Hilorains

Everyone has their favorites so it's tough to recommend brand. I swore by Meguires until I discovered Klasse maybe 5 years ago which is an arcylic paint sealant. Except for the tires, you could put it on virtually the whole car including plastics and glass (I also stopped using RainX). Recently I've been using Menzerna on my silver car and Blackfire on the black Civic. They both leave a slicker finish but they do not have any cleaning properties like Klasse. Lately, american brands have added acrylics to their product line so it may seem new to some but the europeans have had them for quite sometime. I should add that I did remove whatever wax the dealer put on before I put on the sealant coats. One "trick" that I do reommend is rather than waxing/sealing the entire car once a month or wahtever, work in sections. For example do the hood and trunk one week, the roof the next, and repeating the cycle. I do the sides less often as they are less exposed to the weather than the top surfaces. Because you work on small sections, it's quick to do and you'll be "layering" the wax/sealant on the surfaces that need it the most. If you check my previous posts I did leave links to the products I mentioned.

tamia

I realize that no one has likely put enough mileage to need plugs but what is the consensus on Iridium Spark Plugs? I put them in my 96 Corolla and noticed an improvement in performance.

GallaUK

I would like to know about peoples experiences with these spark plugs to. They claim to give you better fuel consumption which is definately something I am looking for.

Ultraman

My car care regimen:

wash 2x a week
polymer 2x a month



Brands I use are Meguiar's NXT & Mothers FX.

luimatti

Had my car exactly 27 days now. washed 5 times, waxed thrice (once the the first day i got it, then 2 weeks after, then just this morning) using turtle wax ice, plus used the ice detailer twice in between waxings.

black02seavik

iTrader: (2)

how many percent did you tint it?

Stick

One of the things that I do with every car I own, is keep a journal in the console. I go to a drug store and buy a simulated leather covered journal in which I log every gallon of gas, oil and filter changes, tire rotation etc. The reason I do this is for resale value. I sell my cars about every four years to private parties. Never trade to a dealer unless you bring your own tube of vaseline. By keeping the car looking like new and providing the potential buyer with complete records, you are letting the buyer know that you took good care of the vehicle. It really pays off. I usually sell my cars to the first buyer who looks even though the car will usually have between 90-100,000 miles after four years. The buyer has probably already looked at similar cars while shopping. I want mine to blow the other choices away, and convince the buyer that they have made a good choice buying my car (and they have).

I sold my 94 Civic EX coupe for $11.5 in 1998 with 96k miles on it. I had bought it new four year earlier for $14,500. I bought my 07 LX coupe for 15998. I am willing to bet that I will sell it four years from now for between $11.5K and $12.5K. I will keep it bone stock. I will let the high school kid I sell it to have a blank canvas to mod to his heart's and budget's content. Where, you ask, will the high school kid get that kind of money? Mommy and Daddy, where else?

CGNY

gotta find a mid range. I used to work pushing carts for a supermarket and some young people like to cut the corners on parking lots and I have seen them clip the far parked nice cars. I have also seen old people who can't drive clip cars parked on the very edge of the parking lot (right along side parking lot "roads")

Nothing is 100% but DO NOT PARK NEAR CAR HOLDERS IN LOT, cart crew cut between holder and the next car to get to next cart holder.

CGNY

check your state laws, you can get away with a slight difference from state law but if you are going presidental limo tint, expect tickets (at least here in NY)

NorthPalmBeach

I'VE HEARD IT SAID TWICE, "DON'T USE ARMOR ALL ON THE INTERIOR"
Fair enough, it attracts dust- but, I live in South Florida, what then would best protect the dash? Shouldn't I use something?

DeeAliganga

link me to where i can get a black lip ? =]

LT2004ever

iTrader: (2)

u might wanna also buy that clear film that u place over the front bumper, if u do alot of HW driving... it will save u many chips down the line

BTRobertson

One of the best things you can do in ANY car - and if it's not too late for yours I would do this - is to change the oil after the first 500 miles. New cars have lots of small metallic shavings on the parts inside the engine from the manufacturing process, which get caught in the filter. Changing the oil after the first 500 miles gets rid of all this garbage that could harm your engine.

I would also add to the list of Si Best Practices to use full synthetic oil in the engine every 3,000, most especially if you drive in stop and go traffic like I do.

A lot of folks don't believe in full synthetic oil, but I do. I had a 2.2L Cavalier (piece of crap, I know) for seven years and when it finally hit the grave yard with 125,000 miles on it, the engine never quit once and all I ever used in it was full synthetic. The guy at the junk yard, one week later, pulled the engine apart to sell parts and actually called me up to tell me how clean the engine's internals were and how the piston rings were in top shape.

