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I know there are alot of different threads related to this topic but again they all have different needs and requirements. I want put some nice power in my car to increase hp. car is 2004 ex vtec motor. Im a new bie about cars so dont know much about it plus im not very big on budget . may be around few bills. What do you guys suggest.? i have heard about exhaust and intake .. but ppl are highly doubtful abt its performance increase..

 
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How much is your budget? If its not much then I would just go with a nice cold air intake, headers, and exhaust. Turbo or swap is gonna be a couple thousand dollars and those are the only good performance gains on this civic

 
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3 to 4 bills... at most 5 bills.. alot of people are doubtful abt performance gains by intake and exhaust. because they are very unnoticable..

 
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You won't get any sort of serious HP unless its $4000-$5000

Intake, exhaust, headers, etc are all cosmetic and don't do anything in terms of performance for our stock engine.

 
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if you have $500 the best bet would be a stage 1 camshaft from crower

here's the link- http://www.crower.com/civic-ex-d17a2...-camshaft.html

they run $368.59 plus shipping so $468.59

they're direct drop in and the procedure isn't that hard with some basic tools.

then save up for a nice used exhaust system or new if you can't find one used, and an intake.

the running theory on this should add about 20hp on an auto and 30hp on a manual.

considering this car only puts down about 100 to the wheels, that's a 30% increase in hp for pennies when it comes to cars.

 
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I forgot to post a thread about this but in case you are military Crower gives a pretty nice discount. Also at the top of the page it states they have free shipping on orders over $150 so shipping is free, if you are a service member or prior the stage 1 cam will run $303. I got mine in the mail 3 days after I ordered it with them, haven't had time to install yet but excited.

 
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dropping a cam isnt exactly a novice job and if done improperly, it can ruin and damage his engine.... and judging by azi90's questions, its a safe bet to say that he/she should take it to someone who knows what they're doing....but that will cost $$$ in labor.

 
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^true that, but for the limited budget stated, granted one knew how to install the cam, the cam is the best bang for your buck.

 
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yah i cant even install hids on my car lol ... i will need to get it done

 
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I find it funny that everyone around here says that header and exhaust does not produce and performance enhancement, however this video that someone else posted in a different thread shows some gain. However minute it IS still an increase...

[autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1382& transactionid=1362366762-2085211270&posted_by=_www.civicforums.com&youtube_ video_id=t0HUASgpuxY[/autostream]

 
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still limiter for the money spent.

for example

megnaflow cat back $505.39
http://www.hottexhaust.com/Magnaflow_15712

that's a test pipe so it wouldn't pass aircare in some places
so you'd need the highflow cat.

cat. $250.27
http://www.hottexhaust.com/Magnaflow_36636

high flow manifold for DX 344.28
http://www.hottexhaust.com/Magnaflow_50884

plus generic ebay intake $50, plus aem filter $50

if the intake makes 10hp, the header makes 10 and the exhaust system makes 10 that's a total of 30hp (if you're lucky for $1199.94. that was using their cheapest stuff and a high expectation in power gain.

this is comparing new exhaust items and a quality brand though. you could by ebay generic stuff and see some gains, but the big companies pot in the hours to tune their exhaust products for max power and great sound. that's why some ebay exhausts have that farting sound when a quality megniflow has a deep even note.


on the cheap you could grab an ebay intake plus aem filter for $100, a nice used exhaust for $150, buy a new high flow cat. from a lessor company for $100 and used header for $50. making a build total of $400 and possibly see 30hp if your components mate up nicely.

remember either way, new or used since you don't own a pit your going to have to pay for installation plus shipping.

that's why bang for your buck the cam is the way to go, then start the exhaust build.




parts are not cheap and if you don't know how to turn a wrench they're even more expensive. but most people on this site including my self have asked the same question you have and started our builds of small. i'm currently sitting at $2000 in modifications on my car, $500 in parts i've ordered recently and $600 in parts not yet installed or uninstalled for different builds/looks. you'll yet there if you want to just have fun along the way and ask questions =D.

 
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Here's a couple other interesting thoughts on this....

It's supposed to be a gain in ratio to the HP of the car something like 10% as a rule of thumb. So when you start with 106hp the gain is imagined to be 10hp. I'd say over 90% of people that do I/H/E don't do any real testing (on a dyno) so 10 HP is just a guess.

