Information about customizing a new civic

1677 Views 18 Replies 16 Participants Last post by kommon_sense, Oct 10, 2002

Crack0042

Discussion Starter · Mar 3, 2002

I am considering buying a 99 civic ex. I recently test drove it and was disipointed in the speed. I understand that there are a ton of different after market parts that I could purchase but I have a very limited knowledge on the subject. I would like to make it faster without major work and not being super expensive. i would also like to eliminate some of the body roll for better handling. Any advice given would be much appreciated.

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

clique

· #2 · Mar 3, 2002

I/H/E. Intake, Headers, Exhaust... the three most popular "starter" mods you can do. Will run you around a grand, depending on what brand and make you buy for each. I recommend AEM's Cold Air Intake as the first mod you make, and so will around a thousand other Civic'ers on this board

As for headers and exhaust, I haven't really gotten into those yet myself... So I won't say anything about them.

CanCivic

· #3 · Mar 3, 2002

hi get the I/H/E you will definetly notice a difference!:megat:

Juggles

· #4 · Mar 3, 2002

Yeah, your car will have a lot more balls when you get the I/H/E. The Civic's motor is really bogged down by the stock intake and exhaust setup. Intake: get AEM Cold Air Intake, Header: I'd suggest a DC Sports 4-2-1 Header, Exhaust: Tanabe or Greddy. Most other exhausts sound like weed wackers or someone farting in a Folger's coffee can. I think these prices are accurate, but don't quote me because I haven't been shopping around:

-AEM Cold Air Intake: $175-$250

-DC Sports Header: $280-$300

-Cat-Back Tanabe or Greddy Exhaust: $550-$600.

If you are just looking for a decent boost in power, you'll be happy with these mods. For serious power, engine swaps and turbos come in but I suppose you're not ready for those. As for you suspension setup, try the suspension forum. They can tell you everything you need to know.

RageAgainstNate

· #5 · Mar 3, 2002

Lets see

I- AEM CAI - $175

H- DCSports 4-2-1 one-piece Ceranmic Coasted header - $285

E- Apex'i WS - $385

Handling wise.

Eibach Sportline lowering springs(1.6" all 4) mated to Koni Yellow shocks will give you a nice stance. Strap on some strut tower braces and sway bars and you'll be good to go in the cornering department.

As always for quick speed you can get a NO2 set-up.

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Crack0042

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 3, 2002

Thanks for the info. The other quetion I had was should I just pay more and get a prelude. For the ones I am looking at I would end up paying about four to five grand more. Would I get better performace out of the civic with four to five grand in upgrades or should I buy the prelude and make minor mods.

ghost

· #7 · Mar 3, 2002

Crack0042 said:
Thanks for the info. The other quetion I had was should I just pay more and get a prelude. For the ones I am looking at I would end up paying about four to five grand more. Would I get better performace out of the civic with four to five grand in upgrades or should I buy the prelude and make minor mods.

well it depends on how much your were willing to spend to mod out the civic. you could spend up to like $2000 with just simple mods like i/h/e and suspension upgrades then like $5000 more for a supercharger or turbo so it's your call.
i'd go for the prelude if you're lookin for more power.
ghost

Juggles

· #8 · Mar 3, 2002

I'd say a Civic with $5000 towards power mods would be a hell of a lot faster than a lightly modded Prelude. Throwing a turbo in there would already make it quicker and leave you with about $2500 (depending of the turbo) left for other power mods.

jokenessmonster

· #9 · Oct 9, 2002

If you buy the Civic get a Greddy turbo kit, $1500-$2000 depending on where you buy it. I just put one on my 96 Civic. Definitely the most bang for the buck! Booost!

OptiX

· #10 · Oct 9, 2002

exhaust header & exhaust pipe diamater around 2 to 2.5"

stock of above = 1.5 inch, stock muffler = 1"

dug

· #11 · Oct 9, 2002

i think you should look into buying a 99-00 si, better platform to start with...

RageAgainstNate said:
As always for quick speed you can get a NO2 set-up.

whats Nitrogen Dioxide gonna do for ya? j/k

Johnny Tran

· #12 · Oct 9, 2002

Crack0042 said:
Thanks for the info. The other quetion I had was should I just pay more and get a prelude. For the ones I am looking at I would end up paying about four to five grand more. Would I get better performace out of the civic with four to five grand in upgrades or should I buy the prelude and make minor mods.

Like everyone said, it all depends on what you want, and what your goals are for the car.

Being that you don't know much about the world of modding, I would just get the lude. Sure you can make the civic fast, and handle great, but it will cost money to do it.

Sure you can put a turbo on the civic, but at the same time your going to give up reliability (I don't care what anyone says on this, its true, when you add mods such as a turbo, there is added maintenance that comes along with it.)

Now if you’re into modding cars, and you love to do it, major modding is fun, it’s a hobby. However, it is very expensive, and there are a lot of other things that come along with it. Such as poor ride quality, or a loud engine, or an emmisions nightmare, ect...

If your just looking for a quick car, that handles well, get the lude, and save yourself money, and headaches.

Not to bash on civics at all (I own one) but if your looking for a "fast" car or one that can be "fast" for not a lot of extra money, or time, the civic is not the car for you.

If your looking for a great reliable car with excellent potential, that your willing to put some money, and time into, then by all means join us

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ryan

· #13 · Oct 9, 2002

find yourself an SI or older hatch

ck98vteC

· #14 · Oct 10, 2002

Or better yet an old CRX and drop a B16 in it.

trentdx

· #15 · Oct 10, 2002

wow it's kinda funny to see how many ppl think that those big ol 5-10 extra hp from i/e/h
will make your civic fast, lol keep dreaming, some day ppl will understand that these are
just baby steps for bigger mods down the road, (ie. head build, raising compression.)
then they will make a diffrence, but just i/e/h and nothing else you just have a slightly
faster than stock civic, and that's not saying much

probinu

· #16 · Oct 10, 2002

trentdx said:
wow it's kinda funny to see how many ppl think that those big ol 5-10 extra hp from i/e/h
will make your civic fast, lol keep dreaming, some day ppl will understand that these are
just baby steps for bigger mods down the road, (ie. head build, raising compression.)
then they will make a diffrence, but just i/e/h and nothing else you just have a slightly
faster than stock civic, and that's not saying much

THANK YOU THANK YOU the voice of reason

If you want to have real power then you will have to go with big power adders. I/H/E will give you probably about 10-15 to the wheels. You will definitely feel a difference but not $1000 worth of difference. Go with a swap, n2o or FI. I'd go with a swap personally

Rice_Eater143

· #17 · Oct 10, 2002

hah!

two words- Forced Induction foo....

ryan

· #18 · Oct 10, 2002

I/H/E wont do shit for you bro

sorry

get a real car :0
or a civic and some FI

kommon_sense

· #19 · Oct 10, 2002

ryan said:
I/H/E wont do shit for you bro

sorry

get a real car :0
or a civic and some FI

I'm assuming that you have the greddy kit. How is your gas mileage at 5.5psi?

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