I just got a 2004 Honda Civic EX 5 spd. I got a V2 short ram intake which increased my h.p. about 8-12. I am new to the import world and don't know what i should go with next. I'm not really interested in rims or anything to make the car look really good quite yet. What would you guys suggest to increase my performance that is within a $400 budget???

 

dude, you didn't gain 8-12 lol you gained at most, MAYBE 3. sorry, advertisements aren't always true... bolt on mods don't make **** on these hondas, unless you spend 1300 bucks on an SMSP header, which yields max 20 hp on a built motor.

don't mod. keep your money, research, learn, read. otherwise you'll spend a lot of money trying to make your car fast but in the end realize you'd wasted it all AND destroyed your motor faster than you can imagine.

keep the 400 for gas, oil, and maintenance money.

 

birdiebarnhart, since you have opened up the intake side of your engine, you should also open up the exhaust side of your engine as well. for 400 you could get a used header($200) and used rear section($200) but I would seriously suggest a full header, high flow cat, and cat-back system for ~$1000 total.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Greenery18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">birdiebarnhart, since you have opened up the intake side of your engine, you should also open up the exhaust side of your engine as well. for 400 you could get a used header($200) and used rear section($200) but I would seriously suggest a full header, high flow cat, and cat-back system for ~$1000 total.

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I do not agree

I do, however, agree with this.......<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lke2drvgsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you didn't gain 8-12

don't mod. keep your money, research, learn, read. otherwise you'll spend a lot of money trying to make your car fast but in the end realize you'd wasted it all AND destroyed your motor faster than you can imagine.

keep the 400 for gas, oil, and maintenance money.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the best thing you can do is save your money and keep on saving for the next few months. Read the forum and misc. threads that interest you for the next few months and you will learn more than you ever imagined and that will hopefully set you to actually doing something productive to your car instead of pointless modifications.

 

I think you should decide what exactly you want from your car before you blow money on it.

 

I think you should start looking at suspension mods, and brakes. That way you have a solid car that stops well before you do anything to make more power.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MugenDude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think you should start looking at suspension mods, and brakes. That way you have a solid car that stops well before you do anything to make more power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

a decent driver can get a stock car around a track faster than a bad driver with even $5,000 in suspension upgrades. spend the 400 bucks on driving lessons and track time. not only will it be fun as hell, but you'll learn a SHITLOAD, and any money that goes towards experience is never wasted, nor does it depreciate in value.

to noobs, the concept of spending as much money on driving lessons and track time as spending it to make your car sound like **** and gain another 5 hp sounds ridiculous... you could knock off a good .5 seconds off your track time i bet if you just practiced and didn't do a damn thing to your car....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by birdiebarnhart &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What would you guys suggest to increase my performance that is within a $400 budget??? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Azenis.

 

Well, what would you suggest for exhaust, and if you can get a header that cheap, let me know, the cheapest i have found for a stainless steel is 305, 205 for a ceramic. Let me know

 

aight man, well, what would you suggest for suspension, i have gotten some quotes from some guys in town, the range from some eibach springs for 500 to some coilovers for 1500. Let me know if you have some for cheap.

 

research and save until u have more to work with. a 400 dollar budget wont cut it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blue2ksi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">research and save until u have more to work with. a 400 dollar budget wont cut it</TD></TR></TABLE>

I still say Azenis, best cheap (&lt;$500) item I ever bought for my car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.Saturn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I still say Azenis, best cheap (&lt;$500) item I ever bought for my car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

azenis are 70 a piece.. x4=280+another 50 for install... much less than 500, and i'd say that's one mod that you may want to look into doing, then spend the other 70 on track time and driving lessons

 

Though 400 bucks won't get you very far, I would probably go with an exhaust since you already have the cai intake... later on down the road, you'll want one anyhow. With those bolt- ons on my car, i noticed a bit of an increase in mid-high range power at the expense of decreased low-end power and throttle response. If you do go with an exhaust, I'd recommend you aim for a quieter one... preferably something like the RS*R Ex Mag, if there is an application for your car. I only got my Greddy SP2, which is relatively quiet too, because the Ex Mag was on back- order at the time i was buying. I hear DC Sports also makes some quality, quiet exhausts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phatfunk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Though 400 bucks won't get you very far, I would probably go with an exhaust since you already have the cai intake... later on down the road, you'll want one anyhow. With those bolt- ons on my car, i noticed a bit of an increase in mid-high range power at the expense of decreased low-end power and throttle response. If you do go with an exhaust, I'd recommend you aim for a quieter one... preferably something like the RS*R Ex Mag, if there is an application for your car. I only got my Greddy SP2, which is relatively quiet too, because the Ex Mag was on back- order at the time i was buying. I hear DC Sports also makes some quality, quiet exhausts. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Even with a full ~$400 exhaust I doubt you could 'feel' any type of gain. You might hear more sound and associate that with more power but with only $400 I would focus on making the car more fun to drive rather than going for that 5whp you'll see on a dyno. A $20 motor mount insert kit is great, good tires change the entire feel of cornering, a decent oil pressure gauge can save you later on if you really go all out in engine mods. It sounds like a waste now, but trust people when they say not to rush into modifying the car, because most speak from experience and regret.

Look into an old post of mine on mono-wipers, I liked the mod at the time, but it cost me more $$ down the road. Definately keep things like your stock air box, in case you have to go back for any reason!

 

Now that I think about it, with an EX engine exhaust isn't gonna do much for ya. For 400 bucks you could slap on a 55-75hp nitrous kit, and be crushing typeR's at the light. Since your engine is a 2004 with probably low miles, I think nitrous is a great option for you..

 

You all have great suggestions, but where can I get this stuff, I have about 800 to spend, tell me where I can find these mods.

 

what is Azenis....

 

Buy some blinker fluid.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by birdiebarnhart &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what is Azenis....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Tires, very sticky for the street, I've run then a while now without wear problems but if the 100 tire wear rating scares you there are other alternatives.