Just got a '98 Civic DX Hatchback with manual trans. Right now its bone stock and the only exterior mods I want to do is a front and rear lip, window visors, and Im planning on blacking out the headlight housing. The rest of my money will be spent on engine/performance parts once I can save up some real cash. My hatch is silver with the stock black side skirts and the stock black wing. So my thinking was to keep the front and rear lip unpainted/black which should look pretty good with the silver (and save me money), and I could always end up painting them further down the road.

So my plan was to pick up this type R kit > http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-98-Civic-...item4cf9ddfb6c
But then I found this CTR style front lip from the same seller for a little more > http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-98-Civic-...item35b8a9176f

From what I understand the first link is a '99-00 Type R replica, so then that would make the second link an older year replica? Im probably completely wrong here, but Im just confused about the difference here since CTR stands for Civic Type R

I also found a Sir front lip with the type R rear lip from the same seller > http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-98-Civic-...item4cfd9b8588

Can anybody give me some advice on which one of these front lips look better in real life? Ive never seen any of these before and its kind of hard to choose by looking at some photos on the internet. Thanks for the help

 

You will probably get flamed for this question.... Only ask tech questions on this thread!

BTW look at the pictures and pic the one you like best...Seriously Dude lol

 

Which will look better? Neither if you buy from ebay.


They will fit like ****, and end up looking like ****.

I have a OEM sir lip, and I like it, would never go ebay.

 

agree. I bought a ebay lip and go figure it was a waste of 50 some dollors. Fit like **** and looked liked ****

then bought a OEM sir lip, loved it.

but to answer your ? if you dont have money to buy OEM atm save instead of wasting money on ejunk

 

I have a SiR lip on my sedan
Looks good, but I really had to work at it to get it to fit correctly
But it looks good with the black stock side skirts
But my car is also lowered and I didn't wanna get a lip that hung TOO low, ya know?
^^;

It's up to you, but I agree with the not painting it for a while
You never know, it might look pretty good with matching side skirts, but I'd personally paint the rear lip
(or not get a rear lip at all cuz that's just more drag in the rear)
XD;

 

Any Ebay lips are going to fit like donkey sh*t. Youve just gotta pony up the money for a nice lip. Ive got this one on my car with the OEM hardware kit. At 200 bucks it isnt all that bad of a price.

http://www.icbmotorsport.com/jdm96cisirfr.html

Here it is on my car.

 

^^^ Damn that lip looks great! ^^^

 

That's quite the accomplishment in itself!

 

OEM SiR lip all the way

 

I miss my lip.

 

I finally got rid of ebay Fugen lip,and purchased a 94-95 accord lip at a local junkyard and trimmed it to fit my civic and I like the outcome,any ?'s pm me.

 

Don't black out your headlights. That is the dumbest mod you can do. Headlights are there for safety. It would look very ricey on a silver car as well

 

Thanks for the input guys. Problem with the OEM lip is that they are very expensive (even the one ifIexplode posted costs another $60 to ship and an extra $40 for the hardware), and that I still go to college so I would hate to drop all that money just to have some dumb kid who can't drive hit my parked car. My thought process was to buy the cheap eBay crap now, and in 2-3 years when I graduate spend some money on an OEM lip. That will also let me put the money I do have into engine parts, since that is alot more important to me than the exterior.

Either way I'm gonna hold off on making a decision for 2-3 weeks, that way I have time to really think about it without rushing into anything.

Best part is that it only has just over 17,000 miles. Got it from a teacher who only used the car to drive to and from work.

Just to clarify, I was thinking of painting the housing not the lenses. But again these are just things Im thinking of and asking around on the forum to see what I should/shouldn't do.

Only reason I was thinking about this is because its a nice cheap DIY job. Are there any other DIY jobs you guys recommend that I can do to my hatch until I have some real money to put into it?

 

buy what you like bud, if you like it - job finished **** everyone else's opinion

 

Youre right, Its expensive. But there was no dicking around installing it. With Ebay lips youre gonna have to find hardware at a store or try and purchase the hardware from a body shop.

