1996 Civic Hx coupe build

[seththekid]

Currently working on a 1996 Honda civic hx VTEC-E 5 speed manual transmission. I bought the car about a year ago in pretty bad condition ended up having to replace just about every seal on the engine, belts, water pump, distributor, thermostat, cv axle's, and the list goes on. needless to say the car is now in pretty good running condition minus a few small easy fixes.

Now I'm working steady and the build shall commence! I haven't quite decided if I want to stick with my hx VTEC-E head or do a mini me swap for the VTEC head.

I will be updating as i do work on the car. Any suggestions are appreciated but it is my car and at the end of the day I will make the final decisions on what I do or don't do to my vehicle!
thanks

-seth

 

[HeX]

Welcome to the HX family. Please click on my signature link to the HX Owners thread and chime in.

In the previous thread you stated the engine runs good, not great. Before you invest money on appearance, the engine should first be brought up to "running great" status. Otherwise, its not worth investing money in cosmetics. Perhaps consider inexpensive cosmetic mods such as lip kits or working on the interior while you fine-tune the engine. Once its running admirably, then handle the more expensive bodywork and painting. Let us know what cosmetic ideas you have thus far.

I cant speak about vtec engine mods largely because Ive never cared or considered such an option on an HX since I purchased it with the sole purpose of taking advantage of its fuel efficiency. The general consensus agrees that modifying a D-series engine for more performance is futile being that theyre designed solely for fuel efficiency. You may be able to squeeze out some extra performance but the cost-to-performance ratio is generally unfavorable.

You may wish to check out my other signature link about better MPG for tips on getting your engine to run well.

 

[seththekid]

In the previous thread you stated the engine runs good, not great. Before you invest money on appearance, the engine should first be brought up to "running great" status. Otherwise, its not worth investing money in cosmetics. Perhaps consider inexpensive cosmetic mods such as lip kits or working on the interior while you fine-tune the engine. Once its running admirably, then handles the more expensive bodywork and painting.

I cant speak about vtec engine mods largely because Ive never cared or considered such an option on an HX since I purchased it with the sole purpose of taking advantage of its fuel efficiency. The general consensus agrees that modifying a D-series engine for more performance is futile being that theyre designed solely for fuel efficiency. You may be able to squeeze out some extra performance but the cost-to-performance ratio is generally unfavorable.

well recently it has been running somewhat sluggish and i think this is do to the fact that the guy i had do my rear main seal also drilled out a few bolts on my valve cover and when he replaced the plug gaskets he pinched two of them. so I'm getting oil in number 1 and 2. fairly easy fix after that I believe it will be running in pretty good condition. this weekend I'll be going through and doing another oil change, new plugs wires, and i think she'll be doing excellent.
'
and like i said nothing is set in stone just yet as far as engine modifications would really like to learn more about the whole "mini me swap" before i jump into it. prices, reliability etc.

as long as the engine is running good and the car sounds good i think my main goal is cosmetics paint, aftermarket lights, rims, maybe coil overs. i do not plan on doing any "body kits" want a stock look but lowered.

 

[HeX]

and like i said nothing is set in stone just yet as far as engine modifications would really like to learn more about the whole "mini me swap" before i jump into it. prices, reliability etc.

The mini swap has been covered several times if Im not mistaken. Use the search function to find them.

as long as the engine is running good and the car sounds good i think my main goal is cosmetics paint, aftermarket lights, rims, maybe coil overs. i do not plan on doing any "body kits" want a stock look but lowered.

All this has also been covered. Altezza lights should be avoided because theyre cheap and illuminate poorly. You shouldnt go for rims larger than 16" because 17" begin to get difficult to fit & ride comfortably, Splurge for quality brand suspension parts (look for the suspension "sticky").

 

[seththekid]

The mini swap has been covered several times if Im not mistaken. Use the search function to find them.



All this has also been covered. Altezza lights should be avoided because theyre cheap and illuminate poorly. You shouldnt go for rims larger than 16" because 17" begin to get difficult to fit & ride comfortably, Splurge for quality brand suspension parts (look for the suspension "sticky").

yea i was going to go 15" rims just something aftermarket was looking at some tuner style Avid rims and as far as suspension i have been looking at Megan racing coil overs.
what is your view on the whole cold air intake, short ram intake, and stock intake debate?

 

[Wreckless Hype]

If you're putting an intake on the stock motor, a CAI is going to make the most difference I guess, but really you're talking about something so minimal, you won't notice it anyway. The thing you'll notice the most is the sound.. You can get a cheap eBay pipe and put a decent filter on it and call it a day or just get a K&N dry drop in filter for your OEM intake box.

If your "aftermarket lights" means altezzs or something, I would say don't bother. I got a set of smoked headlights and they are pretty awful. The foglights that came bundled with them were very brittle and not good quality at all. You'll find with cheap parts, the fitment is poor, the overall quality is poor, poor weather seals, and things like mounts just snap off light and right.

