ok so im sadly a noob..
i have a 97 civic DX in great condition completely stock as of now

i want to make a couple performance mods nothing to expensive

so i was thinking an intake exhaust chip and lower engine braces... (are these the cheapest mods with the most hp gain?)

-intake-
i was thinking the AEM v2 cai but is it worth the money if im not going to get crazy with my car?

-exhaust-
i was thinking the sp2 or ws (noir?)
i dobt want atention from the cops either any sugestions?
also i heard that my cat was atached directly to my manifold so if i got an exhaust system with another cat its just stupid unless i get a new manifold or what? also piping size with only a few mods 2 inch pipe? i cant find the diameter of the exhausts listed above anyone? (not the tip the main pipe)
again are these high performance systems worth it if im just looking to have some fun?

-chip-
from what i know you should do this last after all performance mods are done right? (worth the money again?)

-lower engine braces-
my friend told me about these do they help? are they worth the extra weight?

please and thanks to everyone for the help
any info helps

jason

P.S. how about an SI cluster gauge i want to be able to see my rpms is there i wire ran to the dash that measures it and i can just plug it in to a new kit or do i have to install a system that measures rpms?

 

one more question

with a cai do i have to worry about water in my engine?
how carefull do you have to be? cleaning it?
arent they designed so water wont get in?
puddles... raine? luckily i live in san diego

 

OK firstof all, don't add achip (such as those seen on ebay)
unless you're doing a turbo project or something with real gains, there is really no reason for you to be chipping anything
Second Are you going to be driving through puddles, like deep deep puddles to where your filter is going to be completely submerged in water? If not, then you have nothing to worry about having a CAI and hydrlocking

Last, all of these questions have been asked and answered multiple times, so try that nifty search button up there
or here's the link
https://www.hondacivicforum.com/search.asp
And check out all the FAQs, they are really helpful and will also help to answer your questions
Believe me, you're not the first person wanting 'inexpensive mods'

 

no huge puddles but we get heave rain once in a while?

yah i read the faqs which were helpfull
andi noticed at the bottom of the topics that there are over a hundred pages after i posted this haha :P

thanks

 

like i said
As long as you don't submerge the filter in water you will be fine.

 

The WS2 is one of the quietest exhausts you can get..

You'll have th convert to an EX setup, that means.. Get Header, Exhaust and a high flow cat or test pipe(Since your cat is attached to your header).

You could swap a EX cluster or another cluster, it should work.

 

I recommend the Apex-i WS2. It has a nice sound, but isn't loud enough to really attract a cop's attention.
If you buy an exhaust all you need to buy with it is a test pipe to fill in the gap between the exhaust and stock exhaust manifold.
However, if you buy a header, you will need to buy a catalytic converter to go in between the header and exhaust, and an o2 extender so you can move the o2 sensor to its new location after the catalytic converter.
I think LX's have a tachometer too. So that would be LX, EX, and Si. And yea, any 96-98 cluster will work in your car (the wires are already there for the tach, just not hooked to anything.) I think 99-00 clusters work too, but i'm not entirely positive.

 

so for the tack you guys said that just about every model had it except mine... does mine?

if i convert to ex setup is there still a section that needs test pipe? and the test pipe from where your explaining it would go has to have a bend to reach up to my manifold ...?

 

Hey, I live in San Diego, too. Check out my sig for mods that I personally recommend. The V2s adds at least 5 HP that is felt mostly at high (>4000) rpm. As long as you don't drive through 8-inch deep streams of water, you shouldn't worry. Since you have to have your car smogged, I would advise you to NOT bypass any emissions-related components.

 

no. and it's tach, not tack.
No. The EX Setup is Header>Catalytic Converter>Cat-back Exhaust
You leave your exhaust manifold/catalytic converter, and downpipe on. Then after the downpipe, put the test pipe. Then the cat-back exhaust.