.....Well im usually one to decide on what I want for my own things on my own, but right now im really confused and need opinions from people who have either gone with show or people who have gone with go.
I bought my rex like 3 weeks ago, its in pretty good shape atleast for 1600 it is. Right now I have close to 800 to spend on it. There was a ton of surface rust so I cleaned all that up, replaced the doors(rusted terribly) new windshield(cracked all the way through in two spots) then the lil things, oil change, plugs, wires, brake pads.
But what I dont know what to do is go for show, I wanted to go JDM style I know most people say its played out but uuhh not really especially around Des Moines Iowa, its not a bad scene for racing but no one has a NICE rex let alone a JDM one. No one has a fast rex either.
Well heres what I have so far, I already fixed almost the whole body, sanded and primered the whole entire front end from Air Dam to doors. and the rear bumper but the quarter panels and roof remains. My best friends cousin does awesome paint jobs and said he'd hook me up. I want to go Champ. white, the usual CF hood, Rota wheels, smoke tinted windows, you know the usual JDM krap...Hey I love it....
Or I can go all power, my motor has 190k+ miles and growing. Ive noticed a lil blow by..but nothin to major. Im thinking about leaving the body where it is...well finish primering it and then sand it down and get some primer sealent soo it will stay clean looking(maybe even clear coat the primer) and go b16.....

Im a senior and graduate in like 1 month...Ill get money from grad. and I have a good paying job where I can make over 3,000 easy this summer so I know Ill have enough to afford either idea I have..

Just throw out some ideas....I do know if I go JDM show for now Ill do an engine swap wwwaayy ddooowwnn the road but I dont really trust the stock engine now..and I need a lil power...especially after loosin to a accord today I know I could have beat....(long story I drove like ****...got a bad launch...my car is slow as well too)

Sorry for the book

 

hey i am in the same boat you are,well kinda,i bought a 89 civic DX for $600,the motor needed a head gasket,so i swapped the gasket..and then i was thinking what to do next.well screw it i went a head and bought a 92 LS for it.and then got bored and painted it with Rattle-Can..CAMO!i kinda wish i would of left it blue and all but screw it.Anyways my point is do a motor swap!and then worry about looks.you damn sure dont want a car that looks fast and get your *** kicked by everything.am i right?so forget spending money on looks go for PERFORMANCE!

 

i'd say go for performance. do the engine first, JDM style (B16). you'll gain more respect by having a fast car than a good looking car.

 

go, if you have any money left over then show!!

 

To me it depends on your personality really.What you drive and the way it looks and take care of it says alot about who you are.Are you trying to impress the guys with a fast street racer or impress the ladies with a respectable, clean machine.Any red neck down here can drop a big motor in there rust bucket and lay rubber , but they couldn't think about picking up a respectable ladie with it.May be a toothless wonder.Any ways think about who you are and what your goals are.Also there's alot more to racing and going fast than just dropping in a motor.You have to think about how your getting the HP to the ground, which brings the tranny, clutch,suspension , bushings ,motor mounts,ecu......endless list.
I'm going with the exterior,then the suspension,safety equipment and performance last.This is all just food for thought!
Later -cool

 

well if the motor is a reliability problem then might as well save time and money and get the b16 now. plus you never hear people say "man i hate his car, its all go and no sho"

 

You have an Si so with basic E/H/I you have enough horsepower for now. I got all that then im ordering a wings west body kit so i have enough front end clearence for a Intercooler. Then im going to do a JY turbo setup. I spent all my money on suspension first: pollys neuspeed etc. Now you can corner really hard. Then after I blow up my engine with this turbo I have an excuse to do a b18 or b22 or b20 or b16 ??? i stil donno

 

cars are much like a girlfriend.
she can look good or she can perform.
if it looks good everyone knows it and wants it.
if it performs nobody knows it but you, atleast unless she cheats or is a ****.
if it was me, id order a combination of both but decide what you want to lean towards and make a ratio of money to spend 5:1
for every 5 bucks on perf spend one on looks.
at the same time you order zex, also order a carbon front lip

derek

 

exactly any dood can throw and kit and wheels on a car not everyone can make it fast.....

