LittleBlack02

To start of the summer, and to start of the beginning of my mods to my automatic 2002 Civic LX Sedan here's my time table, list, and prices:

LIST FOR THE SUMMER (in order)
1. Fix moisture in Headlight
2. replace spark plugs (e3 or iridium?)
3. replace/upgrade ground wires (big three)
4. get fog lights
5. buy clay bar and other car washing/waxing components
6. replace airbox bolts and washers
7. degrease/dress the engine bay
8. Upgrade iPod stereo link
9.




Are there any other mods I should do, I'm only looking to spend about $500 on my car this summer.
I'll leave this open for pics and updates, when all the work is done, and for the gratuitous amounts of questions i'll have

lowlife9

what color is your car ??? and window tint always looks good.

CoupedUp04

Fog Lights: Go for it. What color is your car? Ebay fogs are fine as long as you put extra sealant and protective film so they don't get moisture in them and fade. I'd pay $20-$50 any day for someone to install them. They have to cut the bumper, install brackets, and switches and do the wiring. Pretty fair price.

Getting rid of the chrome molding: I don't know about this one. If they're fading definitely replace them. But if they're not I would leave them be. If you buy the OEM painted part online they'll be expensive for one little change that third parties probably don't even notice. If you DIY and it doesn't look PERFECT, it'll look tacky as hell.

Short RAM: If you're going to do it get an ebay tube and a K&N filter. It'll be cheap and perform just as well as any other tube. I wouldn't do it though., but if you want that noise and attention, go for it. Just my opinion.

Instead of doing the short ram and chrome replacement, I would do Side markers and tint/audio/other lighting. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! I'm so happy it's summer, it's gonna be so nice to feel the tires actually grip the road again.

LittleBlack02

my car is black

really adds that much noise?

CoupedUp04

that's the only thing it adds. what were you expecting it to do?

LittleBlack02

better air flow to the engine, allowing it to cool. I know its suppose to add power and in small cases an increase in mpg in manual cars

CoupedUp04

you might gain 1 horsepower, which would only be cool if it were attaching a horse to the front of your car...

intakes go whaaaaaaa..... nothing else

Keepitmovin

Ebay fogs are good for the price and if you enjoy working on the car yourself the install really is not that hard, there are a couple diy's out there to walk you through it. Spend the $50 u'll save on some other mods.

How's ur paint? black especially looks killer polished/clay bar etc. Again another easy diy but not neccesarily a mod.

*** the intake imo, it just makes you sound like ur taking off but u'll never take flight.

I would also suggest an audio upgrade- nothing like a little extra bump.

Anyway, post up pics with whatever you do.

LittleBlack02

any idea if there are any DIY's on here for that? my friend was telling me i should "glaze" my car but i dont really know what that means

LittleBlack02

something else that i feel would look good is if i blacked out the headlights. what're your feelings on that and how it would look with my black car?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

the car came with blacked out lights, so not sure how long to disassemble them - there are write-ups in the forum.


They got very bad and i replaced them by projectors now. they look ok compared to the beaten up ones i had, but many say they are weaker than stock new.

Ricey, yes... Did not connect the halo, not sure if i ever will, wanted to see if projectors were better to illuminate... They don't leak for more than a year, so luckier than others. just installed the amber bulbs, so now legal in Canada, not sure if they will stop me for using non-stock lights though... They were legal in US before i moevd here...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Intake - they will make a really loud noise... Will help make power IF you apply to other mods as well, not with stock engine. Funny is having Jekill and Hyde - until the VTEC kicks in (the cheapo D17A2 version, that is...) it sounds completely normal if exhaust is stock, but will be very loud after. No power gains, afraid, but still faster tahn having a horse in front!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

K&N or AEM? I hear that only the filter is differential for the short/Cold AI.

CoupedUp04

As far as K&N or AEM (i'm not 100% on this, but) I'm pretty sure they'd pretty much be the same because of the material they use is so similar. Which ever you prefer I'm sure would be fine. By getting an aftermarket intake you pretty much have to stop caring about properly filtering what goes into the engine. Even the K&N stock replacement filter lets in more contaminants than a stock fabric filter.

I'm not completely against intakes, I enjoyed the screaming CAI on my old 2000 Accord. If you're going to get an intake, get it because you want the noise and attention because there won't be any power/performance gains...

lowlife9

K&N and AEM have completely different material kn is cotton aem is synthetic fiber kn needs to be oild and aem doesn't i would get aem because it requires no oil its just easier to cleen and will last for ever but if you wanted the best i would get weapon r secretweaponit uses oild foam.

civ08

Window tint will definitely make your car look a lot better! You may ask help from www.TintBuyer.com. They provide relevant information about window tints such as its benefits, quotations, tint limit in every state and will help you find the best professional tinter near your area. I hope this helps

LittleBlack02

Hey Guys theres a few things I want to fix on my car before I do mods, so i was looking for a little help/guidance

-First, Moisture in the Headlight or Haze?
I saw a thread on the DIY section, and a guy fixed his hazed headlight with sandpaper and buffing, here is my head light:

is it hazed or is moisture that is fogging up the inside of the headlight, which would cause me to take off the bumper and take apart the headlight

-Second, There're some scratches on my trunk, can I buff these out by hand? and if so how? here is a picture:

lowlife9

thats moisture in there take it off let it all evaporate then reseal the edges with sealent. the trunk should buff our if you know what you are doing with rubbing compound but you could get better results if you take it to a professional detailer.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

that is moisture, more likely... haze is completely different... especially when i can see it from a picture...
go to the DIY or look for headlight/black casings or something like that and find how to disassemble it, paint the frame black like mine were, seal it with silicon and put it back.

LittleBlack02

what's a simple DIY, i can do relatively easily and that has meaning towards the engine?

CoupedUp04

Nothing. Anything worth doing to our engines for power is going to cost you a lot and require even more knowledge. The options worth doing are: nitrous, boost, or swap (or a combination). As I've found and learned from the smartest people on this board, enjoy the gas mileage and work on styling, suspension, audio/entertainment, etc.

LittleBlack02

then how about cheap, simple mod i can do. period.

lowlife9

you can dress up the engine bay like remove and paint your valve cover you can also upgrade your ground wires they call it the big 3 it will actually help your car perform better in a couple of different ways.

LittleBlack02

i think i'm going to do that, and replace alot of the bolts and washers because theyre so old and rusted.
any idea where i could find a DIY on replacing ground wires (big 3) and somewhere where it tells you the size of each bolt and washer in the engine bay.

PS -- my ground wires are lookin really scraggly, good advice lowlife

LittleBlack02

I added rep to everyone who posted on here too cause you guys have been so helpful

LittleBlack02

how many coats of wax do you typically put on your car?

lowlife9

some waxes you do not want to layer but every spring i do a full detail on my car i use to do it for toyota im talkin clay bar wet sanding if needed polishing and buffing i would usually do two to three coats of wax then wash and wax once a week or every other week depending on what wax i was using plain old carnuba wax every weak and something like NXT tech wax 2.0 every 2 weeks because its designed to last longer. i know its over kill but im **** about that ****.

LittleBlack02

i'm going to clay bar my car in the beginning of the summer. any idea where i could find the bolt and washer sizes to replace most of them in my engine bay? and how could i replace the ground wires? where can i find sizes or a DIY?

CIVIC SRT4 SWAP

FOR ALL PPL THAT NEVER SEE MY CIVIC WITH A SRT4 SWAP GO HERE http://www.southernknights.net/pics-...srt4-t1005.htm

LittleBlack02

updated my list, and is there any difference between short RAM and CAI?