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What's up?

I traded in my 2000 mustang GT 5-speed for leftover black 2002 civic EX coupe with auto this weekend. My fiance and I also have a 2001 prelude. The stang was already showing signs of age and its tranny was going south. It was probably my fault not ford's as I drove the tar out of the mustang and drag raced it in the local brackets. But, times change and you move on and I wanted something reliable. And, since the mustang was WAY upside down, I had to go cheap but with as few compromises as possible...Enter the civic. This civic is really nice for the money...I picked it up new for the mid $13's and don't have any worries anymore about reliability or fuel economy. Its tough to move from a stang with about 240 wheel hp to an automatic 130 flywheel hp civic, but I'm finding it a good tradeoff between brute power and build quality. If I get the urge to get back into drag racing, I'll get a dirt cheap fox body and go at it.....but mustangs just aren't good commuter cars.

Anyways, since I'm a ford man turned honda, I have a few questions:

Does honda have a factory performance devision like Ford Racing Performance Parts? I don't think I'll ever modify my little civic, but if we modify the prelude it would be great to stay honda as much as possible.

Does anyone know a site other than ebay that I could find a cheap set of 15" alloys from a 2003 honda civic EX or from a 2002 or 2003 Si if it shares the same bolt pattern? I'd like some honda alloy wheels for the civic but don't want to pay honda's price for new ones.

 
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well u went from sport car to economy car, no there isnt' a sport division like ford. u have to go aftermarket. but like try the marketplace for the alloys

 
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We do have "Factory Performance" package. But its not really that much. Any wheels with a bolt pattern of 4x100 will fit.

 
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You could probably find some wheels at:
Honda Classifieds

 
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Ya, Honda doesn't really have a Honda Racing Division. But that's ok because we have the largest aftermarket support out there. The only thing that's offered through Honda is a few aftermarket 15" rim designs, and two different lip kits to improve outside appearance. The cheapest place to find these are wholesale suppliers like Majestic Honda, Hparts.com, or H and A Accessories.com. H and A Accessories is good for optional Honda brand equipment like rims, car covers, aero kits, etc.. Majestic Honda is great if you need factory replacement parts at a low price. I think you'll find this site helpful. Hope you enjoy your new honda and welcome to the boards.

 
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you say your not gonna modify.. but it only starts with the rims [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]P

 
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homeboy's got a point there, Civicguy. It starts with the rims and you say the power difference between your ol' stang and the Vic are trmedous. Eventually you'll want a little more power behind you. But be glad you got the EX with the Vtec engine. When it comes to racing, stick with the Prelude, but you can fix your Vic up for show and an occasional race or two.

 
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Hey thanks for the comments guys. Yeah, technically getting the 2003 rims from an ex would be modifying as would tinting the windows, but that's about it. I just want something a little more stylish than the steelies it came with. Don't want 17's and all that because I don't want to attract any attention. Some jerk in a 350 Z already tried to pick a race with me on the freeway.....and this little EXis bone stock....and no I didn't even try it. I just hit the brakes and let him act a fool with someone else. No, I just want a car that has factory good looks with a low profile. The civic's lines look better than many more expensive cars. I don't wanna attract that kind of street race attention anymore like I did in the mustang. Couldn't go anywhere in it without someone trying to pace me or rev on me to get going in some street race. WAY over that. The urge will be there to modify this little engine because parts are so plentiful, but thats why we have the prelude. If it gets too much I'll get another american V-8. The way I see it, this civic is a way to come out ahead in a few years to get that s-2000 I REALLY want.

 
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Its a slippery slope man... first its just rims, then you wanna get rid of the wheel gap... then, somehow, you're broke with nothing to eat and your car has as much money into it as a Porsche would cost you. As for the size, I wouldn't go less than 17" because I feel like going any smaller isn't worth the trouble/money. But thats just my opinion for my car.

I think a thumbs up on the trade, the Honda has a better fit and finish to it. But I might be near suicidal going from 240whp to like 110whp.

As for parts for the Prelude... I'm not sure why you'd wanna stick with Honda parts to make it go fast. This isn't like Ford or even Toyota that has their own racing devisions. This is HONDA. Fuel economy for the masses. With the exception of lip kits, all the good stuff is aftermarket.

 
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isnt mugen hondas performance division...i could be mistaken?

 
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MUGEN is the performance division of Honda but they only work with certain models. Also, there are companies like Spoon which only play with Honda and Acura.

 
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Mugen is the official tuner,
but its better to go with other brands, some are as good, but alot more cheaper

 
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Mugen/Spoon are the official tuners of honda but there very pricy!! save that stuff for the S2000

 
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mugen is!

welcome to the site BTW did u say u got your 02' ex civic for mid $13k?? wow you got a great deal!

 
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first rims then you decide a nice throaty exhaust the air intake then its all down hill from there. There isnt a factory performance division for Hondas (Mugen and Spoon are tuners)but every where you turn theres aftermarket parts left and right you should be able to turn that daily driver into a spirited every day ride

 
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gee mustang for a civic...thats a first but congrats...welcome to da family

 
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Congrats, I gave my 91 mustang (daily driver/drifting machine) to my dad when I bought my civic... [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG] But for a gt that is the first ive heard of it...

Anyhow, welcome to the family. From what I have found the best way to find parts for any car, much less the 7th gen, is yahoo.com search engine. i type in like 01 or 2001 civic header(s), exhuast, suspension, coilovers, etc. and I get tons of hits.

Also, reading about parts in the forums has been one of the best things ive found, i didn't even know of a short shifter until I came here.

Good luck to you, and enjoy having 32 miles to the gallon with this 1.69 normal priced 87 octane we have going on now.... lol