Good evening,

I am new to honda and I was looking for some advice. I just purchased a 2002 Honda Civic EX. I'm the kind of guy that likes to upgrade when I have to replace/repair parts. I plan on doing the following very soon and would like some input on what brands to get... Here it goes:

I need new brakes (front and rear)

Want a short shifter

Want new header and exhaust (keep in mind I live in an area that needs emissions testing every year)

New headlights and taillights

Need new clutch

Would like to install Fog Lights

Car smells like smoke so any recommendations on how to get rid of the ashtray smell would be great

Thats about all I want to do to the vehicle for the time being. Also, if you guys could give me a heads up on what I need to watch out for that is a known issue for these vehicles would be great!

Thank you for taking the time to look at this post and I hope to work with my new Honda family and hope to make you guys proud.

Thanks again!

L.H.

 

these cars dont make much power at all, even with full bolt ons, if you want power, swap the engine for a k series.
as for the smoke smell, ill suggest vacuuming and steam cleaning the entire carpet and seats + riding around with your windows down as most as you can
youll have to get dc header (i think thats the only carb legal header for the d17)

 

Thanks for the advice Rallyeredem2. Right now, I guess I'm not looking for lots of power at this moment. I just want it to look good, sound good and run well. The main reason I got this car was to save on gas (coming from an Audi S4).

I'll give the cleaning a try because that stench is BAD.

Thanks again for the advice.

L.H.

 

I would also recommend to change the cabin air filters that are located behind your glove box. Once the interior is clean use alot of febreeze. Hope this will help.

 

I need new brakes (front and rear)
Ceramic from any auto parts store are prob good enough.

Want a short shifter
I think b&m makes a decent one, that's pretty cheap.

Want new header and exhaust (keep in mind I live in an area that needs emissions testing every year)
DC header and apexi rs exhaust and you should be fine.

New headlights and taillights
ebay

Need new clutch
act

Would like to install Fog Lights
oem honda off of a website shouldn't be too bad.

Car smells like smoke so any recommendations on how to get rid of the ashtray smell would be great
Try getting the car ozoned, also try febreeze non scented it works pretty well

 

Thank you guys for all of your inputs. I will most definitely do research on all of what you guys have posted and most likely make the purchases. Thanks again for the advice.

- L.H.

 

I hate to recommend factory parts, but my mother just called to tell me that I need to put brakes on her car. It's a 2003 and they've never needed to be changed before, so I'm guessing that Honda OEM brakes are pretty good. Considering the number of speeding tickets she's gotten, I'd be willing to bet that she's had to stand on the binders "a few" times.

I've heard - although I have no personal experience, here - that some aftermarket rotors for these cars are somewhat thin and that, because of this and having only four lugs, if someone lets an idiot reinstall the wheels with an impact gun so that they can (and probably will) vastly overtorque the lug nuts, it can "pull" the rotor out of flat, which can lead to noise and uneven rotor wear. But you should be fine if you use the bare minimum of common sense, IOW, reinstall the wheels by hand with a torque wrench to proper specs.

Please don't go with those "ultra-blue" colored ones. It's not the brightness that I dislike, rather, it's the color. Blue is pretty much the hardest color of light on people's night vision - yours AND the other drivers. Guy here local had them on his vehicle (no, it wasn't a Honda) and an oncoming driver ended up running off the road. Luckily, he managed to cream the person with the blinders when he tried to correct, and luckier still, one of the blinder's headlights was undamaged. He stated in the accident report that he was blinded... And, when his insurance company investigated and learned that the other person's headlights were not DOT-legal, said blinder's insurance had to pay. Don't let this happen to you - or to any drivers you happen to meet on the road.

Odd, a friend of mine got almost 200,000 miles out of his. This was for an older Civic, though ('98, I believe). And, since these vehicles can easily go well over 200,000 with just a decent maintenance schedule, I can see where people would be replacing their clutches... eventually.

As mentioned, shampoo (hot water extractor, preferrably one with two heavy duty motors to remove as much as the dirty solution as possible) the seats and carpet.

You may end up replacing your headliner. Should be able to do this, yourself for around $100. Any automotive upholstery shop can sell you the headliner material. Reuse your own "board." Use 3M glue made for the purpose. Make sure you get all the old adhesive/etc. off, first; a soft-bristled brush - or a horsehair one - and a shop vac works well.

Finally, to destroy (as opposed to cover up) that and any other odors, hit the vehicle with O3 (ozone) for several hours. A decent detail shop will have an ozone generator and will be able to do so. I don't really recommend this to the DIYer. Although it's dead easy to build a generator yourself out of an old neon sign transformer and a few other parts, ozone can kill you in large doses (which really aren't that large, relatively speaking). Might cost you a little bit for four to six hours on their machine - but it's well worth it as it'll cover the entire interior, ductwork, etc.

 

as for the smoke smell they sell ozone bombs it just like a bug bomb you pull the pin then turn on the recirculation and let it do its thing.

 

There are some good suggestions above. Let me add one: Put your air on recirculate and spray some febreeze toward the intake under the dash. This will help with the air ducts that are contaminated.