I am in the process of purchasing a 1996 Honda Civic EX (5-speed of course). It has 105K miles and already has 17 inch tires and sixstar rims, as well as a 10 inch wing. I am on a limited budget and am wondering if I could get some imput as to what I should do first.

Thanks

Being a newbie myself, here's what everyone has told me, and is what I agree with and would say.
Cold Air Intake (CAI), Headers, Exhaust. Depending on the brand, and what you're looking for in performance, cost is variable from about $500 and up for all of it. Talk to these folks and check out the FAQ for ideas and brand comparisons.

Also, some may tell you to get a custom suspension first, also a good idea, but if you already have rims and 17" - you may have a suspension also, not likely, but could be. Suspensions I don't know much about, but from what I've heard, you can generally pick up something nice that lowers the car and doesnt hop and of course with great handling for just a few bills.

good luck
-wheel

ps: check out old threads on the subject, there are tons of good links on the old threads that may be invaluable to you

In my opinion getting a catback exaust is the best noticable upgrade, youll defiently feel a small performance upgrade, next i would get a cold air intake followed by headers.

AHHHHHH you guys drive me nuts with "headerS" and yea i/h/e would be your best 1st couple mods, oh take off that wing and sell it!!! do it for me please!

You want cheap performance? I'll give you the cheapest ever! So cheap in fact it costs negative dollars!

Take those useless 17 inch wheels off and sell them and use the proceeds to buy a nice set of 15 inchers :D

You should be able to get a set of 15's for less then what you can sell the 17's for. And the smaller wheels will give you a noticeable increase in acceleration.

I agree with Crunch the most. Get some light weight 15's by Rota. Rota has high quality wheels, which cost less. You can find a whole set with pretty grippy tires for about 700 at modacar.com .

I would consider my self a vetern in the whole import thing, so I would go with Tanabe Springs or Tein's with a Koni or Tockico Strut setup.

Then crack into the engine later down the road.

In my opinion I prefer a suspension set up w/ crisp turn in and a settled chassis. You can get the Strut/Spring set up for about 450. An exhaust which will be over 500 for a quality one i.e. GReddy, Tanabe, APEXi, etc...will not provide a difference that is as noticable compared to the suspension. Simply put, the suspension will be your best bang for the buck solution in the beginning.

-M3

Yeah you don't want to buy Headers.. You'll be wasting your money... You only need 1... a Header. Cause you've only got 1 cylinder bank.


But if you want to buy multiples just incase you break one... by all means. :hehehe:


Happy Trails

oi vey! analmotive forum. sorry headER no S, picky picky picky
where has common sense gone where one would not know that?
sheesh
-wheel

"analmotive"

Ok, as much as I hate it when people say headers for a 4cylinder(or even worse, headerZ*shudder*) I gotta give him credit for that one :)

Analmotive, haha. But hey, you have to be anal with engineering.:)

Just sounds funny when you hear somebody with a I4 talking about Headers...

So I wanted to poke fun.. sheesh...:apoke: :D

me too about the "headers" little things bug the shyt out of me what can i say, oh and are you gonna sell that wing??? :finger:

you guys are so fucking retarded, obviously you know what people are talking about when they say headers so why do you have to be such assholes. :flipa:

since the car has already 105k miles on it... i suggest the first thing u do is give the car a complete and extensive tune up before starting on adding performance parts...

what do you mean buy a complete and extensive tune up and how much do you think that would run if you took it to a local shop and had them do it?

Well, theyll probobly change the timeing belt, replace all the fluids(power steering fluid , etc), spark plugs wires, Trany service, and lastly compression tests. It can get pricey but thats what you should do first, or later you might regret it.

you guys are so fucking retarded, obviously you know what people are talking about when they say headers so why do you have to be such assholes.

*says in british voice* "am i an asshole? do i look like an asshole?" its not like the word fish you know meaning you could have 1 or more than 1........lol im kidding jeeze i was kiddin about all that and its just fun! :flipa: :finger:

Originally posted by markpa
Well, theyll probobly change the timeing belt, replace all the fluids(power steering fluid , etc), spark plugs wires, Trany service, and lastly compression tests. It can get pricey but thats what you should do first, or later you might regret it.


yup... he should prally also invest in a new clutch and flywheel... a stage 1 clutch would do wonders... plus it lasts much longer than the OEM parts...

oh yeah... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!