mikethenoob

I got my first car today and its a 2001 civic ex coupe. Unfortunately, my parents bought me an auto. I wanna boost my car's performance. I was thinking about adding a shortram, upgrading the fuel system, ignition, and throttle body. Any suggestions? I have a 900$ budget.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Don't bother upgrading ignition.

as for performance, 900 bucks isnt gonna do much.. you can go with a stage 2 cam (360, plus the required valve springs and retainers for another $300), and you'd still need a good fuel management system and a good tune to safely run it..

or save it and put it toward a good suspension system

In any case, welcome to the forum, search button is your friend. If you can't find it, or you get fed up searching through pages upon pages for search results and can't find anything specific to your situation, feel free to ask.

My advice to you is no matter what you wanna do with your car, do it right the first time, every time. It may be more expensive at the moment, but it'll save you a **** ton of cash in the long run

mikethenoob

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice. I totally understand what you're trying to say about making the right choices for my car.

I know $900 won't do much, but i'm trying to find out what's best for my car in the long run and what will give me the best bang for the buck. I was thinking about saving my money to install an air compressor. I'll keep researching!

lowlife9

air compresser ??? like air ride suspension.

mikethenoob

i was referring to a turbocharger kit.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Never heard it called an air compressor before. Need lots of money for a turbo but if you do it right it can be very rewarding because you can REALLY increase the performance of the car. New cam sounds like a nice idea though

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

go to an autoX first - EX engines are not bad, though the auto will not help you much in autoX... First learn to control your current power first, then you think on adding power.
you will find out how you suck for driving and how to improve and being safe.
Just to have an idea, on a 70 sec course, another young guy on a 2007 Civic LX (new at the time) kept asking me what engine i had under the hood for my slowest time was 4 sec faster than his fastest. I kept answering stock engine, he never even asked about suspension nor about hitching a ride when i was driving. He disappeared not long after, when he noticed he was being beat by HS 95 civics by 3 sec or more.
Improving driving skills will be with you at any car, and make you safer.
Improving (not slamming!!!) suspension will make the improved driving much better used and safe.
Only when you learn to keep the ponies in check, you think on getting more of them!
That will help you on having way longer time enjoying the ponies, otherwise high risk you will get only a couple of years using them until the fateful end.
Expect 4-5k for a turbo setup that will work. chgeaper ones will cost a lot more with new engine and tranny after some time.
Ah, introduce yourself as a Noob, but not in your username... Unless you want to call yourself as noob 5 years from now...
Last one: same as driving, you need basics to start - SEARCH the forum! lots of info in turbos already!
Welcome, not really bashing you

Awjvail

Air compressor? Do you have a leaky tire or something?







Aaaaaaaanyways. Welcome to the forum. Any pics of the car? We love pictures.

mr22508

K-Pro First. That was the mistake I made. Not getting that first. You almost got enough money. Trust me, it drops the cost of getting a turbo kit and everything else when you are trying to mod for performance.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I tried going with a used turbo kit that was sold on these forums a LOOONNNG *** time ago (stafford fabricatons, for all you that remember it) and tried tuning with a VAFC2.. worst idea ever. My engine hates me for it, but it still runs alright.

Only running with bolt ons now (SRI, header, random tech high flow cat, & cat-back exhaust)..

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

don't push a turbo to a 17 old year guy getting his first car today that you don't know the driving ability and did not even mention suspension and brakes...
I have seen enough foolishness to think an engine seldom can make a car fast... many are not around anymore nor does the victims... and for my pic you can see that i am not against racing cars when it is safe...

HLC

save up for a manual swap. u'll probably enjoy that alot.

mikethenoob

Once again, thanks for the welcome. I'll try to get pictures of my car asap! I love it because of the fact its red and its a two door - it's a true beauty.

I'm glad for your concern and i agree that i should be able to control my car first, before adding extra ponies. I'm probably not going to be able to install a turbo kit any time soon because of my parents and because of the money it takes to buy and install it.

As of now, i think i'll just read the forums and learn more about my car. I'm pretty much hooked now =)

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

save up and drop that shiz with a nice pair of coilovers

And in the meantime of saving money and whatever, you can do cheap DIY cosmetic mods..

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Try to find a SCCA autoX and have fun while learning! It's worth it! you will see bone stock cars doing things you would not believe it was possible

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

^ I hope he does not destroy his brand new car at an autocross. I've never done it so I don't know the details. But something about pushing a 9 year old stock car with an automatic transmission does not sound quite right to me. Especially since he hasn't even done any maintenance yet.

