Alright fellow hondacivicforumers, it's getting closer to spring, which means the car will be coming out of hibernation. By making this thread, I'm hoping to research some suggested stuff and learn more and more about what I need to know

Of course, I'm a new driver and don't know too much, but I know reaper, trust, and the rest of hcf can give detailed explanations to what why and how. I basically want some opinions on how to build my car. Most everyone here knows more than me about civics, so I'm trusting that you can give me some good advice on what to look out for.

car has (keep in mind, this is all from the previous owner)

suspension
ebay coilovers
ebay camber kit
blox lca (not on car)
apparently the drivers side lca bolt is snapped
home alignment :facepalm:

engine (think I'll hold off on this until I learn more about it)
stock d15b7 (~150k)
aem sri with random drill holes in it
new sparks
really worn down and rusted/dirty
muffler is a cheapo from advanced auto parts
intake ghetto rigged together

interior/exterior
stock except for the rear 1/4s has some **** bondo work done
pop up sunroof leaks

thats about the most of it, I'll be doing audio wiring myself since it was held together with scotch tape and I've got some nice plans for it. B

What's everyone think? Build will be up in a few weeks (hopefully)

 

create a project thread bro.

first thing first fix the suspension. put some quality stuff in there and get a professional alignment.

 

+1 -- never run cheap parts on your suspension. Thtas just askin for trouble. Those parts are not DOT approved, and can break at any time.

Your intake should have no holes in it. Cover that up, quick. Thats just going to let in dirt and water. Neither are good for your engine.

What are you looking for on this build? Fast car, nice looks, track car?

 

Think I will, just to keep things organized and keep my priorities intact. I think the eBay suspension is going to have to hold up until at least the 22nd, since I only have $1200 in the bank and have no idea what I will need going into college. I've got an appointment with my guidance counselor and I'll figure out money, financial aid and the works then. Anyway, I think I could take it in for a near-professional alignment at my trade school.

Absolutely, I get where you're coming from.
Do you think my intake should be replaced? Or just patched up and working properly? Eventually it'll have to be replaced since it's not exactly good quality, but I'm not sure.

As much as I'd love to track the car and have it pushing a lot of HP, I don't think I'm ready- or can afford it for the matter- for anything big like that. If the time comes where I COULD start that, I have no problem with building another civics or del sol up. Anyway, I guess I just want a car that looks nice, and has some zip to it. I'll either be taking my current SOHC apart and cleaning it, putting in new parts and such, and then turboing it OR going for some DOHC VTEC. Just not sure if I'm going B or D. But that's for the future, not worried about it too much right now.

 

That's what I'd do. Hope that helps.

 

I say replace the system. Plugging it work work for the time being, but eventually the plugs will fail and allow dirt/water into the system. Also look into getting a quality filter. Cheap Ebay filters can allow dirt go get into your system.
If you going for a clean build, i recommend SI tails, a mild drop, 16' rims, a lip kit. Just keep it so that everything looks stock. You don't want any one piece to stick out. If done right, a car should look like nothing was done at all. Like it should have came that way out of the factory.

 

thanks, it did help. I'll look into the Tokico HP you described, but if it's not exactly what I'm looking for I'll be back to square one. I'm wondering if I should put the extra ebay coilovers on the front of now until I can afford something better.

that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not sure about the SI tails though, since I'm pretty into the tinted lights and I have the paint and such ready for my stock ones. I'll definitely want a mild drop and a lip kit, and I'll hold off on the 16' rims for now. I'll try to clean mine up a bit first and go from there.

 

these came- blox, second guessing the color though. not too sure if i like purple on red (lca, vc etc)

 

Suspension:
Replace eBay coilovers with something better. Do you have aftermarket shocks or are you lowered on OEM shocks?
Tokico HP shocks are a good suggestion and at a good price, so I'm gonna agree with AJ on this one. For the coilovers themselves... do you need to adjust height periodically or could you go with springs? You can buy great lowering springs for a lot less than a good set of coilovers. If you can deal with not having adjustment available, this is my recommendation. For coilovers the most common suggestion is Ground Control. For springs... well, do you want some good handling along with it, or do you just want to be lowered? Tein S-techs will lower about 2" but they are pretty soft springs. H&R Sport Springs will lower about 2" and handle much better. H&R race springs will lower you even more but they are really stiff and uncomfortable, but offer better performance... they also probably can't be used on Tokico HP's and will require nicer shocks like Tokico Illuminas, KYB AGX, Koni Yellows, etc. Generally, the lower you go, the more uncomfortable it is.

Replace your eBay camber kits with stock components or buy quality camber kits.

I wouldn't use the Blox LCAs. You're already second guessing the color (I would too... red and purple doesn't go together), and it's pretty well-known that Blox LCAs come with crappy bushings that go out quickly.
You're better off getting something nice like Function7 or Buddy Club (the Buddy Club ones look great too... this is what I would go with if I were you). Or, you could paint the Blox ones and replace the bushings with OEM or Energy Suspension (or ride your bushings until they go bad and then replace with previously mentioned).

For the broken bolt, like AJ said just cut it off.

For alignment... get an alignment when you install any part that affects alignment (springs/coilovers, reverting your upper control arms to stock, reverting rear camber arms to stock, etc.).
If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, and especially if you have coilovers that you will be adjusting occasionally, invest in a "lifetime alignment". They are generally 3X the price of an alignment but once you pay for it you never pay again to get it aligned at that shop chain. Shop chains (firestone, tires plus, meineke, midas, etc.) are usually the only places that offer these. Some, like Tires Plus, even allow you to transfer your lifetime alignment policy to another car, once. So if you buy a new car, you can transfer it to that car.


Intake:
Use couplers and clamps to cover up the holes in the SRI. The diameter of your piping is probably 2.5". Go measure (remove filter and measure across the end) to make sure. Depending on how many holes you have and where they are, I may be able to hook you up with a coupler for real cheap. I only have one 2.5" coupler and two clamps though so if that isn't going to cut it for covering the holes you'd have to buy more.

 

Thanks a lot Trust, you're a great help and definitely pointing me in the right direction

I think I'll leave the eBay suspension on for now. It's not that I WANT to, but 1) I can't afford much else on top of everything else I'm doing and 2) I'm not gunna be driving like a maniac where suspension is key. I'll upgrade the suspension if something goes wrong, of after I fix up more important things. I kinda of want to do a swap and suspension upgrade around the wrong time. I'm not too worried about if I can adjust it or not, although it WOULD be nice.

I'm def not sure about purple lcas, in the process of selling them to a friend. I like gold on red but that much just be the "RED WHITE AND GOLD" hype after Canada won the olympics, so that can wait.

As far as the intake goes, there's less holes than I thought, so I took some pictures since I have a few questions under the hood aswell.



1 & 2 - Should these be patched up at all?

3 - Do I really need this?

4 - this.. whatever it is.. is a mess, is it worth replacing for now? it's really not even in the intake tightly, it kinda just sits there



on the exhaust manifold, should those holes have bolts in them? i don't know **** about this, so i'd rather be safe and ask.. STILL finding random bull**** the previous owner has done

Thanks in advanced everyone