I have a 2000 civic ex with the following engine mods

cat back
high flow cat
255 fuel pump
short ram
crower stage one cam and adjustable gear

i need to decide whether to do an aftermarket intake manifold or aftermarket header. which would give more gains? i know that both together would but right now i only have the funds for one of the two.

 

If you're buying no-name, off eBay parts, then neither. If you're buying quality, branded parts, either. It really doesn't matter, but I'm also guessing you don't have $500 for a quality, branded part.

 

my budget is like 300-350. i just want the part with the most potential gains

 

What's with the 255LPH pump ? unless it came like that: overkill

you won't get a quality exhaust for 300 save or get the ITM.

 

Pick one. The only way you'll know is on a dyno.

 

yeah i bought it with a walbro 255 fuel pump. no idea why the guy put it in but its there.

 

If there's no tune or basemap for it, all those mods are just a waste. After a while if you keep slapping on power adders your performance will actually start to get worse.

 

if i did decide to do a tune it wouldnt be for a while. i wanted to get the intake or exhaust decided before i started messing with the ecu

 

Good intake and cheap header and you can get both.
But I like to get exhaust done first before you start trying to cram more air into the cylinders.

 

wouldnt really bother with either. id source the web for a used manifold, if anything,

 

He's talking about an intake manifold, not intake piping. A "good" (and I use that word lightly) cheap IM is going to run $400 minimum, and that's not counting the machine work necessary to port match.

 

i'd look into getting a new camshaft. it should give you more power throughout the whole rpm range especially if it's tuned right. aftermarket mods for the intake/exhaust won't help as much but they're around the same price **nevermind just realized i missed that on your first post. well i'd go with the intake but i'm assuming they'll be about the same

 

A cam worth two ***** would require a tune when it was installed. He also already has one.

Actually, now that I think about it, OP, you should consider spending that money on a socketed P28, wideband, Moates Ostrich, and a lot of time reading and learning, and learn how to tune your car yourself. You'd gain more power from that than you ever could from a manifold.

 

So your running a aftermarket cam with a stock ecu??? I would start with that ecu. Anything else's would be a waste at this point!

 

The only way you'll know is on a dyno.

 

you need the intake exhaust cam header and a tune to take advantage of everything, if part of the airflow path is blocked, everything else becomes worthless. air can only flow as fast as the most restrictive point

 

Save your money and go turbo.

 

ive seen manifolds go for around $250-$300 and cheap ebay headers for $50.

either way I skip all that and went turbo.

but more power is gain with a tune .

 

i found a used edlebrock manifold for 280. i think im going with that. its a stage one cam so the valve train isnt upgraged and i think i can run it for now without a tune. id go turbo but for a d series id be better off swapping engines

 

You need a tune when upgrading anything internally like cams.

Your just wasting money trying to put bolt ons on a d series. Boost it or b swap.

 

You have not listened to a word of advice in this entire thread have you.

 

he's not listening, to the OP, with a cam the valve train geometry is changed, the ecu has to be programed for that change. A cam is not a bolt on. even a stage one is a big change, you need to tune for it

 

so ill need to learn how to tune over the summer. got it

 

i should mention that everything except the cam was already done when i bought the car so i havent been dumping money into it. adding a cam and intake manifold for under 500 is cheaper than any swap or turbo build

 

But horsepower to dollar ratio, turbo is cheaper!!! D's were never meant for performance, they are the epitome of economy motors and that's why bolt ons do very little in the power dept.