My first plans would be to run the car for a while with all of the repairs in place to make sure everything else is running well. Fix what needs to be fixed and get it in overall good shape.

Also, do your research. There are millions of threads on things like mini-me swaps and being that these started years ago, you will find people who have had them for years and can give some insight on their durability, etc. Take your time and have a plan.

Also, welcome.

 

[lethal6]

Welcome to the HX family. Please click on my signature link to the HX Owners thread and chime in....



You may wish to check out my other signature link about better MPG for tips on getting your engine to run well.

More than 80+% of the active members are here through tapatalk. Signatures don't show in tapatalk. Keep that in mind when you post this stuff. Same goes for RonJ and his links.

2 nights ago I was doing research and out of the 29 members logged in and browsing, only 4 of them were on through a PC meaning that to 25 of them, signature links are completely worthless.

Going to have to actually post the links in the threads instead of trying to funnel them through your sigs.

 

[HeX]

More than 80+% of the active members are here through tapatalk. Signatures don't show in tapatalk. Keep that in mind when you post this stuff. Same goes for RonJ and his links.

2 nights ago I was doing research and out of the 29 members logged in and browsing, only 4 of them were on through a PC meaning that to 25 of them, signature links are completely worthless.

Going to have to actually post the links in the threads instead of trying to funnel them through your sigs.

I did not know that, Lethal6. Im not a heavy app user. I avoid them in fact. Thanks for the info.

Seth, here are the links below...

How To: Better MPG
HX Owners, Unite!

 

[lethal6]

I did not know that, Lethal6. Im not a heavy app user. I avoid them in fact. Thanks for the info.

Seth, here are the links below...

How To: Better MPG
HX Owners, Unite!

Welcome.

You are becoming the minority. Forums are going mobile and it will get more and more as time goes on. As I type this 37 members are logged in, 28 of them are on through tapatalk.

Only reason I come here on a computer from time to time is that for the moment it is more efficient to moderate. Once mobile catches up to this efficiency, it is likely that I will be on my ipad exclusively or on my phone when I am out and about.

 

[seththekid]

thank's for all the input guys! ill have pictures up tomorrow. Don't have batteries for my camera at the moment and I don't have a smart phone!
The reason for changing the lights is the previous owner decided he wanted to do some "CUSTOM" work on the front end of the car... by that i mean he dented and bent out the fenders hood and bumper in order to put in Acura Integra lights...
don't ask me why he did this it looks atrocious.
I was thinking going Oem and switching them to hid maybe try to find some glass lights if possible. nothing fancy just brighter than factory. I'll be needing to buy two new fenders, a hood, and a front bumper. I have actually been junk yard searching since i got the car and let me tell you it is slim pickings around here! Ordering a hood offline comes with a shipping charge of around 150$ and i cant see myself spending that much on shipping.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

thank's for all the input guys! ill have pictures up tomorrow. Don't have batteries for my camera at the moment and I don't have a smart phone!
The reason for changing the lights is the previous owner decided he wanted to do some "CUSTOM" work on the front end of the car... by that i mean he dented and bent out the fenders hood and bumper in order to put in Acura Integra lights...
don't ask me why he did this it looks atrocious.
I was thinking going Oem and switching them to hid maybe try to find some glass lights if possible. nothing fancy just brighter than factory. I'll be needing to buy two new fenders, a hood, and a front bumper. I have actually been junk yard searching since i got the car and let me tell you it is slim pickings around here! Ordering a hood offline comes with a shipping charge of around 150$ and i cant see myself spending that much on shipping.

Do everyone who drives on the planet a favor and please don't put HID bulbs in the stock halogen housings. HIDs are meant to be focused through a projector setup so as not to shine that bright light into the eyes of oncoming drivers. I set it up like that for about a month and would get flashed every night. It's extremely blinding. If you're going to get "brighter than stock" headlights, gets something like Silverstar ZXEs; they're very good for halogen bulbs, they have a nice color and are quite bright.

If you decide at some point to go with a full HID setup, I'd recommend a nice retrofit setup with the projectors and the hole 9. I'm working on getting mine setup; the gf has them in her car and they look awesome.

Problem with shipping big parts is the come with big shipping prices. Best bet is to wait for something to pop up in a junk yard or craigslist or something near you and grab it for a decent price.

Get a picture of those Acura lights up, I wanna see that!

 

[seththekid]

Do everyone who drives on the planet a favor and please don't put HID bulbs in the stock halogen housings. HIDs are meant to be focused through a projector setup so as not to shine that bright light into the eyes of oncoming drivers. I set it up like that for about a month and would get flashed every night. It's extremely blinding. If you're going to get "brighter than stock" headlights, gets something like Silverstar ZXEs; they're very good for halogen bulbs, they have a nice color and are quite bright.

