You can go for a hybrid engine. You can buy a dohc h22/h23 head and throw it on your sohc f22/f23 bottum and gain about as much as a turbo in the process, and you'll be able to rev up to 7200rpms. Its VERY cost effective (about $1200-$1500 in parts). Its really new to the 'import scene', but has been proven many times over. Plus, if you want to ever turbo your car you wont have to worry about throwing a rod, and blowing up your engine so easy because i has a strong f22/f23 bottum.... If you want more info on this swap, you can read this 25+ page thread of many people that did it. http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=776837

 

you got bitten too, huh? well one thing will lead to other things that you want to do to you car. just have fun with it and ask a lot of questions to save you the hassel later on.

 

Thanks guys for the ideas. Engine swaps is beyond me at the moment. As for the auto tranny, I'm enjoying it after years of stick shift. I know that for serious performance then manual is the way to go.

Maybe I'll go for another model for my next car, but until then I'm going to have some fun with this one!

As for the ecotec device - I read about it alongside the tornado - so I'll listen to your advice and not waste my money on it. The USD90 will be better put towards either headers or a cat back system I guess.

Thanks again for all your help and ideas.

 

don't waste you money on engine mods yet. get suspenion mods first then get the basic I/H/E bolt ons. a set of springs/shocks, or coilovers with a strut tower bar, and a rear sway bar will make the most noticable difference. combine that with a set of some grippy tires, and some slightly bigger rims to prevent the tires from flexing and you'll have a very fun ride in the twisties. after you get the suspension and rims/tires, then add the engine bolt ons. that's what I'd do if I had to do it again.