I'm on a 95 Civic LX auto and this is my entrance to performance, and I have some question before I run off and burn my money.

1) I've frequently heard of the order Intake, exhaust, then header. Does it matter what comes first? Can I run an intake and a header without the change in stock exhaust (temporary)? What happens with a long term of stock exhaust?

2) APC Intimidator and neuspeed intakes are relatively cheap (about $70), compares to Injen or AEM or Iceman ($130ish)..... which brings up the question, are they (APC and Neuspeed) reliable? Also, would they (APC & Neu) be considered as short ram intake? also, does the CAI have noticable difference in compare to the short ram?

3) What brand would you recommend for the header?

Thanx a plenty!

 

I'll take a crack at number two, the Iceman and the AEM are cold air intakes, which means your air filter will be moved outside of the engine bay, thus allowing it to recieve cooler air, the cold air DOES make a difference.

APC is crap, they managed to **** up something simple like an intake (air filter on a pipe) the one they make for the civic is too big of a diameter for the civic's engine to work most efficently (it's 3 inches instead of 2.5 which would be better).

But it's not like the intake is going to explode or anything. it's just looks and performs cheap.

 

It really doesn't matter what you do first, whether you want the aggressive sound first, or whatever. Adding an exhaust to headers and intake is going to make it even louder.

 

Ok..
1. Getting an intake and header without the exhaust is going to be alright, and nothing will happen to the exhaust in the long term. And I'd actually recommend you getting them in that order. I/H/E
2. Apc is ****, and neuspeed is alright. Yes, they would be considered short ram. And yes the CAI will have a noticable difference especially in cooler weather.
3. A good, not too expensive header, are DC headers. Good design, CARB approved, and they don't hurt you wallet too much.

 

Get AEM, not a short 3" intake.........here is why.........

 

1) no it dosen't make a difference but think of i tlike this your car breathes inhales and exhales, if you put an intake on it's inhalling a lot more (cold air denser combusts better) , with out a performance exhaust it still exhales at the same rate, it's not bad for the car but just not it's perfect match.
2) if your getting an intake get a cold air intake (CAI) a short ram intake is just a noise maker. A cold air intake will add a noticable amount of difference through out most of your rev range. As for brands Iceman is good cause it's tube narrows making the air force greater, heat resistantce is good cause it keeps the air colder for better combustion, I have a some generic CAI I think CP Performance, it's got a great filter... metal mesh not fiber, gets better airflow then even the K & N filters.

hope that helps...

 

I wouldn't expect a huge power boost, just to warn you ahead of time.

If you could, try doing a tranny swap, that alone is a better performance increase, and the car is still stock quiet.