2000 Civic LX Mods and work so far. Need advice.

[pcmofo]

Hello everyone. I stumbled upon this forum recently and thought it was perfect for me. I want to modify my civic ever so slightly to make it better than it was stock without degrading it or making it look like a 16 yr old owns it. Let me start off with showing you the progress thus far and tell you what I have done to it and what I plan on doing in the future. (more detailed info can be found at my Project Log on my web site

Lets start with the exterior, since this is the easiest changes to notice. Everyone loves pictures so here is a progression of my car's exterior over the last year or so.

Stock civic. Bought from dealer. One owner. Carfax checks out. Replaced tires and exhaust with factory replacement as it was rusted before purchasing. Total cost 2 years ago, $8,000

Not long after having my car someone hit it while it was parked and cracked the back bumper in half. While that was in the shop getting replaced I bought the OEM honda spoiler and had them bolt that on as well. ~$200

Later in the summer I got the windows tinted, 25% and 35%. This way (as I live in NY) it doesnt look like I have tints as much depending on the lighting angle. But I am going for a black and silver theme here so the window tints really tie the car together.

After a year of talking about getting new wheels I finally did about a month ago. 17" Konig Tuner II wheels on Hankook tires. This was a pain to get. After I spent all this time debating what wheels to get, I finally make a decision only to find out that they are discontinued for 4-lug. I finally found someone to sell me a few and there you have it. I love the combo of black and silver and the split fork design.

So as far as the exterior goes I am almost done. I dont know that you can see it in the pictures but my calipers and drums are rusty on the outside and it really shows now that the new wheels are on. I am thinking about taking them off and painting (which would require a lot of prep work) or just buying new ones from honda and painting them before they go on ($80-$100 a piece) or trying to get aftermarket ones that are pre painted or that I would paint first. Any suggestions?

I am also waiting to buy the OEM fog lights. I am currently waiting for H and A accessories to get them back in stock. I have slavania silver star ~4000k head light bulbs in now but I am considering a brighter setup, trying to see what I can do without going over to HID. I want that super white look with that tinyest hint of blue in there.Any ideas here? I did not like any of the options for the 4 door tail lights. They look pretty nice the way they are, would only be better if the amber were taken out and replaced with clear but meh it looks better now than with some of the replacement options (all 2 of them) I did put in LED light bulbs from e-bay in the rear just so I dont have to go digging around in there if one goes.

I thought about a body kit, I live in NY and we see a good amount of snow, so its impractical and I did not see anything that I did not think was too over the top. While looking through this forum I see that there is a front "lip" available for my car's front bumper. Now this is something I can get behind. Especially because I have a black car with the black plastic skirts and black honda mud flaps allready so it would blend right in. I just dont want to get one from JDM style on ebay. I want the real honda one, I dont think I would want to pay more than $100 for this feature on my car though.

I have cleaned my engine bay so it looks decent now. I replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor etc. Used blue spark plug wires because hey why not right? I really want to add a cold air intake and a front strut tower bar but with my engine having the air intake port facing up (as opposed to facing to the left in the v-tec) it makes it tricky to fit both items so close to each other. I recently saw a forum that had all Air intakes for the 6-gen. I am hoping someone with the same model car as me has both of these installed and can tell me what specific place to get them at so I know they will fit.

That about covers the exterior and engine of my car. My car is NOT built for speed or performance. My car is meant to look good and be sweet to use. Basically I am taking my 8 year old car and extending its life so I can keep it another 5 years and it still looks good and gives me no reason to buy a new car. I am going to post all about the interior of my car and the electronics shortly. I strongly suggest you visit my web site listed above to see many more pictures of my car and the progress it has gone through as there are far to many pictures to repost here.

 

[Billy.]

i dont think HandA is going to get the oem fogs back in stock... theyre 8 year old parts. OEM lips are getting rare, and thus more and more expensive. maybe look into the type R style, or mugen style.

