I own a 1996 two door EX Honda Civic, 1.6L I4 engine and want to enhance my performance, though i am not so savvy on car performance or engines. i can work my way around but have no idea where to start. any advice or ideas? would appreciate if you let me know!

 

Start on the Suspension, then save your money for a nice exhaust, when thats all done move on to a motor swap.

 

How much money do you have to spend on the car? That is a huge determination of how much power you can get out of your current motor/car.

 

i plan on adding over time, i work quite a bit so money flow doesn't really slow much, i just need to know where to start at, right now i have about 2,000...

 

First, start off with a Cold-Air Intake (CAI). It's one of the easiest things to install on a car, and we have plenty of walk-throughs and how-to's on this site for the install. It'll help you familiarize yourself with the engine bay a bit, as well as getting used to turning wrenches.

Next, install a header. It's not much more involved than installing a CAI, but it's a lot more time consuming due to potentially rusted/seized bolts on the exhaust, as well as cramped working conditions if you have A/C (considering you have an EX, I'm guessing you do).

Next, a cat-back exhaust. It's about as difficult as installing a header (not very), but it's less time consuming as you have a little more room to work with.

After those three, you should be getting used to turning wrenches, as well as picking up ~10whp or so. After that, I'd move on to the suspension. Personally, I'd go with Ground Control coilovers, KONI struts, and a set of sway bars. Also, lightweight wheels and good tires will help a lot with the performance of your car.

You could probably get everything I mentioned for $2k to $2500. I'd suggest installing the intake/header/exhaust combo over one weekend, then work on the suspension the next weekend or the weekend after that.