Ok ive noticed here lately all these people who want more power out of thier car. threads pop up on a daily basis about it. so. here you go...
First off. you need to figure out what you want to do with the car. do you want to go drag racing? street racing? auto crossing? or just want some more pep to pass people with?
well ill tell you now.. the 7th gen isnt a drag racer. you bought the wrong car.
the 7th gen also isnt much of a street racer without a decent amount of money (+$5000)
more pep is just about the best you can do if you dont have alot of money.
free mods? yes there are things you can do to your car to make it slightly quicker and spend no money doing it.
you can remove everything that is not used while you drive. this means. seats, interior, stereo equipment, misc plastics, hubcaps, power steering (entire system), AC (entire system), the huge black box covering your transmission is a good one.
lets elaborate on that huge black box... its just a resonator. it hides the sound of your intake manifold and yields no power gains. removing it will free up alot of space and about 10 pounds of wieght. its a 2 piece system. theres a box on top of your intake manifold... dont remove that.. and theres the one thats 3 times its size next to it. remove that.
thats about it for the free mods. all of this might actually get you a few better MPGs too.
cheap mods? there are some things you can do on the cheap to gain more power.
you can.. gut your cat or remove it all together. you can get a cheap header off ebay that will take the place of that cat. i do not reccomend this if you have emmisions testing in your state... please check you local inspection station for details. dont tell them what your doing as it is illegal anyway to run without a cat. just see if they have emmisions. if so... skip this step.
you could also shop on ebay for a CAI. you dont need to buy a high dollar AEM one to get more power.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-05-HONDA-CIVIC-EX-MT-BLUE-COLD-AIR-INTAKE-FILTER-03_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQihZ009QQitemZ190234375662QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
look... cheap! and almost looks like a nice blue AEM one.. find an AEM sticker and noone would know the difference...
if you do however buy one of these... IMMEDIATELY THROW THE FILTER AWAY! do not even think twice! toss that s**t. go down to the local auto parts store and tell them you need a K&N filter to fit the pipe. something like 50 bux for the filter... but it never needs replaced. and it will out do the AEM intake all day long.
and the money mods? turbo? nitrous? supercharged? motor swap?
first things first.... if you have an automatic transmission in your car. before going any further id suggest you replacing that trans with a 5 speed.
you want turbo huh? heres what you need to know and do.
decide on what you want. do you just want a little more power? or you want alot more power? by alot more im talking like 250+HP if you just want a little more... id suggest investing in a DEZOD turbo kit. its $2960 these days from Dezod.com its rated for roughly 275 hp on a built motor. i went with a Dezod kit and got 240 WHP with it on a stock engine. i installed the kit in one weekend.
if you buy a Dezod turbo Kit keep this in mind... you are getting QUALITY! no other kit made for this car will fit as nicely as his. and no other kit will out perform his..
another thing to realize is... you will need an engine management system and a new set of injectors. as well as a new exhaust.
the best of the best in engine management for this particular car is none other than the Kpro. its not cheap... but it is extremely worth it as everything just plugs right in. all your sensors will work just fine. and if you throw a check engine light... you will be able to check it and know whats going on.
as for injectors. the RSX type S injectors are the best choice for power up to 200HP. anything more than this and you need bigger. the new RDX injectors are said to fit... but im not sure on that. they are larger though and will prolly get you to 275 hp. SRT 4 injectors will fit perfectly. but. you need to change the injector clips, and raise the fuel rail about an inch. you will also need to adjust the fuel rail with all previous named injectors. RC engineering injectors will not fit at all unless you change the intake manifold.
lets talk about that intake manifold...the stocker is made of plastic. it does great for stock applications... but no good for turbo. the pressure created by turbo will destroy the manifold. literally blow it to pieces. this happens at anything over 13psi. your best option... buy a different one made of metal. JDM fabtech is designing one specifically for turbo... but its 950 bux. other options come from different generations of civics. one is the D16Y8 intake manifold found in the 6th gen civic EXs. it fits...almost. you will need a dremel to dremel out two of the bolt holes wider. you could pick up a skunk 2 intake manifold for the same 6th gen civic. but not only will you have to fix the bolt holes... you will also need to cut the firewall. << not a good choice.
you want more than 250hp? but still want turbo?
you need to all out build the motor. replacing the rods, pistons, maybe even get it sleeved, putting in a new cam. this will cost some dough. rods are about 700 bux. pistons are 450. and a cam is about 350. you will also need some head work done. sleeving can get pricey. i think bensons does it for about 1000. if your going this route... you shouldnt even be reading this...as your knowledge should be far greater than anyone reading this.
nitrous? buy a 400 dollar nitrous kit and go to town. nitrous to refill isnt cheap. and it only last a few seconds. im not big on nitrous as its extremely dangerous.
supercharged?
with the stock engine....no supercharger made anywhere will fit in or on this car. sorry.
motor swap?
the most common...and prolly the only possible engine swap is the K series. there is a how to on how to put it in your car and what parts you need to track down.
no B series to this day has been swapped into a 7th gen civic. nor has it been attempted.
with the K series engine however... comes a whole new set of plans afterwards. you can choose to just leave the engine stock.. or you could do anything mentioned above. turbo,supercharge, nitrous, all motor. anything is possible with this engine. and all is possible when its in a 7th gen civic.
hope this helps.. its a little broad in what it says.. but it gives you the idea.