IMO the 2nd pic looks the best, it went downhill from there. you didnt want it to look like a 16 year old owns it, but that's exactly what happened . im not trying to insult, just constructive criticism

these are IPF brand bulbs. pretty much the brightest bulbs you can get w/o going HID, but their cost reflects their quality. anything higher than their X model you will need the upgraded wire harness (for Z series, XX, XXX, X4). i recommend the Super J Beam Xti titanium for HID look and brightness
http://intakeone.com/Lighting/headlight_index.html

 

[pcmofo]

Interior/electronics

On to the interior. When I bought my car I was driving an hour each way to school on the highway. I wanted a car that was good on gas (check!) and that could provide me with directions (as I take many road trips etc) and have ALL of my music. Also, I wanted to have a premium sound system in my car. No, I did not want to shake the windows off the car or hear me a block away, I just wanted a balanced system.

First lets look at my interior prior to any mods. Its so innocent with its tap player and FM radio.

Well I took apart most of my interior (I even drove to school one day with nothing in the car but the front seat bolted to the floor) so that I could put in sound proofing material. I didnt want to pay people to do electrical stuff to my car( why let them have all the fun right?) an it was WAY to expensive. So all of the stuff I have done my self. I didnt want to use Dynamat because of its expense. I read online that roofing flashing works just as good. Basic concept -> less vibration of metal in your car = less noise going out and coming in. Therefore using the sticky tar like substance with the thin aluminum backing as a sound proofing material worked pretty good. I applied 2 layers with a hair dryer to mold it into place and stick it well.

Now that I put sound proofing on every interior surface of the car it was time to install the wireing for the electronics that would be going in shortly.

Now I have a history of building computers (since I was 10) and I put one in my first car (a geo prizim) way back when before the iPod could hold all your music in your pocket when I was in highschool. I knew that a computer was the best solution for me to use for all my music, dvd, navigation, and intigration with anything else in the future. Half the reason I chose this model of civic was the dash was just screaming to me PUT A LCD SCREEN HERE!!! so I did. The entire audio system centers around the idea that a car pc would be the central audio input and control all the other entertainment functions. This is a special pc that has been setup to boot when I start the car and tell the computer to "shut down please" when I turn the car off (as opposed to killing power) The computer boots a special piece of software known as a "front end" that allows me to use a touch screen interface to control everything easily.

I know there is some myth regarding Monster cable and if it works or not. I had a friend who got me it at cost so it was the same price as cheap wire so I did all the audio wiring in monster cable and all the power wires in high quality cable from a local car shop. It wasnt cheap for all the wiring I needed but I wanted this car to sound good. I didn't spend time putting in sound proofing to hear crap out of my speakers!

Basic audio setup -> computer puts out audio a USB external audio card (5.1 ch, less noise, better processing). This splits the audio into front, rear, and sub outputs that I can control via software independently. From there the front and rear audio signals go into an infinity 4 ch amp that puts out about 120watts per ch. This signal goes to Infinity Kappa 6x9"s in the rear and component 6" Kappa speakers in the front. All the speaker wire was re-run with heavy gauge high quality wire. The tweeters were mounted in the doors. The sub is powered by a separate 150watt Rockford Fosgate mono-sub amp. It is now powering a dual voice coil 10" rockford fosgate sub in the sealed fiberglass enclosure.

In summation, I used a computer with a sweet sound card to generate a good audio source. I used high quality connections and power (including a 2farad Cap) and quality amps to boost the audio quality (not just loudness) and used high end speakers to reproduce the audio clearly. This combined with the listening environment (with the sound proofing) gives me sweet sound reproduction. Yes, its loud. but more importantly, it sounds accurate and looks like its a factory install.

Here is the amps, computer, and LCD screen I integrated into the former dash piece

I had the 4ch amp and the car pc mounted to the rear of the seats to save space and help them stay cool. I stealthed the wires by running them under the amps and below the carpeting. I have since moved the PC to under the drivers seat to improve connections, access, and signal quality.

Trunk with the computer, amps and sub wired up and tested before being prettied up.

LCD screen sitting pretty in the dash. This took a considerable amount of work with sanding, bondo and painting. I redid it twice, once because it was too glossy of a finish and another time to fix a small hair line crack.

