New here with a '97 Civic DX Coupe and some questions to boot
#1
06-08-2009, 05:55 PM
New here with a '97 Civic DX Coupe and some questions to boot
Hey all,
I've recently come into temporary possession of a friend's '97 Civic DX Coupe, formerly his sister's and before that, his mother's, which you know means it was abused. One of the big symptoms was that we were getting oil into the coolant.
SOHC stock engine, D15Y I think, with an auto 4 spd tranny.
When we got it, it was supposedly with a blown head gasket, so, naturally (read: stupidly) trusting the people we got it from, we just went ahead and changed the gasket by ourselves. No big deal, three days later we're working mostly. Idle something or other went bad, and a couple other issues, so we just took it to the mechanic.
We had him do a new suspension (stock - my friend decided he didn't want to deal with it and for some dumb reason just told my mechanic to do stock), transmission flush, coolant flush, CV joint, and a handful of other little items. We put in new NGK sparks and spark wires.
Anyway, our main mission with this car is to have a reliable "spirited" daily driver that looks good and will last for another 12 years. We've upgraded the stereo very nicely (Alpine CDA 9886, Infinity reference all around, an Alpine sub amp, and a basic Rockford truck style sub box and sub just for some bottom end), with a resulting power drain that we'll need to solve with an Iraggi alternator, big three ground cable upgrade, and an Optima battery.
To clean it up, we'll be repainting the bumper, the hood, polishing some other scratches and pulling some dents, re-blacking the trim pieces, and getting some tints done. I'm also giving him a set of ROH Adrenalin rims to which we're throwing on some nice shoes.
Overall, the car will look great and run pretty well, if the transmission holds up after being let go low on fluid in the past, and that pesky oil leak. We're not sure if it's been sealed, after all, there's still some oil in the coolant, but it'll take a while of siphoning that off to find out if any more is leaking in or if we're just getting the residuals.
My questions though are these:
First off, he's agreed with me that we badly need some swaybars in the car. The stock suspension is just too soft to corner well, and it doesn't have the pull of a manual to suck it through the corners. Where can we get some decent swaybars (front and rear) for this that won't cost much, preferably less than $300 combined. Brands and dealers recommended?
Adding to that, how hard are they to install? I've done it on my old Tercel and it was like 6 bolts, nothing more than a jack and a socket set needed.
I saw one site that says a (99?) Si swaybar will fit. Is that accurate, and does it require anything else? Do the aftermarket kits for the Si fit, and would we need any different parts than would come in the kit?
Second, can anyone recommend a good big brake kit for cheap? Namely, is there any higher end Honda/Acura that we can swap in parts from to get bigger discs and a relocated caliper to get a little bit of extra power from? If not, are there any sets like this for cheap from aftermarket sources? Not looking to spend much, so if not, no worries.
Finally, does anyone have any good cheap/free mods that will garner us any extra power/efficiency or just plain old cool factor?
Yes, I'll be in the process of searching the forums here, but I wanted to make my introduction and throw out some questions while I'm at it. Thanks all, look forward to chatting with ya'll.
I've recently come into temporary possession of a friend's '97 Civic DX Coupe, formerly his sister's and before that, his mother's, which you know means it was abused. One of the big symptoms was that we were getting oil into the coolant.
SOHC stock engine, D15Y I think, with an auto 4 spd tranny.
When we got it, it was supposedly with a blown head gasket, so, naturally (read: stupidly) trusting the people we got it from, we just went ahead and changed the gasket by ourselves. No big deal, three days later we're working mostly. Idle something or other went bad, and a couple other issues, so we just took it to the mechanic.
We had him do a new suspension (stock - my friend decided he didn't want to deal with it and for some dumb reason just told my mechanic to do stock), transmission flush, coolant flush, CV joint, and a handful of other little items. We put in new NGK sparks and spark wires.
Anyway, our main mission with this car is to have a reliable "spirited" daily driver that looks good and will last for another 12 years. We've upgraded the stereo very nicely (Alpine CDA 9886, Infinity reference all around, an Alpine sub amp, and a basic Rockford truck style sub box and sub just for some bottom end), with a resulting power drain that we'll need to solve with an Iraggi alternator, big three ground cable upgrade, and an Optima battery.
To clean it up, we'll be repainting the bumper, the hood, polishing some other scratches and pulling some dents, re-blacking the trim pieces, and getting some tints done. I'm also giving him a set of ROH Adrenalin rims to which we're throwing on some nice shoes.
Overall, the car will look great and run pretty well, if the transmission holds up after being let go low on fluid in the past, and that pesky oil leak. We're not sure if it's been sealed, after all, there's still some oil in the coolant, but it'll take a while of siphoning that off to find out if any more is leaking in or if we're just getting the residuals.
My questions though are these:
First off, he's agreed with me that we badly need some swaybars in the car. The stock suspension is just too soft to corner well, and it doesn't have the pull of a manual to suck it through the corners. Where can we get some decent swaybars (front and rear) for this that won't cost much, preferably less than $300 combined. Brands and dealers recommended?
Adding to that, how hard are they to install? I've done it on my old Tercel and it was like 6 bolts, nothing more than a jack and a socket set needed.
I saw one site that says a (99?) Si swaybar will fit. Is that accurate, and does it require anything else? Do the aftermarket kits for the Si fit, and would we need any different parts than would come in the kit?
Second, can anyone recommend a good big brake kit for cheap? Namely, is there any higher end Honda/Acura that we can swap in parts from to get bigger discs and a relocated caliper to get a little bit of extra power from? If not, are there any sets like this for cheap from aftermarket sources? Not looking to spend much, so if not, no worries.
