Jerabetes

I have a brand new automatic civic. This is my first car, so I am new to working on and learnign about cars. SInce I am new i was wondering what i should do to it. I have a part time job, and a steady flow of cash. I really want to increase horpower but idk how much i can do with an automatic transmission

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I was thinking about ordering this

http://honda.magauto.com/partlocator...catalogid=3564

Thank you for any help

VTEC-4.0

You won't get much hp gain in an auto.Plus your Civic's got a D17A2 under the hood.The D17 isn't known for hp,but more of reliability.If you really want a lot of hp,your best chance is a swap.And you might want to get rid of the auto trans.Don't expect a whole bunch of hp gain on a small budget.

DarkSouljur

You bought a civic, so unless you're looking to swap the enginge you won't get too much HP gain like VTEC said. Civics are extremely customizable look wise. They sure as hell are sexy. I didn't buy my civic for speed. I bought it because i can make it look good, there are a lot of options, and it's extremely reliable. What do you need a powerful car for? Unless you're looking to race i suggest you save your money and instead of putting it on performance (which won't get u too far on your budget), spend it on style my friend ... my 2 cents

Jerabetes

Thank you for the advice.
SInce i cant increase perfromance much what do you reccomend for style
i was thinking aobut lowering it and buying the oem spoiler

Muirsy

coilovers and rims is always a good start

kofrad

I'm in a similar situation, just got a Civic and am learning about car maintenance with it. I've just been doing basic maintenance things that are frequently overlooked to learn.

Change the cabin & engine air filters
Check your battery and all fluids
Change the spark plugs
Change your fuel filter
Rotate your tires
Change the brake pads

One great resources, aside from this and similar websites, would be the service manual for your car. It will show you how everything comes apart and goes back together, how to work on your car. Just keep learning and asking questions.

lowlife9

do the maintenance before anything how many miles are on it what has been done to it maintenance wise. you should know the 01-03 civics have automatic transmissions have problems make sure that fluid is good.

DarkSouljur

Wait what? I fall into that category, could u explain more please?

VTEC-4.0

Looks personally,I like lip kits.Not body kits,those are ricey.Coilovers,rims,tint,blacked out head and tail lights,and somr fog lights should do it.But just to warn you,coilovers are pretty pricey alone and you should also get a camber.Coilovers and a camber will probably run you over $1000.

Muirsy

if u are not looking to track ur car... u can get raceland coilovers for just over 300... but they are only good if ur just look it be dropped and dont want to track ur car

VTEC-4.0

Oh,I don't know many brands.Only Tokico Blues,Tein,and Skunk2.Those are pretty pricey if you buy both camber and coilovers.I want a track car so I can go to a track when I have nothing else to do or to get away from bs.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Spend more money on suspension than engine "mods."

Like everyone above said, a nice set of coilovers, (or even a good spring/strut combo), get some lightweight rims and good tires, strut/tie bars, upgrade (at least) your rear sway bar.

you can do a few cosmetic mods to give it your own personal touch, but I wouldn't go hella overboard.

if you wanna buy aftermarket stuff, I'd recommend dezod.com and thmotorsports.com

lowlife9

problems with the clutch packs they start slipping usually 3rd gear. and stay far away from riceland coilovers they are actually so poorly made there dangerous. the best coilovers for 7th gens bang for buck are progress technology http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat...roducts_id=481

Muirsy

i know a couple people running racelands for dd and are really happy with them... its when u track them is when they start having problems.... and for 300 with a 2 year warranty cant really go wrong with them considering i spent more on springs/struts

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

I have the same exact car in white

What I've done so far only is
Short Ram Intake
HIDs
Sound System

On my list is:
Header
Catback Exhaust
Rims
Tein Lowering Springs
05 Tail light conversion
and JDM/Altezza grill

and maybe new front/rear OEM bumper, and paintjob if i can afford it

That's some suggestions for you, but first of all, I would try to restore your headlights, they look dull

Jerabetes

How much have u spent on each thing. Personally i like the stock sound system

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

I spent 25 on short ram
35 on HIDs

Phewwww, dont even get me started on civic stock sound system, that thing is HORRIBLE
I thought I was cool for cranking it up to 30 and having my speakers sound loud, once I got the head unit in, i was like wooooow, then i got sub in, it was like WOW, then my polk speakers was like OMG!!!! :O
lol

Spent 80 on headunit, 100 on install from bestbuy (including din, and harness, charge me 25 each, what a rip. Buy your own stuff, and have them install for $50)
-$180 HU
Spent 150 on Sub/Amp/Box combo on craigslist, bought amp kit at walmart for 25 bucks, had it installed at Bestbuy again, $40
-$215 Sub
Spent another 50 on polk 6.5" speakers later, on craigslist, brand new in box
-$50
I'm out $445 on speaker system, planning on getting new 6x9's too though
it was soooooooooo worth it

Jerabetes

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-05...Q5fAccessories

ARe these good quality

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

eh.. I wouldn't skimp when it comes to suspension.. It's one of 2 links between your car and the road (the other being tires), but that's just me..

Jerabetes

if i dont skimp how much is lowering going to cost me

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Depends, brand, and what you want

I know on craigslist, this store near my place sells brand new tein lowering springs as 170 a set

Jerabetes

I found these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tein-...Q5fAccessories

How is the quality of these, and how much will installation cost

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

For a .7" and .8" drop, I wouldn't bother

Should get at least a 1"~1.5"

But it's personal preference

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

An example of a decent setup would be eibach or tein springs (~$200 new) on some tokico blues shocks (~$450 set of 4, new), and a camber kit (~$150 new), then take your car to an alignment shop that knows how to adjust a camber kit.

that would be doing it properly. you can get away with used stuff, but i'd be weary with buying used struts. I'd make a note of how many miles are on them, the physical condition of them, and I'd ask the owner of their driving habits when they had them. Springs would be less likely to go bad.

I'm not gonna lie though, I was able to drive for a year and a half with tein springs (s-techs, 1.3"F/1.4"R) on stock struts and be fine. It's just that the ride quality got so much better when I finally swapped the struts. So you can get away with a slight drop (i.e. <1.5" drop) on stock struts for a while, so long as you're not terribly abusive. Otherwise your ****'s gonna start bouncing like mad (symptom of blown shocks).

A camber kit will save your tires from wearing unevenly due to negative camber.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

oh, and save money by installing them yourself. A spring swap was the VERY first mod I ever did to a car, and I had ZERO experience with suspension work. It was me @ 17 years old with my equally inexperienced 15 year old friend working in my dad's driveway with a socket set, breaker bar, hydraulic jack, and jack stands. Also used a scissor jack and hammer to separate the tie rod.

Took us about 4 hours for all 4.

Jerabetes

Alright any idea what installation would cost on the eibach or tein springs?

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

Wheres your clamp?! I dont see a clamp anywhere! :O

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Free.. do it yourself. It'll cost probably 150-200 if a shop did it.

It'll cost you tools (which eventually pay themselves off when you start learning how to do everything on your car) if you DIY. Get a quality socket set if you don't have one, a torque wrench will do you good (as little as $30, make sure it can read more than 85 ft-lbs as that'll cover most auto jobs), tie rod separator ($10-20 bucks), hydraulic jack ($60 or so), jack stand set (cheap.. i dunno.. most jack stands can support 1500lbs on their own).. a few 2x4s help, too, in case your jack won't lower far enough when you're done lowering your car.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

clamp for what? like.. spring compressor? If that's what you're alluding to, I didn't use one

Kennykid2002

iTrader: (1)

I smell an accident waiting to happen

Note to self, do not stand next to riceboy when he is changing springs