KaotiK TrendZ

tint the windows definitely to keep the heat inside the car to a minimum.

you can scotchguard the seats, which will help get rid of that annoying shock you get every now and again when you get out of the car. if you dont want to do that, just get into the habit of touching your key against the inside portion of your door as you are getting out.

claybar your car every now and again. this will keep the paint looking awesome.

change your fluids and filters regularly (to include your air filter, which some people forget about). I change my oil every 3000 miles religiously. i dont use synthetic for the simple fact if for whatever reason i blow my motor and have to have it rebuilt, it is pointless. rebuilt engines have to have regular oil ran through them in order for everything to seat properly with the pistons and stuff. synthetic oil wont stick to the parts like it needs to, which in turn will cause your engine to basically blow again.

proper air inflation in tires. also, rotate on regular basis.

pretty simple stuff.

oh, and dont put a hitch on it and try to tow uhauls and other trailers. our cars arent made for towing.

BTRobertson

Ouch, not sure if I agree with this part of your reply, Kaotik. Check this article out: http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ventional_oil/. Synthetic bonds quite well to engine parts, protecting it much better than conventional oil at start-up, where engine wears is the most problematic.

While I agree that any new engine needs to properly "break in" using conventional oil, using synthetic after the first 500-1,000 miles or so, in my humble opinion, is a smart and wise investment. Not sure why this would be so drastically different with a rebuilt engine, but perhaps that's the lapse in my knowledge. I used full synthetic - yes, even if a crap Cavalier - and the engine never, ever gave me a problem.

Anyway, just my opinion based on experience. I use Mobile One full syn in my cars and always will.

KaotiK TrendZ

A bro of mine blew his SRT4 engine (which used synthetic). Not saying that the synthetic oil caused it to blow. When he had the motor rebuilt, they put synthetic back in it, which in turn caused it to basically blow again. So, the new shop, which is a well known, said it happened because you are never suppose to put synthetic in a rebuilt engine, at least not at first. So I am going off his experience. Plus he had turned the boost back down after the first build. So if it thats the case, I am happy with regular oil and doing oil changes every 3000 miles. Plus she runs great after a day at the spa.

BTRobertson

Ha! Well, then yes, considering there are other factors there, like the turbo and whatnot, then I would probably go by the shop's advice as well. However, leaving the blown motor and turbo boost out of the picture, I think synthetic in a new Si being used as a daily driver with NO turbo or rebuilt motor would be fine.

KaotiK TrendZ

You may be right, but just stating that I dont want to take a chance. Plus one of these days, I plan on going blown.

jimmy10189

hi i recently just brought a brand new honda civic rallye red and i park in the streets and i always park under the trees with the sap ( sticky stuff ) does any one noe how to take those things off.

BTRobertson

Probably bug and tar remover, but the best advice would probably be to avoid the sap altogether...it's nasty stuff. Maybe not as bad as bird poo, though. lol

KaotiK TrendZ

Dryer sheet

arbittan

You can have it buffed out. The scratches will still be there but alot less noticiable....

wincros

If they make that claim, stay away. It is a dishonest company. All a plug does is ignite the mixture in the chamber. The only way they could improve your mileage is if your current ones are misfiring and you would feel that.

BTRobertson

You also have to be careful about plugs that burn so hot because of this "extra spark" that they can literally burn holes into your piston heads. I've heard of this often, but never in a Civic. Still, I would never want to take the chance.

kuad

interesting.....

lady

i just got my car a couple weeks ago and i want to add a few things to my civ.

the things im looking into are tints, muffler, decals(a pink crown or a roxy on my back window but a big one) and maybe some rims?!

dunno yet, i have a civic ex with navi, 4 doors.

any suggestions on what i should look into and should i put stickers on my window?!

Murderjetz

+1 for tint, always makes any car look cooler.

about a muffler, I would say get the whole exhaust done rather than just a muffler so you get more performance gains out of it as well as a cool look and sound. I don't know what the stock pipe size is but I'd say get 2.5" piping, anymore than that isn't beneficial unless you go turbo. (I'm new with imports so i could be wrong about this)

I am biased against decals so you might wanna ignore this comment. I think any decals on any car anywhere is gay and a waste of a car. If you're proud of your car, don't hide it in stickers. You want people to see it in all its beauty. That's just my opinion...

Rims are always good.

I'm a fan of projector headlights, you could maybe look into those...I find they look pretty cool.

MarkR

For the paint I would use a sealant which will provide a good 3mo. protection where a wax usually lasts about 30-45days max.Claying the paint 2X's a year will work fine. For water spots use a product called Ducky that can be bought at boat and RV dealers. For minor scratches start with the least abrasive product,you can use a cheap toothpaste,not gel to rub out minor, above the paint problems. Finally, wax your rims when you wax your car,they are typically clearcoated just like the paint.

kugmo

Wow, kudos to you buddy, I suggest you wash it yourself.. I just loved the smell of a new car in the morning...

DUI Elite

doesnt hurt to detail the engine at least once a year...