If you decide at some point to go with a full HID setup, I'd recommend a nice retrofit setup with the projectors and the hole 9. I'm working on getting mine setup; the gf has them in her car and they look awesome.

Problem with shipping big parts is the come with big shipping prices. Best bet is to wait for something to pop up in a junk yard or craigslist or something near you and grab it for a decent price.

Get a picture of those Acura lights up, I wanna see that!

well yea i don't want to blind people just brighter than stock and halo's are pretty good looking!

but as far as the integra lights go... I"m actually embarrassed to drive it for that reason its like something that should be on bad car mods sub Reddit IMO.

any suggestions on good companies to order from as far as the lights go?

 

[Wreckless Hype]

well yea i don't want to blind people just brighter than stock and halo's are pretty good looking!

but as far as the integra lights go... I"m actually embarrassed to drive it for that reason its like something that should be on bad car mods sub Reddit IMO.

any suggestions on good companies to order from as far as the lights go?

Honda is a good one (Stanley)

you could pay $100 for crap brand headlights, or a bit more for an OEM used pair and take some PlastX to them and clean them up real nice.

Halos tend to fall in the same category as the Altezzas. There's not really a "good" brand that makes good quality parts. They pretty much just offer cheap Chinese polished turds. They'll work, but you'll likely end up with moisture in the headlights or the lenses will turn a grimy yellow quicker than you'd like. This isn't even because I don't like the parts, I don't like the parts because this is what actually happens..

 

[seththekid]

here is a picture of the exhaust that I bought for her. actually sending the headers back turns out you have to remove AC and power steering and was not informed by the company of this when i bought them. so ill be running cat back until i get some different headers.

 

[CHILD]

It's just one header, and if you looked at the design, you'd see that it doesn't fit with all the factory equipment in place. I had a similar header on my sohc

 

[Wreckless Hype]

That's crazy. Is that just like extra back pressure for low end torque kind of design? I also tend to get weary of that many welds heh

I just went with a normal 4-1, cylinders 1 and 2 shoot over towards 3 and 4 right under the car so no fuss with stock luxury components.

 

[seththekid]

It's just one header, and if you looked at the design, you'd see that it doesn't fit with all the factory equipment in place. I had a similar header on my sohc

i honestly think it looks better than most other headers but i just dont know if i want to sacrifice power steering ac isn't that big of a deal that's why you have windows
I'm on the fence about it i have 3 days to decide if i want it or not.. gotta decide if its worth sacrificing both the ac and PS just for this style headers when i could easily get in another style.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

I may be ill-informed on this subject, but isn't there more to removing power steering than just removing the pump and the reservoir? End result would be no fluid going to your PS rack and I'd imagine there would be some issues with that? Or is it just like not having it in the first place? I only ask because I'm sure Child may know better than I.

I've never converted from or to, I either had it or never did. I've removed AC, that's easy ha

 

[seththekid]

I may be ill-informed on this subject, but isn't there more to removing power steering than just removing the pump and the reservoir? End result would be no fluid going to your PS rack and I'd imagine there would be some issues with that? Or is it just like not having it in the first place? I only ask because I'm sure Child may know better than I.

I've never converted from or to, I either had it or never did. I've removed AC, that's easy ha

pretty much what i thought. gotta get with my friend on that. told the exhaust guys to leave it alone and i would deal with it because i didn't trust them doing anything but putting it in honestly

 

[HeX]

Do everyone who drives on the planet a favor and please don't put HID bulbs in the stock halogen housings. HIDs are meant to be focused through a projector setup so as not to shine that bright light into the eyes of oncoming drivers. I set it up like that for about a month and would get flashed every night. It's extremely blinding. If you're going to get "brighter than stock" headlights, gets something like Silverstar ZXEs; they're very good for halogen bulbs, they have a nice color and are quite bright.

If you decide at some point to go with a full HID setup, I'd recommend a nice retrofit setup with the projectors and the hole 9. I'm working on getting mine setup; the gf has them in her car and they look awesome.

Problem with shipping big parts is the come with big shipping prices. Best bet is to wait for something to pop up in a junk yard or craigslist or something near you and grab it for a decent price.

Get a picture of those Acura lights up, I wanna see that!

well yea i don't want to blind people just brighter than stock and halo's are pretty good looking!

but as far as the integra lights go... I"m actually embarrassed to drive it for that reason its like something that should be on bad car mods sub Reddit IMO.

any suggestions on good companies to order from as far as the lights go?

I wanna see this ghetto-rigged abomination as well.

As for headlight options, I agree on not getting HIDs for the same reasons. I suggest PIAA bulbs. Theyre better quality than Sylvania and last longer. Get a pair of good condition used OEM headlights and have a shop clear coat them and theyre look brand new.