I just inherited a 00 Civic EX with super low miles and i want to get more power out of the motor without swapping or turbo etc, although i would like to know what motors would swap easily and reliably. I know a cold air intake, headers, exhaust are common reliable upgrades but i have heard that this motor doesnt gain much with those add ons. Does anyone have any advice as to how i can make this thing faster.

 

You can make it go round corners better with strut bars, lowering, ect.. But as for engine, the intake headers, and exhaust are the main things you're gonna wanna do before thing start getting really expensive. And trust me, you're gonna wanna get those anyway.

 

i have a 00 civic with lots of miles, so instead of spending $1000 to replace timing belt, which hasn't been done(135k miles) I'm going to hope it holds until i get a swap later this year(3k) and it'll have about 100k less miles. Newer engine+more power+other mods=

 

This is the age old question on these forums... You can always accomplish "faster" by removing weight, but then you have to decide what you want your driving experience to be like. You will never accomplish "fast" without a turbo or a swap. It all depends on what your willing to settle for. In my opinion if your going to do "it", then to do "it" right. Not everyone has the time, money, experience, or dedication to accomplish this though. So take it in small steps. Start with suspension, brakes, and slowly transform the vehicle to support a larger engine, handle the road better, increase braking power. When you finish one upgrade save up for the next keeping in mind your original plan for what you want to accomplish.

To me it sounds like you need to spend a week or so reading these forums. Gather information and learn from others. Then start asking real questions and get meaningful responses.

 

Its actually around 3-400 bucks. And once that belt snaps, your engine is pretty much screwed

 

Timing belt is $47.38 fromthe honda dealer near me... so do it yourself and it will not cost any more than that.

 

Then after you have garunteed the life of the engine you can sell it and get some of your money back, instead of screwing it completly.