Is your car lowered? A lip such as a knock off Type R (EK9) lip is going to look funny on a stock height car. I think. Upgrading your wheels is a good first thing. Get an OEM wheel like 99-00 SI wheels/GSR blades or LS webs with beefier tire like 205/45. A good DIY is to change all the cluster lights and climate control lights to a different color. Alot of people do red and its a great upgrade. Get a EX cluster with a tachometer. Theyre plug and play. Or a 99-00 Si cluster. They look **** in hatches. Spray silicone spray on the window seals to make the window slide easier. The regulators in our cars are garbage and they bend. Get some LS seats. Theyre much nicer. Civic seats are like sitting in a plastic patio chair.

Also, Youve got a DX hatch with a D16y7 Non VTEC engine. Doing any mods to it is only going to a waste of money. Sure an intake and exhaust will change the sound but thats about it. Those motors dont respond to bolt on's too well. Look into a mini me swap. Or go turbo down the road.

If I owned a 98 hatch that only had 17k on it and I wasnt in the market for either a swap or turbo Id take all my available money for the car and buy quality appearance/handling parts. Even lowering a car with a stock motor makes the car 10x more fun to drive. Maybe a short shifter. Clay bar it. Wax it. Make it super clean. Buy OEM floor mats. Again I wouldnt put any money into the motor. Id enjoy the MPG and make it super clean.

 

Thanks I appreciate all the info. I didnt know this engine doesnt respond well to bolt on parts. First thing I was going to order for it was an AEM short ram, but if noise is going to be the only difference I notice then its not worth it to me.

And if Im not going to be buying engine parts then I should be able to afford an OEM front lip, thinking the same SiR you recommended. Once I put on the front lip Ill see if I think it will look good to add a back lip as well.

I was definitely going to get new wheels since I don't like the stock ones at all, but didn't really know where to start looking. Ill take a look at the ones you suggested and go from there. Im thinking 15" would be good on a hb, or do you think I should go 16"?

Thanks for all the DIY suggestions, should keep me busy for a little while. I was planning on changing the cluster/cc lights, but Ive been looking for an EX cluster first. Havn't looked for an 99-00 Si tho, so Im gonna try and search for a good price on one now.

And yeah, its at stock height right now. Wasn't really planning on lowering it but if you think it will make that big of a difference with handling then Im gonna look into that as well. Havnt had much experience with lowered cars so I don't know too much about lowering Civics yet. What do you think is a good height to drop it if its going to be a daily driver? If I go with lowering springs, I was looking at the Eibach Pros which should drop it 1-1.25". Probably gonna need new shocks if I go with springs though.

Im still at school until Friday, but once I get out Im definitely giving it a nice coat of wax. Its already lookin pretty clean so it shouldnt take me too long to get it lookin really good.

 

He's right! They are expensive, but it's soo worth it. I bought mine from ICB and don't regret it one bit. However, I guess I got it on sale or something, beucase it's about 30-40 more then what I paid. lol


He is spot on about leaving the engine stock, I should know as I have a Y7 with a intake. (Pretty much forced to use it)
But it did noithing excpet make it louder. I will admit, aronud the 2-4k range it sounds pretty good. But there was no gain.

Make the look/handle good.



Also, I was in college when I bought all the parts my car has, don't use that as an excuse. Just be patient, you don't need anything now, you want it.

 

Where are you located? I will buy your car right now for 2k more than what you paid for it.

 

Thanks for the info 98civdx.

Sorry not for sale

 

I usually don't answer to these threads but, really if money it going to be an issue because your going to school, then I think you should hold off on spending a lot of money on the car. Small upgrades are good for the outside, you don't want to throw all these type-r looking all "racer" parts on the outside.. with the stock DX motor in the car.. just make it look clean and simple, OEM lip, yes get oem, they fit perfect and look great, I chose to get the JDMsh!t.com lip, and HATE it, fits like crap, just go OEM it's a lot cleaner to have everything lined up nice.

Try going with suspension upgrades, make it handle nice, give it a nice drop, work on small things.. Things that would really help for the future, if you plan on spending a lot after you graduate. Anyways all im getting at is, if money is going to be an issue dont try and throw cheap ebay crap on the car expecting it to look like somthing out of Honda-Tuning. You never know, when you graduate you might not even want to own a Honda anymore, it would suck if you threw all your money into a car, struggle with bills,money,credit, if you wont have the car after college, the car 100% stock is probably perfect for a college student.