ok im definatley a noobie to the tuner world and i think i went overboard with it. i just bought a 96 civic ex and the guy i got it from had already fixed it up but he wasnt finished yet. it has high flow cat back and intercooler pipes(for the turbo) and a trbo kit. the only thing that is stopping me from raising hell in this car is that it still hass stock ecu and i dont have a clue how to tune program and any other thing that has to do with tuning my car. is there an ecu i can buy that is pre tuned so i can plug-n-play. that is really my main problem cause its only got 65k miles on the motor and im not trying to blow it.any ideas if so put it in lamens terms cause im just starting tuners. also do u guys think i ****ed up buying this car or as it a smart choice?

 

you said its got piping for an intercooler.... does it have an intercooler?

and i wouldnt say that you "****ed up" buying the car, but you deff have your work and research cut out for you. There are lots of good books and stuff out there on tuning forced induction cars. it probably wouldnt be a bad idea for you to have a second "beater" car incase this one is down for a day or two while your getting everythin straight. Gotta start learning somwhere man, good luck.

oh and as far as a plug and play ecu... im not sure about that(i dont actually own a honda nor do i know much about em), but im sure sombody here will be able to answer that for you, i know theres insane aftermarket support for your car.

 

Plug and play, no, not a chance. I'm assuming that the Civic has the d16y8 motor and ecu in it, correct? Please try and include as many details (pics are great too) as you can so that we can give you sufficient help.

Basically, you need to go out and start reading into what it takes to boost a car, how differently you should drive a car with aftermarket boost, and what all is involved with tuning. It's quite a lengthy procedure, hence the reason people spend hundreds of dollars on dyno/street tuning.

My best advice is that if you do in fact have the stock d16y8 and ECU, you go online and buy yourself a Chipped p28 with a Crome basemap, and find someone local who street tunes with Crome to get you all setup. This advice ONLY applies if you have the setup I mentioned, if it's different then we need to chase other angles

 

Where are you from?

Do what forty says, P28 chipped ECU, OBD2A -> OBD1 conversion harness, DSM 450s and a resistor box, then have some real fun.