inherited a civic i.6 se

[koichow69]

hi im new here and ive just been given a honda civic i.6 se on an X plate (2000)

its like brand new its only got 32245 miles on the clock and i know its genuine because my girlfriend has had it from new.

i'm looking to do some discreet mods and i'm looking for some tips and ideas from this forum

i'm looking forward to hearing from you guys...

 

[turbonutter69]

Welcome mate what mods have you got in mind?

 

[pgarner]

hey and welcome mate

 

[koichow69]

thanx for the welcome,

i dont want to go mad with it just some subtle mods thought i'd ask in here for some suggestions, which are the most reasonably priced for mods listed below?
de badge?
induction kit?
de cat?
sports back box?
lowered?
larger wheels?
low profile tyres?
window tints?

are there any engine / ecu mods i can do or should i leave the trusted v tech alone?
dont forget its only a 1.6 so its not gunna be fast, but as i got it free and its like new i'm gunna keep it and get rid of my old fiat bravo 2.0L 20V which is pretty quick compared to this honda civic, but this honda and the two previous honda's we've owned have been superb, reliable and comfortable.

cheers

 

[prevtec]

welcome along mate

 

[pgarner]

de badge? - Free
induction kit? - Depends if you go cheap or decent. a cheap cone filter will gain you noise but lose some power. a good full kit will look better but do pretty much the same, and a aftermarket panel filter in the airbox wont give you the noise but might give you a bit more power 2-3bhp tops anything from £10-150
de cat? - Chances are youll not notice much difference i didnt with my 1.4 but it wasnt vtec. iirc i paid £40 for mine
sports back box? - wont do anything other than make nosie £60-100
lowered? - depends on how low you go. so far will help impove handling but going too far will throw the geometry out causing quicker wear on componants - bearings, driveshafts, cv joints and the one youll notice 1st tyres. also the change in geometry mainly the camber will mean that the contact patch of tyres on the ground will be less £40-1000
larger wheels? - better looking, but you think its slow already add all the unsprung weight and, i think, multiply it by 4.
low profile tyres? - good if your going bigger wheels as will give you a closer rolling radius so speedo wont be out
window tints? - be warned you are only allowed 70% VTL on the front which most are from the factory

are there any engine / ecu mods i can do or should i leave the trusted v tech alone?
dont forget its only a 1.6 so its not gunna be fast, but as i got it free and its like new i'm gunna keep it and get rid of my old fiat bravo 2.0L 20V which is pretty quick compared to this honda civic, but this honda and the two previous honda's we've owned have been superb, reliable and comfortable.

cheers

as for the ECU you can get it chipped with a new map, its also possible to have the vtec level changed

 

[koichow69]

thanx for the advice,

well thats all my questions answered in one swoop really its just a personal choice of which makes of mods to buy

another couple of questions regarding lowering, ecu remap / chipping and wheels wheres the best placed to buy from at a medium price range not the cheap and nasty stuff as i'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.

i'm in sw london by the way.

i just seen the link on turbonutters69 post cheers i'll take a look

 

[Prince]

Welcome to the site mate. I'm pretty sure the 1.6 SE isn't vtec mate. Have you got the engine code? If so I'll tell you what it is.

de badge?
As PG said, free.

induction kit?
Depends on the engine you have what you're doing. The standard air filter is already very good.

de cat?
£100... No point doing unless you get a cat-back exhaust and a 4-1 manifold as well mate.

sports back box?
Pointless IMO. It'll just make noise. See above answer.

lowered?
Eibach springs aren't too costly but I'd go coilovers. Budget £800+. A few price examples for you... Skunk2 = £1000, Tein = £1400.

larger wheels?
Don't go higher than a 16 mate. I've got 17s on my EJ6 and I can't wait to get rid of them. English roads are no good for massive wheels.

low profile tyres?
With a 16 inch rim you'll roll on a 205/16/45 tyre. It'll be lower profile than standard but not stupidly low.

window tints?
I think paid about £200 to have mine done.