Awjvail

Yeah thats what I was thinking... the auto transmission will be 100% fried after an autox. Especially considering it is an 01.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Hunh... The auto trans... true. And i remembered one more: minors need both parents present.
Well, there is one way around: Convice your parents that you are going to a driving school , tag them along and take your dad's car instead of you. Naturally your dad could run as well.
And TBohar, it could depend on the place they do the event, but if they do have a large open parking lot, there are no real issues of safety. 2nd gear most of courses, very rarely 3rd, around 70km/h in straights. Or just go to one and ask for a ride with the other drivers. Pretty sure there are a lot to learn. And for old cars, you would be surprised...

mikethenoob

Can someone please elaborate about what actually happens at an Autocross? I don't know if it's a good idea for me to participate in any kind of racing, if it's gonna beat the hell out of my 2001 civic. And why is it so bad to have an auto transmission at an autocross? Maybe i'll attend one just to spectate and see what goes on. lol.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Sweet I'd like to try that one day It's not so much the auto transmission as it is the civics auto transmission. It's a piece of crap and does not last very long, especially if you torture it. They get destroyed under daily driving conditions let alone auto x. just get warmed up to daily driving with your stock civic and if you wanna mod it, do it a bit later... after you have figured out what annoys you about the car. You can focus on changing those things

mikethenoob

Hahaha, oh man.. i didn't know civics had such crappy transmissions. Well, if mine ever falls apart, it'll give me a chance to install a manual =). And yeah i get what you're saying. I should just drive as is for now. (except maybe tints and a new intake).

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Yep, tint is a great place to start (something that annoys you). I would not bother with an intake for now though. They are 100+ dollars and there is no performance gain from them whatsoever. Unless your looking to clean the engine bay up a little bit with the intake, don't bother. A manual swap is a great way to go. It costs around 1000 dollars in parts, and if you take your time, go slow and follow the manual you can do it yourself I'd still wait for your current transmission to die though, just like you said. Also it's good to save your money so when things go wrong you can fix them. I love seeing a car with 20 inch rims broken down on the side of the highway

Hondaguy89

Dont get too worried about the auto transmission. I dont think they are as bad as everyone is leading you too believe. Yes, when people complain about tranny issues it is usually regarding the auto trans, so there are issues with it. But definitely dont go racing against the clock everywhere you go. Just enjoy your ride! and welcome to the forum! Cant wait to see some pics

Awjvail

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2001/

497 complaints for transmissions. Next highest has 55 complaints.

The transmissions are a piece of **** in all 98+ Hondas. My parents accord is just as bad.

Hondaguy89

Im definitely with you on the fact that the transmissions dont hold up well, and I dont think those numbers are even close to the actual amount of complaints, there are probably many more. But even the number of complaints was doubled or even tripled think about the the total amount of civics out there. Its still a relatively small fraction in the big picture.

The point I was trying to get across was, lets not get him all worried about his transmission. He just got his first car, let him enjoy it. Just take care of your transmission, change the ATF and dont beat on it.

But yeah if it does end up failing on you, you should totally swap in a manual!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

OK, now the thread is sounding better.
Pushed the autoX just for you to understand that you really don't need a turbo right now.
Anyway, not ALL transmission go bad. yours are almost 9 years old, so it is a good thing if it was never replaced so far.
PS: installing the intake will just get you spotted by cruisers, they are loud... and get you nothing beyond that without other more expensive mods...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

What's AutoX?
This is Arnold (blue shirt) and a friend who does not know his car very weel), another fella in TN that runs the same club as me in a hatch Civic. Now he runs a Fit, almost as fast as his older civic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32neXLb8Raw
Now, compare the difference between drivers, how much steering work is going on, where they are looking at, how close to the cones, etc, etc. Check especiallly how much difference in speed is there, how one uses much more oversteer (yes, civics can be made oversteer) and the other neds in understeer.
Anyway, have fun!

mikethenoob

Yeah, i actually do see the difference between the drivers. Actually, i drove my civic for the first time today because i didn't have the registration and plates, so it was just sitting in my driveway on Saturday, Sunday, AND, Monday. I love cruising in this freaking car! And by the way, i thought twice about the intake, and it's definately not worth it.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

enjoy you car, have fun, and when you have a chance, (maybe not with your auto trans... Sorry 'bout that...) try it, it is fun! I will have to take an absence of autoX now and starting to get nuts on it... can't screw on the streets, but can't find anyplace in Canada that does the autoX (autoslalom here) anywhere nearby... starting to get the nervous... waaah! can't see any construction sites with their cones and i feel like swerving around them.... It's addictive, but a good addiction
Just a side note: I am just a mid packer, usually get beaten by a 90 miata and 94 integra R's .... no chance at all for a 7th gen civic - get easily beaten by the older civic in the videos with the double wishbone suspension...

GreenMachineDX

Manual Swap & Suspension!!! U going have some fun with this lil car..