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I have a 2004 Civic LX. The motor is a D17A1. I recently installed a cold air intake and a cat-back exhaust. What other upgrades can be done to this motor to make it a little faster?

 
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not much unfortunately

 
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nitrous oxide.

 
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yea, youve hit the wall. nothing else can be done unless you nitrous it (few hundred bucks for a basic kit) or get k-pro to change computer settings (usually about a thousand if you can find a used one).

unless you turbo ($3000+) or engine swap ($5000+)

congratulations, you have just joined 'the brotherhood of max input/min output performance'. have fun.

 
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i would say just enjoy the ride you have but once you get the upgrade bug your ride will really never be complete go for looks.

 
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only keep 1 gallon of fuel in the car, remove spare wheel, disconnect power steering, remove rear seats / excess weight.

 
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How does disconnecting power steering make the car any faster?

 
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frees up a few hp by making the engine work less not turning the pump. but you will have a hard time steering and its dangerous.

 
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once you get moving its not that bad but trying to turn at a dead stop is a workout . i mean it cant free up that much horse power to be worth going threw all that work and also the safty factors.

 
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[QUOTE=unTuned;4445271]yea, youve hit the wall. nothing else can be done unless you nitrous it (few hundred bucks for a basic kit) or get k-pro to change computer settings (usually about a thousand if you can find a used one).

Wouldnt I need all forged internals to use nitrous??

 
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if youre interested in nitrous, it depends on several things. how often you use it and how much you use each time.

if youre using a large shot you would obviously need to upgrade your internals, but if you want to stay stock, you shouldnt ever go more than a 50 shot of nitrous. ive never used it before but there are a couple guys on here that use it with stock internals. as far as i remember none of them go above 50-75 shot.

i know that mr22508 (i think i spelled it right) uses nitrous on stock internals and i think i remember him putting up a post saying he uses 50 shots.

 
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Now I have to argue just a bit with the PS thing. Yes it frees up a little hp.. not much but a little. I don't see how it's dangerous at all and it's not that difficult if you remove the pump and put in a breather setup. I guess it could be dangerous if you are a pansy and have tiny little forearms.... but I'm not a big guy and don't have a problem with it. I haven't disassembled and totally depowered my steering rack, but I've been driving with a breather setup for like 6 months and it's not bad at all when you get used to it. I personally like the steering feedback.

 
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what is a Breather setup?

 
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it keeps fluid in the rack. theres actually a really good diy on converting to that system. idk, ive driven older cars without PS and its not the same as driving a newer car designed for PS and removing it. i dont think you can just disable the power steering and call it a day. you need to learn how the car is behaving and then adjust your suspension setup. ive done alot of crazy things but disable the ps i prolly would never do. i dont feel comfortable with the way the car feels.

 
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On my girlfriends RSX the power steering was removed. It is a pita sometimes but its not a huge difference from my car to hers. Just wondering how hard would it be to put power steering back in the car? The car already has some nice hp so we'd rather have the comfort back.

 
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As long as you have the parts it isn't that hard. Just bolt it all back in. Honestly I think it all comes down to preference. I personally like the feedback. If you leave the pump in, it makes it really difficult to turn, but if you take it out, it's quite a bit easier. I'm not saying it's for everyone. I will probably be putting mine back in shortly since I'm not boosted anymore.

 
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So maybe the pump was left in but not hooked up or whatever and thats why its so hard to turn? so if i take everything out it and make a 'breather system', than itll be easier to turn? how wouldi be able to look under the hood and tell?

 
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i need to fix the pics, but here it is for now...

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-steering.html

 
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AWESOME! thank you very much Gearbox.

 
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You can put in headers and a high flow cat, cam gear, underdrive crack pulley, etc. That would free up more power. Other than that you'd have to do work to the block to get more or add a turbo kit, etc. It all comes down to how much you want to spend.

 
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I mean it takes the weight too off. But, i would not take the PS off...

 
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there is not much weight in the ps system. same with a/c, the whole thing maybe weighs 15 lbs.