2001 Civic EX

Marcoss_98

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Hi guys I'm new to this, I just got my car and I'm not really that experienced with Mods and stuff. So I wanted to see if anybody knew what kind of small upgrades I can do for now. And if doing an engine swap would be a good idea.
 

5SpeedEJ6

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There are 1001 small upgrades you can do to your car. I would suggest starting with things that the car NEEDS today. You could do some looking around the engine bay and see if there is any sings of needed maintenance (like oil leaks, bad wiring, etc). Also look at your suspension components for anything worn out ( such as blown shocks, bad ball joints, worn out tie rods, etc).
After some of these things are taken care of, I'd do some research on things you would like to replace to learn more about your car. Some examples could be coilovers (to lower your car), aftermarket intake (fairly easy to do), new headers/exhaust (sometimes can be a pain because of rusty bolts), newer seats (there are threads out there that show you compatibility between other Hondas), aftermarket HIDs (also simple to replace), and anything else you can think of.
I'd also suggest doing a lot of researching before doing any type of work on your car, to make sure you do not encounter anything you don't know how to do/fix.
So in conclusion: LOTS AND LOTS OF RESEARCH. That is the best way to gain knowledge, that will translate into experience.
Best of luck.
 


Marcoss_98

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Currently I am waiting in parts for the right side of my suspension bcuz it needs replacing due to nasty moving of car while driving, everything else in the car is good. Thanks for the tips, and I sure will do lots of research before doing anything big on my car.
 

nd4sped

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Good reply above, maintenance for reliability then get to the fun stuff.
 


Diana Nam

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and if your not so mechanically inclined now, don't be afraid to do it and get your hands dirty being "scared" isn't gonna help you gain as much experience as you would gain if you just take a deep breathe and dive in head on. cause when your "scared" to perform certain repairs you tend to have someone do it for you and that won're really stick in your head as well as if you did it your self on your own. hands on is where you'll gaing good amount knowledge and it stick in your permently like as if you did a million times. more you do it on your own researching and looking up DIYs things will be a lot easier to do. fir example my first swap took me hrs and hrs to get done as time went by and as i did more swaps in my car it go to a point where doing swaps in cars wasn't all that difficult for me to do since they have same basic guide lines to follow
 

Marcoss_98

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I want to do a swap on my car but I'm not sure if I should or not. I've heard that the D17A2 isn't really an all that engine. So I was thinking if I should do a B18c.
 

5SpeedEJ6

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I want to do a swap on my car but I'm not sure if I should or not. I've heard that the D17A2 isn't really an all that engine. So I was thinking if I should do a B18c.
Yeah not trying to talk smack but D17 aren't necessarily the best Honda engines.. To tell you a personal story one of my best friends threw a rod on his D17 at 153k ish miles. I've heard that B series swaps are a bit harder on EM2 (your generation). K swaps seemed to be a popular option for EM2, but K series engines/mounts and such are very spendy. Like I said earlier, best thing to do is research a lot.
 

Marcoss_98

New Member
Yeah not trying to talk smack but D17 aren't necessarily the best Honda engines.. To tell you a personal story one of my best friends threw a rod on his D17 at 153k ish miles. I've heard that B series swaps are a bit harder on EM2 (your generation). K swaps seemed to be a popular option for EM2, but K series engines/mounts and such are very spendy. Like I said earlier, best thing to do is research a lot.
It's an ES2 lol. I do know quite a bit about civics. Just don't know how to work on them.
 

5SpeedEJ6

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It's an ES2 lol. I do know quite a bit about civics. Just don't know how to work on them.
EM2 is the Japanese version of your car (that most people refer to it as EM2 on other forums such as Honda-Tech and other places). Just like my 1997 Honda Civic LX Sedan is an EJ6 (by the VIN#) but most people call them EK5 or Just plain old EK. Good eye on catching that btw.
 

Diana Nam

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Yeah not trying to talk smack but D17 aren't necessarily the best Honda engines.. To tell you a personal story one of my best friends threw a rod on his D17 at 153k ish miles. I've heard that B series swaps are a bit harder on EM2 (your generation). K swaps seemed to be a popular option for EM2, but K series engines/mounts and such are very spendy. Like I said earlier, best thing to do is research a lot.
K swap is a plug and play swap for civic 2001 and up SI models had the k20 equiped. b series no longer a plug a play for 2001+ hondas
 

Marcoss_98

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EM2 is the Japanese version of your car (that most people refer to it as EM2 on other forums such as Honda-Tech and other places). Just like my 1997 Honda Civic LX Sedan is an EJ6 (by the VIN#) but most people call them EK5 or Just plain old EK. Good eye on catching that btw.
EM2 is the Japanese version of your car (that most people refer to it as EM2 on other forums such as Honda-Tech and other places). Just like my 1997 Honda Civic LX Sedan is an EJ6 (by the VIN#) but most people call them EK5 or Just plain old EK. Good eye on catching that btw.
Haha yeah mines a sedan
 

