Pretty new to hondas and just bought my first one no more then a month ago. A 97 civic dx coupe 5 speed. And i was looking for a little more kick and id enjoy some nice vtec. Only problem, i dont have deep pockets, the money not scarce but its also not plentiful. All suggestions welcome. Thanks

 

Fresh NGK plugs (wires if they aren't Honda), distributor cap, rotor button, oil change, Honda manual transmission fluid and check the distributor timing to make sure its correct. That's the best and cheapest thing you can do to make sure you have all of your horsepower.

 

Air filter too. And gap your plugs correctly, and as always, I will preach a can of seafoam will work wonders on a tired engine.

 

^^What they said. Don't waste money on bolt on's such as intake, header, exhaust as the gains are so minimal on a D-series=waste of money.

 

VTEC head swap like 150$ all in so meh why not when I had my dx I did it just for fun as a mod starting out to lean a few things. But first just keep it in good shape @crazyhouse11 only if the newly broken up sludge doesn't block oil passage's like.... seafoam usage has a reputation for doing. I'd prefer to pull the engine as disassemble it/hot tank it then use that stuff ohh wait that's what I did there's no "cheap fixes" that are better then taking the time to do it right.

 

Many people report good things with this product, some report nothing, and very few report bad things, just like most things in life. I for one used it and it was quite fun, and did clean up my engine quite well.

 

I agree Bswapped, maybe I should've asked what kind of budget he has. Said pockets are tight so general maintenance is what first comes to mind.

 

You also own a car where a replacement engine can be had for 300$ I'm not in the same boat so that stuff comes nowhere near my car along with similar things. to each their own I guess


@ej1b18c1 it's probably the cheapest "20hp" you'll ever get for under 200$ lol given a stock y7 has 106 and a y8/z6 have about 126.

 

Leave it stock and if tune ups haven't been done do it for the mileage not the power. If you want more power come up with a budget, plan, and then save for a swap.

 

Head swap would be nice and make a nice difference for pretty cheap IF OP can do it himself. Considering OP is new to Honda's, cost will be above $200. 20hp though is a DAMN good gain though lol, especially on a NA D!!

 

No oil lines will be plugged if you don't put it in the oil. fuel system is the safest route, at the very least you will clean out your injectors and a little of the combustion chamber, but the riskiest, but most rewarding route, is the vacuum line.

And also, it doesn't seem that the OP has the same engine that you do. He has a non vtec d series, which is even cheaper than the engine I have.

 

After a tune up save your money and decide to either Swap for a better motor, or do a head swap/boost.

 

Swap in a 92-95 SI/EX or 96-00 EX trans. Huge improvement. Small dollars.

 

Don't you have a B20? Those aren't $300 yet? Are they still $500?

 

Yes but it's 85X89mm 12:1 etc yes it's a b20 block but that's about all that's stock about it lol. Nah still 500$ish around here if you go to an engine importer, my Fit(jazz) on the other had you can find those engines super cheap in comparison but it's hell working in that tight bay.