MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread

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MAPerformance

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Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41713002_2182828941992427_5796592307696304128_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41769761_2666407076917070_4086546934150463488_n


As we head into another weekend, I wanted to share some exciting developments with everyone. While we have been extremely happy with the performance of the stock engine, so far, I would be lying if I weren't to admit that I would never have expected it to last this long.

To recap, for those who do not know, our 2017 Civic Si has been subjected to two full rounds of product development and subsequent dyno testing, 3 clutches, 1 transmission (for our most recent outing details, please follow this link: MAPerformance's 2nd day out at the track with our 1.5t Si turned up to 402.24hp) three turbos, 55 full 1/4 mile track passes and yet, this stock engine, while still going strong, is definitely starting to show some wear as evidenced by this following snippet from one of our recent posts:

"we decided to drop the pan and make some inspections on the engine. Bearings are beginning to show some signs of wear... but are still healthy and since we are interested in determining the engine failure point, we put the bearings back in, re-torqued the caps and will send it. Current crankshaft endplay is at .0010 inch... according to Honda, acceptable range is from .0004 inch to .0014 inch...which puts us just over the hump of the middle... again, we decided to send it...BUT we will be installing a clutch pedal stop to avoid unnecessary damage."
Part of me is actually eager to see what power numbers we are able to produce before reaching the failure point, while another part of me keeps cheering on this little 1.5t... because it really has been amazingly stout. That being said... optimism might often be the best way to wake up in the morning and take your coffee, success on the track often requires planning that involves worst case scenarios. With that in mind, we have actually been working with several companies to develop prototype parts and get them installed so that HOPEFULLY, by the time other enthusiasts start to develop a need for solutions, they are already available.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41705187_1742795559183035_6923664113545510912_n


Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41893040_316663265765005_1171585684423573504_n

One of the first technical challenges that we faced/face involve the size of the factory components. They are small... working on this motor is much like working on a motorcycle engine and while we are certainly up for a challenge, combining a small, lightweight package inside the constraints of the objective: "devise and execute assembly of high power capable engine"... that challenge is predictably daunting.

I won't waste anyone's time with the technical aspects of final measurements as it seems there have been several write ups and information is readily available that have covered the details of the L15B7 engine and variations, but for anyone interested in a simplified analysis, the L15B7 found in the 10th Gen family of Civics have a displacement of 1,498 cc (91.4 cu in) which is achieved through a piston bore of 73mm and stroke of 89.5 mm. This bore and stroke geometry appear to be identical through the family of engines although the factory rods of the Si appear to be somewhat harder, and the piston design is also a bit different... but for the most part, if one were to build an engine with forged internals, it would be interchangeable throughout the model lineup.

One of the first things we wanted to address was the block. The casting looks to be typical Honda high quality, but we wanted to increase the support of the cylinder walls. Luckily, CSS or Cylinder Support Systems was available to install one of their precision CNC support systems as seen here. I cannot speak highly enough of how slick this process is... designed to be non intrusive to the block, it effectively bolsters the support of the cylinder at the most critical compression zone of the sleeve.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41817408_1707297392714352_5174905231938420736_n_1

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41854597_2222801384620895_1567721483185160192_n

The rods are very small... and they are not wide at all. I suspect that the design intent is to keep the inertia low... and by that method, the engine internals do not need to be extremely strong... in fact, if they are lighter, they can handle power because the forces imparted to the wrist pins and bearings are decreased as pistons change directions. I could also be wrong and it could just be that the parts are small because the engine is small and the whole design philosophy could have been focused on economy, but I have a hard time believing that as the completely stock engine in our test car is healthy and has been subjected to double the factory horsepower numbers without some measure of forward thinking from Honda. The main problem with this design philosophy is that the bearings simply do not have much surface area or support, because they are extremely narrow. Honda applies a coating process from the factory, I assume to provide some measure of additional protection against oil condition issues. While we are currently waiting for a Blackstone oil report, I can say that at our currently power levels, the bearings have begun to shed some material.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41829755_274108389874439_7223029243951710208_n

We are currently working with King Engine Bearings to supply a new race bearing appropriate for higher horsepower engines, but we don't expect those will be available for awhile longer... so for the time being we have decided to use OEM bearings but open up the clearances a bit.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41743951_278761736182421_8864461497036701696_n
Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41865077_447053502368817_6163917500196061184_n

We had our first set of connection rods made in factory geometry from Carrillo Rods and opted for the custom aged 625+ rod bolts. These rods weigh in at 82.6 grams more per rod, but we are hoping that the extra support and rod bolt that this change afforded will give us some extra power holding capacity. I have NOT weighed the pistons in yet, but I will try to get that done as soon as I can... but I am very happy about having more substantial wrist pins in place to hold everything together. These pistons were made custom for us from Wiseco.

