I read all the stickies and researched this part of the forum as much as I could, but that brings up as many questions as it answers. What started this is I believe I have an exhaust problem and might need to do some work there anyways. My motivation for this is first efficiency then performance, so I don't want anything that will ruin the cars longevity or mpg (I don't think any of this will).

Exhaust: I'm thinking of getting a magnaflow muffler w/ getting custom piping from the cat (either 2" or 2 1/4"). Question is do I need a resonator (if so recommendations/prices). This is a stock 05 civic ex sedan currently w/ no mods. Also, what would be diff in hp between this set up and say, Megan's cat-back exhaust?

Intake: I was looking at an AEM SRI and I like what it does for the throttle response, but is that going to give you any HP at all? IMO it seems pointless to spend money on the upgrade if it doesn't add hp, when you could put in a little extra to get the same thing plus the hp. I like the ease of installing the SRI and the price of it too, but would it be better to spend the extra to get the V2? Any recomendations?

Header: I couldn't find much info on a header cept for the I/H/E sticky which just gave customer reviews and prices. First, what exactly does a header do? If you made it this far in the post you probably know what sort of header I want more than I do lol.

Any help at all is greatly appreciated. And I do realize this probably should have been 3 separate posts =/

 

A header bolts right onto the engine and is the first part of your exhaust system, it brings all 4 of the ehxuast runners together (sometimes into 2, then 1 pipe, others right into 1. 4-1 is better for top end, 4-2-1 is better for mid range, its way more common to have 4-2-1). And i think alot depends on your future plans. If you're going NA, then yeah I/H/E is totally worht it. If you're going turbo, your intake is going to be replaced with charge piping, your header with a turbo manifold, and your exhaust will probably have to be bigger and custom. So depending on what you're doing, if you might turbo, save the header money for a turbo mani, intake money for a charge piping set, and just save the custom exhaust money for once oyu're boosted and you want like 3" piping. It'd be pointeless to get 2.25" piping and replace it a few months later for 3"

 

I don't have an exhaust or an intake, but i think a header is a pretty good investment alone.

 

from a header along though, you're not going to see a noticeable amount of gains

 

I/H/E will give you very noticeable gains. Anywhere from 10-20 hp, which for a Civic is nearly a 15-20% increase in hp.

For the Intake, the best one across the boards is easily the AEM V2. I don't think many people will argue with that, but alot of people also are a fan of Injen.

For Header, I'd go with a reasonable quality 4-1 stainless steel. The $300+ DC Sports ones simply arn't worth it.

Finally, for the exhaust I've enjoyed the Magnaflow Catback quite a bit. It's a pretty quiet exhaust at low RPM, but once you start pushing the car it gives a rich powerful sound to it.

I spent about $800 for my setup with the V2, Magnaflow Catback and Megan Header.

 

^ +1, with a few exceptions...

there's probably (I can't prove it, but it seems to be generally agreed upon) less than a horsepower difference between brand-name CAI's and brand-name SRI's. So if the SRI gains almost the same amount of power, costs less, and has better throttle response, why not go with it? And the only other thing I really don't agree 100% with is the 4-1 header idea. 4-1 designs are better for top-end power. From how it sounds, zeroz will be spending most of his time in the lower/mid rpm's, so a 4-2-1 design would probably be better. From personal experience, I'd recommend Hedman's Chikara header, but I've also heard good things about Megan Racing (if they make a 4-2-1 header for your gen. civic)

 

Spend money where it counts if you're going to spend money. Many guys will buy an ebay sri and put an AEM dryflow filter on it. I'll be headed that direction myself shortly.

As for your header and exhaust, if you do plan to keep your engine naturally aspirated, you should look into finding a decent muffler and resonater (yes you will want one). Then take it to a muffler shop you TRUST and have them bend you up a nice 2.25in custom exhaust. Keep your original cat. The header for your application seems to be the 4-2-1. I suggest that you check out Megan Racing. They have great products for less scratch than most other manufacturers. Otherwise, DC...etc.

Another thing you need to keep in mind is your warranty. If it is not up, you will probably void the rest of it by putting all of these parts on. It's simply a matter of personal preference. Some folks wait until it's up to do this kind of stuff. Maybe it's already up for you, hence the inquiry.

As for emissions, be extremely careful to make sure that you're following the law if you live in a state that's excessively **** about emissions (like Cali). If you live in the boons like me, that dosen't matter for crap, so you do what you want. Megan Racing headers are not approved for the emissions test. DC stuff is. Etc...

 

Well... remember that problem that I thought was an exhaust problem? Well I have a broken motor mount, which means the engine doesn't sit correctly... it just rests right on the frame of the car. A side effect of this is what was happening with the exhaust. Worst part is its a salvage title and the frame is all messed up below and a new motor mount won't fit. So the only solution is to take it to a body shop and have them rework the ENTIRE car frame (they did a crappy job of this the first time which caused these problems) and then fit the motor mount on. I didn't go buying a salvage title as a cost saver, the salesman slipped in it really smoothly right between the moment of me having already decided to buy the car and me writing the check.

So I think all this work is a little beyond my circumstances.

 

uh that sounds like a very shady salesperson and maybe illegal if you can prove you didn't know it was a salvage title. Also., i am pretty sure a car dealer can not legally sell someone a car if the frame is bent.

 

Look into a good lawyer specializing in automotive laws. he might be able to help you with your problem. but the dealership might be able to get off with it if they told you this before they sold it to you. I'm not a lawyer so check that out.