hey i just bought a 2003 honda civic lx and i need some opinions. It is an automatic so is there any point in putting any parts in the engine? What could i do to make it look better, if i got a body kit it would have to be able to come off pretty easily because i live in manitoba and we get quite a bit of snow here in the winter. Please reply i need some help.

 

there's no point on wasting ur money on parts for the engine. It's gonna be slow no matter wut, unless u put a turbo in it, but if u do u, you'll have to do some engine work so ur block and head could hold that much hp. It's a couple of g's to do all that. Your best bet is to hook up the exterior and interior. And maybe in the long run you could do a engine swap.

 

Disagree on the turbo bit of that statement. From what I've learned on this forum, Honda engines can handle up to 50% more power beyond their standard horsepower before you have to start worrying about the integrity of the internals. As far as I know, Pete doesn't have any thing done internally to his engine and he's rockin a turbo with no problems. But a good turbo is still pretty expensive and the automatic transmission of your car is robbing you of power to the wheels in the long run. I'd suggest just rocking the standard intake/header/exhaust combo to get some gains unless you're willing to do a full auto ---> manual swap. You could just go exterior and interior and go for show, but I think in the long run we all seek more power. Good luck with your decisions.

 

The biggest problem with your car is prolly gonna be the auto trans as Mad7s said. The engine can handle quite a bit of power, Pete is gonna be running 200WHP on the stock motor (it has head studs) but he is beating the crap out of the auto trans.

 

^ agree with the intake/header/exhaust set up. wont cost you more than 1k and u'll get some power and nice sound out of it. as for body, i personally hate body kits, if anything i suggest a lip kit since u say u have snow and all to worry about. i've seen a lot of cracked body kits out there and just makes it look even worse than it already is....plus body kits cost a pretty penny and have to be painted as well...

 

I've seen alot of cracked body kits and i rarely see one that i like but thats my personal opinion. If you like it go for it.

 

it all depends what u like if u like body kits then get one . there not hard to switch for the winter. just be careful when driving with a body kit i had one for more then 4 years only cracked one bumper because of my stupidity. it was raining i had the car way to low and hit a big pothole going to fast.

 

screw the D17. get an EG or EK (anything 92-00)

 

The D17 isnt that horrible of an engine unless its naturally aspirated [sm=roll.gif]

 

The D17 isn't a horrible engine at all. No it won't make tremendous power like most of the other D series. It can still be made into a fun street car though. It's like going to a college without an abundance of hot women, you just have to set your standards a lil lower lol. No but seriously I/H/E and a wet kit is your best bet.