECU to make the swap work, but is that all? Or will I have to do anything with the suspension? I have heard yes and no from several different sources and would like to hear from the pros. I currently am running Ractive coilovers that lower the body a few inches and it's not the smoothest ride now (which was expected), but I'm concerned about the weight of the H22. Thanks.
John

Hi John, first off, you need to ask yourself what transmission and computer you're going to be using. This will play a huge role in the parts list for your swap. A popular choice is a B-series transmission and a chipped obd1 ECU. Here at Rywire.com we specialize in custom wire harnesses for your swap. We will use your engine harness that matches your car and modify it using pieces of the h22a harness to give you a painless plug-and-play wiring harness. Whether you decide on an H22 or a B-series transmission, you'll need a custom mount kit. Next, if you do choose an H transmission, you'll need custom-made axles for your application. These can be ordered from Hasport performance (www.hasport.com). If you decide on a B-series transmission, you can use any B-series axles as long as you match the half shaft. For the computer, the best bet would be to use the ECU that is currently in the Del Sol, and have it chipped and tuned with an H22a map. With the added weight of the H22, a good quality suspension is always a big plus not only for ride comfort, but also for safety.

Hey guys, how's it going? I have been reading your magazine for about a year now since I bought my '92 Si. I'm getting ready to put a B16a into it once I get back from Iraq. But I was wondering if you guys had any good ideas about how to get around 450hp out of that engine. I will still need to keep it a daily driver until I can get a new car. So what kind of parts should I consider and where would be a good place to get those?
Adam

Well first of all Adam, a B16a is not going to be the best bet for that kind of power. If you wanted to get to 450, starting out with a 1.8L or greater would be a good start. You'll need a built engine and turbo kit installed. That's not to say that you can't hit big numbers on the B16, or even a single cam, but to make it easier, a built, turbo, B18c is where it's at (if you want to stay B series). I suggest sending the block to Golden Eagle for a nice sleeve job, and full bottom end build. Then find a good machine shop to clean up the head and add some cams and valve train work. Then you'll need to find a quality turbo kit like Full Race or Peak boost. Lastly, a nice engine management by Hondata or AEM will give you full programmability over your engine. I'm not going to lie, this process will cost you an arm and a leg, but you will have your goals met, and the reliability you need on a daily driven car.

I am in Afghanistan for the third time and I'm tired of having a slow ass car! I'm a soldier and I need a faster car so I was wondering exactly how much it would cost and how possible it would be to put a RB20 inside of a 2000 Civic Si. I would have to make it rear- or all-wheel drive and a lot of other work. But how much would it take to make the conversion and what would I need? If you could e-mail me back or find someone who can do it that would be great.
Thank you,
U.S. soldier

To be honest, an RB in a Honda is not the smartest idea. Converting it to rear wheel drive, or keeping it front wheel with a Sentra transmission is just crazy talk. You have a very good engine in your car right now. An upgrade to a 1.8 or 2.0 Honda engine would be a much better idea than trying to put an RB in. If you are looking for a big horsepower upgrade, look into the K-series or even J-series Honda engines. A turbo or supercharger will add even more power and you'll have your hands full in no time. Stick with what you have; it's meant for your chassis and will save you a ton of headaches in the long run.

I have an ej8 auto and want to switch to a manual. What do I need to complete the swap? My automatic tranny is going out, so this is the best time to do it. Can you please help out?
Anthony

The auto conversion can be a tricky swap. Other than all the regular stuff like a manual transmission, shift linkage, shifter, pedals, clutch master cylinder, slave cylinder, lines, clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, ECU, starter, etc, the transmission mount can cause the installer some issues. Your best bet is to just buy an auto-to-manual mount and bracket from HaSport. Or, you will need to change the mount bracket to a manual, and run a manual transmission mount. The last thing you will need to do is wiring. You will need to join the starter wire back together because it becomes open once the auto shifter is removed. Next, the wires for the reverse lights need to be run out to the transmission (make sure the car is in park) and you're done.

I had a quick question about my '95 Civic hatchback DX. I got the car and did an engine swap because I needed a quick new motor to ride in, so I went with a '92-'95 D15B VTEC motor that I found online. I realized when I got the swap done from a non-VTEC to a VTEC motor, I had a problem with the car not shooting the VTEC and realized I had some wires missing. I came to you guys asking if you know where I can go online to find an OBD-I engine harness from the motor to the ECU, because I can't find it anywhere. I have a friend trying to wire it up himself, but he's taking too long. Please help me out!
Zelito

All that you are missing is the VTEC and VTEC pressure switch for the engine. You can purchase the kit from Rywire.com for $50 and it will include the missing plugs and the pins into the ECU with proper install instructions to do it all yourself in minutes! I bet you never thought it would be that easy!

Sup fella's! HT is the only mag I'll spend my hard-earned money on. Nothing else compares! But I need to know something, please help me out here. My '92 Si hatch needs a brake upgrade. I track my car at least once a month, sometimes more. I'm going with the Fast brakes kit, but I'm wondering if I'll have to upgrade my brake booster and master cylinder too. Will I not see any benefits unless I do the cylinder swap? Or am I ok with just using the Si stuff my car came with?
Billy H.

A good upgrade for the booster and master cylinder over your stock EG would be the one-inch from the '98+ Integra. This will provide you with better pedal feel and improved volume over the smaller booster, and master cylinder. This setup with suit your larger brakes nicely and you will notice a big difference. Have fun at the track!

Guys, I recently picked up a '91 Civic Si. I really like the look of the JDM front end, and I'm pretty sure it will be my first real change to the car, other than suspension and wheels and tires. Can I use the '88-'91 JDM CRX front end for my car? I like the way the grill looks on the CRX compared to the JDM Civic. I'm hoping to avoid cutting and welding, so would this just bolt on to my front end? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Stephan

Yes, this will be a straight swap over. Personally, I would suggest keeping it correct and not swapping something from a CRX on a Civic or vice versa! But yes it will work. Please remember the JDM conversion is not always a straight swap. You have a 50/50 chance of getting the incorrect radiator support "t" bracket. The '90-'91 base model is going to be the one to get. The SIR "t" does not fit on the US market cars very well. You will notice people who have the wrong "t" support when they have washers and bolts spacing out the support trying to get the latch to secure.

Honda Tuning gurus, I have a question about something I've been thinking about for the longest. The K-series motor is somewhat similar to an S2000 F20/22. For some reason the S2000 motor doesn't make much power with bolt-on parts, but the K-series seems to really liven up with typical bolt-ons. What's holding the S2000 back? I really like the car and want to buy one, but I can't imagine spending over $1,000 on exhaust and a header only to find that I've made three horsepower. What gives??!
Marlo

This is a good question Marlo. There are many reasons for this. The first thing that holds the F20/22C engine back is that it is pretty well built from the factory. It does make an additional 20whp over the K20r engine. The K20 on the other hand is slightly detuned from the factory, allowing it to respond well when bolt-ons are added. The second thing is that the F20/22C is generally found in a rear-wheel-drive car. The rear-wheel-drive system has more drive train loss than its front-wheel-drive counterpart. With this being said, an F20/22C engine will make more power bolted to a K transmission than a rear-wheel-drive F20/22C transmission. Lastly, the k20a uses a VTC system, allowing it to have more degrees of timing and continuously variable intake cam timing. In a recent online article, a turbo F-series with a custom fit VTC system made 90whp, increased torque, and a huge gain in airflow efficiency. So with these three major factors, it's no wonder why the K-series takes the cake in the tuner world.