I wanted my car to look nice and be functional. Having a trunk full of sub boxes is not functional. I decided "hey lets play with fiberglass today" I built a custom sub box to hold a 10" dual voice coil sub which was just enough boom for me. See how nicely it fits into place in the wheel well.

This is the finished sub box after carpeting it and installing my sub. If it looks blury thats because the sub was fireing at the time I was taking the picture.

There were 4 blank pop out pannels in the consol. I dont know what for but I know that it was a great place for me to add in stuff of my own! In one I put a USB port to connect devices to my pc (flash drive, usb charger etc) One has the BASS control knob for my sub woofer's amp to boost the bass. One has a iGo car charger that I took apart and integrated into the car so there is nothing in the 12v cig. port. The tips are changeable so if I get a new device or phone I can just swap tips and it will charge it. The remaining port was used for a Line-In audio port so that anyone with any audio device can play music in my car ( a small jumper cable to connect it is stored in the consol. A LED indicator is above it for the security system to show the armed status etc.

This is the cup holder section I modified. I replaced my stock cup holders with ones from a 98 civic that could hold a CD plater. I used plexi glass to create a custom face plate for the buttons (note the relocated AC control buttons, also with blue LED's) This worked for a while but I decided I could pull it off without taking up this much space in my car so I have since gotten rid of it and I am almost done with the new version.

Here is a nice shot of my dash running the computer software and with the new EL gauge overlays.

I am almost done with my dash... I just have one or two more buttons to add to the lower dash panel and then I can finally close it up and finish off the electronics. ... and YES there is a security system in the car. It is a remote start + security with 2 way paging functions. (which lets me know your just tried to get into my car) Also all of the electronics are not visible so you cant tell from the outside. I also have a starter disable and a disable for the computer so when I take it to the mechanics etc they cant play with it. I am also thinking of adding a keyless RFID based entry/unlock system from scratch. I am still experimenting with other security measures. Yes I am sure a good theif can get into my car and steal everything but I am just preventing the guy with some screwdrivers in his trunk from breaking in and grabbing everything he can carry.

Anyway just wanted to see what you guys think of my car. I tried to make everything look as stock as I could like it was designed to go in the car. Anyone have any other ideas or things I should add to my car?

 

[oc_civic]

im going to be honest... your car is completely and totally NOT my style.. BUT with that said i give respect to the attention to detail and over all quality... some of the stuff you did is really neat..

 

[pcmofo]

i dont think HandA is going to get the oem fogs back in stock... theyre 8 year old parts. OEM lips are getting rare, and thus more and more expensive. maybe look into the type R style, or mugen style.

IMO the 2nd pic looks the best, it went downhill from there. you didnt want it to look like a 16 year old owns it, but that's exactly what happened . im not trying to insult, just constructive criticism

http://intakeone.com/Lighting/headlight_index.html

Thanks for the info. I am looking at the lips on ebay. I will check out those lights too.

I know some people might not like the window tints or the wheels but I tried to do it with some style. No huge wing on the back or even the Si spoiler or something huge and retarded. The wheels are 17" which I think is a good size without being too much or useless. I also tried to get something that would work with the car's style not be the center of attention or crazy chrome etc. I want my civic to look stock in some respects but show a little bit of personality and uniqueness in others. Personally though, I am happy with what I have done, it's not for everyone but I appreciate your input and look forward to others comments as well.

 

[Billy.]

on a side note, you could easily get a job at a custom car shop doing crazy first off electronic setups .

you seem to have a pretty clean taste, i think eventually youll outgrow the 17" wheels and switch to something closer to stock size/appearance

 

[98civicman]

its hot to me bro

 

[obracer12]

NOT my style either but you have clean execution... nice electronic setup though... the 17's kill it for me, along with the can rattler system (sound it makes to other drivers)... but its your ride and you did it nicely gj

 

[XpL0d3r]

Interior looks pretty sick IMO. Interested to see what it's like when it's all done...

