Hey all,

I own a 91 civic dx hatchback that I use as a daily commuter. It has 150k miles on it and I'd like to put a little money in it (emphasis on little) to get a little more power out of it. So far from checking out this great site I have found the following info:

Iridium plugs
Tsudo cat back exhaust
cold air system (any recommendations? K&N?)
wires (what would be some good ones?)

Anyway, any other modification suggestions that are relatively inexpensive would be a great help.

I appreciate any info you could send my way!!

All the best,
Joe

 

dont bother with performance wires unless yours are shot. they arnt worth the money. ive seen mostly stock and lightly modified(read: NA, without major internal work.)civics lose power with aftermarket wires. unless you plan on adding a performance ignition.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll stick with the stock wires then.

No plans of upgrading the ignition as of yet. Maybe down the road.

Thanks again!!
-Joe

 

good call. BTW, when my 95 coupe had the stock sohc non-vtec in it, one of the most impressive things i ever did for power and drivability was to put a timing light on it and advance the timing to 18* BTDC, then you have to be sure to run premium gas. 91 octane minimum. my quarter mile times dropped a couple of tenths, the low end was amazing, i could hang with b-powered civs and crxs until the top of second gear, and, as a bonus, my gas mileage went from about 22-23 to 29-33 all city driving! highway was up around 45-50+, incredible little low cost mod.

 

WOW!! That is pretty damned impressive!!

I will definately look into doing the same thing when I start doing my mods.

Thanks again for the info!!

-Joe

 

mpfi conversion is a must! should run you around $150 in parts, although the conversion itself isnt for the un-skilled. the iridium plugs i would say no too as the denso's are dyno proven only helping with forced induction and nitrous applications. cold air intake, aem gets my vote although they are pricey. the cat back will definatly make a few more ponies. but what exactly is your budget and what do you intend on doing with the car? another cost effective investment is an si tranny.

 

You'll have to forgive my ignorance but what is 'mpfi conversion'?
I am new to the mod curcuit, although I am not all together green under the hood.
I've done a few repair jobs, ie, swap out a radiator, swap out a dash, etc on some old cars quite a few years ago.
Those were American cars though. A whole different animal.

Anyway, I am planning on doing the modifcations in a piece-meal fashion. Just a bit at a time as I can set aside the cash to get certain jobs done.
How much do the SI trannies go for? I live in Southern California so I would assume I can get most parts pretty easily. I have a friend who just bought an Acura RSX and has had a bunch of stuff done to it through some guys in Torrance. I plan on taking my car over there and talking to those guys, but I'd like some info first before going in.

As for what I intend to do with the car, a suped up commuter is all I really want at this stage. Something to contend with the LA traffic and have fun doing it, without blowing a fortune.

Thanks for the info!! Its definately appreciated!!

 

mpfi stands for multi-port fuel injection. it is an upgrade from the lower tech dual point fuel injection of the pre 92 hondas. that would be a good start on your mods, you might want to look for a d16z6 intake manifold for your motor, it is the 92-95 sohc vtec manifold, and will flow noticeably better than the stock one. aqnother oem choice is the 96-00 sohc vtec manifold off of the d16y8 engine. it is a little better than the z6, but it is a lot more expensive.

 

I did some research online after your last post and got some info.
Thanks!! All the info is really great. Now when I go to the speed shop I won't be so ignorant.

I'll do some research and check out what the 2 different manifolds go for and see if I can get some good deals online.
Know of any sites? As for the 96-00 sohc vtec manifold, would you say the extra money for it is worth it? Or is it just a little better performance for way more money??

 

itd be worth 20 bucks or so more, i havent really been watching the prices lately, but ebay is a great place to start. if you find any promising ones, post the item numbers and ill check em out to see if they are worth it. also, ive got a Z6 manifold, but its just the manifold, i dont think i have all the injectors and accessories, but if your interested, let me know.