my first honda

wats up ppl i am new here and i need some advise. i am a dsm guy and have been for the past 6yrs and i am trying something different due to lack of dsm’s found here in my area… i got my 1990 integra gs for $900 and its very clean… it has 150k miles on it… i am going to add a turbo to it and mimic my friends setup on his 1994 integra gs… the parts consist of: 60-1 turbo w/ drag exhaust manifold,delta wastegate w/ dump, 390cc injectors,fmu, fpr, 2.5" greddy exhaust, safc and boost controller, fmic, xs rfl bov…in addition i was thinkin of upgrading my intake manifold and tb aswell… before i start to aquire turbo parts i was going to do a compression test and leak down test and maybe even change the head gasket and add apr studs… how much boost can the stock b18a1 handle?? my friend told me he was running 12-14psi…for daily i plan on boosting 5psi and race about 12-14psi… is this high boost level save for the motor or should i run a 10psi level? for the ecu will i need any type of chip like hondata and similar ecu’s… is it worth it to get greddy emanage or just a regular ol apexi s-afc II? if i decide to keep the car then i plan on building the motor unless i find my dream car for a low price and prices are going down… like i said i’m a mitsu guy so u already know the car… just askin for friendly advise b/c i know u guys know ur integra’s and i am new to them…thanx in advance…

How much power are you going for? Boost is not really the main factor.

I think you got some reading to do, but other than that; Welcome to the board!

-Hoots

Dont use an FMU. Chip the ecu and get it tuned. it will run better. a lot better.

Boost is not the word, 7 pound of boost on a t3/t4 60 trim is like 15 psi on a t28. It is all based around horsepower. A general rule is that if u want it too last, dont go too much higher than 300 whp.

In the honda world. FMU and SAFC on a boost setup is frowned upon. BTW, ur honda will be a lot faster than ur DSM if it is done right.

300hp sounds nice… and i hear that alot that a turbo honda is better than a dsm… my boy had a 93 civic si hatch w/ a b16 on boost and it was crazy fast… but i have another friend w/ a turbo crx and he drove my car and he said i was faster than him… we never raced but i wish we did… but i’m very excited to work on my first honda…can the stock engine handle 300hp or is that cutting it close?? wats the best chip…does the block have to be shaved at all?? i have alot of work to do to learn about hondas but i’m willing to learn…need more advise…

Glad you left the dark side! lol, jk. I speak DSM very fluently and I have a lot of respect for both Honda and DSM. I prefer Honda tho.

The hole headgasket/arp head stud job is really more of a dsm thing. The part that will fail first on most boosted b-series is the top ring-lands on all the pistons. As long as you are showing good compression test results, the headgasket will probably hold up fine.

As far as 300whp, some say that is the limit of the internals of a stock b18a, I wouldnt even push it that far cuz if it detonates once, it could be time for a rebuild real quick.

For engine management, don’t waste your time or money switching to OBD1 (Hondata and Crome require it), just chip your stock ecu and use a free rom editing program to tune it. If I were you, dont bother buying a rom burner either (unless the software you use has no other options), just go straight for the ostrich eprom emmulator. Research all the DIY tuning info at pgmfi.org . Also, xenocron.com has great deals on complete DIY tuning packages (Go for package #1). This route allows you to datalog and do all your own tuning real-time (similar to DSMLink) and eliminates the need for an afc.

Also, your going to need to get a clutch right away.

my car actually needs a clutch now so that will be taken care off really soon…saving for a clutch/flywheel combo… u guys are really making my conversion from dsm to honda easy and for that i really thank you… i love my dsm’s though…they will always have a weak spot for me…but back to my integra… how well does the brakes hold up??? i’m thinking of going w/ the ebc rotors and green pads… and wat is a good size tb to use… not to big and not too small…

Integra brakes are pretty good from the factory, being that they are four-wheel discs. I know your DSM had that too, but your teg should be considerably lighter. My brother has tried all different brands/styles of rotors on his teg and he liked just using the stock rotors with some good pads, like AEM, or Axxis. He says the aftermarket rotors warp quickly and are a pain to find a place to turn them for him. I have Axxis now, they stop very well, but the brake dust is terrible. I have since purchased AEMS, but havent yet insalled them.

Another thing you could save money on is the flywheel. For a street/strip turbo car, the stock flywheel is fine, just get it re-surfaced. Put that money towards other things, like a pcv catch-can setup, and a slim fan.

As far as a TB, I wouldn’t mess with it until after you upgrade your intake manifold. Cuz there is no point putting a 65mm tb on a manifold with a 58mm inlet. www.maxbore.com has a great price for boring an OEM TB and fitting a new throttle plate properly (I tried doing it myself on a lathe once, didnt work, lol). If you go to the site you can see which throttle bodies can be bored to what sizes, etc.

cool thanx…ima have to check that out… my turbo set up will be put on hold due to me moving to another place…but i do plan on working on a kit this winter…thinking of putting one together myself… so if anyone is turbo and r parting out in the near future let me know… i’m thinking of keeping the integra for about a year then upgrading to a rsx or evo8 but its a thought still haven’t put anything on paper yet to commit to it… but if i decide to keep it where is a good place to get a short block…also w/ a 60-1 turbo will the block have to be shaved at all???