Hello!
After reading through this thread
http://https://honda-tech.com/forums....php?t=2802122
I got to thinking "what not to buy/waste money on" is almost common sense. But it still gave me good insight and I thought maybe I could help raise the bar for noobs like myself.
I'm in the planning stages of doing a build on my hatchy and the basic plan lines up like this; Motor swap(don't mater d,b,h,k,j,L,M,N,O,P), Suspension, Brakes, Wheels/Tires, Paint/Body....basic right? I'm an average person and will slowly build up as I go. I believe in doing it right the first time and agree that you get what you pay for 100%....but I'm not convinced that just cause something costs a lot of cash that it means it's practical/functional Period, especially for your average DD/WW build.

So I ask you Experienced H-T members...

What should be on that must have list for my DD build?
What companies/brands are worth tossing that extra cash to?
What parts are tryed and true and can stand up to the test of time?
What items are truly Practical and Functional that you can't live without?

Some of us would like to learn from your mistakes but would love to hear about your sucsess even more.

I read these forums till my eyes bleed as much as I can, I just thought I could help answer alot of Questions in one place for all to read.

Thanks

 

i have a 94 ej1 that im using as a daily driver. this depends on what you want to do with your car really. i focused on rebuilding the suspension and steering first since those are safety concerns. from there it went to tires and any light motor work/flushes the car needed. head unit is the only must for me and since its just my daily beater i would recommend pioneer. cheap and reliable products. imo the best bang for your buck is found in pioneer components. next is body repair and paint. after i do that ill focus on fixing any leaks the car has (it has some but nothing extreme so im letting it be for a bit. if they were big leaks id fix those first). it really boils down to what plans you have for the car.

you can never go wrong with oem honda parts <-- legit

the only thing i would recommend not getting from honda is a radiator if you plan on keeping your car for a long time. the oem one can crack around the plastic which is not fixable. if you replace it with an all aluminum radiator then if it cracks you can just get it welded and save yourself a future expense.

keep up to date with maintenance. i cant stress this enough.

my only mistakes in the past are not getting what i wanted the first time around. do it once and do it right and when try to combine work. doing your timing belt? do your water pump. replacing the clutch and have future plans for an lsd? try to get the lsd done if possible.

i know its pretty much common sense but i now live by those words

 

Thanks Imbest123, Thats great advice

I'll give ya a little background on my current situation. I bought this car from a friend that let it set up way to long. It's prolly one of the worst rolling chassis i've seen to date lol, it was/is in rough shape. I just got back to a 40hour job (looking for a part timer too) and have lots of chatch up to do. Thats why I'm in the "planning/research faze". I've done: plugs/wires, dizzy/cap, oil/filter, air filter, battery, axels, rear struts, and auto zone sold me the wong coilovers springs (long story/ice storm) and I couldn't return them, it's jacked up in the rear like a 4x4 but it's ok it rides like crap too. but the only thing i really want to kick myself in the face over is.... awhiiiiiile back the water pump busted, I put some rad stop leak crap in it and for the most part it worked but you can only imagine what that crud is doing to the system. yesterday i blew the vc gasket sooo as much as i don't want to put money in this engine I'll end up flushing the system,new hoses, water pump, timing belt, alt belt, a/c belt(maybe), vc gasket, oh and I remembered i cross threaded one of the spark plugs (not sure what to do with that yet), gonna have to do the brakes asap and tires before winter... guess thats it hahaha. Of course i would like to skip half that and swap a motor but with it being my DD and lack of instant $ then I'm stuck in the fix what's broke world. Yeah sorry about that so back to my planning/research theme.

 

Well if you own 1+ cars and one of them is purely dd than I would say
bolt ons
2 sets of wheels(seasonal and winter)
lip kit
decent spring and shock combo
camber kit
everything else oem
also imo I love a completely black interior

 

Well, with a DD a lot of people take into consideration the looks of the car, which is really all personal opinion. Personally, I love the look of my EJ6 because it's clean, simple, and not a theft magnet. I got a fresh, clean, $1200 paint job in the original milano red. It was kind of a lot of cash (I was in high school, now a senior in college), but so worth it, it still looks great four years later, you get what you pay for. I added yellow fog lights up front and clean GSR fat fives. I might add a front lip and side markers at some point, maybe not, but that's it, clean and stock.

As for suspension, I'm on koni yellows, tein springs, and an LS rear sway. When I have the money I may upgrade to a larger rear sway/sub frame brace and an EX front sway, but I like my suspension set up. It rides decent, handles well, is nice for occasional autoXing, and set me back less than $1k.

As far as motor, I just have a Y8 IM, AEM short ram, and flow master exhaust. I just keep the Y7 well maintained. It's slow but reliable, and gets mid thirties gas mileage.

On my list: B20Z swap (cheap, fun, reliable). Teg/Si/EX front brakes with Hawk HP+ pads (way more useful than a rear disc swap). Better sway bar(s). I think I'll have the perfect DD (for me) after that. It's really all what based on your own needs/wants.

 

Yeah the Koni Yellows, Tein springs, or Ground Control combos comes up a lot here and won't completely kill your pocket for a DD. Not really sure what those Fat Fives run but I would think you could hunt them down for a fair price too. I try to stay away from the exhaust threads for now cause there seems to be so many variables and oppinions. For me I would want the exhaust to be as quiet and deep as possible. Just like I would rather not feel every crack on the interstate. But it sounds like you have a comfortable set up D Griff and thats the kinda of answers I'm looking for thanks

 

Chewyv, I know your old school
Now break it down for me...lol...What Companies/Brands/Sites/Products do you stand behind/give your hard earned cash to? What is a decent spring and shock combo for you? Would those 2 sets of wheels be the same size or price range? How would you make your choice on bolt ons ? I like all black interior too, it's seems easy to clean and looks great. The down side would be it gets so fricken hot but i don't think color would really matter a lot inside a car

 

My fat fives were $250 with good tires (205/50/15). I think this was a good deal. As for exhaust, I would probably go with the Apexi world sport II. I like my flowmaster, but I think I would like the WSII better.

I also forgot to mention my interior set up. I've got black cloth Integra seats, an EX cluster (for the tach), four nice speakers from polk audio and jbl with a panasonic head unit, and a CTR shift boot (my stock one was falling apart. I love music so good audio was key, but no amps, subs, etc. are really necessary unless you want to show off. I would say my Integra seats were the best mod for the money on my car. They were $100ish I think, they are way more comfortable and hug way better in turns. Very worth it.