New to Civic Tuning

gatherer418

Newbie
Points
16
Location
USA Redmond, WA
Car
2003 Honda Civic EX
Hi all,
So as said, I'm new to tuning and want to get my start, but need some guidance toward the right path. I have a 2003 EX 4DR. As of right now, it is all OEM. I don't want to spend the big bucks to turbo it, but I was wondering what would be best to start with to improve the performance of my car. Any advice is appreciated! =)
 
Ive always started with the breathing of the car full exhaust system and a performance panel filter should release some extra pony's for u. It's all going to be dependant on how much money u have and what u want to spend on the car.:)
 
I was told that an air intake along with the exhaust would be a good place to start. Would a AEM short ram air intake be appropriate for my car? Also, I was thinking of the GReddy Ti-C racing exhaust. Any suggestions there?
 
I will copy and paste my reply to you earlier so everybody can see it mate...

Hello mate, and welcome to the forum!

First and foremost and engine swap would yield the best pound for pound power increase, but if you're against it that much then you can make up for it with your suspension setup.

AEM make good CAIs (Cold Air Intakes)/ Induction kits. There are so many exhausts available. The key here is the diameter and design. I had a Greddy system on my old Civic. I would say no bigger than 2 1/4 inches diameter. I would go with a 4-1 design on the manifold. The other option is 4-2-1. 4-1 is better for cars that make all their power high up in the rev range (just like Hondas). 4-2-1 is better suited to low down torque. I think Skunk2 and DC Sports make them for your car.

Now, the part that will make the car fun is the suspension. Coilovers are an easy way to get the car decked and handling well (Skunk2 and Tein are good options but expensive). Thicker anti-roll bars (ARBs) will stop the car rolling so much in the corners and polyurethene bushes (poly bushes) will stiffen up the chassis. Be aware that this will make quite a stiff ride and isn't suited to everyone. I have this sort of setup on my BMW and pot holes and bumps are no fun! But, when you get yourself onto a really good, smooth, winding road nothing can keep up!

Brakes will need to be upgraded as well. Braided lines and better pads are a good start. Before moving onto bigger discs and calipers.

Don't overlook things like tyres as well. A lot of the Honda guys I know use Toyos, but I'm a Falken man. Bucket seats will make a huge difference as well (unless you're the size of Shaq). You could get these from the Type R.

If you're stuck for upgrades and don't want to spend too much then looking at the Type R is a good idea. Especially with the brakes.

Hopefully that's a good read and if you have any more questions then feel free. I used to love Hondas before I converted BMW!

Prince
 

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