Suggestions on beginnings
 

Hello all :) i am new to the site and as of today am officially a Honda civic owner. I would like some advice on where to begin when it comes to car modifications. i am completely new to this area and am a little overwhelmed by all that can be done to a vehicle. so i figured i would ask if any of you had any suggestions on where i should start first.

i own a 2002 honda civic ex coupe 5 speed manual . d17a2 engine.

any advice would be wonderful, thank you all.

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

lower it and get different rims strictly cosmetic

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

Look into getting all your maintenance done first.

-Brakes bled
-oil change
-coolant change
-timing belt
-drive belt
-mtf
-clutch fluid
-Are your tires in good condition?

Way more important then any mods.

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

Thank you very much for the advice. Will definitely look into that. By the way, what is mtf?

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

manual trans fluid, adversely atf is auto trans fluid like oil for the gears but yeah do maintenance first

intake (ebay then swap better filter on the pipe no sense paying 200 for a pipe with a name on it)

exhaust- mines off ebay and doesnt sound ricey at all
any other small aesthetic mods that you like, interior LED's etc get cheap things out of the way

lower control arms look cool along with strut bars and rear tie bar because race car and since you have an em2 bigger sway bar off rsx-s

wheels- 17" looks good on 7th gen civics but no bigger in my opinion

MOAR LOW- lower it

tint if you want it then after all this there isnt much left besides boosting and rebuilding the engine you can swap a k series in from an rsx or si and/or turbo but these are expensive and will probably take a few years to save up for

OH! stage 1 cam or is moderately expensive but will show gains

anoher thing to add to maintenance list is bang your cabin filter out! you'll wanna throw up when you see whats stuck in there :_puke:

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

Pretty sure cams require tuning so that will bring the prices up dramatically.

Keep the car in good condition. You will be suprised what fresh clutch fluid can do. Did me wonders in my S2000.

Learn the car a bit, learn whats what and learn to do maintenance items first.

I always see cars with nice wheels with primes panels and poor maintenance and its funny because even the the wheels are nice quality wheels the man can not maintain his own vehicle.

I dont know why I am rambling on..

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

thank you all for you replies. :) will get right on checking this baby out. btw car books by "insert bran name here" that are specific for your model vehicle that you buy from pep boys or auto zone any good? i literally have no experience in car repairs and personally maintaining a vehicle but that's something i want to learn to do with this vehicle. i have of course always had maintenance taken care of on my last vehicle but i never did it myself, i took it to a car shop and such

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

Crower's stage one doesn't require tuning. Tuning helps with power, but it runs fine without it.

^This.

Also, with suspension, you can get the most bang for your buck. You can get a good strut tower bar for about $100 used. Neuspeed is a good one, and I heard the DC sports since-piece one is good, too. Also, surf some rsx forums, you can find someone parting out their old equipment. You upgrade your stock 13mm rear sway bar with an RSX 19 or 22mm rear sway bar with no modifications. I would recommend some beefier endlinks for that, though.

If you need help finding parts online..
OEM
www.hondapartscheap.com
www.hondaautomotiveparts.com

you'll find oem parts at a fraction of dealership prices, and even though shipping prices kinda suck and you'd have to wait a little while longer, you'll still save money. Local dealership wanted 250 for a head gasket kit, I told them I could get it for $180 overnighted from one of these websites. They did eventually cave in, but they could only drop down to $185. These parts are genuine OEM parts, too.

Aftermarket
www.dezod.com
www.thmotorsports.com

Both sites I can personally vouch for, and both used to be SUPER active vendors on this site. Dezod has a smaller selection, and their shipping prices suck pretty bad, but their prices are still pretty good. They're also official dealers for a lot of different brands. Their customer support is top-notch, as well. They'll help you out with lots of tech problems and I'm pretty sure they'd give suggestions based on your budget if you asked. They've done extensive R&D with the D17 and even had their own turbo kit that made some great power.

THMotorsports's prices are really good, also, and their shipping policy is pretty awesome. Orders over $99 ships for free, some exceptions would probably be oversized things like bumpers or side skirts. Hell, they ship rims for free, and those can get a bit heavy. They always have 2-5% coupon codes going on, and return customers always get 2% off their orders, even if there's no valid coupons. They have a much larger selection of parts than Dezod does.

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

I agree with the maintenance thing. What good is modding your car if it needs new cv axles, or head gasket, or wheel bearings, you know? I suggest going through and changing as many fluids as you can, like it's been said already. After that, jack your car up one wheel at a time and shake the wheel back and forth. Sure, it's gonna want to turn, but if it "rattles," it's more than likely going to need bearings. Also, check all rubber pieces. (e.g. Tie rod boots.) Does your car make any weird noises, especially any "popping" noises? Does it accelerate smoothly? Does the clutch slip or grind at all? Also, when changing your fluids, don't forget to have your brake fluid changed. You'd be surprised how many people don't do that. The brakes have your life in their hands.
The list can get pretty extensive. Dont let all of that scare you any. To sum it all up...if you have been driving for more than a couple of years, you know what seems wrong. Does anything seem out of place or "off?" If it sounds perfectly normal, and all fluids are changed, I wouldnt worry too much.
After your car is in good running condition, THEN you can start modding. You have been given some really good info so far. I will preach this all day every day....the NUMBER ONE mod anyone should make is tires. It doesn't matter how much power you are making or how good your suspension is. If you can't put that power to ground, then it does you no good. Your tires are the ONLY thing that makes contact with the ground. Find out what kind of tire you need for YOUR application, and get the best you can afford. After you're done with that, then worry about the other stuff. It's hard to say what you should do first.

Re: Suggestions on beginnings
 

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