muir323

I just found this site as I was looking up parts for my 02 Honda Civic Ex. I bought my Civic 2 years ago from my mechanic and have been loving it but want to add some power and just make it a tad bit cooler but avoiding "ricing" it up. I have around 210,000 miles on it. It has a rebuilt transmission. I also know that it has a body kit I believe and the rims are supposedly good but no idea since all my friends drive Subis.

Any help would be awesome for how to make my Civic better!

Thanks!

ezone

Welcome! Nice looking car

Might want to get some dedicated snow tires on it for the moment, maybe on steel wheels so you don't trash the nice ones

Search around the site, there have been threads, DIY, and how-to's for just about anything you wish to do.

NDNV

Welcome to the site! You'll find everything you need for you car here.


You car looks fine the way it is. Hopefully your mechanic was good to it.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

First off, welcome.

Looks like it's equipped with the HFP (Honda Factory Performance) lip kit. I'd stick with that, give it a spruced up OEM look to it.

As far as mods, what do you want to do with it? Suspension is, by far, the best bang for buck you can get. Some nice coilovers to give it a good adjustable stance and a stiffer/more responsive ride. A neuspeed front upper strut bar will do you well. You can probably find them for $100 or so.

If you want engine performance, sure, you can go with the intake/header/exhaust combo, but that'll give you more sound than anything. There are setups out there that'll give a nice low, throaty sound, and not sound like a ricerific swarm of bees. My setup, I've been told, sounds really good, and that's from people that absolutely abhor ricer cars. My I/H/E setup includes an AEM V2 intake, kamikaze ceramic header, random tech downpipe with high flow cat, and an A'PEXi world sport 2 exhaust.

Crower also makes cams for the D17A2, which adds a bit pep to your step. All the cams cost the same (stage 1, stage 2 na, stage 2 turbo, stage 3), but the stage 2 and 3 ones require springs and retainers, doubling the cost. I'm rocking a stage 1 cam, and it's quite nice, especially considering I dropped it in and just went with it, no tune.

If you're looking to go with looks (as well as function), HID retrofits are easy to do in OEM headlights. The Morimoto mini kit will run you around $300, and it'll take you all of about 3 hours to do the retrofit. Best of all, it's just a hair past plug n play, and you'll have OEM looking HIDs in your headlights.

A bit more importantly, give us a budget, and we can see what you can do. Any questions, feel free to ask. There is a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, and we like helping people out.

SammySC

I would keep it the way it is because it looks really nice! Just add some performance items: I had good results with my 02 EX doing the following:
DC Sports Strut bar.
K&N short ram air
DC Sports Ceramic header 4-1
Cat back exhaust (axel back really because I hated the ricey sound without the resonator and it really didn't add any power)
Tein Street Advance Coil Overs
Here are some pictures of my car. I've done a lot of other subtle mods which I've been told look nice and not ricey, like original Honda side markers and mud guards and I kept the OEM wing. Looks nice and not over the top. DEATH TO THE RICE!! LOL

muir323

Thank you so much that helps a lot. I am still new to a lot of what is out there. Like I have only Subi friends so I have been seeing everything they have done to their cars but I am over here like I have a Civic but I don't like the idea of being a ricer.

For now I am looking to spend around $2,000 max in the next 6 to 8 months on it.

I wanna spruce up the look as well as increase under the hood and probably have a quality exhaust sound (nothing insane) as well.

muir323

Thank you so much! This is a really good list for me! It helps give me ideas!

muir323

In general to anyone else who comments. I have a budget of probably $2,000 max between now to around 6 to 8 months from here. I am looking to give the look of the car a bit more cooler (best term I can think of). I also want some more performance out of it. I also want a exhaust sound that doesn't have everyone screaming ricer.

Thanks all!

SammySC

That's about what I spent on the list I gave you only for parts because I did the work myself or had some help from my friends. If you have to pay labor be prepared to pay a lot more.

ezone

If I had bought my 18" wheels brand new they would have been over $2000. (right now they are $616 each retail)
My tires were almost a grand.

muir323

Ya I will be able to do some and I have a friend who is really good with cars. He helped me with my alternator that just went out! Saved a ton of money there! Just some beers and a pizza!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Lol, when my alternator seized, I went to autozone to verify I still had a lifetime warranty on it. Told the guy I'd be back later to swap it. Literally a half hour later, I showed up with alternator in hand, and he had the biggest look of surprise on his face, accompanied with, "holy crap dude, did you seriously take that out in like 15 minutes?"

Derrek98

i would put a set of bigger rims on and maybe get some new headlights not really "ricer" but it does improve the look of the car A lot.

SammySC

When I get to my desk top comp tomorrow I will post a pic of my headlights and rims. JDM style not rice Lol. I am running 16" rims the car came with 15" stock

SammySC

These are my JDM black crystal headlights nice but not ricey.

SammySC

I'm more of a wine guy, but beer and pizza go a long way too bro!