What are your thoughts on this setup...
 

well i bought "new" civic 2001 civic lx sedan auto and i have been "researching" some parts and i wanted to know what you guys think of the setup and how much power it might add to the engine here we go.... Secret Weapon short ram intake with bored throttle body on a D16y8 intake manifold, aem true power pulleys and whatever there cam is called, mini me head swap ported and polished w/ stage 2 crower camshaft w/ springs and retainers, ex pistons for extra compression, kamikazee 2.5 " catless header w/ Dc sports 2.5 " exhaust (not many others work on the sedan) sun auto hyper voltage gt ,type s grounding ,and there hot earth muffler ground(for shits and giggles) optima yellow top battery, IPT or level 10 torque convertor w/ IPT rebuild kit (im not sure if it is for the auto or not) , then to top it of the e-manage ultimate (somethin like that) dyno tuned... a mouth full .. now lets hope i didnt forget anything and i lwets see what you think ... be gentle

none its auto

seriously, i have the exact same car as you. keep it stock and add a kit/rims and stuff but no engine mods. unless, you want to k swap.

yeah wat he said

seriously. people on the board have done similar set up with a max of 25 horsepower increase. With the amount of money you are spending it would not be worth it. If you just save the money for all the mods you want to do and add a couple thousand dollars more you could afford a k swap which would be more beneficial.. Our cars are good for three things... MPG, reliability ( to most) and if supension is modded correctly auto X... With whatever you do goodluck and do it right the first time

ok i have a couple questions to ask , to start off with what is the limiting factor that makes this engine so none responsive to moddification?Im aware that sohc engines are not as friendly but y ? does it deal with the way the exhaust is expelled or what? in short what would make this engine responsive to mods(not saying i could do it)? i would love to get a kswap i really would but im what some call poor and there are not any shops that i am aware of around my location, i would choose to get smaller mods because it is more conveint for me because of my low budget.. i will appreciate any useful information that you guys can tell me thanks

if you want a fast car, trade that one in and get something fast...

The engine was designed to be economical. So you can either go for a car that was designed to perform, or stick with your civic and get an engine to perform (k series) or go turbo.
Those are you options and you will find a lot of information on the last two here w/ a minimal search

Exactly what everyone has said. Save your money, your car isnt going to be fast without spending an absolute fortune. Keep it stock and wait until one day you can buy a faster car and then go wild on mods on that.

or you can turbo your little d17 :-p A good motor with a good tune will give you a reliable economical turbo'd car. and when god forbid you "blow your engine" just like you would "going wild on mods" on any other car, a d17 will cost you much less than a grand for the whole engine where as other engines would leave you greater in debt. But thats crazy talk D17's are strong ! heheh :-D

hmmm im ok with the fact that without major mods it wont be a really fast car just faster than it is now.... i have a few final questions then i will leave u guys be... first to deal with the tranny what would you say to the rebuild kit and the torque convertor with one of the new tranmissions controls... the way i understand it can be made with this controller into a slap stick transmission and/or shifter...i know its not the real kind but it would allow for more control.... i thought this sounded unique i dont know if i could do this but what would u think about this? and if you guys have a problem with me wanting to work on my car to make it more of my own and a little faster please dont leave stupid comments thank you guys

there's nothing wrong w/ making it your own. We are just telling you that the hp/$ ratio is really low

All the mods you listed at the beginning sound more expensive than a turbo, so if you find the cash, go that route. Otherwise, maybe just basic stuff like an intake and cat back exhaust might give you a couple hp, and it'll sound better. If you really wanna go fast, you're going to have to get something that's not a civic, and designed for performance not economy. Until then, have fun with what you got, try the transmission idea if you can figure out how (i have no ideas) and realize that while our cars are slow, there are plenty of guys stuck driving minivans that would love to have even a stock civic.

Every car is unique and I feel you should do what you want. That way when you show ur car, or friends are looking at it or whatever...they have something to see that they have'nt seen 1000 times before already. I am being different with my car too..

all of that MIGHT bring your car to 110 whp... but i doubt it'll be that high...

I totally agree with u on that

has anyone ever used these new transmission controls?PCS Programmable Electronic Automatic Transmission Controller?what about Twist Machine Shrifter paddle shifters? yet more questions.....are all the guys on here that are going all motor just beefing up the internal compression or how do they get 140 ish whp?thanks for all your help guys

well they get 140ish whp by having a manual. couple get pistons i believe, cams, ecu mods, intake, exhaust... but the manual itself + having an EX will give you an extra 20 or so hp...

I have the same exact car as you and been through enough to tell you that your first mods should be:

1. Beefed up transmission
2. Transmission cooler

Go fast straight? Turbocharger or K swap.
Go fast turning? Suspension.