Finally, does anyone have any good cheap/free mods that will garner us any extra power/efficiency or just plain old cool factor?
Yes, I'll be in the process of searching the forums here, but I wanted to make my introduction and throw out some questions while I'm at it. Thanks all, look forward to chatting with ya'll.
#2
06-09-2009, 12:20 AM
In all honest opinion i would stop modding this car, its an auto...sell it and buy a manual. Seems like this car is already a big enough problem as is.
To answer your other questions, ebay sway bars are great. The work well and you can get a 4 piece set for like 60 bucks i think.
Nothing is cheap/free when it comes to cars and if it is it sucks, so you can see where im going with that.
If you want a fast car, a car that can handle, or a car that looks cool, prepare to spend lots of cash.
To answer your other questions, ebay sway bars are great. The work well and you can get a 4 piece set for like 60 bucks i think.
Nothing is cheap/free when it comes to cars and if it is it sucks, so you can see where im going with that.
If you want a fast car, a car that can handle, or a car that looks cool, prepare to spend lots of cash.
#3
06-09-2009, 08:00 PM
Croninc, normally I'd agree with you about the manual - it's so much better to me in my Corolla than the autos, if only to be able to pull it through the corners and pull on some stupid jerk who doesn't expect it. In this case though, the guy who will eventually get it, my friend, can't drive a stick yet (even though his first lessons went fine), but he just doesn't want it anyway. Out of my hands, regardless.
Thanks for the swaybar recommendations - I'll look into them and see what I can find.
I understand that nothing is free - but it never hurts to check. Sometimes there's a design oversight that people find that can easily be altered to fix a small issue. For example, on my Corolla, the mirrors rattle if you crank the stereo. Just a small rubber washer fixes that with ease. You see what I mean, too...
As to all of the handling, speed, and looks issues, well, we understand that. Again, we're just talking about handling day to day driving with some excitement, not really concerned about racing, you understand. We're gonna repaint the scratched and scarred areas, pull out some dents, and we're gonna tint the windows, both for UV protection and for some privacy.
That should take care of most of the looks. We're also gonna re-black the trim and such, repainted the wiper arms today, and clean up the interior. As I said, basically "great daily driver" is the thing we're going for. All in all, it suits that. Down the road, if we want to drop in a high end engine with a manual and sports suspension, obviously we'll see what happens then.
But thanks again man, I appreciate the help.
Thanks for the swaybar recommendations - I'll look into them and see what I can find.
I understand that nothing is free - but it never hurts to check. Sometimes there's a design oversight that people find that can easily be altered to fix a small issue. For example, on my Corolla, the mirrors rattle if you crank the stereo. Just a small rubber washer fixes that with ease. You see what I mean, too...
As to all of the handling, speed, and looks issues, well, we understand that. Again, we're just talking about handling day to day driving with some excitement, not really concerned about racing, you understand. We're gonna repaint the scratched and scarred areas, pull out some dents, and we're gonna tint the windows, both for UV protection and for some privacy.
That should take care of most of the looks. We're also gonna re-black the trim and such, repainted the wiper arms today, and clean up the interior. As I said, basically "great daily driver" is the thing we're going for. All in all, it suits that. Down the road, if we want to drop in a high end engine with a manual and sports suspension, obviously we'll see what happens then.
But thanks again man, I appreciate the help.
#5
06-10-2009, 02:01 AM
Croninc, normally I'd agree with you about the manual - it's so much better to me in my Corolla than the autos, if only to be able to pull it through the corners and pull on some stupid jerk who doesn't expect it. In this case though, the guy who will eventually get it, my friend, can't drive a stick yet (even though his first lessons went fine), but he just doesn't want it anyway. Out of my hands, regardless.
Thanks for the swaybar recommendations - I'll look into them and see what I can find.
I understand that nothing is free - but it never hurts to check. Sometimes there's a design oversight that people find that can easily be altered to fix a small issue. For example, on my Corolla, the mirrors rattle if you crank the stereo. Just a small rubber washer fixes that with ease. You see what I mean, too...
As to all of the handling, speed, and looks issues, well, we understand that. Again, we're just talking about handling day to day driving with some excitement, not really concerned about racing, you understand. We're gonna repaint the scratched and scarred areas, pull out some dents, and we're gonna tint the windows, both for UV protection and for some privacy.
That should take care of most of the looks. We're also gonna re-black the trim and such, repainted the wiper arms today, and clean up the interior. As I said, basically "great daily driver" is the thing we're going for. All in all, it suits that. Down the road, if we want to drop in a high end engine with a manual and sports suspension, obviously we'll see what happens then.
But thanks again man, I appreciate the help.
Thanks for the swaybar recommendations - I'll look into them and see what I can find.
I understand that nothing is free - but it never hurts to check. Sometimes there's a design oversight that people find that can easily be altered to fix a small issue. For example, on my Corolla, the mirrors rattle if you crank the stereo. Just a small rubber washer fixes that with ease. You see what I mean, too...
As to all of the handling, speed, and looks issues, well, we understand that. Again, we're just talking about handling day to day driving with some excitement, not really concerned about racing, you understand. We're gonna repaint the scratched and scarred areas, pull out some dents, and we're gonna tint the windows, both for UV protection and for some privacy.
That should take care of most of the looks. We're also gonna re-black the trim and such, repainted the wiper arms today, and clean up the interior. As I said, basically "great daily driver" is the thing we're going for. All in all, it suits that. Down the road, if we want to drop in a high end engine with a manual and sports suspension, obviously we'll see what happens then.
But thanks again man, I appreciate the help.
As for some exterior mods, I would go with a tip kit and a type r grille. Maybe some HIDs if you have extra cash. Anymore questions feel free to ask!!!!
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