Hope that helps mate. Reach 10 posts, then post up some pics!

 

[koichow69]

hi

yeah its deffo vtec its on log book as make honda, model / type civic vtec se, cylinder size 1590cc. 5 door hatchback, colour black.

engine code, do you mean engine number?

as it stands its completely bog standard but pristine show room condition but too grandad for my liking...

 

[Prince]

hi

yeah its deffo vtec its on log book as make honda, model / type civic vtec se, cylinder size 1590cc. 5 door hatchback, colour black.

engine code, do you mean engine number?

as it stands its completely bog standard but pristine show room condition but too grandad for my liking...

It's an engine code mate. It's not just numbers. It'll be stamped on the side of the block.

I wanna see some pics...

 

[koichow69]

ok please excuse my ignorance i will have a look and post my findings
:cheesy:

 

[koichow69]

i looked on the block and found the code and looked it up, here are my findings :

D16W4: 1.590 Cm³: 77 kW (105 CV) @6.200 RPM: 138 N·m (14,1 kgm) @3.400 RPM: 9,6:1: n.d. n.d. n.d. 1.6 VTEC: D16Y2: 1.590 Cm³: 92 kW (125 CV) @6.500 RPM: 144 N·m (14,7 kgm)

 

[zeekan]

it is a vtec, prince u had doubts probably because its a SOHC and most vtecs come with double overhead cams.

 

[koichow69]

so i this good news ? ha ha:blink:

 

[zeekan]

sorry didnt want it to come out like that though :cheesy:
well with all honesty DOHC is better than SOHC but since you gave us a little taste of what modifications you are looking at it shouldnt bother u at all since you wont be taking car to racing tracks. on normal roads there is no difference between the two.

 

[koichow69]

i wont be racing it for sure, i only want to do the mods on it to get a bit of personality on the car. not sure either to go for black wheels or alloy colour got to have a look around first....

de badge and tints first i think ?

 

[Prince]

it is a vtec, prince u had doubts probably because its a SOHC and most vtecs come with double overhead cams.

You're correct mate. I knew it had a D series, but wasn't sure which one.

so i this good news ? ha ha:blink:

It's better than no vtec at all. It means it'll rev like a vtec but won't have the same kind of power as a DOHC vtec.

sorry didnt want it to come out like that though :cheesy:
well with all honesty DOHC is better than SOHC but since you gave us a little taste of what modifications you are looking at it shouldnt bother you at all since you wont be taking car to racing tracks. on normal roads there is no difference between the two.

The DOHC vtecs have more power. However, the SOHC is better for boosting as it's lower compression. Assuming it's left completely standard then the power output alone will make the difference between the two. It also depends on what kind of DOHC and SOHC you are comparing. Would you say there is no difference between this engine and a B18C?

 

[Prince]

i wont be racing it for sure, i only want to do the mods on it to get a bit of personality on the car. not sure either to go for black wheels or alloy colour got to have a look around first....

de badge and tints first i think ?

This would be my order from your suggestions earlier:

lowered
larger wheels + low profile tyres
cat back exhaust (instead back box)
de cat
de badge
window tints

 

[zeekan]

You're correct mate. I knew it had a D series, but wasn't sure which one.



It's better than no vtec at all. It means it'll rev like a vtec but won't have the same kind of power as a DOHC vtec.



The DOHC vtecs have more power. However, the SOHC is better for boosting as it's lower compression. Assuming it's left completely standard then the power output alone will make the difference between the two. It also depends on what kind of DOHC and SOHC you are comparing. Would you say there is no difference between this engine and a B18C?

im guessin there is about a 50bhp advantage in b18c comparing to d16y so there is a big difference plus redline is slightly higher for b18, these 2 alone are enough to say they are very different engines. i didnt know SOHC was better for boosting, i want mine turbo'd up by the end of this year should i reconsider it then?

