I have a stock 97 CIVIC HX that i've owned for about 5 years. I've done a good job maintaining the car, but have never really had an interest in doing any upgrades/mods until recently.I just purchased a CAI and an ebay chip(whoops) prior to reading the thread about them here. Other than the CAI, is there anything semi-easy that a beginner could do to upgrade? I am very interested in learning, but not quite sure where to begin. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

cat back exhaust system. easy to install. uses stock hangers and just have to take some bolts off. usually costs a lil money to get a good one. throw the ebay chip away.

 

bigger throttle body! more air to the motor

 

I have about 3500$ that I canspend. My current engine just hit 162k miles. Is it worth doing 600-900$ worth of maintenance and putting the rest into upgrades, or should I do an engine swap for something with less miles? If I do an engine swap, what would you guys recommend getting? I'm still very new to the whole upgrade/modding process.. so I would definately have to pay someone to instal the new engine for me.. anyone know about what that should cost and what engine would be the fastest for what amount is left?

 

3500 to spend... thats a goiod amount of money to spend... yeah start with a carback exhaust... simple bolt on and then go for new headers and a downpipe which are usually bolt on... then get a small turbo

 

do you have the HX's actual motor in there? I ask because down here where i live, rarely does a civic have the actual engine that its trim level states.

Another question, what are your goals with this car/engine? do you plan to road race, track, drag strip? what are you aiming at? what power are you wanting to achieve?

There are 4 ways for you to go: Nitrous, Supercharger, Turbo, Naturally Aspirated.

4 ways to hook up your engine but it all depends upon your goal. I also wrote them in order of cost from cheapest to most expensive. N/A CAN GET EXPENSIVE. Turbo is a simple way to go. Supercharging is alright too and helps produce a nice amount of power. It helps give the civic a nice flat torque curve so acceleration is always predictable. Turbo is the best for producing power because its the most flexible out of all 4. Nitrous Oxide is a nice quick and cheap way to increase power. $500 will get you anywhere between 35 to 75 hp in the push of a button! The set back is that NOZ is stressful to the engine and whatever you do, you'll needa build up your engine.

 

I do have the original HX engine in the car, but my concern is that it has 162,000 miles on it. Based on everything I've read on the site, a turbo is probably the best way to go, but Do I want to put it on an engine that might only survive another 40k miles? My question is whether I should spend the money replacing all the belts/hoses, giving it a tune-up and hope for the best, or whether I should buy a new engine and get the upgrades a bit later. My goal is to have a "fast" car thats fun to drive. I love my HX, it's got a lot of go power, but I want more. I don't really plan to do any major racing, but extra speed would definately be nice.