New Member Introductions - Realistic N/A EXpectations

Hi, I'm new to the forums and am currently looking at a new civic. I'm a mild sport compact enthusiast currently in college, I now drive a 96 Dodge Avenger 5spd with all the basic mods (exhuast, headers, air intake, shocks) but am getting somewhat tired of it and have always found it to be somewhat of a lemon. I took it to a track once and my best time was a 16.5, so my expectations for my next car aren't set very high. I've been looking at a lot of different cars ranging from acuras to eclipses, and today I saw a 95 civic ex 4door 5 spd with only 56k miles for $4900. I know a little about hondas but not much. I know it has 125hp instead of 127, but is still a VTEC. I guess my question is what is a realistic N/A horsepower goal without going nuts (ie engine swap, or getting deep with internals)? I would be pretty happy with a car that ran low 15s. I also don't want a loud exhaust anymore, so either subtract that extra 5-10 hp from the math or tell me if there are any quiet performance ones. I figure CA intake, pulleys, headers, plugs = about 160. Would a VTEC controller chip help or does that just change the VTEC point (don't really know what I'm talkin about here)? Anyway if anyone could provide some answers it would help me a lot. Thanks.

welcome to the site. you picked a good one for (mostly) unbiased info and a good natured atmosphere. street sniper and 90civtegra both posted great write ups on exactly what you are looking for. f.y.i. the motor in that 95, 4-door EX is the same one from the SI of that same year. its nice because it has vtec already and a good bit of tuning options. if you get that car you can easily get into the 15's with a few choice mods. as far as a quiet exhaust goes if you read street snipers post youll find the greddy evo 2 is a good choice for power and quiet op. dont forget to check out the member photo album and vote for ride of the month. also hcf stickers are on sale now too if yo are interested in that. good luck in finding that perfect honda for you

You know, 160 seems like it would be a pretty realistic goal... to the crank, that's what the B16A is rated at. There are probably some drivetrain aspects, but Sacicons had a B16 with a cold air intake and he said he was runnin 15.4's with traction problems. My point is, 160 ought to get you into the mid 15's, but you are gonna need a cat-back, high flow cat and maybe an intake manifold and/or throttle body to get there along with the parts you mentioned earlier (I would reconsider the pulleys though). As far as the V-Tec controller goes... get that Civic (I have a 5th gen too), get it breathing right, and then we can talk ecu's.

By the way, welcome to HCF.

Thanks for the info so far. 2 things: First, I read a lot of people saying how good the evoII sounds, which makes me worry. How quiet is it compared to stock?
Second, why should I avoid underdrive pulleys?

The EVO II is probably just quiet compared to most other aftermarkets. It's a lot lower and doesn't have that "splatty" sound. It sounds tough. Someone posted a video clip on here of it at idle and revving it but I can't find it now.

Don't take this as gospel but, from what I understand Hondas are pretty delicately balanced (the motor) and the big ass heavy crank pulley is part of that balance. Any imperfection in the machining of an aftermarket one could cause wobble resulting in host of bad news. Trusted brands like AEM are probably Ok but there are other ways to make horsepower or lighten your ride that are a lot safer. Besides, if you have any kind of stereo like I do, you will need every amp you can get out of that alternator. Do a search for "pulleys" or something like that and read what some of the other guys have to say on the subject.

[sm=welcomesign.gif] to HCF!!!

yea pullies are a bad idea cuz ur system will be starved for power........how much money were u plannin on spending total? Welcome to the forum

I jus posted a video clip of my car with the greddy evo2, and Aem v2 in the intake, headers, and exhaust section. Check it out if u wanna hear the exhaust

if you dont use too much electrical power for a stereo or something, then underdrive pulleys are fine. but the crank pulley is what gets you into trouble. it works as a harmonic balancer, and you obviously wouldnt want to run it without that.

ok sacicons, i got an underdrive pulley. since i havent managed to get my car on the road due to a freshly blown head gasket i am changing this weekend and some other b.s. (ashamed to admit this). i was wondering... what IS going to happen if i run my stereo system and all that jazz with the new underdrive pulley? i really dont want to sacrifice my stereo, and i didnt know there were negative side effects to putting that damn thing on my motor. seems like one thing after the other, not gonna give up though.

I ran underdrive pulleys on my Mustang with all of my stereo and I went through alternators like laxitive through a goose. You could upgrade to a high output alternator and prob be fine. I would run underdrive pulleys but the only ones I see are the crank ones. Do they make the individual ones?

Hey, Elfreaky. Why don't you come down for the AutoX this weekend?

ok well as far as individual pulleys i dont know. the one i have is a 3 in one (crank, a/c, and power steering or something) i only use the crank and ac slots. i will look for a high output altenator. i might just steal the one off my v-8 i have in the yard. it should work. anyway, thanks for the tip.