Koichow69 im from london as well and within a couple of weeks i will be in touch with my friend who is a window tinter in north london he would definetaly do you for less than £200 mate. Ill give you his number soon if you like. Btw a quick example of how debadge or respray might look on a honda, this is a picture of my civic and friends fiat, and what i did was spray the grill around black and left the big H untouched. What im trying to say is sometimes it looks good to spray instead of remove the choice is yours.

 

[koichow69]

yeah it looks better with the H like that, theres a window tinter near me or there used to be i'll nip down tomorrow see if hes still there and if he is i'll get an estimate, if he isn't there i may take you up on your offer

i'm running a fiat bravo HGT 2.0L 20V @ the moment but i had hit a massive water spot on the m1 recently did 2 x 360 and a 180 then hit the central reservation crash barriers and mangle every panel down the n/s of my car.....its only cosmetic but it looks ugly now, it has just passed its mot though

Prince, i see where you're coming from but cash is an issue at the moment as i'm going on a 3 week holiday in 2 weeks so i'm going to have a cash flow proplem i will do the lowering myself once i find the right kits, i looked at Skunk2 kits its looking likely i'll be getting them

http://www.skunk2.co.uk/product.php...Y&level2=LOWERING+SPRING+KITS&level3=&id=4862

heres my old Bravo

 

[koichow69]

dony know what they're like but you pays yer money an ya takes yer chance...

i would imagine that they'd be ok though?

any one know where i can get some second hand honda spots to fit my civic, i'm gunna try ebay but thought i'd ask here first.

 

[zeekan]

wow, thats a situation to remember. i guess bravos have a thing with 360s on motorways (joking). sayin that because that yellow car had a similar thing going on last year, we were speeding around and he didnt spot the camera in time, started braking so hard he ended up getting a photo taken of the side of his car, how ironic is that, spot on both plates were hidden coz it was bang on 90 degrees from the camera lol. ended up in plastic cones no damage at all except the mental one obviously :amuse:

 

[Prince]

Prince, i see where you're coming from but cash is an issue at the moment as i'm going on a 3 week holiday in 2 weeks so i'm going to have a cash flow proplem i will do the lowering myself once i find the right kits, i looked at Skunk2 kits its looking likely i'll be getting them

http://www.skunk2.co.uk/product.php...Y&level2=LOWERING+SPRING+KITS&level3=&id=4862

I would rather save up and get the right stuff instead. £200 on springs... I'd rather save up the £1000 for the coilies imo. But it also depends on why you want to lower it. Do you just want to make it look a bit better? Or make it handle better?

Here's my EJ6 with the grill changed:

im guessin there is about a 50bhp advantage in b18c comparing to d16y so there is a big difference plus redline is slightly higher for b18, these 2 alone are enough to say they are very different engines. i didnt know SOHC was better for boosting, i want mine turbo'd up by the end of this year should i reconsider it then?

It's not that a B18C isn't bad for boosting, it's just that the (DOHC) VTEC engines are high compression. D series (either non-VTEC or SOHC VTEC are low compression) engines are quite often boosted to make up for the lack of power as apose to a B18 or even a B16. In other words boost is opted for over a swap.

You need to think seriously about why you want to boost the B18C, if it's a daily drive car then you'd be better off leaving it nasp. Not only does it cost a lot to boost a car properly, but it'll cost more to run and to maintain it.

 

[koichow69]

yeah i agree £200 for springs sounds a bit too good to be true and in most cases it is...i.e. they're not very good.

i'm in no rush so i'll save up and do it right.

it could be a long wait lol

 

[zeekan]

as prince mentioned above, it is very important what u want the suspension for, since u said u wont be going to track days etc u might as well get a comfortable lowering kit

 

[speedy]

hi an welcome.

id write down a list of what you want to do with your car. then ring up tdi north. there a honda tuning shop and ask for some advice it should be very good advice i might add. as they have a honda civic type-r with close to a 1000 bhp i think so they know what there talking about. hopes this helps.:bigsmile:

 

[koichow69]

im not doing any engine mods as yet, free / cheap jobs first

i'm going to do a list and stick to it :blink: i won't be doing any thing for at least a month any way, apart from a couple of little jobs like the trim in the boot has all come away either side and is really annoying, its got a full set of new tyres on and the alloys are very clean so the wheels can come last on my list.
sound system is ok i replaced the factory speakers with some sony speakers and a cd player last year.