Some of us have been here since the 7th gen was first released and we've seen mods come and go.
Trust us when we say that a mild turbo + beefed up transmission is all it takes to give you a cost effective and reliable daily driver with enough pick up to keep you satisfied.

If this is not a dail driver and a full project car...please ditch the D17!

well thank you LiKEaFeRiO for your advice. i am planning on getting a turbo but i have no way of affording it right now, i will take your advice and beef up the transmission and get a cooler as one of my very first mods . im going to get the sercret weapon short ram first just cause i need a new air filter and i would rather just get the intake with it and make it sound a little better on accel. what is the best way on a auto to get more power to the pavement? still wondering if anyone has used these controllers or the paddle shifters.... and yes this is a daily driver

stick with the intake until you get the turbo. its useless to do anything else esp to auto. save up and rebuild the trans, then boost it or just get a motor swap.

hmmm can you tell me anything about the transmission controls? or the shrifter paddle shifters?i was going to upgrade the electrical parts that i listed just cause they say it makes the car run smoother and not a whole lot to other things until i do get a turbo , so far i have decided to do the intake , the transmission rebuild and get torque convertor, then the sun auto gt voltage stabilizer and type s grounding and maybe the aem pulley.... not alll to make faster just more effeicient i suppose.. along with these an whole new stereo... i dont need this car to be a "track demon" just something that will get me to school everyday and treat me well... but i thank you guys for you comments

can you tell me if the aem pulley is underdriven? i looked at the part and it said it was slightly enlarged over stock so this confused me...does making it larger underdrive it? and just so you know even if these mods dont do anything to the performance in anyway i just enjoy working on cars thats why i want to "waste" my money on mods that wont do that much its just my way of finding enjoyment and yes im only 17 so you dont have to be negative towards the future of car enthusiastsl.. and hell by the time i can afford a turbo it wont be such a sin to try and do something with the D17

or you could save your money from all the stuff you'ld waste it on... and get a turbo sooner?

i could get it but could not get it on the car....i live in a hick town where the word car is unheard of...the closest shop is either 3 or 4 hours away...i dont really trust not having my car that far from me..i can do these upgrades i speak of thats why i want to do them

well... you could do turbo yourself... it appears you have plenty of time to do research while you raise the funds...

Sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind. Looks like you're going to stay N/A, and just build up your internals. Definitely the most expensive way to go, but if you're gonna do it all yourself, and that's what you can do, go for it. In the end, it won't be the fastest, but it'll be yours. Good luck.

that's the thing... it sounds like he DOES want to go turbo.. eventually. for now he just wants to waste money on other stuff though, then get rid of it and go turbo. :_disgust: :_disgust:

Don't be hatin... Haha the guy just doesn't have it all figured out yet... Give him time. Few more days and he'll realize what the 7thgen's all about.

In fact, here's how I see it. Our car, being an EMII or ESI, is not fast. It was not meant to be, and usually isn't. However, with the right amount of money, it can be made into a respectable sleeper, which is attractive in and of itself. But that's beside the point. I've noticed how this forum is different from other on the web, and started to wonder why. When I say different, there's a lot higher ratio of intelligence/member count on this site than others. And I can't help but think it has something to do with the fact that our car is inherantly slow. There are very few ricers on this forum, and most all the members can at least pretend to be intelligent. That's not the case with other forums. Everyone on here can tell you what to do to fix your problem, and tell you why. Why is that? Because it takes intelligence to make a 7thgen 'vic fast.

So what am I saying? Slow cars breed intelligence? Not exactly. Hell, I don't know. It's just an observation.


Jake

Well said! I don't know what it is either. The Civic is practical above most cars, it's economical, reliable and somewhat sporty, the only thing it really lacks is speed, however that can be solved by dressing it up and making look faster than it is :giggle:. A civic that has a custom suspension can be just as much fun to drive as a car that will suck you back in your seat imo, and that's what most people do on this site (suspension), which is the more practical mod as opposed to spray/swap/turbo.

well ricer gibbs i would have to agree with you lol but none of the mods will really hurt a turbo set up but yes i will just ditch them when i get out of this town and into a turbo , and yes i am just going to waste money on the mods. but in a sense most mods on any car other than a compitetion car are a "waste" of money so does it really make a difference? with these mods i will have fun driving my car maybe more than if it didnt have them but im still having fun, and hey they may make certain parts of the engine less squeaky and others more enjoyable ... and if i get the paddle shifters with the suspension and the others smaller mods i can have more fun shifting and going "fast" through the curves... and it will make my friends think my car is even cooler cause it different and not what everyone has , especially around here. im not saying you guys cant tell me what you think its called an opinion and we all have one. i think this will make my car more enjoyable for me , plus i think a paddle shifter would be bad a$$ and fun so ya. anyways thanks for your guys input and comments keep um coming