i've had my 05 honda civic dx for 2 years and i just want to beef it up a little bit.. nothing really major.. i've ordered an air intake just to get a little better gas mileage.. but what else can i do to make somewhat a difference..without an engine swap.. ha.. is a header worth doing? should i get catback exhaust? i dont really want to sound like coke cans coming down the road..

thank,

robby

 

IMHO don't buy parts for mileage bcuz you will not save enough on gas to make the purchase worth it, especially since usually peeps end up driving faster to use the parts for what they were intended to do.

also i believe switching out the header on a dx is not street legal, at least in CA...if that matters to you

with an intake header and exhaust MAYBE you could get like 12ish hp. whether it's worth it or not...i dunno... there's not really a lot of options for our year short of spending a crapload for turbo

 

If you want power without spending lots of money, a 50 shot nos kit might be for you.

If you want fuel economy, do one or more of the following:

-take out all seats that you won't be using (front passenger, rear passenger)
-fill up your tires with air up to the tire sidewall pressure, instead of your car's door jamb pressure (going up to 45 or 55 psi instead of the honda-recommended ~33 psi)
-don't drive with the ac on
-use a lower viscosity oil (instead of 10w-30, try 5w-20 or 10w-20, or even 0w-20 if you're feeling ambitious)
-take out your spare
-drive no faster than 65mph (or 55 mph, conditions allowing--clear visibility and few/no cars on road)
-keep less than 1/2 a tank of gas in your car unless you need more than that for your trip