Just got a civic ex, just want to say hi and ask for some advice

[Luddy13]

I just bought a Black 06 civic EX with 74k miles, been looking around for a decent forum and i think i found one. i am not a noob with cars, i fully restored a 55 chevy belair that has ~600hp and a 69 chevelle ss that has ~800hp. before i bought this civic i had a 06 rsx. yes i did sell a acura rsx for a civic, sounds pretty stupid right? well ud be wrong lol the rsx had been nothing but a bad nightmare since the day i got it. when i got it, it had neuspeed 2.5" lowering springs on it, tail light gaskets leaked like a siv and the dealership i bought it from was a total douche... the neglected to inform me of any of this at time of purchase, alignment was off since they set tire pressure 10psi high (gains 1/2" of height). so i fixed the gaskets, got a set of buddy club n+ coilovers, put a fully stereo in it and everything was going good till 2 things happened... DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNN..... the buddy club setup uses a rubber bushing at the top hat to hold the shock body in place and apparently wears out every 6 months (found out by calling them that my area is more succeptable to this issue cause of climate), (i got a set of skunk 2 pro-c coilovers but that was a disaster.... message me if you want to know more, really long story) and since i never had it on a lift until then, i noticed that it had a massive dent on the pinch weld about half way down the passenger side. it didnt affect panel alignments but it explains why i could never get a perfect alignment and since i never sat in the back seat, i didnt notice that it had made a noticable bump in the floor pan. so i sold it about 3 weeks ago and got this civic, i know it was repainted recently cause i can see a run in the clearcoat near the underside of the passenger side door, ran a magent over the car to see how much bondo is on the car and there is suprisingly not alot. carfax is clean, and my buddy who paints cars for a living said hell fix it up. pretty much i dont want to go through what i did with the rsx all over again. so i would really like some quality advice as to which brands are good and which arent. also when the civic is cold it takes about a 2 second crank to start but when its hot its a normal turn key and start. i dont know if thats normal for this car or not since iv never owned a civic before. if you guys want pix let me know and il try and figure out how to post them. any advice is appreciated

 

[zboyracer]

Welcome to CC,
1. You can never have too many pictures
2. That Rsx sounded like a nightmare
3. What are you wanting to "fix-up" on your civic? Are you looking to just have a nice looking daily driver that is stock, or are you wanting to have a fun fast car?
This is a pretty good community, I have been in and out for a few years now, and can find answers to most of my questions. Enjoy your stay.

 

[Luddy13]

Nice looking daily driver as far as suspension i will not go with coilovers, just lowering springs unless the setup was really good n the perches actually stay where there supposed to. The rsx was a completely nightmare. Im not trying to make this civic supped up, if i wanna go out and rip up the road i got the chevelle and belair and also my 1994 suzuki gsx750f that i fully restored. One thing thats weird is finding headers for this civic cause i cant find a 4-1 or a 4-2-1 setup anywhere, all i can find is a 2-1.

 

[barrett]

Nice pick up on the 06.

Sportlines are really nice for suspension. I have them on my 08 Si.

In regards to header.. The R18 engine has the exhaust manifold/header cast into the head. So you can only buy a downpipe to get rid of the cat I believe is what's sitting there.

 

[Luddy13]

Ok maybe i misread something. Did you say the manifold is part of the engine block?

 

[barrett]

the 2006-2011 civic has a 1.8L engine, with the 4-1 portion of the header cast as part of the engine head. yep. kinda sucks. the only part of the exhaust u can upgrade is the actual exhaust pipe, port/polish the head, and buy a "down pipe" is the term for that (yes down pipe usually refers to turbo stuff but not this time).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_R_engine

If you look on the pictures on the side of the page, you notice the cat is right up near the top of the engine, thats the start of the exhaust.. you can't replace anything before that like you would normally.

 

[Luddy13]

That sucks.... what exhaust would u recommend cause i want something with a deep tone n not the typical bumblebee sound?

 

[jdreadjdm]

TO be honest man, my 1995 civic has full exhaust to the muffler its got a aftermarket muffler and i beleive it sounds better than a racing tip or something of the sort, id look into it

 

[Luddy13]

honestly my friend bought this off amazon and it sounds exactly like i want, really deep tone not high pitch rice burner http://www.amazon.com/Honda-Civic-Style-Catback-Exhaust/dp/B007XX8FNG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1340077454&sr=8-3&keywords=2006+honda+civic+exhaust

 

[barrett]

can't go wrong with a Apexi WS2. and megan does a decent downpipe

 

[8gen_r18]

if you want loud skunk2 60mm or greddy tic, megan gives you a nice subtle stock look as does the vibrant and they are both pretty quiet.

 

[Luddy13]

I will never buy a skunk2 product ever again. There s**t is completely f**ked up and the customer service is crap and i almost had to sue them to get them to call me back.