New Civic Owner! What are some low priced performance upgrades for my Civic?

[SigmaInigma]

Hello, I am new to Club Civic. This is my first most. I do not know a lot about cars but I really would like to learn.

I have a 1996 Honda Civic EX. I just use my car for joy riding and getting to work and school. I was wondering if you guys could recommend any low priced upgrades for my car that will increase performance and gas mileage. I am sure others have had a similar question but the forums are a little intimidating and I just don't know where to start. I was hoping some of you experts could direct me to somewhere where I can read about upgrading your civic for beginners.

Some upgrades I have been considering:

Cold Air Intake
Replace Spark Plugs
Replace Spark Plug Wire Set
Replace Distributor Cap and Rotor

If you guys could give me some feedback on the upgrades I am considering that would be great. Also do you guys have any specific part recommendations in mind?

I was looking at these. They seem pretty decent priced... http://www.amazon.com/NGK-HE76-Premium-Spark-Plug/dp/B000IY8ODS/ref=au_pf_ss_3?ie=UTF8&Make=Honda|59&Model=Civic|752&Year=1996|1996&carId=001&n=15684181&s=automotive

Thanks in advance!

 

[THEDARKONE]

On the engine you have witch is called a D-seris power upgrades there realy is not any bolt on ones your going to waist your time and money on Cold air intakes and stuff, if you want power for your motor just NOS and Turbo but ether way you would have to build it to make it reliable, just save your money on that and keep the maintence up to date like:

Spark Plugs
Oil
Air Filter ETC

If you realy want more power I'd sugest a motor swap witch you can find plenty of info on this and other sites as well.

 

[SigmaInigma]

I don't need a lot of power I just want efficiency. Better gas mileage and stuff.

I think I have a single can VTEC engine but I don't even know what that means really...

 

[SigmaInigma]

What about upgrading the exhaust system?

 

[mymmeryloss]

 

[dck1ng69]

on the d series for power, get a turbo kit run low boost and supporting mods so it's reliable...or just keep it bone stock and do routine maintenance, oil change, spark plugs and wires, new water pump, timing belt (get it from the dealership), change the other fluids for the radiater, trans, brake and power steering

 

[lethal6]

Your car was built for gas mileage, NOT performance. You want performance, you are going to have to pay for it. It isn't cheap. Most cases, you add performance, you lose gas mileage.

To be honest, on your motor adding intake, exhaust, headers, etc you won't get a gain in performance than what will be worth it for the money.

Also spark plugs and wires won't gain you performance. If any, it wouldn't even be worth it and wouldn't be noticeable.

Stick with stock, enjoy your gas mileage or spend a bunch of money and have some power. Doesn't come cheap.

 

[DTvn]

Just keep it the way it is

If you wanna be a cool guy than you can get intake and exhaust for the sound but you won't get much performance out of it and gas mileage will probably be the same or possibly a tiny bit better

just spend that money on making your car look good (wheels, lip & drop)

 

[lethal6]

My gas mileage actually got worse when I had an intake on it.

 

[I_GOT_BOOST]

Leave your engine stock take the intake of don't even put an exhaust on it......... And to answer your question a single cam vtec just means you have one camshaft instead of two like the b18 b16 or h22 f22 which are just other dual camshaft motors that Honda produces the letter is the series of the engine the number is the liters the engine is in your case d is for the single cam and the 16 is for 1.6 liter.... And as for vtec I'm just going to copy and paste wiki response to what is vtec.........

VTEC ( Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control)) is a valvetrain system developed by Honda to improve the volumetric efficiency of a four-stroke internal combustion engine. The VTEC system uses two camshaft profiles and hydraulically selects between profiles. It was invented by Honda engineer Ikuo Kajitani,[1][2] and was the first system of its kind.[citation needed] Different types of variable valve timing and lift control systems have also been produced by other manufacturers (MIVEC from Mitsubishi, AVCS from Subaru, VVT-i/VVTL-i from Toyota, VANOS from BMW, VarioCam Plus from Porsche, NeoVVL from Nissan, etc.).

Vtec just so u know is engaged by a solonoid that is operated by oil pressure... I believe and ussually activates at a certain rpm to help with gas mileage if you have any more questions pm me I'm on here 24/7 on a deployment nothing interesting to do.... Good luck and welcome to the site

 

[Trekk]

Best mpg improvements come from just learning how to drive Eco friendly. Which pretty much means use the brakes as little as possible, don't use the a/c unless you need it, dont speed, don't idle for long times, stuff like that. However it's a civic so even if you dog it all the time you'll still get like 15-20mpg. My civic takes about 10gal each fill up and my v8 takes 17gal I average about 250miles out of both cars, one cost about $32 to fill up and the other is closer to $62 lol. That's the price difference in mpg of a fast car and an Eco car... If you dog out the v8 you'll get a lot less then 250mpg out of the tank.



Vtec is a second cam lobe profile with higher lift, it allows more air to enter the motor at higher rpms to increase power, but at the same time allows the car to drive normal at low rpms.

 

[HeX]

Here are some tips on fuel efficiency...
http://www.clubcivic.com/board/showthread.php?t=215664