 

[Prince]

hi an welcome.

id write down a list of what you want to do with your car. then ring up tdi north. there a honda tuning shop and ask for some advice it should be very good advice i might add. as they have a honda civic type-r with close to a 1000 bhp i think so they know what there talking about. hopes this helps.:bigsmile:

A 1000bhp Civic Type R? There is something about that I just don't believe...

 

[MasterAuron]

Nope it's true (that's with giggle gas though) TDi are pretty awesome tbh, if you don't mind paying £100 an hour labour

 

[Prince]

I think I'll stick with Hond-R.

 

[MasterAuron]

I think I'll stick with Hond-R.

Lol it's this JDM snobbery that keeps the jap-tax on performance parts so high, especially for Honda owners. Most of the products from Spoon Skunk2 et all are perfectly fine but stupidly over-priced when compared to the avaliable products of their competitors cars.

 

[Prince]

Lol it's this JDM snobbery that keeps the jap-tax on performance parts so high, especially for Honda owners. Most of the products from Spoon Skunk2 et all are perfectly fine but stupidly over-priced when compared to the avaliable products of their competitors cars.

I go to Hond-R because they are very good with their customer service, genuine nice guys and know their Hondas better than anybody else I've ever come across. I would never hesitate to recommend them.

For the record... Skunk2 isn't JDM, it's USDM.

 

[MasterAuron]

For the record... Skunk2 isn't JDM, it's USDM.

For the record... I didn't say they were

 

[Prince]

For the record... I didn't say they were

I know, but you mentioned them when talking about JDM so I thought I'd point it out for anybody that thinks otherwise. I actually bugs me when somebody says they're JDM when they have Recaros, Skunk2 parts and Rota wheels. I personally don't care where the parts come from, as long as they do the job!

 

[MasterAuron]

I know, but you mentioned them when talking about JDM so I thought I'd point it out for anybody that thinks otherwise.

Ah fair enough point then. Noted on "the record"

 

[koichow69]

hi guys ive eventually got my civic 1.6i se v-tec my girlfriend bought a Honda crv and passed this little beauty on to me just clocked a very low 34000k its on an X reg (2000) looks and drives like new im very happy....well heres some pictures of it totally standard......

 

[koichow69]

going to de badge this week end and its booked in for window tints thats first money spent.... new wheels in a few months cos its got lots of life in the tyres yet lol

any tips where i can get some driver / front fogs to fit into the bumper ?

 

[Prince]

going to de badge this week end and its booked in for window tints thats first money spent.... new wheels in a few months cos its got lots of life in the tyres yet lol

any tips where i can get some driver / front fogs to fit into the bumper ?

Hond-R do them. Give them a call on 01235 530055. What wheels are you thinking mate?

 

[koichow69]

cheers i'll call em about the fogs :blink1: dont know about the wheels yet, but was thinking about black ones maybe 17's not sure yet, you got any good suggestions? not going to do much to the engine as its only a sohc maybe replace the filter for a k&n panel filter for now. might lean towards some sort of boost later on something like this if its the right one? http://www.hond-r.co.uk/index.php?a...21&PHPSESSID=0069830a26e1d19685660a128c431656

i'll post some more pics next month when i've done some jobs on it....

thanks for the advice and help

 

[Prince]

No need to replace the filter mate, Honda have already put the best one for the engine on.

Instead of boosting, I'd lean towards an engine conversion instead.