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I know that the topic has been posted and debated before, but I would like to open the floor to discussion. Which performance parts give you the most bang for your buck? I'm new to modifications. I currently have an AEM short ram intake on my 2001 Honda Civic EX AT. It's hard having the AT because AEM doesn't make a CAI for the AT. Anyone else that has an 01 EX AT, and has done mods, let me know what you think!

 
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It's all about air flow, a few degrees temprature isn't going to make any difference. An intake doesn't really make that much of a difference anyway.

The best bang for your buck has to be NOS/Turbo, on top of basic bolt ons.

 
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If you want a CAI for your car... go for the INJEN RD CAI. I also have an automatic and I'm looking into getting the same thing, but I'm still trying to find it for a good price. It's gonna cost me atleast 440CDN.! That's expensive for a long piece of tube with a filter on the end of it in my opinion.

As for my mods... things related to air flow so far is just a custom catback exhaust. Everything else I've modded has to do with looks and or audio.

 
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an intake doens't make a big difference? true on our cars, but on an RSX engine? try 20 extra horsies. eh. not fair

 
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are you sure its that much? my roomate has a DC5 with a CAI and it makes a difference, but i dont think by that much. it still sucks that they get gains like that

 
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on the DC5 the gains are a lot bigger than i thought. Its not 20 but its pretty close to that with the AEM CAI i believe

 
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I think Honda Tuning had an article on the different intakes and dynos for them tested on the RSX. They said that they got 20 ponys out of that intake.

 
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I highly doubt 20 hp. Read up on a type-s forum- they dont get gains that much better than our engine on most things. it COULD be 20hp if you were lucky, but def not 20 hp to the wheels

 
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i believe the article did mention 20 hp to the wheels. There are dyno pics in the article.

The gains you get are dependent chiefly on stock intake design. The worse the stock intake is, the better the aftermarket one. I remember reading some Mercedes Benz tuners use the stock intake, as it has the best design.

For our civics, if you want to keep it NA, the best bang/$ should be obtained by a cam.

 
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it said in honda tuning more than once that the AEM CAI was the best for the RSX-S at just short or 20 hp

 
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You have to remember that the RSX has a much better platform to work with. I think Honda basically tried to squeeze all the power possible out of our engine, so it's pretty much maxed out besides forced induction.

Another thing to remember is that not to believe everything you read in tuner mags.

 
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if ur not going to focus on big mods such as turbo or nitrous, i say leave the car stock. it is quick... though not enough high end power. but to take advantage of something that u already have, u might wanna consider, a torque converter, falken azenis tires, carbon fiber hood and trunk, fiber glass fenders, light weight seats, stiff suspension for faster cornering and a better stronger launch. give it a try, its just my opinion. but theyre well worth it and the gains are quite visible. quicker acceleration and etc.

 
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Ill vouch for that HT Intake DYNO. It yeilded like 19.8 HP's..INCREDIBLE!

 
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this is just my opinion on parts:

Best Intake - AEM CAI
Best Exhaust - Tanabe Racing Madallion
Best Header - HP Racing
Best Cam Gear - AEM
Best ECU Upgrade - Jet Chip
Best Nitrous - NX, Nos
Best Turbo - something custom made

 
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best bang for the buck? i have to say vafc. someone dyno'ed for +7hp on the wheels with it tuned correctly. thats pretty good for $270 or less.

 
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car audio

 
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well i just think that with cars these days... they're built with so much restrictions under all these damn emissions laws.. i think just basic mods that lessen the restrictions would bring some power back... but that's taking into consideration that your car makes at least a decent amount of hp... or something like that... that's what i think

 
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Easy, A good set of sticky tires. something like Flaken Azenis sports, or Michilin Pilot sports. as in Almost an R compound tire. Better acceleration and cornering. The falkens are cheep too, 205/50R15 are around $60-$70.

 
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Some of the fastest cars I've seen are covered in stickers ... so that must be a pretty good investment



Sorry .. if I didn't say it, somebody else would have

 
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Its a proven fact that air sitcks less to Vinyl then it does to paint!!!



seriously, best bang for the Buck really depends on what you want to do with the car.

do you like strait lines? then engin mods are the best way to go.
Do you like out cornering every one like me, the suspension parts and tires are your best bet
do you plan on making a show car? then all those unieque parts are the things you should be looking at.

Personally, I autocross, so if it dosnt make me go faster or turn better it isn't going on the car.

ie, no body kits, no stickers, no extra lights, no wing/spoiler, no big sound system. Just Sticky tires, good springs/shockabsorbers, and a little engine work.