Converting standard 2002 civic into a 4V VTEC

Question

What do I need to convert my standard 02 4cyl Honda Civic LX into a
D17A VTEC ENGINE 4 cyl

Answer 1

The VTEC (D17A2) and non-VTEC (D17A1) of the D17 engines are basically the same engine. In fact, you can run a complete D17A2 VTEC engine in place of the D17A1, except it will never enter VTEC mode. The only difference between the two is the head, wiring (engine wiring harness from the ECU), and the ECU to control it (Note: It may even be the same ECU, but it would require tuning at the very least). The block rotating assembly between the two are the same. The easiest way to get the engine to VTEC is to do a complete JDM engine swap, as all the engines coming from Japan are VTEC engines. That gets the engine there, but you still need the wiring harness and computer to control it, though. The only version of Civic here in the States I'm aware of which would have these to fit your car are the 2001-2005 Civic EX, as it came with the D17A2 in it. This Wikipedia article gives a pretty good breakout of where you can find the D17 VTEC engines.

As an aside, you cannot exchange these engines with other, more popular Honda engines, because these engines rotate counterclockwise. Changing from the non-VTEC to the VTEC only garners you ~12hp ... which is not enough to even tell the difference with the seat dino. There are better ways to gain power.