Rep Power: 0

i recently posted a thread asking how to improve my new 2003 civic without spending too much $. i got a number of different suggestions, but one really stuck out. one user (i forget his name) begged me not to go ricey with my new car like most kids my age do. instead to concentrate on performance and make it fun to drive. i took his advice into consideration and that got me thinking, what do others think. so, to rice or not to rice- that is the question.

 
Rep Power: 0

You cant make a car fast with a tiny budget, especially a civic

 
Rep Power: 0

Tint, drop, rims, and a sound system--that's the way to go.

 
Rep Power: 0

Making an economy car look fast, but still be slow is by far the most embarassing thing to do. I highly suggest against it.

When you have a car with a body kit, tint, etc., are you doing it for yourself or to show off to others? When you do performance mods though, that's clearly for your own fun.

And showing off to others ...think about it: you have a car with an exhaust that wakes up the neighborhood, but gets beat by 95% of the sports cars out there that don't make much noise ... that's truly pathetic. Everybody's going to think you're an annoying immature teenager who's so insecure about himself that he has to flaunt, floss, or whatever. The only people who'd give you props are other ricers too ...not too cool.

Here's my suggestion of things never to get:

Gauge pods. All of them.

Monster tac. Slow revving car, don't need one. ridiculous.

Stickers. Unless you're getting sponsored, or it's your friend's shop/company, that's just tacky. Getting sponsored by Eibach gets respect, not spending $100 for springs and bragging about it.

Body kits. Most of them are pretty ugly anyways, but non-wind tunnel tested body kits defeat the whole purpose of a body kit. Excess weight. Not to mention having to go 5 mph over every speed bump and steep driveway.

Wings, spoilers. Especially wings. Spending money to make your car look fast but perform worse ...man that's childish.


Cheap performance mods:

Springs: lowering center of gravity makes way for better handling, stable braking, more fun.

strut bars: needs some research, but a good strut bar ought to fix some of the inherent understeer.

header: not sure what emission laws are like in missouri, but a good header (HP) gives great gains.

clutch/flywheel: kinda pricey, but gives better rev response, better engagement of clutch.

-Aki

 
Rep Power: 0

CAI, maybe clear the lights if you like that look, and i could see another tach that is in the line of sight, if your going to race it at a local track, but other then that its pointless imo,

 
Rep Power: 366

Dude, Aki, don't give the kid the wrong impression. Do you think that every kid with aesthetic mods is doing it for the wrong purposes? I've got both types, but I have more appearance mods than performance ones. Does that mean I'm going about it in the wrong way?

I bought this car because it looks good. My goodness, if I wanted a fast car for under $20,000, it sure as hell wouldn't have had an "H" on it.

Anyway, Pelter, go for what makes you feel like your car is closer to being perfect. I've got tint, rims, a spoiler, new grille, intake, etc.


A lot of people on here say rice is anything that is about form over function. Well guess what then - the carpet in your car is rice. Having any paint on your car is rice. The stereo and speakers are rice. All EXs are rice because they have a sunroof. Get my drift?

Do what you like. Pay no attention to what people say is rice, but still - no Type R, and no APC.

 
Rep Power: 382

Depends on what type of racing you do.

For autocross, It can be done very cheeply, and you can have a competitive car (Driver is more important any way).

all I have is a set of springs (H&R), the RSX rear anti-roll bar, a Front Upper Strut tower bar and a Set of Wheels/tires (Rota Slipstreams W Falken Azenis sports (205/50R15)). and Im In 2nd place for the year (In my region) right now.

last event I beat every body in my class (STS) by 1.8 seconds!

So far I've probably spent under $3000 and Im second in my class. How much $$$$$$ would you have to spend to be second in your class for Drag racing?


BTW: If I was running stock then the only thing I would have purchased would have been Race tires. so Thats Under $1000 For a competitve HS car.

