Hello all -
I am a new owner of a '03 Civic EX, and I love it so far -- Outside of tinted windows, it's completely stock. I'm very new to upgrades, so any advice would be much appreciated.

I have a K&N short ram intake on the way -- This will be my first upgrade. I'll post more pictures when I have it installed!

 

don't bother with bolt ons they do absolutely nothing for hp gains i would exchange the filter with K&Ns new synthetic hybrid filter it filters air better and you don't have to oil it like there old ones. stick to handling mods and looks it mite be slow but with the rite mods you can make it handle like a sports car. for looks keep it simple like a full lip kit no body kits please and don't go bigger then 17 inch wheels 16s look perfect on these cars.but before all of that make sure all the maintenance has been done how many miles are on the car ???

 

Welcome to HCF!

 

Hello . Also new here. i have a civic ex too. bolt ons are really that worthless? ik the d series engines are not as powerfull as the b series but i want mines to reach a goal of 300hp since the car doesnt weigh alot i guess it would fly. i dont really have a good idea of how to get from the measly 125hp the d16y8 comes to 300hp but bolt ons wont do it all right? i would need a turbo right?

 

anything is possible with enough mony you could get 300 without a turbo but the time and money is not worth it your talking thousands of dollars building the engine up from the bottom

 

damn. then then the logical thing would just be save up for engine swap or an entirely new car with aready a bseries or maybe an rsx-s

 

You can do every bolt on and machine the block, crank, head etc etc etc pour tens of thousands into the motor and not reach 200whp. Trust me. Only way you are getting to 300whp pretty much with any Honda motor is with boost. The only exception would be to build up a nice high compression K series motor.

K24 block with like 13:1 compression pistons, ported k20 head with stage 3 cams and tuned on e85? You might be around 300whp then.

 

yea i was thinking that FI was the only way to go for higher gains with less money.
Itd be perfect if i could upgrade to a type s and maybe boost it but a turbo for an rsx-s is really expensive so your idea is much better thank you

 

I have heard of Frankies like the G22 where you combine H head with F blocks. I have read they are a better bang for the buck and great for boosting since the F block comes with iron sleeved stock.