 

[pcmofo]

on a side note, you could easily get a job at a custom car shop doing crazy first off electronic setups .

you seem to have a pretty clean taste, i think eventually youll outgrow the 17" wheels and switch to something closer to stock size/appearance

thanks. I will have some nice shots of the car when I finish up the interior in a week or so. I really like my new wheels and tires, they handle like a dream. I have the old ones to swap out when it starts snowing again. my day job is working with computer hardware and software for hospitals and I run my own IT consulting business. somewhere along the way I manged to learn all about car electronics. mostly in part from the internet and forums such as these.

a side note a few features I left out...

a slim dvd driveis sitting verticle in th center consol that can be seen in the above photo. a wide angle rear view camera has been mounted in the trunk's former key hole. the camera has a reverse image and infra red leds that let it work at night. the only way to get into the trunk is via the remote now. I also added my own trunk popper so that it is electric and can be triggered via the remote. and yes I needed the camera as I drive backwards down a 30deg driveway at night often. also there is wifi and bluetooth in the car enabling me to sit in my driveway and sync media content to my home pc. as well as hook up bluetooth keyboards, mice, and cell phones for hands free calling.

the car pc has been in use for over a year now and I have everything tuned and stable now. its time to move on to finishing everything up and hiding all the wireing that's still out.

anyone have suggestions on the calipers and drums being painted or replaced?

 

[pcmofo]

NOT my style either but you have clean execution... nice electronic setup though... the 17's kill it for me, along with the can rattler system (sound it makes to other drivers)... but its your ride and you did it nicely gj

I hear you there. I did not want my car booming down the street much less wrattling. I sound proofed everything and tied everything loose down. I have no unwanted noise. at normal listining volume the car audio is neary in audable from the outside with the doors shut. that why I chose high quality componets no just power. also that's why there is just 1 10" sub with only 150 watts. it does the job and I can control it on the fly with the bass control knob in the consol to turn it off or down. it sounds near studio quality in my car, not boom box.

 

[Billy.]

do a front and rear brake conversion to GSR or 99-00 Si. dont paint the calipers

 

[pcmofo]

do a front and rear brake conversion to GSR or 99-00 Si. dont paint the calipers

A front and rear brake conversion is a little out of my ability. (I am more of an electric kinda guy) I have a good mechanic who can do this most likely. I have to say that I am a little scared to swap out the brakes on my car though. I think I will do some research on it though to see if I can even source the parts and get some prices. Any idea how much something like this would cost?

Why should I not paint the calipers? (I have a can of caliper paint, so someone must be doing it!) The calipers arnt as bad as the rear drums which are completely rust colored. I am fairly confident in my ability to take off my rear tires one at a time, pop off the drum cover, knock off the rust, paint it, then put it back. This will most likely be done either way as a temporary solution regardless if I did a brake conversion or not.

 

[EK|B]

 

[CivSi98]

Wow Man i gotta give you props i love what youve done with it i really think you should have looked at the fiberglass dashboards first tho they have custom dashboards that have extra gauge slots and cut out areas for screens,switches ect..look into it man but awsome job i only wouldnt want the car but i want everything you did to the sound syst..great!

 

[Destroy]

Get rid of the wheels and ice, looked way better stock.

 

[Hellhatch]

Seems like you got a gift with interior work its setup pretty nice. I would go with different wheels. The 17's are just too big but if you like them then thats cool.

 

[eskateboarding7]

your AV system is sick.

 

[pcmofo]

I finally got the part in the mail I was waiting for to finish the dash. (a 5v regulator to give the DVD drive some extra juice so it would actually work and play some dvd's) I also wired up the remainder of the buttons and switches. I just have one more left to install. Its going to be the power switch for the entire system and is tied into a relay that will disable the whole thing. This way I can turn it off if someone else will be working on my car etc. I just have to figure out a sneeky place to mount it. I have a few in mind. As soon as I get out of work I hope to finish it up. While I am in there I think I will also label all of the wires so I dont forget what goes where in the future. I will take some pictures for sure.

 

[Billy.]

you make a good source of inspiration for DIYers to start custom doing their own electronics . you make it look easy too