TWiZTiD859
New Member
Hello everyone Im new here and I just got my first Civic about a week ago! I just bought a 1998 Honda Civic HX 2 door automatic. I have never owned a Civic or any Honda for that matter and so far after driving this one for about a week I love it! I was suprised how quick this little car is,even being 14 years old and 210,xxx miles it still gets up and goes pretty well. It is an automatic which kinda blows but I still like it a lot. As far as I can tell the only mods the previous owner did was put some kind of aftermarket exhaust system on it and tinted the windows. Im not sure what brand the exhaust/muffler is but I really like the sound of it. Its not too loud or annoying sounding like the hundreds of other Civics I see around here everyday. It has a nice mellow rumble to it and you can really only hear it when you floor the gas. But anyways I really know nothing about Civics at all but hopefully I will learn a thing or two by joining this forum. I just had a few basic questions that maybe you all could answer for me,please dont just respond with "do a search" or something like that.
First off,what exactly are the differences in the 98 Civic models? I think there is a LX,DX,and HX. HX is what i have. What kind of HP does the HX model have stock? Does the HX have any benifis over the other models or are they all about the same or are some faster or do they all have the same motor and tranny and its just the trim that sets them apart? Ive noticed that my HX has,IMO,cooler looking wheels that the other models lol.
Second,what are some of the most common performance mods I could do to get more out of my little 1.6L 4 banger? It already has an aftermarket exhaust system which Im happy with. So I was thinking maybe a cold air intake next. Any suggestions on brands for that? I did a little searching on ebay for mods for my Civic HX and seen some aftermarket intake manifolds with an aftermarket fuel rail,throttle bodies,throttle body spacers,injectors which are damn expensive,and of course turbos and tuners/chips. What are some good brands for all of that for Civics or brands that are popular with theCivic crowd or this forum? Basically what mods are really worth the money and will help out the most and which brands should I look for? Are the no name ebay brands for cold air intakes,intake minifolds,etc just junk or will they work just as good as name brands?
I am also considering lowering my car even though it already sits pretty low but I just love the slammed look on cars and trucks. I found some no name ebay spring/coil over lowering kits that looked pretty nice for the money that I was going to get but are those ebay lowering kits good quality? I found a few that have the adjustable coilovers and they have a scale on them so you can make sure all the springs are adjusted the same height. I think it was like $55 shipped which sounds like a good deal to me. Unless you all say otherwise.
My last question is,I want to replace my dull azz gauge cluster bulbs to some bright blue LEDs. Now before anyone says to search,I have been reading up on here about this mod but have not really found a straight answer. I need to know exactly how many and what size bulbs i will need to do this. I did this same mod to my S10 when I had it and it was fairly simple to do and it came out looking great. Ive read that I will need 5 #74 bulbs and 1 #194 bulb but then I read that some people needed 2-3 more bulbs and some people said instead of #74 bulbs they were #24 and that automatics needed more bulbs than the manuals and also models with a tach may need another bulb. So for my car which is a 98 Civic HX automatic with a tach how many and what size bulbs will I need to do my gauge cluster. And is there only 2 bulbs in my HVAC controls b/c i may do them too.
Well sorry for the loooong post but like I said,I know nothing about Civics this is my first one ever and I am excited to learn more about it and cant wait to start modding it. I just need a little help or at least be pointed in the right direction from someone with experience with Civics. I hope people will bare with me and read some of my post or all of it and takes the time to help me get started! Thanks Club Civic members!
First off,what exactly are the differences in the 98 Civic models? I think there is a LX,DX,and HX. HX is what i have. What kind of HP does the HX model have stock? Does the HX have any benifis over the other models or are they all about the same or are some faster or do they all have the same motor and tranny and its just the trim that sets them apart? Ive noticed that my HX has,IMO,cooler looking wheels that the other models lol.
Second,what are some of the most common performance mods I could do to get more out of my little 1.6L 4 banger? It already has an aftermarket exhaust system which Im happy with. So I was thinking maybe a cold air intake next. Any suggestions on brands for that? I did a little searching on ebay for mods for my Civic HX and seen some aftermarket intake manifolds with an aftermarket fuel rail,throttle bodies,throttle body spacers,injectors which are damn expensive,and of course turbos and tuners/chips. What are some good brands for all of that for Civics or brands that are popular with theCivic crowd or this forum? Basically what mods are really worth the money and will help out the most and which brands should I look for? Are the no name ebay brands for cold air intakes,intake minifolds,etc just junk or will they work just as good as name brands?
I am also considering lowering my car even though it already sits pretty low but I just love the slammed look on cars and trucks. I found some no name ebay spring/coil over lowering kits that looked pretty nice for the money that I was going to get but are those ebay lowering kits good quality? I found a few that have the adjustable coilovers and they have a scale on them so you can make sure all the springs are adjusted the same height. I think it was like $55 shipped which sounds like a good deal to me. Unless you all say otherwise.
My last question is,I want to replace my dull azz gauge cluster bulbs to some bright blue LEDs. Now before anyone says to search,I have been reading up on here about this mod but have not really found a straight answer. I need to know exactly how many and what size bulbs i will need to do this. I did this same mod to my S10 when I had it and it was fairly simple to do and it came out looking great. Ive read that I will need 5 #74 bulbs and 1 #194 bulb but then I read that some people needed 2-3 more bulbs and some people said instead of #74 bulbs they were #24 and that automatics needed more bulbs than the manuals and also models with a tach may need another bulb. So for my car which is a 98 Civic HX automatic with a tach how many and what size bulbs will I need to do my gauge cluster. And is there only 2 bulbs in my HVAC controls b/c i may do them too.
Well sorry for the loooong post but like I said,I know nothing about Civics this is my first one ever and I am excited to learn more about it and cant wait to start modding it. I just need a little help or at least be pointed in the right direction from someone with experience with Civics. I hope people will bare with me and read some of my post or all of it and takes the time to help me get started! Thanks Club Civic members!
Still though,Im happy with the performance as it is stock. What exactly is the Vtec anyways? And since my motor is only the SOHC and Vtec made for fuel economy,can I still get decent performance out of it with a few mods? Im thinking maybe a cold air intake first then maybe an aftermarket throttle body,Ive been looking at the Skunk2 Alpha series throttle body since the price is pretty cheap,and finally maybe a Skunk2 intake manifold to match the throttle body. What are your opinions on those mods? I already have some kind of aftermarket exhaust system and Im happy with whatever brand/type it is so I wont be needing an exhaust. Thanks again for the replies and advice!