Modding Em2!

[broomes28]

Hey, I'm a 21 yr college student, just got my 02 civic and i wanna do some mods on it. Im looking to spend around $1k in mods this 1st year. Staying within that budget, i don't know if i should get lowering springs or coil overs. I want to lower 2.5 in the front and 2 in the back still enjoying a sturdy ride, no winter driving too. I also want to add a cold air intake, add some power and also want to make the exhaust a lil deeper. What would you guys suggest/recommend doing or getting, product wise.​

 

[lethal6]

To start out, if you have a d-series in that '02 there isn't much you are going to do to bring out some power without boosting it or swapping in a bigger motor. All exhaust and an intake is going to do is change the sound. Not going to get any real power out of bolt ons. They were built for gas mileage not speed.

Lowering? Definitely coil overs. I have always been a lowering spring guy until I put some coil overs on and won't look back. Only thing that would change my mind now would be bags for the automatic on the fly adjustability they provide.

Recommendations: Don't buy cheap stuff just to stay in your budget. If it is more than you are able to do right now, save up. There are things you can cut costs on but buying cheap to be cheap is no good. Do it right and do it once. I wish I would have had someone tell me that when I was starting out. Would have saved a lot of money that I didn't need to spend twice to end up getting it right.

 

[broomes28]

To start out, if you have a d-series in that '02 there isn't much you are going to do to bring out some power without boosting it or swapping in a bigger motor. All exhaust and an intake is going to do is change the sound. Not going to get any real power out of bolt ons. They were built for gas mileage not speed.

Lowering? Definitely coil overs. I have always been a lowering spring guy until I put some coil overs on and won't look back. Only thing that would change my mind now would be bags for the automatic on the fly adjustability they provide.

Recommendations: Don't buy cheap stuff just to stay in your budget. If it is more than you are able to do right now, save up. There are things you can cut costs on but buying cheap to be cheap is no good. Do it right and do it once. I wish I would have had someone tell me that when I was starting out. Would have saved a lot of money that I didn't need to spend twice to end up getting it right.

Thanks, what coil overs would you recommend and how do they ride?

 

[CHILD]

buddy club N+ coil overs...

...your budget is spent. See you next year

 

[lowlife9]

i recommend Koni yellow inserts with Ground Control sleeves or Progress Technology full coilovers. i wouldn't bother with the intake or header and just buy a Vibrant street power universal muffler.

 

[stefanserb10]

H&R lowering springs are good and for power get a cam

 

[lethal6]

Cam won't do squat for a d-series, especially a single cam.

 

[stefanserb10]

A can is still a lot better than any other upgrades on a d17

Because exhaust and intake don't do s**t for d17's

 

[CHILD]

A can is still a lot better than any other upgrades on a d17

A cam on a single cam engine isn't a lot better of an upgrade, but the engine will really need to be tuned for the new cam. Once you factor in the rest of the money needed to make the cam work like it should, not to mention the low final output, it's really a pretty bad investment.

 

[stefanserb10]

A stg 1 cam adds 10-15 HP and you don't need to tune it and it costs $385

You only need to tune a stg2 and stg3

 

[CHILD]

A D17......127 hp at the flywheel stock....let's be generous and say it only loses 10% through the drivetrain, that would make it around 114whp.....roughly $400 dollars for a cam to add 10-15hp (let's be generous again and assume it's horsepower to the wheels) netting you around 129whp. So it's still not even comparable to an early 90's integra LS....which is slow as balls as well. Sounds like a brilliant idea. That $400 would be a good chunk of money towards an engine swap.....a turbo setup.....groceries.....anything but building a NA single cam

 

[lethal6]

+1 to CHILD.

Terrible investment indeed and terrible advice advocating someone to spend their hard earned money on a cam that is worthless in the grand scheme. I definitely agree to put the money towards something worthwhile like a swap or turbo.

 

[stefanserb10]

Definitely agree with CHILD but if he has a $1000 budget there isn't much more to do...

And a k20 swap is 5-6 grand

 

[lowlife9]

op never said the model because i don't believe they make a cam for the dx,lx,vp non vtec. so if its either of those op also needs a ex head. so with a head swap, stage1 cam,intake,header exhaust op could gain around 30hp-35hp considering the vp,dx,lx only have around 90hp to the wheels the ex has 115. also the lower trims are slightly lighter then the ex. as far as a cam being a bad investment you could say that to just about any after market modification for the 7th gen.

 

[lethal6]

Definitely agree with CHILD but if he has a $1000 budget there isn't much more to do...

And a k20 swap is 5-6 grand

LOL. Who the hell said K20 swap? No one even mentioned a K series. You can get a B-series done for well under $1000 if you know what you are doing. ANY b-series swap is better than putting a cam on a SOHC. I say b-series as an example because everyone has them and they are a dime a dozen now.