 

performance... sleepers get more stares once you put the hammer on it.

dohcsidesi.... am i ever going to get a credit for the 1 flywheel bolt that i never got from your dealership or are you just giving me a dick in the ***?

 

dude! wut u need to do first is to make some goals for urself to keep u occupied, or wutever.....wutever u feel like doin, go ahead and do it, but jus dont regret wutever u do....rite now, my goal is to save up for a B16A SIR 1 for my 91 civic STD, and then i'll move on to some more goals... i picture me and my car to run mid or low 13's on the zero4, and tehn tune its suspension to attack corners at highspeeds at road courses or at autocross! thats my dream car!...so whether u wanna win like NOPI nationals or somthin, or win best times at teh tracks! its all up to u man!! jus like these dudes r sayin! it depends on ur personality! but ur personality will change by how u tune ur car as well!.....

tune hard! and tune well!

 

What Ive decided to do....and after talking to my friend who has a gsr that is going into the scc(course racing) that I want a lil of both...well I dont really want show...I mean I hate kits and wings, my car just looks like poo so im going to paint it myself with por15 semi gloss black and clear coat that a couple times.
Then im throwing in a zc....its cheap and I can do the swap easy and fast myself. but for now im going to lower it and tighten up the suspension and get some better rollers ill prob. go with some 99-2000 si rims and some falken azenia's. ...Im also thinking about ripping out my interior...well just everything from the seats on....not ilke it will do much but...eeehh what can ya do

 

get pollyurethane and neuspeed race springs . setup is about 300 US and is stiff and corners like hell. Make a lot of ppl **** their pants in a regular SOHC 16v Si engine. then do bolt ons. Your car will be fast handling and smoke a lot fo cars on the road in corners. Then when you get 5000 get b18 engine.

 

for 5000 it better be a b18c5

 

yeah and oher mods like fuel pump managment system comtroller etc. all for 5000 if u do yourself.

Those motors are bombproof

 

Just to clear this up....I dont have a si???
But I am going to swap in the ZC motor with many bolt-ons, I think it will be perfect in a tight handeling rex on the course.

by the way...I just checked out nopi at neuspeed springs, good deal and all but the ones id want are only a 2.25 drop I was kinda wanting a 2.5 or more so I was gonna get coilovers are coilovers bad on the track...for course racing that is...???

If anyone knows can you really tell a difference in 2.25 and 2.5??? I jsut dont want any fender gap....


[Modified by Kasper 1, 5:29 AM 4/21/2002]

 

2.25" drop is plenty low, you'll be CLOSE to tucked front and rear, if not tucked in the front. 2.5" drop will be a little extreme, make daily driving fairly hard, and throw your camber WAY off. Blow shocks quicker too. There is a point of negative returns.

Neuspeed race springs are considered good b/c they're semi-progressive (not as progressive as others like Eibach) and they are fairly stiff (which all adds up to = good handling.)

Alex

 

Alex do you think those will give you - camber or + camber???? + is alright cause then I can use smaller bolts to make it 2* - camber. or buy a camber kit? THX

 

I think (I get mixed up with positive and negative camber a little bit) that negative camber is like this ----/ \---- and positive camber will be -----\ /----- .

When you drop your car you'll get this -----/ \-----, in other words the wheels will tilt inwards at the top.

A camber kit will do the best job for that low of a drop in the front, and I've heard that you can just shim the rear but I'm not sure.

Alex

 

Shimming cant be good for handling tho..... Yeah i want max 3* negative camber on front and maybe .5* on the rear max.

I think I'll be getting neuspeed race camber kit and pollyurethane suspension off of http://www.groupbuycenter.com .