Diana Nam

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Yeah not trying to talk smack but D17 aren't necessarily the best Honda engines.. To tell you a personal story one of my best friends threw a rod on his D17 at 153k ish miles. I've heard that B series swaps are a bit harder on EM2 (your generation). K swaps seemed to be a popular option for EM2, but K series engines/mounts and such are very spendy. Like I said earlier, best thing to do is research a lot.
153k and threw a rod... i'm not too surprised that happened lol he can use ep3 stock mounts or rsx
 

dancam

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Ive seen what i think are quite a few 7th gens with rod or main bearings gone. See a lot with holes in the block at wreckers. ive bought 2-one with everything gone and the other just a thrown rod (both private sales, not wreckers) and my next door neighbour had the rod bearings go on his and the mains were in bad shape. The one i bought with the toast engine (pump, oil pan, block, valves, mains, rod ends, rings/cylinder walls, rocker tubes all wrecked from 1/2 inch of metal shavings through all oil gallerys) only had 77,000km on it. (Thats like what, 48k miles?
Best thing you can do for your 7th gen is regular oil and filter changes at 8,000km, not the 16k km oil and 32k km filter changes honda recommends. Unless you use synthetic. And dont drive it hard, lol.


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Diana Nam

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Ive seen what i think are quite a few 7th gens with rod or main bearings gone. See a lot with holes in the block at wreckers. ive bought 2-one with everything gone and the other just a thrown rod (both private sales, not wreckers) and my next door neighbour had the rod bearings go on his and the mains were in bad shape. The one i bought with the toast engine (pump, oil pan, block, valves, mains, rod ends, rings/cylinder walls, rocker tubes all wrecked from 1/2 inch of metal shavings through all oil gallerys) only had 77,000km on it. (Thats like what, 48k miles?
Best thing you can do for your 7th gen is regular oil and filter changes at 8,000km, not the 16k km oil and 32k km filter changes honda recommends. Unless you use synthetic. And dont drive it hard, lol.


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god damn..... sooo many things breaking thats wild and here i thought about doing a d17 swap into my civic long ago... glad i never did it lol i just kept it to just doing f series swaps
 

dancam

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god damn..... sooo many things breaking thats wild and here i thought about doing a d17 swap into my civic long ago... glad i never did it lol i just kept it to just doing f series swaps
Yes, they have a lot of heating/cooling issues as well. very poorly designed system. Head gaskets are super common but not the only issue by far. Many people have spent over $2500 at a mechanic and still have issues, Battery cables are too small for the car, auto trans died left right and centre, poorly designed air filter that lets dirt past the gasket, 'lifetime fuel filter' that plugs around 200-300k km and you have to replace the whole fuel pump to change, noisy valves i find-even after adjustment, water pumps die fast if you dont use honda coolant, if you have no vtec plastic plug that plugs the hole doesnt seal and leaks everywhere, on and on and on...


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Diana Nam

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Yes, they have a lot of heating/cooling issues as well. very poorly designed system. Head gaskets are super common but not the only issue by far. Many people have spent over $2500 at a mechanic and still have issues, Battery cables are too small for the car, auto trans died left right and centre, poorly designed air filter that lets dirt past the gasket, 'lifetime fuel filter' that plugs around 200-300k km and you have to replace the whole fuel pump to change, noisy valves i find-even after adjustment, water pumps die fast if you dont use honda coolant, if you have no vtec plastic plug that plugs the hole doesnt seal and leaks everywhere, on and on and on...


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wow with a motor like this i can't see why anyone in the right mind would want to do anything with these motors. might as well go back to drawing board lol
 

5SpeedEJ6

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wow with a motor like this i can't see why anyone in the right mind would want to do anything with these motors. might as well go back to drawing board lol
I knew they were bad, but not THIS bad lol. Glad my buddies EM2 gave out when it did, now he living the life driving a WRX.
 

Diana Nam

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I knew they were bad, but not THIS bad lol. Glad my buddies EM2 gave out when it did, now he living the life driving a WRX.
That AWD life ...... its nice tho awsome in snow. My brother has 480hp 05 STI looks completely bone stock even under the hood until your eyes catches the GT spec equal length header paired to gt3072r turbo but thats how he likes it and he sometimes tear s**t up on the grass with it kept it at stock height so hes able to go off roading with it. Hes a big nissan/subaru head, hes also got a 91 sentra SER with GTIR sr20det swap which is fully built that i still need to fix for him
 

5SpeedEJ6

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That AWD life ...... its nice tho awsome in snow. My brother has 480hp 05 STI looks completely bone stock even under the hood until your eyes catches the GT spec equal length header paired to gt3072r turbo but thats how he likes it and he sometimes tear s**t up on the grass with it kept it at stock height so hes able to go off roading with it. Hes a big nissan/subaru head, hes also got a 91 sentra SER with GTIR sr20det swap which is fully built that i still need to get running again
Damn nice nice. My buddy just bought (well still paying for it actually lol he ain't rich) a 2015 WRX. Pulls nice for stock engine too.
 

Diana Nam

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Damn nice nice. My buddy just bought (well still paying for it actually lol he ain't rich) a 2015 WRX. Pulls nice for stock engine too.
O.o i'm thinking about getting one my self to drive around when it snows so i can put my civic in the storage for deep hibernation lol but i'm tore between the sti or the evo
 


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