And yes, to piggy back off lowlife9, any aftermarket "upgrade" that is bolt on for a d-series is a bad investment if going for power unless that bolt on is a turbo kit with a proper tune done afterwards.

I would rather promote saving up to do a swap than to tell someone, "hey you have that $1000 might as well spend it on something just to spend it...even though it won't do what you are ultimately looking for."

 

[stefanserb10]

B series is illegal in an em2 and a good turbo setup will also run you 3500+

Don't get me wrong I would also recommend for him to save up for something like that

 

[lethal6]

$3500+ for a turbo kit? Are you serious? Are you trolling us? There are plenty of guys that have sourced their own kits together for under $1000 and then add what ever it is in the builder's area for programming (could have it done around here for ~$500). I could see maybe if they weren't anything new, but guys have been doing turbo installs on these for decades now and have gotten pretty proficient.

As far as B series being illegal. Any engine swap to a bigger motor that didn't come in the vehicle factory would be, so your K-series would be out as well then. So would a turbo if we are getting into brass tacks and inspections.

 

[CHILD]

decades.....the em2 has only been around for a decade and a half. I haven't seen one boosted for $1500 bucks regardless of horrible quality parts being used.

The B series is illegal in a lot cases for the em2, because it's from an older chassis going into a newer one. You can do a K series swap into an em2 because you can get a civic engine (ep3) which is current or newer than the chassis year and drop it in with all emissions equipment intact.

 

[lethal6]

The SOHC d-series engines were in production for 21 years. That's 2 decades last time I checked, man. Is the d17 really that different that you extract them out of the d-series family and put them in their own category or are you just bored and looking to contradict for semantics? Come on dude. Still a gas mileage purpose built engine, still SOHC, still slow.

So you haven't seen a d-series in your circle boosted for $1500 or less? That means it isn't possible then? It isn't the route I take when doing things, but some people do it for as cheap as possible. Sourcing parts from trades and very cheap from all over the place. Taking from other cars that are factory with the equipment needed. Kid at work is doing it right now for his mazda and claims to be half way put together with only spending $200 so far. Piping will be done by himself and his dad and the tune will be the most expensive thing on the set up. He has sourced almost everything by doing side mechanic jobs and trading parts. It can be done, not everyone has the means to go all brand new shiny parts nor does a large majority of the current generation have the patience to wait to save up the money to do it right. Not claiming it is the right way to go, but I am no where naive enough to think that someone can't pull it off.

Or is it that we are specifically talking about the 7th gens? After the inclusion of the K-series when OP only has a budget of $1000 to work with, I figured we were fair game for anything at this point.

 

[CHILD]

The SOHC d-series engines were in production for 21 years. That's 2 decades last time I checked, man. Is the d17 really that different that you extract them out of the d-series family and put them in their own category or are you just bored and looking to contradict for semantics? Come on dude. Still a gas mileage purpose built engine, still SOHC, still slow.

So you haven't seen a d-series in your circle boosted for $1500 or less? That means it isn't possible then? It isn't the route I take when doing things, but some people do it for as cheap as possible. Sourcing parts from trades and very cheap from all over the place. Taking from other cars that are factory with the equipment needed. Kid at work is doing it right now for his mazda and claims to be half way put together with only spending $200 so far. Piping will be done by himself and his dad and the tune will be the most expensive thing on the set up. He has sourced almost everything by doing side mechanic jobs and trading parts. It can be done, not everyone has the means to go all brand new shiny parts nor does a large majority of the current generation have the patience to wait to save up the money to do it right. Not claiming it is the right way to go, but I am no where naive enough to think that someone can't pull it off.

Or is it that we are specifically talking about the 7th gens? After the inclusion of the K-series when OP only has a budget of $1000 to work with, I figured we were fair game for anything at this point.

I seen a D series boosted for 1500 or less.....a D17, no.....is it that different from the older d series engines, no, but the engine management is. I was specifically talking about 7th gens....being in the 7th gen section and that's the vehicle the OP has. Seems a bit pointless to talk about older cars.
stefanserb10 mentioned a K swap. To me, that was a legitimate mention because that is one of the most common options for the 7th gen owners....either boost for a couple grand, or spend a bit more for a K swap.
I initially responded directly based off of the OP's budget....which is too low for boost or a swap, and NA performance on the D17 isn't cost effective. Even though piecing together a turbo kit for cheap as possible is a possibility within the OP's budget....so is getting a totaled rsx at an auction for a grand and having everything needed to do a swap. I didn't see a point in preaching far fetched possibilities.