I am looking to buy a 2000 Honda Civic Si and I was wondering what would be the best mileage to get one at and condition? Also would I be better off starting with suspension and stability work or engine work?

BTW I am somewhat new to building cars, but i have knowledge on parts and mechanic work.

 

well EM1's (2000 civic si) are gonna be hard to find with low mileage, i was able to find one with 46k and that was in 2005. here's what i did with mine, started off changing sway bars to thicker ones, added strut bars, changed coil overs to tein and add reinforcement kit for the rear swaybar. after that i added CAI, comptech headers and thermal R and D exhaust system. for being my daily driver i am very satisfied in how it drives and handles.

 

yeah i would say start with suspension first.
the b16a2 is already a fast motor without mods.

 

Get that motor modified. IMO, it is the most satisfying upgrade, to be a bit faster. Suspension is fun as hell too though. Really man, it all comes down to how you want to drive the car. If you like to get on it and feel the v-tec, then go with motor mods first. If you like the corners and the g's, then do some suspension work. In any sense, you will come full circle eventually, so just start somewhere. Good luck finding one with low mileage though. It's pretty popular car for tuners, you may have to get one with higher mileage and do some rebiulding. That is what I did. I haven't even driven my car yet. It's been almost a year too. This next Thursday that all changes though. GL man!

 

Alright thanks for the input. Ill keep on looking for one with low mileage but if i find one that looks decent with higher mileage ill take a chance and get it. Suspension is where ill think ill start. Any good recommendations for suspension parts?

 

The best suspension upgrade to do first on the si is a bigger rear sway bar I think. like a ctr one with a subframe brace. That should make the car handle much better and take away some understeer.

After that I would go with a good shock spring setup, or maybe a coilover setup. Depends what you want really.

Koni and ground controls are really good, or koni yellow and h&r race springs.

 

my 99 si has like 80some thousand on it! it that low mileage anymore? lol

OP i looked for yrs before i found a mint clean em1. i had found other ones that was abused. but keep you eyes open, theres still some clean ones out there.

 

a relatively cheap mod to start is teg or better front seats.
EM1 seats suuuuuuuuckkkk

 

i've been looking for low miles em1's for a decent time now and am having a ton of trouble finding any within maybe 200 miles of where i live in PA. IMO they are getting ridiculously hard to find in good condition... any tips for finding nice ones are appreciated, as i'm in the market for one!

 

start off with better, spring/shock setup. sway bars are cool, but higher spring rates,and better shocks will do so much more.
like someone said koni/gc is a good setup, but there are tons of setups to fit you and your driving style.
and above all civic seats suck lol not just em1.

 

The first things i did was lower it with a good Tein coil over kit, and sell off the stock seats in favor of Integra ones....way better!!

 

yeah the seats are awful!! Should be first thing to go

 

The modifications you make are going to be based on your goals for the car, your budget and which state you live in. If you're in CA, you may as well do suspension work because any other engine modification is an invitation for trouble from the CARB/REF people. Once you get the car (which is the biggest step), then decide what you want to do with it. Its nice to get suggestions from others; however, it is ultimately you're decision to make. Also, you're going to get a ton of conflicting suggestions because everyone wants something different.

Compared to an ox-drawn cart or single cam, maybe

 

x2 on everything Schister said.

And to expand: a B16A2 is the fastest engine from any Civic between 96-00 from the factory...but it's far from what anyone in the Honda world would classify as a potent engine. Afterall, it's still 1.6L

 

First I would do is put a good security system and/or kill switch before doing any mods...

its an si, everyone and there mothers are out to steal one. my civic si has a kill switch to the fuel pump, a security system, a clutch switch which makes it hard for people to turn my car on since it doesnt start by pressing in the clutch and the autolock as well and i always watch where i park my car.

 

Screw all that.
I will start adding top notch security, before i even start adding stuff to it.

 

If I were shopping for an EM1, I'd actually avoid the one's that had ridiculously low milage(under 50K). 99-00 Si's are notorious for being stolen, crashed, and then later rebuilt. This isn't always documented by Carfax. In my experience with used cars, unusually low milage is a red flag that a car has had issues in its lifetime. Instead, let me give you this advice... these cars have been on the road long enough(10 years) that I wouldn't even take into account the milage anyone is claiming. Especially with the Si's easily swappable gauges. You need to inspect each car based on condition, rather than milage. Even if an owner claims that the car is completely stock, I wouldn't trust it. It was SOOOO easy to swap parts on and off these cars, and with unmodified EM1's going for a premium, any car could easily be returned to stock condition for higher resale value. So whenever I see a 'stock' EM1 for sale, I still always do these quick inspections... even before mechanical and body inspections.

-Check to see if the engine VIN and tranny VIN match the car's VIN. No-brainer, right?
-Check body panels for matching VINS. All 99+ Honda's had the VIN stickers on the original body panels. Fenders, doors, hood, trunk, etc. Missing VIN stickers mean that panel has been replaced due to accident, theft, etc..
-Check to see if both headlights are OEM Honda. OEM headlights are expensive and are always in demand so if they ever need to be replaced, they are often replaced with aftermarket ones. Replaced headlights again will usually mean accident or theft.
-If the car is lacking A/C system, Powersteering lines, or cruise control, then it's good sign that the car has been turbo-charged in the past. IMHO, no lightly modded or daily-driven car would make these sacrifices.
-Check to see if the intake system still has the resonator box the sits below the air box. This piece was usually thrown out when an aftermarket intake is installed. An aftermarket intake usually means AT LEAST bolt-ons and some previous suspension work.
-If you have access to and OBD2 reader, ask to see if you can pull codes off the ECU. I have seen so many people pull the 'check engine light' bulb from the cluster to mask the presence of emissions-related problems. Those can get very expensive and are usually indicators that a car has been heavily modified, or that the owner has neglected or not kept up the maintence.

 

hey thanks for the tips, and Ek_Tuner, really thanks for the tips. I think i found one that ill be checking out sometime this week and it is really helpful to know all that.