Just bought my first car, 99 Civic Ex Coupe

I'm looking to add some power, can anyone give me some advice as to where to start for some added horsepower for the least $..the most bang for my buck??

thanks

 

do you plan on going turbo in the future?
if so, get an exhaust and a high-flow catalytic converter for now (don't get intake and header, they will be replaced by turbo components and are therefore a waste of money if you plan on turboing later)

if you're not ever going turbo or not anytime in the near future, get intake, header, exhaust, high-flow catalytic converter

also, get some better shocks and springs and some strut bars, to help with handling. HP is nothing on a car with bad handling.


P.S. Power isn't cheap. For that matter, nothing on cars is cheap. If you cheap out on a part, you will end up replacing it again.

 

thanks man!
can you recommend any exaust to me? something you really like?
also, how does it sound? how will it effect the performance of the car?
obviously, this is all new to me xD

 

I really like the Apex-i WS2. It's nice and quiet (only a little louder than stock) during steady RPMs (aka normal cruising), moderately loud under normal acceleration, and screams nice and loud under real heavy acceleration. I think it sounds great. Nice tone, and it also has a good muffler design.
It's not one of those coffee can looking mufflers. You can see it in my photo gallery, but it won't stick out that far on your car. It sticks out on mine because it was made for a different civic and modified to fit my car.

Pretty much all aftermarket exhausts will affect your HP the same. A realistic number is probably a 5 to 7 hp gain. (the advertised gains on any exhaust is a lie. keywords "up to" 15hp on their ads. up to 15 includes 0.)

you can find a WS2 catback new on ebay for about $450 total (with shipping). that's a really good deal compared to many other name brand exhausts.

 

thanks again man, but got any ideas for something with a bit higher noise, or do you think i'd be over doing it?

 

Truthfully, i have had a loud exhaust before. It gets really old really fast. When you're driving on the interstate and can't hear your stereo very well, you'll want to burn it. When I took that catback off my car I threw it about 20 feet. That thing was the most annoying thing I have ever had on a car.
If you want it louder, get a header, intake, and high flow cat too. it'll sound great with that combo. the clips you've probably heard on youtube of the ws2 probably either had bad sound quality (recording wise) or only had the exhaust on the car and nothing else.

 

Check out andysautosport.com. They have pretty good prices and a wide selection of parts. and its good just to browse and see what parts are available, or read the descriptions.

And by the way, a catback is a waste of money. I remember a car magazine (i think importtuner.com) did a dyno on a '95 Civic hatchback after it had a catback installed. it only gained 1 horsepower.

Id say start with a short ram intake. easy to install and good power for the money

 

please don't get a loud exhaust. have you ever noticed how really high performance cars NEVER have a loud exhaust? instead, it is associated with old beaters and ricers. it will **** people off more than it will impress anyone. and like trustdestruction said, its really annoying after the first week.

 

there is no point of having just an intake or just exhaust the motor runs better with exhaust and intake they are the breathing components when you get just an intake it will actually suck because if all the air is being brought in than it has to have a good flowing exhaust to let it out

 

There's no way that's true. I think the number you are providing is incorrect. The same people did a dyno test on high-flow cat vs. stock cat and it gained 4HP. How would a high-flow cat give better gains than putting on a catback with 2.25" piping (a whole .5" bigger diameter than stock)?

If you look at this article, here's an S2000, that gained 8HP by installing a catback exhaust.
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...000/index.html

Here, this Civic Si gained 6HP
http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage..._si/index.html

good suggestion. either intake or exhaust would be the two places to start. I'd say go with exhaust though and get the more expensive component out of the way.