***UPDATE***
Weights are in:

OEM Piston: 192.5g
OEM Wrist Pin: 72.0g
OEM Clips: 1.2g
OEM Rings: 11.2g
Total: 276.9g

Wiseco Piston: 218.1g
Wiseco Wrist Pin: 93.1g
Wiseco Clips: 1.7g
Wiseco Rings: 15.4g
Total: 328.3g

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41818767_2181169842165535_4665393510722043904_n

Obviously, we ran the block through our various processes... achieving a high, mirror like finish suitable for a MLS style headgasket on the deck mating surfaces, along with dialing tolerances into our desired specifications and normally, the rest is easy... but we ran into another small issue with the rods... they were substantially larger and wider than OEM as pictured above... to we had a lot of nervous time massaging the block to accept the rods through clearancing near the squirters.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41776846_338018386954598_6053280559990308864_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41871737_484463512068487_461049109839609856_n_1

Once clearanced, the final assembly really was straight forward and the final product speaks for itself:

MAP Prototype Shortblock Assembly
  • Rods: Carrillo custom H-beam connecting rods with custom aged 625+ rod bolts
  • Pistons: Wiseco custom stock compression ratio HD pistons
  • Bearings: OEM Honda factory rod bearings
  • Crank: OEM Honda Forged - polished and balanced in house
  • Block: CSS Support System OEM - Final machining in house at MAP

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41826401_2047859981902610_8693239129678282752_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41723622_1142840162558603_6338207762694012928_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41862050_1888807048091543_7175709982933909504_n

 
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MAPerformance

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So on to the head... your eyes were not deceiving you, we took a factory L17B7 head and cut it into pieces... obviously, part of this is to simply have some super awesome paperweights laying around the office, but we always want to have a good idea how the internal casting of the head is shaped so we can determine our safe porting limits.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41725411_694741360885118_3538445820837756928_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41817476_655342028193353_4337256647803011072_n

Drawing from our extensive porting experience derived from the last decade of experience, once the limitations of the factory casting are known, it is simply a matter of sheer skill, hard work, technique and patience to essentially shape the runners in the most effective manner possible. As of right NOW there are no off the shelf valve train components that we know of... that will simply fit... so we opted to shape the head and reassemble with factory components, but you can rest assured, we will be digging into the head further as we achieve more milestones with the platform.

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41761430_2071182406255036_1889719815635992576_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41865988_2142372215833253_1281760142550892544_n

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 41712288_2179668585625764_8357686460261859328_n

Shaping, and polishing done, the head went out for bench flow analysis to determine what the benefits of the porting job are...and the results appear to be extremely encouraging:

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread stock_head

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread ported_head

Again, the lack of aftermarket support lead us to decide that we should clean and reassemble from there... hopefully gathering real world results along the way... WITH the intent being to prove the viability and increase in power generation from the head as a result of our porting. As more aftermarket components are released or we help to develop, we would absolutely apply those parts here. That being said, I would like to introduce everyone to the the result:

MAP Stage: Prototype Head for Honda L15B7
  • Porting: In house MAPerformance
  • Machine work: In house MAPerformance

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread DSC_9680

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread DSC_9679

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread DSC_9677
 
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MAPerformance

MAPerformance

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Just wanted to share a couple more high res images of the assembled short block:

Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 20180914_102336
Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 20180914_102405
Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread 20180914_102355
 


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Honda Civic 10th gen MAPerformance - Civic X 1.5t Performance Engine Build Thread eFfmdb3
 


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YES VERY CURIOUS!!!
@MAPerformance The write ups are so needed like this to help get things moving. I know you guys are technical and Im loving the thought that hopefully youll do the few nerds on here like myself the favor of sharing the crumbs of what some may find useless info. I want this forum and these cars to turn into the new version of DSM's. Thats what my si reminds me of. I feel as if I went back to 1989 and purchased a fwd turbo talon brand new (but alot more advanced...and well....its not a 4g lol)
 
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Soon! The options we have here would probably seem as overly and inapproachably expensive for most folks because most of the internals are super custom... but we have more parts on the way just about every day... so the goal will be more to verify the design approach and try to drive down costs for end users.

This is awesome. The R&D you guys are doing is awesome for the community. I look forward to MAP built short and long blocks being available in the future!
 
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MAPerformance

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Excellent question... both of our engine examples have been very low mileage vehicles, so I think it's unfair to draw a line of conclusion from what I am going to say... namely, there was not much in the way of carbon build up on the intake... BUT... the truth of the matter is, that MOST DI engines will have carbon build up... save for engine designs that also have auxiliary fuel injectors... for example, the FA20 found in the Subaru/Toyota FRS/BRZ has auxiliary port injection injectors to suppliment fueling... the intake valves stay clean on that engine... however, later turbocharged iterations of the engine did away with the supplemental port injection injectors so the FA20DIT found in the 2015+ WRX's are just as susceptible to fouling.

@MAPerformance With this motor being DI, what was the condition of the intake valves? Was there lots of residual carbon build up on them?
 
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MAPerformance

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We are very game on for the challenge!

@MAPerformance The write ups are so needed like this to help get things moving. I know you guys are technical and Im loving the thought that hopefully youll do the few nerds on here like myself the favor of sharing the crumbs of what some may find useless info. I want this forum and these cars to turn into the new version of DSM's. Thats what my si reminds me of. I feel as if I went back to 1989 and purchased a fwd turbo talon brand new (but alot more advanced...and well....its not a 4g lol)
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