Engine Maniac

Death of the D15B2

2010-02-26T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a vid that sums up what went wrong with the D15B2

2010-02-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well at 7000 miles the poor tuning finally caught up with me. Cracked ringlands on all four pistons....but I've got some new ideas in mind now. Going to put an unmilled head on and run 10psi through a DSM T25 turbo. Probably an OBD-1 swap in the future too...stay tuned!

Destroyed ringland:

Piston to valve contact:

2010-02-14T01:34:00.000-08:00

Been awhile since I've updated. Currently brainstorming out a D16Z6 turbo build with MrCooper from http://civic4g.com. It should turn out to be a pretty nice build, hope to update with photos and part info soon!

Built D15B2 Idle and 10-80mph videos

2009-11-25T23:24:00.001-08:00

Enjoy!

Delta Camshaft Non-Vtec D15/D16 Cam specification sheets

2009-11-24T22:15:00.001-08:00

Here are the specification sheets for the Delta 260 and Delta 272 camshafts.

My D15B2 N/A Build

2009-11-24T21:46:00.000-08:00

In 2009 I decided to do a rebuild of a D15B2 that I had bought a few years previously. My goal for this build was to keep it affordable, make more power, and keep most of the factory reliability.

I started by stripping the block down and giving it a good cleaning both inside and out.

I had the block bored .5mm (.020in) and decked .010in.

Purchased and installed new NPR pm3 pistons, NPR piston rings, ACL Bearings, and ACL thrust washers.

Kept the stock crank and connecting rods, but replaced the stock rod bolts with ARP's.

Pistons in the block:

I also installed ARP head studs to help prevent head-lift at high rpm.

Also had the flywheel resurfaced:

That is mostly it as far as the bottom end assembly goes, just a few more accessory bolt-ons and it was complete.

Now for the head, the most important part to modify when attempting to increase the output of an engine.

I started by having the head milled .040in. With a .010in block deck and MLS head gasket, this will yield a compression ratio of 11.3:1. Much improved over the stock 9.2:1.

I didn't do too much as far as port work. I cleaned up some factory casting flaws, and port matched the intake ports.

Replaced the stock valve springs with Bisimoto springs.

Went with a Delta 272 camshaft.

Unorthodox four bolt adjustable cam gear:

Here is the engine with the assembled head bolted on:

For the exhaust I went with a fiberglass wrapped Megan Racing header, test pipe, and OBX 2.5in catback.

I decided to stay OBD-0. Had the D16A6 injectors flow-tested and cleaned by cruzinperformance.com

Went with a stock D16Z6 intake manifold + throttle body. This image compares it with a D15B7 intake manifold. Note the larger, slightly shorter runners:

The ECU is a pm6 chipped and basemapped by xenocron.com. The rev limiter is set at 7500rpm

Here is the engine fully assembled and ready to be dropped in:

Finally, the project is completed. Dyno charts and quarter mile times coming soon!

Honda Civic/CRX D15B1/D15B2 MPFI Swap

2009-11-23T22:34:00.000-08:00

The MPFI swap is one of the best ways to gain more performance out of a Honda D15B1 or D15B2. The stock DPFI system is a true bottleneck for the engine due to the small diameter of the throttle body and the poor flow rate of the injectors. Another downfall is that the DPFI ECU's have not been cracked, so they cannot be tuned. Any modifications done to the engine (ex. cold air intake/exhaust) will be useless with DPFI, and any gains in power will be minimal at most.

This tutorial is geared towards OBD-0 setups. OBD-1 conversions will not be covered here.

Parts Required:

1. A complete intake manifold from an MPFI Engine. I recommend the D16Z6, but the D16A6, D16Y8, and D15B7 can also be used.

2. MPFI ECU. You will need a pm6, pr4, or pg7 (note: will run rich with pr4 and pg7). Make sure you replace the OBD-1 injectors with OBD-0 injectors if using a D16Z6, D16Y8, or D15B7 intake manifold.

3. MPFI Distributor TD-02. The stock DPFI TD-01 distributor will not work.

4. Resistor Box: This can be pulled from a Civic/CRX Si

5. Four MPFI injector plugs, 7 pin Si distributor plug, resistor box plug.

6. New intake manifold gasket

7. Si throttle cable. (Not absolutely necessary, but it is much better over the long DPFI cable)

I highly recommend soldering and heatshrink wrapping ALL connections.

The best place I have found to start is at the ECU.

Here is a pin-out diagram for the MPFI OBD-0 ECU:

Inside car at the ECU plug:

1. Pins B10 and B12 are empty. Unused pins can be taken from B2 or B11. Some models have a wire located at B12.
2. Cut orange and white wires off at C1 and C2 and connect them to wires added at B10 and B12. Orange-B10. White-B12. Leave enough wire for next step.
3. Run wires from C1 and C2 (direct ECU connection) into the engine compartment. Label these wires for later use.
4. Cut wires at A3 and A7 leaving plenty of wire. Run these wires into the engine compartment and label them for later use.

Next move on to the engine bay:

1. TPS and EACV plugs are too short and must be extended.
2. Be sure to switch green/white and yellow/white wires on TPS. If you do not do this, it will read WOT when the throttle is closed.

Injectors and injector resistor box:

1. Connect the yellow/black wires from the two DX injector harnesses and run it to the yellow/black wire on the injector resistor box.
2. Connect the yellow wire from the DX injector to the #1 injector (brown wire).
3. Connect the red wire from the DX injector and run it to the #3 injector (blue wire).
4. Connect the A3 wire to the #2 injector (red wire).
5. Connect the A7 wire to the #4 injector (yellow wire).
6. Connect the 4 red/black wires from injector resistor box to each injector.

Distributor Cylinder position sensor:
1. Connect C1 to blue/green wire on cylinder position sensor plug.
2. Connect C2 to blue/yellow wire on cylinder position sensor plug.

That's about it, the swap is fairly straightforward. Fire it up! Check the ecu for codes, and do whatever idle adjusting is needed. Good luck to you!

Honda D15B2 Specifications

2009-11-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

The Honda D15B2 is one of the most common engines built by Honda. It came in the USDM 4th generation Civic DX hatchbacks, DX sedans, and LX sedans. Also came in the 2nd generation CRX DX's. It shares many similarities with the D15B1 and D15B7's also.

In stock form, it produces a meager 92hp. Great for fuel economy, but bad for performance. Surprisingly enough though, the engine can be built to perform quite well without the use of forced induction or nitrous. There are many options for this engine, everything from upgraded OEM parts to aftermarket parts.

Factory Bottom-End Specifications:

Displacement : 1,493 cc (91.1 cu in)
Cylinder Bore: 75.00mm
Stroke: 84.50mm
Deck Height: 212.00mm
Connecting Rod Length: 134.00mm
Pistons: pm3
Piston compression height: 30.70mm flat top, 4 valve reliefs

Cylinder Head:

Valves: 16
Valvetrain : SOHC (4 valves per cylinder)
Combustion Chamber Volume: 38.00cc
Compression Ratio: 9.2:1

Intake and Electrical:

Fuel System: Dual Point Fuel Injection (DPFI)
Fuel Control : OBD-0 DPFI

Performance:

Horsepower: 92hp at 6000rpm
Torque: 88 ft·lb at 4500rpm
Redline : 6500 rpm,6800 rpm rev limiter
ECU Code: PM5/P04
Average Combined Fuel Economy: 38mpg