1g N/T advice?

[XiKeiyaZI]

Well hello there broth-rars.

I have been my 1G for about a month now and have had only a few little problems which I've lined out as I've gotten a feel for the car. It was running as if it were holding back until I did a sea-foam clean out which gave it some of it's pep back.

Now, I'm at the point where I want a bit of power of this thing, and slowly work towards a possible turbo. But I have my eyes on an AWD Laser, so I'm fighting with myself over if I should even turbo this thing.

Anyway, It's a 4g63 N/T. 6-Bolt of course. Everything is stock save for the exhaust. Pacesetter.

What can I do to really help this thing out? I'll say right out that messing with the timing kind of scares me. =/ I was thinking about new cams, but would that even help? Would I need to reprogram the ECU for them?

So, if someone wouldn't mind helping me out, please list a few things I can do to give this car all she needs BEFORE turbo comes to mind. Starting with easy things, and working towards the more delicate features.

I was THINKING, new cams, new intake, and a new intake manifold would be a good start....but I just read a post that basically stated that bigger cams on a n/t was a waste of time. >.<

Thanks! *Goes back to reading posts*

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

But I have my eyes on an AWD Laser

Go with the AWD Laser from the get go before you waste a bunch of money on your non-turbo. You will be much happier in the long run. If you want power, which you stated in your post, forget natural aspiration and dsms. They don't go well together.

However if you're going to keep the non-turbo, follow the upgrade path here. You won't get too much power out of it though.

Hope this helps!

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Go with the AWD Laser from the get go before you waste a bunch of money on your non-turbo. You will be much happier in the long run. If you want power, which you stated in your post, forget natural aspiration and dsms. They don't go well together.

However if you're going to keep the non-turbo, follow the upgrade path here. You won't get too much power out of it though.

Hope this helps!

Haha. I figured I'd get that. Thanks for the advice though!

See, I really fell in love with this car as I know it inside and out... so I want to get the most out of it as possible. Kind of like " This is my VERY NICE N/T 4G63. ;D F### your civic. If you don't like that... here's my BA 4G63T Laser! ;P"

You understand? Hahah. I want to see what I can get out of this car before I put a bunch of work into a 4G63T, for my own personal sake. ^^

 

[91Bomb]

You understand? Hahah. I want to see what I can get out of this car before I put a bunch of work into a 4G63T, for my own personal sake. ^^

How much is your N/T worth now or how much did you pay for it? If the answer is not much I'd just drive it for now stock and if something goes wrong on it requiring money I'd consider doing a part-part because you can make well over a grand and STILL save all your sensors, head, and a crazy amount of misc stuff for the turbo 1g AND in the process of tearing everything down gain a much better understanding of how to work on these cars. I'm parting out my N/T 6-bolt right now and bought a nice '93 TSI for 2K so everthing I mentioned is exactly how it's going for me and so glad I'm doing that. For 4-1/2 yrs i TRIED my best to like the N/T 1g and could not ever really enjoy it even after upgrading to turbo seats, steering wheel, and bigger tires for better handling and ride quality since my 1st dsm was a turbo. Now being back to turbo I feel like I wasted the last 4+ yrs of my life petering around in a boring to drive n/t and sooooo happy I made the decision I did and I'm saying this having a bone stock fwd TSI now.

Only good thing I could say about N/T is that it was very reliable BUT i drove it easy and there is a bit more maintenence and concern with turbo dsm's so if you don't like doing maintenece and looking for boost leaks and such N/T might be the way to go so if you can live with low performance..... Also important to note though is turbo dsm's are much more than increased HP + torque because they handle the road sooooo much better it's not even funny.

 

[DSMer541]

my first dsm was a n/t 4g63...i had it for 2 or 3 years and went through 2 engines( what a waste of money) , i THOUGHT it was fast till i got my turbo awd, i will never go back ,you will never see the power you want out of the n/t as as you will with a turbo..... id deffinetly recomend saving your money for that laser, you will be alot happier in the long run,i loved my n/t car alot too and it was hard to let it go, but im much happier now.....this is comming from experience though i did learn alot about this engine running on the n/t platform which help me to know what i was dealing with when i did get the turbo, if thats what you want then your on good path.....but it will cost you as most parts will not be transferable to your turbo car.

