March 17, 2023

Everything you need to build a mad, budget turbo D-series EK Honda Civic

If you've seen THIS epic 50-minute video on doing a cheap turbo kit on a non-VTEC Honda Civic then you may have questions about what we used and what it cost. While we did a cost breakdown in THIS VIDEO on our second channel, MCMTV2, what about the parts we used?

Read on below and we'll take you through all the stuff we used to take our Civic from stock to choo-chooing like MOOG walking through a pepper market with a strong head cold.

Our Civic made 113.3kW at the wheels on 9PSI and 98 Octane premium unleaded fuel, but that jumped to 132.3kW at the wheels on 12PSI and E85. As we've explained in the past, E85 is the secret sauce when it comes to boosting a naturally aspirated engine, and this is especially true as we could glean another 3psi (a 25% increase) and nearly 20kW at the wheels just by switching to the sweet-smelling boost juice.

It's important to note this combo isn't intended to last for 300,000km with basic maintenance. When you run a "stock bottom-end" combo your engine is on a timeline depending on how you drive it, how hard it is tuned and the specific mix of components.

If you've been inspired to grab yourself a base model EK Civic powered by a non-VTEC SOHC D16, then here is what you'll need to verily maketh thine choo-choo. We've thrown some figures in for the prices of various components, too, but all up we're a scooch under $5000 to turbo this Civic:

How to make a turbo D16 EK Civic:

eBay USA generic EK Civic turbo kit, includes "T3-T4" copy turbo, cast turbo exhaust manifold, front-mount intercooler, and intake ($805)
Modified stock fuel rail (enlarged for E85 and to fit AN fittings)
GFB FX-S fuel pressure regulator ($263)
GFB EX38 external wastegate ($450)
Ti Automotive 250lph fuel pump
Bosch Motorsport 621cc Injectors ($200)
Raceworks AN fittings - x8 fittings in total including rail adapters & hose ends
Raceworks rubber EFI line - 2m ($100)
Haltech Elite 750 ECU ($1699 incl. Plug & Pin kit)
Haltech Flex Fuel Sensor ($287)
Haltech WB1 Wideband Controller ($470)
Haltech 3 Port Boost Solenoid
Haltech air ($59), oil temp, oil pressure ($287) & water pressure sensors
Castrol Edge 5w-30 engine oil
Ryco Z411ST oil filter
NGK ZFR6FIX spark plugs
Xtreme 6 puck clutch & lightened flywheel ($350)
Castle Hill Exhaust custom 2.5in exhaust with screamer pipe
Xforce high-flow catalytic converter