I was in the process of purchasing a civic ex, because it has a vtec mainly.. but I was thinking since the dx is a lot cheaper, and im going to replace the shocks anyway, would it be a good idea to buy the dx instead?

D17A1 Honda Civic DX/LX 2001+
D17A2 Honda Civic EX 2001+

What would be the best engine with the least trouble swapping, cost aside, to buy?

I was looking at the following:

K20A
K20A2
H22A
F20C
Please feel free to include others.

I'm still researching, but most links are to forums I can't go to since I'm on a military pc @ work and "chat" is filtered on most boards

Thanks for any help!

I just replied to a similar topic above. All the easy swap motors for your sepcific car are pretty expensive right now unless you can find a wrecked Si or RSX and get the motor for cheap. I was telling the other guy there is a B Series mount kit out for your car but I am not sure who makes it off hand. I will go ahead and search for it for you but a good place to ask this question would probably be http://www.7thgencivic.com/ they might be able to help you out...

I would stay away from the DX, just because its completely stripped down. No tach, no power windows or locks, no cd player or cassette, etc...My personal favorite is the HX.

The EX would be a lot faster than anything else though, it has a closer ratio tranny then the other Civics, along with the VTEC.

id start with the ex also, since wiring wont be as much of a hassle, but id go with the K20 from the rsx as the best bet for your car.