Tech Support - Import Car Technical Q & A - Super Street Magazine

Trying to stay ultra PC, we'll just say Happy Holidays to you all. Unless you're in Cali with us, it's probably cold at your pad. And more than likely freezing in your garage. But look on the bright side, at least you keep the car running with the garage door closed to warm everything up. Just kidding. Seriously. Don't do that. We're not sure about you, but we'd prefer being cold and stuck under a car rather than being hot, sweaty and suffocating under it. With the brisk winter air running through your lungs, you should be able to install at least three or four aftermarket parts before the new year. We'll even help you out if you have a few questions. Write legibly to Super Street Magazine c/o Technical Support 6420 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048. Those that bought into the whole internet fad can e-mail us at tech@superstreetonline.com. As always, our Inquiry of the Month gets a prize and this month it is a SARD Multi Fan Controller from Kure Motorsports (www.kuremotorsports.com, www.sardracing.com). The Multi Fan Controller does exactly what it says, allowing you to modulate your fan's speed and thus keep your temps down. Although we prefer the way Mary cools down, the SARD MFC can also be quite refreshing.

Ricky's Inquiry Of The Month

Q Hi there. I own a '94 Honda Civic hatchback with a 1.5L engine and a five-speed transmission. I want to swap the engine to a VTEC motor. I want to know from what year Honda or Acura does the engine have to be or could you give me the engine code. Also, I want to know if I can still use the transmission from my Civic or do I have to change it. And do I have to change the ECU to it? Any help you can provide on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Love the magazine.

Thanks.
Albert Calderon
HOUSTON, TX

A If you're looking for the DOHC VTEC motors, you have a few to choose from just in the B-Series lineup. From the Integra, you could get a B17A or B18C1/5 (GS-R and Type R) motors. Then there are the ever so popular B16A engines that you can score from Japan or out of a del Sol VTEC if you happen to be that lucky. If you have more money to shell out, the new K20Z motors out of the RSX and Civic Si are all the rage. But none of these are direct drop-ins. You'll need a mount kit from Hasport (www.hasport.com) just to get them sitting properly in your engine bay. As for your tranny, your stock D15 will not fit with any of the twin cam motors. And you'll definitely need a new ECU and wiring harness to run any of the new VTEC motors.

Q Hey, Super Street. How is life out there in Cali? Sadly, I live in God forsaken Ohio. Props to you on the ten years, and I wish you ten more happy ones. I recently purchased a '95 Acura Integra GS-R and the guy I bought the car from said to use only iridium spark plugs. Now, here is the question: Can I use a platinum plug or do I have to use iridium? I plan on putting a turbo on it in the future and I was just wondering what the qualities of both are, which puts out better spark and what the difference of the two plugs are. Seeing how the iridiums are double the platinums in price are they really worth it? If you could answer this for me I would greatly appreciate it. Oh, before I go could you give Nads' man tittays a twist for me. You should probably wear latex gloves or something, to prevent the transfer of STDs. Peace out and I will continue to read your mag forever. Viva, Super Street!'

Jon Foerster
VIA THE INTERNET

A Wow, you're all over the map on this one. Ohio isn't too bad as long as the Cavs keep Bron Bron happy. Other than that, there isn't much else that we can think of that's going on there. As for Nadsy's he-boobs, we'd give them a twist but his pepperoni-sized teats are hard to get a good grip on. Oh yeah, you were writing in about your car, too. The issue with plugs is touchy. Everyone has their own preference on what's good and what's not. You don't just have to worry about the brand and type of plug, but also the heat range. The colder plugs are more ideal for turbo and nitrous setups. Between platinum and iridium, there will be a difference in power and response, but nothing huge that you can feel in the seat of your pants. Ideally we'd go with the iriduims, but they are quite pricey. The platinums work fine and will save you a ton of money. Just make sure you check them regularly because fouled plugs are no good to anyone. Also, you have to gap them properly. You can go by the manufacturer specs for now, but once you turbo the car you will need to change the gapping a bit to burn the boost and fuel mix.

Q I have an '03 Honda Accord with the K24 motor. I'm at a disadvantage because it has four doors. I've done all the bolt-ons I can do so I've chosen my next project to be cams. My question is, if I install cams will I need an EMS because no one makes one for my car. Let me know what you guys think. Also, I wouldn't have passed school last semester if it weren't for your magazine. Thank you.

Keep it coming.
Mario Thomas
VIA THE INTERNET

A That's odd, usually people write in and blame us for how they failed remedial English and simple arithmetic because they were too busy trying to figure out what our inside jokes meant. But hey, one out of thousands ain't too bad. On to your problem: We looked into the two simple plug-and-play ECUs, AEM (www.aempower.com) and Hondata (www.hondata.com) and you're right, they don't offer anything for your Accord, but check back frequently to see if anything is coming in the future as they're constantly developing new systems. Don't get all depressed yet, though, because realistically, depending on the size, you can throw the cams in without having any tuning done. Of course, it would be ideal to play with the fuel and timing maps a bit to maximize your power. If you really must fiddle with something, you can pick up an air/fuel controller like the Super V-AFC or Gizzmo CamFC from A'PEXi (www.apexi-usa.com). These will allow you to play with the fuel and VTEC settings to compensate for your bigger cams. As always, we recommend that you get the car on a dyno and have an AF meter on the car when messing with it. The last sound you want to hear is a boom.

Q I have a '95 Honda Civic, as does the rest of the world, but I have completed my exhaust, headers and high-flow cat. I have also added an intake manifold, throttle body, throttle body spacer and cold air intake. So my next plan of attack for this 1.6 beast is fuel. I wanted to know what kind of injectors I should get and how much they should flow (195cc, 250cc, 500cc). If you could help that would be great.

Zac Knoblauch
VIA THE INTERNET

A Adding fuel is a very delicate matter. If you don't add enough, you're going to lean out, potentially blowing your motor. But add too much and you'll be too rich, minimizing the potential of your motor. In your case, any larger sized injectors would be overkill. Not that you don't have a lot of mods, but you're a far cry from maxing out your stockers. What you could do, though, is get them balanced and blueprinted to make sure they're working properly. You can hit up RC Injectors (www.rceng.com) for that task. In the slight chance that you are leaning out, always add a high flow fuel pressure regulator and rail to your setup. Make sure you get an adjustable one, that way you can turn the pressure up or down as needed.