Header, Intake, & Exhaust - Intake, Headers or Exhaust 1st?

Hey everyone finally decided to do something with my 2006 Honda Civic EX.

Gonna get a intake/header/exhaust but I don't know which to purchase first. Does it really matter which one you still first or can you do them in any order?

I plan on getting a AEM intake, don't know about the others though.

I'm looking for something that will make a nice sound, not too ricey, and bring noticeable HP gains.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Well it depends on whether or not you want to install a turbo kit in your car later on the road...if the answer is yes, then don't spend the money on intake or headers, because parts of the turbo kit will replace them; go with exhaust...

if your going NA, then choose between intake or exhaust...from what i hear (even though this might be false), its useless to have headers if you have a stock exhaust system...

Me personally? I installed my AEM V2 intake first, with my Apex'i GT Spec Cat Back exhaust coming 2nd...AEM is a great choice and you will notice some gain in HP...

hope this helped you

for me, i did intake, exhaust, header

i did exhaust first then intake, but i don't have a full exhaust, just a tip. (getting a skunk2 with header within the next month or 2). it doesn't really matter.

if you're new to cars, do the intake first. you'll get hands on experience. for the exhaust, get a shop to do it for you. getting off the old bolts is a PIA and will surely piss you off unless you have a lot of patience. plus, some exhausts don't bolt on perfect so they'll have to tweak it a bit. the header is a mediocre task, because i had a 2 piece. with 1, i can imagine it'll be harder

I say do the intake first. Like my05 said, it'll give you wrench time under the hood if you're new. As for me, I did: Intake (the first mod, back when I knewnext tonothing about cars), Header (when I started learning how engines actually worked), and then Exhaust. And adding a header to a stock exhaust system isn't going to do much since the exhaust flow might be great going into the cat, but it'll get restricted in the stock exhaust tubing.

OR you could do exhaust first... it'll gain about as much power as an intake, maybe a bit more.

yeah, i installed a magnaflow catback on mine and it sounds good, not raspy. only 400 shipped. I wish that aem would hurry up and make the short ram intake though, i don't want the cold air kit.

Yeah i agree go for intake first, i put an Injen SR, Bosal Brospeed Catback, and DC-Sport 4-2-1 header and im definetely happy with everything, no problems at all. Just make sure you get a decent filter dont get a pos or the intake will be worthless

Go for the intake first then exhaust.

thanks for all the replies guys. Im gonna go for the Intake first then :P now I need to decide whether to get CAI or SRI

SRI... easier install, great throttle response, and the power difference between SRIs and CAIs isn't even noticeable (probably 1hp or less).

not to mention sri is cheaper;)

Well what if I was going to get someone to put it in for me so installation isn't a concern? Still stick with the SRI cause I went to procivic.com and found two CAI that they are selling.

http://www.procivic.com/pages-main_pg/category-70_85/engine-air-intake.html

More help welcomed!

chrome or stainless steal headers?

wow josh... talk about random. i know your a newbie but jesus. can't you search? maybe start your own thread....

hey AEC, don't get somebody to do the install for you. it's kinda pricy. also, i still say go with SRI.

snap. alright. thanks

depends on what you call pricy though. my friend had a shop install it for $45. for a 30 min job, i think it's too much

they said its $75

o.O yea, definitely don't tell somebody to do it for you lol.

dude seriously, if you can't install the intake, you shouldn't be modding cars, it's not your thing. I understand you've just never done it, but that's why this is the perfect thing to start on, it's an exploratory install. if you have any questions while installing, come on here and ask people. The intake was for me, like with many other people, the first thing I installed. Have fun with it.

P.S. V2 intake=pwnge