By Top Gear math a well maintained car losses 1 HP per year so my original 106 hp in 1999 is now more like 92 hp and more like a 9hp gain in a I/H/E situation (and I've spent $1200 and ruined my car). Most people can regain 9hp just with an effective tune up.

I think that kind of sums up why most people say I/H/E isn't worth it.

Me personally, I see a KN filter on a car and I just think 'idiot' or 'douche' to myself. I would never buy a car that has/had a KN filter attached to it.

That's just me though.

 
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Im not arguing the dollar amounts, I just see people say it does NOTHING, when in reality it does do SOMETHING. And losing HP over time is just like getting a new computer, if it is not tuned from time to time it will not continue to run the same as new. If i do not change my fluids, gaskets,etc, how can i expect something to not lose power, or not run to it's full potential. How would you have ruined your car by adding these simple bolt on parts that can be removed and replaced with the original parts at any time, and all of this can be done with a jack and jack stands/ramps in your driveway.

 
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You actually mean Windows. My Linux box is continually optimizing it's code so it is almost always running faster than the last time I turned it on.

Yeah, I'm not arguing anything. Just trying to point out the gains are mute when you're dealing with such little HP to begin with.

In terms of ruining your car I'm referring to people who have described hydro locking because water has been sucked in through the kn filter and also because of the way the catalytic converter/O2 sensors have to be modified in order for the over sized exhaust to fit my car (not all). People who live places where etesting is in place go through huge headaches because of this.

 
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10 HP from a header hahahahahahaha I'd love to see this test done a few times

 
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LOL you are not arguing anything... (refer to first sentence of quote) anyways I am removing myself from this conversation, so as to not continue a pointless argument, that will inevitably lead to a thread jack (seems it is headed that way already) and constant "im more bad *** on the internet than you are war " I am simply stating something that has been prove... So that being said if H/I/E is what you want to do then do it, because at the end of the day it is what you want not what anyone else says. No one but you has to like it...END RANT...

 
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lol. youre right. you will get performance increase with headers and maybe an exhaust.

....a whole 2-3hp... amazing.


but on a serious note, the stage 1cam will give you much more.

and btw, that dyno in the video is running on the high side...very high side.

in fact, most stockish 7th gens have less than 100whp on the dyno.

 
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I'll just say this. Those numbers are heavilly skewed. They are trying to sell a product after all are they not? Not everything you see online is real, and this is one of those times. There is no way he got 10hp from a header alone.

 
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You are correct, a header will not give you 10HP by it's self. I believe he said in the video that they also put an exhaust on the car before dyno just did not show it.

 
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If you think about it, the stock exhaust on a Honda is pretty big for the engine size. 1.75" exhaust/ 1.7 liter engine. That's over an inch of pipe per liter of displacement. Do you see a new small half ton pickup with say, a chevy 5.3 in it that has a stock 5.5" exhaust? No. Putting an aftermarket larger exhaust on a bigger engine that has a relatively restrictive one will give horsepower gains. On a Civic, the factory exhaust system lets the engine breathe about as much as it needs to, unless you do other mods first.

 
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I agree. The biggest problem with most chassis dynos is you can't control the ambient air temperature and it can make a difference. At the end of the video he even says the temperature was cooler and humidity was higher. Both will increase the HP.

 
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How would you modify a stock 1990 Honda Civic LX ? I want to know most importantly on the high performance ? what too add to make my car a beast? i know a engine swap is needed but which one?

 
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why not?

alot of people (including myself) who buy K+N filters buy them for the $$$ savings, not for increased performance, they pretty much last forever

 
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the key word here is "theory"....and thats all it is,

there is no possible way a simple cam swap could produce another 30HP....i would never believe that unless i saw dyno printouts to prove it....changing a cam in an otherwise stock engine, you would be lucky to get 10HP and even thats pushing it

 
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short ram intake a header lots of cleaning and some preventive maintenance goes a long way for look very little improvement if any but as long as it looks cool that's all that matters and if your like me with not that much money its perfect

 
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Looks like Cam stage1 would be best bang for buck for HP.
I paid about 2g's for intake, headers and a catback back in the day.
Remember buy authentic parts.
Does anyone have more info on the camshaft?