First off. you need to figure out what you want to do with the car. do you want to go drag racing? street racing? auto crossing? or just want some more pep to pass people with?
well ill tell you now.. the 7th gen isnt a drag racer. you bought the wrong car.
the 7th gen also isnt much of a street racer without a decent amount of money (+$5000)
more pep is just about the best you can do if you dont have alot of money.
free mods? yes there are things you can do to your car to make it slightly quicker and spend no money doing it.
you can remove everything that is not used while you drive. this means. seats, interior, stereo equipment, misc plastics, hubcaps, power steering (entire system), AC (entire system), the huge black box covering your transmission is a good one.
lets elaborate on that huge black box... its just a resonator. it hides the sound of your intake manifold and yields no power gains. removing it will free up alot of space and about 10 pounds of wieght. its a 2 piece system. theres a box on top of your intake manifold... dont remove that.. and theres the one thats 3 times its size next to it. remove that.
thats about it for the free mods. all of this might actually get you a few better MPGs too.
cheap mods? there are some things you can do on the cheap to gain more power.
you can.. gut your cat or remove it all together. you can get a cheap header off ebay that will take the place of that cat. i do not reccomend this if you have emmisions testing in your state... please check you local inspection station for details. dont tell them what your doing as it is illegal anyway to run without a cat. just see if they have emmisions. if so... skip this step.
you could also shop on ebay for a CAI. you dont need to buy a high dollar AEM one to get more power.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-05-HONDA-CIVIC-EX-MT-BLUE-COLD-AIR-INTAKE-FILTER-03_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQihZ009QQitemZ190234375662QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
look... cheap! and almost looks like a nice blue AEM one.. find an AEM sticker and noone would know the difference...
if you do however buy one of these... IMMEDIATELY THROW THE FILTER AWAY! do not even think twice! toss that s**t. go down to the local auto parts store and tell them you need a K&N filter to fit the pipe. something like 50 bux for the filter... but it never needs replaced. and it will out do the AEM intake all day long.
and the money mods? turbo? nitrous? supercharged? motor swap?
first things first.... if you have an automatic transmission in your car. before going any further id suggest you replacing that trans with a 5 speed.
you want turbo huh? heres what you need to know and do.
decide on what you want. do you just want a little more power? or you want alot more power? by alot more im talking like 250+HP if you just want a little more... id suggest investing in a DEZOD turbo kit. its $2960 these days from Dezod.com its rated for roughly 275 hp on a built motor. i went with a Dezod kit and got 240 WHP with it on a stock engine. i installed the kit in one weekend.
if you buy a Dezod turbo Kit keep this in mind... you are getting QUALITY! no other kit made for this car will fit as nicely as his. and no other kit will out perform his..
another thing to realize is... you will need an engine management system and a new set of injectors. as well as a new exhaust.
the best of the best in engine management for this particular car is none other than the Kpro. its not cheap... but it is extremely worth it as everything just plugs right in. all your sensors will work just fine. and if you throw a check engine light... you will be able to check it and know whats going on.
as for injectors. the RSX type S injectors are the best choice for power up to 200HP. anything more than this and you need bigger. the new RDX injectors are said to fit... but im not sure on that. they are larger though and will prolly get you to 275 hp. SRT 4 injectors will fit perfectly. but. you need to change the injector clips, and raise the fuel rail about an inch. you will also need to adjust the fuel rail with all previous named injectors. RC engineering injectors will not fit at all unless you change the intake manifold.
lets talk about that intake manifold...the stocker is made of plastic. it does great for stock applications... but no good for turbo. the pressure created by turbo will destroy the manifold. literally blow it to pieces. this happens at anything over 13psi. your best option... buy a different one made of metal. JDM fabtech is designing one specifically for turbo... but its 950 bux. other options come from different generations of civics. one is the D16Y8 intake manifold found in the 6th gen civic EXs. it fits...almost. you will need a dremel to dremel out two of the bolt holes wider. you could pick up a skunk 2 intake manifold for the same 6th gen civic. but not only will you have to fix the bolt holes... you will also need to cut the firewall. << not a good choice.
you want more than 250hp? but still want turbo?
you need to all out build the motor. replacing the rods, pistons, maybe even get it sleeved, putting in a new cam. this will cost some dough. rods are about 700 bux. pistons are 450. and a cam is about 350. you will also need some head work done. sleeving can get pricey. i think bensons does it for about 1000. if your going this route... you shouldnt even be reading this...as your knowledge should be far greater than anyone reading this.
nitrous? buy a 400 dollar nitrous kit and go to town. nitrous to refill isnt cheap. and it only last a few seconds. im not big on nitrous as its extremely dangerous.
supercharged?
with the stock engine....no supercharger made anywhere will fit in or on this car. sorry.
motor swap?
the most common...and prolly the only possible engine swap is the K series. there is a how to on how to put it in your car and what parts you need to track down.
no B series to this day has been swapped into a 7th gen civic. nor has it been attempted.
with the K series engine however... comes a whole new set of plans afterwards. you can choose to just leave the engine stock.. or you could do anything mentioned above. turbo,supercharge, nitrous, all motor. anything is possible with this engine. and all is possible when its in a 7th gen civic.
hope this helps.. its a little broad in what it says.. but it gives you the idea.