How crazy am i ... 2.0 to 1.5t swap + big turbo kit

DatBoiRic

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I have a 2.0 manual that has roughly 60k on the clock, i adore this car and i've always wanted to turbo it. Turboing this 2.0 would be a nightmare as seen on the other threads. I work in a shop and have access to tools/lifts/technicians, how difficult would it be ( labor wise ) to purchase a 1.5t engine ($1200 or so ) and buy a PRL turbo kit ( $2500 or so ) and to swap the engine for this build ...... thoughts?
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charleswrivers

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I have a 2.0 manual that has roughly 60k on the clock, i adore this car and i've always wanted to turbo it. Turboing this 2.0 would be a nightmare as seen on the other threads. I work in a shop and have access to tools/lifts/technicians, how difficult would it be ( labor wise ) to purchase a 1.5t engine ($1200 or so ) and buy a PRL turbo kit ( $2500 or so ) and to swap the engine for this build ...... thoughts?
It's a car that's still in production that's still very, very plentiful. Attachment to the car aside... I'd trade out. There's far more to think about. Going from one powertrain to another... and jumping trims in the process... Transmission (I doubt they're the same with the same ratios)? LSD is you went for the Si trim. Springs/dampers/sway bars (even if you're not going to an Si... are they all the same)? Wheels/brakes? Does the exhaust mate up properly between the two different cars... even with the turbo swap? Is the 2.0 exhaust a smaller diameter and possibly limit you...? There's probably a dozen other things I'm missing, to say nothing about the possibility of going from a lower trim to a higher trim bringing about more options you might like.

I don't have all the answers to these things... just throwing out differences that may exist that would make a engine-swap-only a poor choice. Once you factor in the cost of the engine alone plus labor... I'd think you could have swapped to a stock-L15B7 equipped car on a higher trim and made all these possible differences moot.
 

NotSerious

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Trade your car in for a Type R.
Extensive mods hurt reliability and resale values. You would never get your money back.
Not to forget all of the labor/hassle that you would save.
 

Drake

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Trade your car in for a Type R.
Extensive mods hurt reliability and resale values. You would never get your money back.
Not to forget all of the labor/hassle that you would save.
I don't think he would need to go that far, unless he has plenty of dough for a Type-R. Trading in for a 1.5T then buying the big turbo kit should provide more than enough fun at a much lower cost.
 


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DatBoiRic

DatBoiRic

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I don't think he would need to go that far, unless he has plenty of dough for a Type-R. Trading in for a 1.5T then buying the big turbo kit should provide more than enough fun at a much lower cost.
Total cost for the new engine and big turbo kit is less than 3500, i have the tools and shop available i just wasnt sure if anyone had any experience swapping engines.
Everyone says parts is crazy expensive but not really lol and i have borderline free labor
 

Drake

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Total cost for the new engine and big turbo kit is less than 3500, i have the tools and shop available i just wasnt sure if anyone had any experience swapping engines.
Everyone says parts is crazy expensive but not really lol and i have borderline free labor
While the cost for those two parts may be low, and the labor cheap, I agree with Charles' post above that it's questionable whether all the rest of your drive-train/suspension components could handle the extra power safely or even be compatible across the different engines.
 

gtman

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You're not crazy to give it a passing thought. But, in the long run, the odds of a happy ending are fairly low. Trade for an Si.
 

DETHRONE

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I once had dreams to swap the 2.slow for a 1.8t in my mk4 golf. Long story short.... I got an mk5 GTI
 

jred721

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For a car as mass produced as the Civic there's no point. It is way easier to just trade it in and probably worth the less headache in the long run. You would need to change the transmission out as well because the manual transmission in the 2.0 is a different unit from the one used in 1.5 trims. Too much work for a car that is readily available on the market imo.
 


The Vyzitor

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Yep just trade up to a Civic that already has a 1.5L manual . The engine, transmission, emissions system... there are a ton of things you’d have to swap to make it 100% and in the end you’ll spend a lot more money than you think.
 

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+1 for just buying the car you want. Even if you do it correctly and successfully; something will eventually go wonky, IMO.
 

gtman

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A Type R engine in an LX. Hmmm...

Good luck with that. :doh: Do you realize how many changes would be needed to other areas of the LX to be compatible with that kind of power output?
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