Hey everybody, picked up a 98 civic hatch about 8 months ago. Have used this forum to no end for write ups, how to’s, and diy’s already so far lol. It was a real piece of work when I first got it. Previous owners either had no idea what they were doing, or just didn’t care. It was sad. But I’m glad I saved the little guy. It has a d16y8 swap from a 99 ex apparently. SO MUCH POWER. LOL.

BUT when I got it, I barely made it home because the distributor was apparently retarded as far as it possibly could go for some reason. They had TWO intake manifold gaskets, one for air injection and one without, and was wondering why the idle was funky. eBay crap coilovers. Not even the “good” kind. Like, 100 bucks for the whole set kind 🤮. They said they changed the head gasket, which failed on me 3 months after I bought it. Well, traded it for a 96 cbr 600 F3. Had only on bolt holding the shifter stabilizer bar on. They claimed it had an exhaust on it. Which was just them cutting the cat off and welding pipe in place. Oh yeah, and had some HIDEOUSLY stretched tires on it. Complete with m3 rep mirrors and altezza tail lights. I’m part Asian, so I love my rice as much as the next, but this was ridiculous.

So far I’ve done a timing belt job, replaced the head gasket with oem Honda, got the timing nice and tight, slapped some progress cs2’s on it, put oem style side mirrors and tail lights back on, skunk 2 shift ****, nrg steering wheel, “better” wheels, tie rods, put a front sway bar from an lx on it, radio and baby 10 inch sub, and I think that’s about it. Probably more but I can’t think of it. However, I’ve got a turbo kit in the mix already, cause I love boost and all my cars have been boosted. Anyways. Here’s some pics. Thanks for having me.


How I got it



How it sits now



Interior when I got it



Interior now



Got a sweet looking horn button for it lol



Turbo setup t3/t4 fitty trim



Size reference cause turbo. He’s a chonky guy.



Mostly going budget turbo build. Except for this part. Neptune RTP 🤘

 

Oof on those original tires. Who would do something like that, haha. Reminds me of all the goofy tilt tire "drift" civics floating around here.

Thought I'd take a look since you helped me with figuring out that ECU in mine. Clean as can be. I am shamed by comparison.
That interior is way different from what I'm used to.

Wish I could offer tips but honestly I'm a novice to tuner cars and custom stuff, and really only interested in fun daily drivers, not racecars.

Looks great to my totally untrained eye though! Not that, that actually means anything.
You deserve a .


EDIT: Oh, darn it I'm always forgetting crap, I know an amazing etsy lady who does leather shift boots and had patterns for civics if your interested. She did a great job with mine!

 

I appreciate dude. Thanks for the tip on the shift boot too, but I like redline goods for boots and other leather stuff. You should definitely check it out if you have not. I had one of their shift boots on my sr20det swapped 96 Nissan Sentra. It was quite literally the nicest thing on the car lol.

 

I've been thinking about it and have a question for you.

In my intro thread you said you had installed 350/350 progress coilovers, since civics are front heavy and fwd doesn't that mean you would get allot of understeer?

Is partly the reason I went 450f 350R

My thoughts being that relative to the front, the same strength springs on the back would actually behave as much stronger springs because the back weighs a fraction of the front? Is why stock civics don't have matching spring rates front and back?

Now if your under acceleration weight would shift to the back, but the moment you let up it all slams forward, pulling your nose off the road as you slow for a corner?

This is just info I've come up with on my own and haven't discussed with anyone who actually had any idea what they are talking about, so you thoughts on the matter would be greatly appreciated!

 

Here’s a good little explanation.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/suspen...steer-3243640/

Essentially what you’re doing when using stiffer rear spring rates is giving the rear tires less of a threshold for grip so that the rear end will have a tendency to swing out. It confused me as well, but after reading up on it, it made more sense. Also, it’s what progress recommended for a more balance between comfort and handling with a d series engine. If I had a swap done, I would’ve gone with the 450/450.

 

I think I'm getting it. Actually I should be in the nuetral with my set up I'm thinking. And you actually have stiffer weight relative to front in the back to induce oversteer.

From what I'm gathering if I slapped a rear lower sway bar on mine it would actually push it just a hair into oversteer. Not sure if that is desirable or not for country roads vs nuetral. You have any ideas?

Don't worry, won't wreck it. I'm out in the country and have been in many situations where back ends slide all over the place.
I know procedure for straightening out.
Slid a ford triton v8 expedition with mustang heads on it sideways around many an icy corner and muddy corn field. Well before I had even heard the term under and oversteer. Good times. Sold the truck though. 12 mpg was really eating into my pocket.

Thanks!

 

It all comes down to personal preference and what your intended use for the car will be.