 
Rep Power: 0

whoa guys,
i'm not looking to go out and race my new civic. i'm only 17. all i'm looking for is style and fun to drive. please keep that in mind before u start giving me tips to be the fastest car at the race track. the only track i'll be driving on is the street. thanx for all of your responses.

 
Rep Power: 0

wutever floats ur boat dawg, if u like the way "rice" looks, go for it, its ur car. just get prepared to get flamed who are antiricest. simple as that

 
Rep Power: 382

Well for that, I go by the motto....

If it dosnt make the car faster or turn better, then it isnt going on the car.

 
Rep Power: 0

I could not have said it better myself, VERY WELL DONE AKI!

 
Rep Power: 0

To each his own...no offense to any other members...but u don't make the payments, nor insure the car, nor put the gas in it...who are u to tell some one what they should do with the car? Your not sponsoring the car either. I currently sponsor 4 cars. I have some say as to what they can do. i can pull their sponsorship @ anytime.....If someone wants to make their ride Rice or clean. Cool with me. Show your individualisitic and stand apart. I don't make your payments etc....I may not personally care for your aluminum wing, apc stickers etc....but hey.....point & case!

 
Rep Power: 0

hold on djlutchi,
dont get mad at at these guys for giving me suggestions. actually, thats kinda what i asked for. i'll take their advice into consideration, but i'm not gonna do exactly what someone tells me to do. really, the whole point in this thread is just for me to see what people think about this concept. sorry for any confusion.

 
Rep Power: 306

I still say that the cheapest and most important improvement you can make to your car is YOU.

Attend some autocross events, open track if you have a good road course near you. Attend a drivers education event.

You will get more out of it than any mod to your car can give you, and learn something about yourself.

(I do recommend sticky tires along with this, which can be had for a good low price)

 
Rep Power: 0

You have contradicted yourself here. Don't pay attention to what others say what's rice, but listen to me and don't put Type-R stickers? Because why? Obviously because you think it's rice.

This argument that "form over function" is bad doesn't work at all. Carpet provides heat insulation. Carpet also deadens noise. Carpet is more comfortable. There's a lot of form in carpet. Paint? Without paint your car rusts. Sunroof is meant for comfort, the very definition of it's form is that it provides comfort.

If you want to put a fly sound system, more power to you. If you want a DVD player, cool. I'm not telling you to gut your interior and get rid of power steering. I'm telling you to do mods that actually serve some purpose. Fun mods. Especially if you're on a low budget.

Chances are, if you do "show and no go" mods, a couple years later, you'll look at your creation and think "what the heck was I thinking?" Chrome is cool one minute, next minute it isn't.

A wing has no function. Actually it makes your car understeer more. So it has negative function. A spoiler on a G35 coupe is cool, because you know it has an aerodynamic purpose. A racing front spoiler is cool because you know it's redirecting the airflow to stabilize the air that flows through the undercarriage. A non wind tunnel tested front lip that increases drag, but makes your car look fast ...why is that cool?

I'm saying, spend your money wisely on things that will make your driving experience more enjoyable. Bragging rights because you've got the snazziest body kit gets old very fast. I used to like all that stuff. Older now, and I think they look tacky. Zipping through a corner making your tires squeal cus' they're at their limits ...doesn't matter how old you are, that's pretty darn fun.

The majority of the time you spend with your car, you're in the inside. The majority of the time you're inside, you're driving. Make the most of that time and give some pizazz to your driving experience.

-Aki

 
Rep Power: 381

do what you want to do. thats about all i have to say.

 
Rep Power: 0

I don't see anything wrong with a few aesthetic changes. It's the obnoxious ones that get made fun of. Keep it tasteful and do what you thing looks good. As far as performance mods go I'd recommend working on your suspension first. There's no reason to go fast if you can't make a turn without losing it. Since you're working on a budget, if you start with your suspension your car will improve it's handling, thus being more fun to drive and by the time some good engine stuff comes out you'll have your suspension ready to handle it. Anyway, just my $.02.

-Fitz