i unfortunately have an automatic not by choice which was given to me as a christmas present from my parents its an 03 coupe ex and well i was just wandering if you think there is really any hope in adding performance parts to an automatic since they are only a 4spd and what can you really gain from that my car has a top speed at only a 100mph and i cant seem to push the car any further than that any mods in which you think could help or if you think it would just be a waste of time let me know as far as right now my car is just for looks

I've got a few small mods that seem to help, but I'm getting a ported cylinder head installed soon. Check out my mods to get an idea. You could also add a turbo kit and just run low boost (4psi) so you don't have to build anything. It's not hopeless!

are you running an automatic as well, if so what is your current top speed, ive been wanting to just trade the car in and buy a 5spd but dont want to go through the hasstle

Just keep the auto. I've gotten it up to 100mph once, but it starts shaking bad. I'm working more on getting the acceleration faster. I don't drive at high speeds very often anyway. Top speed for a 5spd won't be much higher cause there's a rev limiter to cut the engine after a certain speed.

I have gotten my auto up to 100-105 a few times. I dont like going much faster than that. The only major draw back to auto is, like gearbox mentioned is the acceleration.

what do u think are some good mods on getting the acceleration quicker anything you have that you really recommend that has worked well for you

i rented a car once a dodge neon auto and their autos are 4spd as well and i pushed that car to 120 and i was really impressed with that it being an auto and it was just stock it kinda got me mad cause i felt as if maybe something was wrong with mine that it would never go past a 100

an is auto is not bad i have been able to get 105 on flat roads as were going down a hill it said 130 but i think it was more like 115 and that was with dc 4-1 header, aem sri, and greddy evo cat back and like i said 115 was going down a pretty good hill on highway 4 going towards i80

The only thing i have done so far is put and Injen cai on mine (lack o funds). If you want to improve the tranny there are companies that will rebuild it or make it bullitproof so you can run turbo. I cant remember the name of the company but if you search im pretty sure you can find it pretty easily.

Try a torque converter

Auto can easily pass a 100. Ive hit 120 pretty easily. After that the speedo doesnt move much faster

why not do a manual swap, Im going to do it next month

The autro tranny just saps too much hp....I think the auto Vic puts down like 100 whp or something, correct? Anyway, when i had mine i did pass 100mph a few times...just takes awhile to get there I'd do some performance mods like intake and exhaust <which i had> to an auto Vic, they help a bit, and you can say you tried to improve it. But I wouldn't go crazy spending $, because outside of a turbo, you won't see significant gains...do they have Hondata out for the Vic yet? If so that might help.

I'm surprised that some of you can't get above 100mph. I hit the cut off at about 117 - 120 in my auto lx sedan

yep my cutoff is 118mph in auto ex sedan...

oh yeah, gotrice, try using some damn punctuation next time!

here:

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I have a Stock 2001 LX Auto with a heavy *** syetm in the back and I hit 115 Easy! I was racing a BWM M5 on the highway the other day and he hit 105 and chickened out and I blew by at 115.Don't knock the auto.You can always get a fully built Level 10 auto tranny.They are bullet-proof and faster than a stick!

No use of saying auto civs are slow because the sticks are slow too.(just not as slow)
I have an auto and hit 115 easily....just put it in D3.....it kills gas though.

Oh and if your like me you can easily control the way the auto shifts,kind of liek stick. Takes practice and you need to know your car.Here are some tips below.

If you drive at normal 50% or less throttle then the car will usually shift at 3500 rpm.If you drive at 75% throttle then the car will shift around 6000 rpm . and if you put the peddle to the floor (wide open throttle) then the engine will rev through each gear until it hits redline.Now if you learn a few techniques you can get a good launch and gain speed quick from a stop.

You can do a WOT and let 1st,2nd redline then wait till 3rd and drop to 75% throttle for a good launch.Or if you can get it down the one way to get a real good launch it do this.Give it 75% throttle so 1st gear shirts at around 5800-6000rpm and quickly do a WOT you hit peak power in first gear and not waste any time for teh engine to wait to hit redline before shifting and as soon as it does shift at 6k then the gar will take off and fly through the gears about as fast as our slow little cars can.i've beaten abunch or cars off the line this way.It does take practice and every car is different.But the good thing is that you can do it at any red light!

Why would you even bother running an M5? They run like high 13-low 14's stock...auto LX runs mid 18's stock.

But yeah you can hit 115-120 in a Vic... after 80 or so the acceleration really gets bogged down, thats how my EX was anyway.

I just like to push people around who drive nicer cars.because most of the time they chicken out like the last guy.

no, 100mph is not max. it's more like 114miles

omg, you guys cant be serious! you cant get past 100mph? with a sound system, stock tires, and full tank of gas i was able to get up to 110mph and it was just on a regular freeway, it wasnt like some 10 mile long open stretch of road. our AT's arent that much slower than sticks i hope you know. a stock 5spd runs mid 16's and with a CAI and catback i ran 16.3. having a 5spd is only a advantage at a launch after that, its fair game. and to improve launchs you can get a torque converter from level 10 or JMO. i'm going to turbo real soon, after that i have a rebuild kit which i will have installed and when i can find a torque converter, i'll have someone beef that up and install it. so we'll see what kind of times a built auto can get.

i hit 120 in my 2k3 ex coupe A/T on the new jersey turnpike countless times

Back on topic:
I'd like to see someone be original and swap the 160hp K20 and automatic out of a base RSX into an auto civic.

Mmm.... I dont know about that....... in regular driving, autos are quicker and smoother. In a race from a roll, stock vs. stock... 5 speed should win pending the person can drive.

well i have a DH racing ported head and Intake, Exhaust, VAFC II, AEM UDP, and a 50 shot. I just ran a k20a3 last night and won.

Pfft... I can hit 185 easy, I constantly give Ferraris and Porsches a run for their money!

No 5 sp has more advantage then just at the line...like being able to redline it and squeeze more out of each gear. I know when i redline it in SS mode i get more then in auto mode.

Stock auto Vic EX run like low-mid 17's...6 speed usually has a .5-1.0 sec advantage in any car. Stock 6-sp EX runs mid 16's. The 7thgen doesnt respond that well to bolt ons so I can't see running 16.3 in an auto. I had SRI/ DC TCS exhaust on my auto and best i ran was 16.8. I only run like 16.1 in my RSX with intake/ exhaust, and thats with 33 more hp and 20 something lbs more torque.

As for putting a K20 into a Vic...someones done it. I think it was the k20b, the RSX-S engine. If you have the $ for a swap i'd do that, or a k20a...the k20c of the base is an improvement from the Vic, but prolly not worth the $. Or if you want to stay auto you could drop the k24 <TSX> 200hp engine in, its pretty much a bolt on to the RSX so i imagine it fits.

puting bolt-ons on a civic is pretty much worthless unless your going turbo'd or swaping, but autos are way more convienent, just save up for a new car if your going for speed.