I am new to my car, and to car mod's and stuff in general, and i have no idea what you guys are saying when you talk about most of the parts, and especially when you say them as thier nicknames or shortened names or whatever, haha. But I have a 96' civic Ex coupe. Can any one tell me like the specifics on the car and stuff, all i know right now is i think it has a SOHC vtec engine with 127 hp, and i right ?

and then Can you guys tell me what some good stuff to do to it would be. and what the things do exectly just so i can learn more. Thanks Peace

give the new guy a break, we all gotta start some where, haha.

 

You do have the 127 hp SOHC vtec. And the best thing you could do is to buy my turbo kit But seriously, turbo or swap it.

 

hey now! there is plenty of fun to be had with a SOHC vtec....

 

buying a used turbo is a GREAT idea, to really get the car moving, but when buying anything used be really carefull, or you may get burnt badly (broken or missing parts, or no parts at all.. lol) luckily that would not be the case here.. im SURE he is very reliable... (how much are you asking for the turbo anyway.. and what does it come with..
and beyound that i have the same motor as you and i have sprayed it with nitrous for a little over a year now.. works great. i would honestly pick some type of forced induction and go with that, then dick around with the little stuff, but if he is leeting the turbo go for any amount in your budget i think that would be a great start...

ps.. i would consider a swap later.. see what you can do with what you got, you said you are new.. so i would not advise sinking a lot of cash into a new motor when you are not that knowledgable about this stuff... and swaps can get pretty pricey ..

is the car stick or auto???

 

your engine is a d16. now you can sound a little more technical when talking about it. depending on your money situation i would probably swap motors. i have a supercharged ex and its quick, but not the ruler of the street by any means. i pick my races wisely so for the most part i usually win. but i'd like to be able to go up against practically anything. i've been able to pull on a few v8's but i'd like to be able to take almost any v8. that you wont be able to do that unless you swap out motors. i'm running 9 pounds of boost (engine can only handle 10) so i've pretty much maxed this engine out, unless i start building up the internals (piston, rods, etc.). with all my other mods we're figuring i'm pushing 220 hp. if you were to do a swap b18 for example (integra gsr motor) you'll start out with 180 hp and could easily build it to 300 hp. which will definately compete with the build v8's. if i were to start from scratch i would do a b18 swap, with a built motor and super/turbo charge it. if you build the motor you can handle large amounts of boost. i have a friend with an awesome trd cavelier, only one in america, he put the boost controller up to 28 lbs the other day. amazing car!!!! thats pretty extreme though, that motor is built like a tank and he'll never be able to put all that hp to the ground, he can drop it at 60+ miles an hour and has to have both hands on the wheel because it so hard to keep straight. he's getting really well known, just got back from a turbo install on a cav. with superstreet mag in cali. he's not sure when the article will be out. any of you guys have friends with cav's that want them built, he's opened a shop and its specializing in building peoples caveliers for them. one of my other buddies i've known and been good friends with for about 6 months now. i saw his civic si the first time i met him and havent seen it since. its been in a performance shop getting a built b18 turbo'd swap.....estimated to be pushing 400 hp. i cant wait to ride in that car. the shop is taking rediculously long to complete it though.

 

https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/s...t=greddy+turbo

My kit is brand new too. Anyways, JUST what's here should put you in high 14's. Get a boost controller and you should be in low/mid 14's

 

Its Stick...manual transmision.

god damn dude, i don't have 1740$ drop on that ! what are some of the cheapest things i can do to get some more speed ??haha, i'm spending money on stereo and stuff, so yeah. Plus i have NO idea how to put any of this stuff on so i would have to pay to get it installed ?? post some more guys, thanks.

 

Nitrous = 500 bux.

 

used kit for 350

 

If higher budget power such as a swap or turbo is out of the question, start working on the suspension. It's a great place to start, won't break the bank and is also a great way to start building the car toward the swap.

Here are some suggestions:

When upgrading the suspension, it's always great to upgrade the struts too. There's a good chance your factory struts will blow if you lower the car, but not always the case. In any case, new struts are a must when upgrading suspension.

Struts

Tokico Blues off hand I'm not too sure about the pricing on these. They are considerably cheaper than any of the options presented below, but do not offer the adjustability. Identifiable by the blue colored strut bodies.

KYB AGX around $375 for a set of 4. Adjustable for dampening, 8 notches in the back and 4 in the front if I'm not mistaken. Identifiable by the reddish orange colored strut bodies.

Tokico Illuminas around $475 a set and offers adjustable dampening and more agressive valving than the KYB AGX's. Identifiable by the white colored strut bodies.

Koni Sport Adjustables around $550 for a set of 4. Adjustable like the KYB AGX's, but step up with more agressive valving. Identifiable by the yellow colored strut bodies.

Springs

Basicall you have two types of springs. Your regular springs which sits just as your factory springs do, but offer a lower stance and higher spring rate (stiffer ride). The other type of springs are coilover springs. These are springs which sit over a threaded pipe and adjustable collar and in turn sits over the strut body. The idea here is adjustability. You can crank the perch up or down to lower or raise the car, but beware because when your vehicle's ride height is lowered the camber changes.

Instead of your wheels sitting like this: | | the top will tilt inward a little like this: / \

The latter causes uneven tire wear and will wear the insides of your tire out sooner. So you're asking yourself, "How do I fix it?" Easy. Camber kits. They will let you correct the camber so that your tires will wear evenly.

Camber kits run generally $250 for a set of 4. Alot of the time they aren't even needed if the car's ride height hasn't been dramatically altered.

Regular non-adjustable springs run about $150-$200 for a set of 4. Some popular brands are, Eibach, Neuspeed, H&R . All of those manufacturers offer different levels of springs ranging from about 1.75" inch drop to about 2.5" drop.

Coilover springs will run anywhere from $250-$300 for a set of 4. Some popular brands are, Ground Control and Skunk2.

Okay, so you're probably wonder what's good for me?

KYB AGX struts and Eibach springs. (Or if you would like to have the ride height adjustability Ground Control Coilovers.) It offers the best bang for te buck, and a great smooth ride.

There you have a very, very basic overview in upgrading your suspension. If you would like to know more, let me know I'll be more than happy to post and move on to upgrading your wheels & tires and brakes.

Anyone feel free to correct as necessary...

Good luck, and be careful. Oh yeah, welcome to the board

Mike