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

See, I really fell in love with this car as I know it inside and out... so I want to get the most out of it as possible.

I know exactly what you are saying. I got my n/t when I was 16, my first car. I've had it for the last 7 years. Thats why I'm saying get the AWD before you get too hooked on you car and your stuck FWD. I'm dropping a turbo 6 bolt/ecu/wire harness combo in mine in the next few months but I'll never be AWD now cause I love my car. Like I said I know exactly what you are feeling but I'm sick of having a n/t dsm!

 

[tunethis]

If you want a turbo car, it may be best to leave the NT alone and wait until you can get a Turbo version. I know it will be hard to wait but, it will be worth it. It's best to start off with what you want than to spend money on something else only to get the turbo car later. You could spend all that money on the turbo car from the get go and have some real power.

Have you ever been behind the wheel of a turbo DSM before? If not, find one and test drive it. I'm sure you'll be able to make a decision after that.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Hahah. All great answers!

I actually found the stuff to turbo this car for around $600, which isn't bad.. including everything!

^^ I also found an AWD that needs a tranny and turbo for REAL cheap.. so i'll turbo my FWD.. and then make the AWD my project... that way I can move up!

NT - FWDT - AWDT!

Where can I go wrong? Hahah. plus in my town.. I can sell my NT as is for $2500... turbo it and i KNOW I can let it go for 5K because people in my town are idiots, slap a turbo on a Civic, and think they are fast without it being tuned are anything. ;P

The Timing belt just wore out on mine.. so I'm currently replacing the pistons with 1G turbo ones, new belts, and then slapping on the sensors and turbo setup... gonna start with 8PSI and gradually move up to 15PSI with a Turbo ECU.

Sound like a decent plan?

 

[91Bomb]

Well I can tell you on 1g's at least there's MUCH MORE difference than just HP + torque between turbo car's and N/T's with the suspension being NOTICABLY better for handling, seats are better, and steering wheel is better. So for anyone thinking that slapping a turbo on a N/T car is the answer that is only halfway to the turbo dsm experience I say that after going from 1g turbo-->1g N/T-->1g turbo and I know a 420a turbo is not going to ever be as good as a turbo 4g63 no matter what the 1/4 mi times are achieved with it. Not bashing but just talking reality here

 

[9!'clipseDOHC]

Well I can tell you on 1g's at least there's MUCH MORE difference than just HP + torque between turbo car's and N/T's with the suspension being NOTICABLY better for handling, seats are better, and steering wheel is better. So for anyone thinking that slapping a turbo on a N/T car is the answer that is only halfway to the turbo dsm experience I say that after going from 1g turbo-->1g N/T-->1g turbo and I know a 420a turbo is not going to ever be as good as a turbo 4g63 no matter what the 1/4 mi times are achieved with it. Not bashing but just talking reality here

Better suspension and handling? Maybe on a GSX but as far as a GS to GST I don't believe that it is any different. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The seats varied widely from year to year, even in the same packages. There are many different 1g seats, but thats not to say the the turbo seats are any better than the non turbo seats.

I have never seen a "turbo" steering wheel. Please post pictures.

Also you mentioned a 420a which has nothing to do with 1g DSMs, turbo or not. Just clarifying.

 

[91Bomb]

Not sure exactly why 1g turbo fwd's handle much better than N/T's because pretty sure struts + springs are the same but perhaps anti-sway bars are beefier and not sure what else but owned 2 fwd turbo 1g's and handling is much better than N/T.

Steering wheel is thicker on both my 1g turbo talons than on my eclipse GS and big difference in feel.

Seats on both my talons have lumbar + thigh supports and head rests and put the seats on the GS to shame and is why I swapped them.


Just saying that slapping a turbo on a 420a does not turn it into a 2g turbo dsm.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

>> I HATE 420a's....