new to cars, new to the forum, Just picked up a honda.

[kg562]

hey guys, i recently just picked up a 1996 honda civic LX. Its bone stock and might want to put some work into it but i don't know much about cars and plan on learning how to fix everything on my own and some help of others hopefully. Any suggestions on what i should do first?

Heres a picture of the car i just picked up.

 

[MistahJuice]

Looks good man. What you "should" do first all depends on what you want outta the car and how much money u have to spend. But the general consensus is usually lower it on some good coilovers and get some nice wheels. That will net you a fun car to take around the corners and a nicer look.
If u want power:
1. It better be manual and
2. You better have a couple grand

Welcome enjoy your stay!

 

[kg562]

yeah its a stick shift, Im more tryna just make it look good, not much for the power, i wanna turn this into a full built handling car. I can do power after im done with the looks but thats a maybe lol. what are some good coilover brands out there? I was thinking of getting Tein Coilovers but they are around 1000. So far what i have in mind is getting Coilovers, rims, fog lights, maybe type r grill and maybe window visors. I just installed a HID kit into the car and not sure what else i should do. I don't know much about handling and what i need for handling. any tips?

 

[MistahJuice]

Alright well ur best bet is to google and read about all the different kinds. But through my research I'm going with koni yellows and ground control as they're the best for under $1000. You can choose your own spring rates, fully adjustable and lifetime warranty. Tiens are great also though if u wanna throw down a lil more. Also look into a subframe brace and sway bars and a good 3pt front strut bar. Your other plans look really good, just do some research, there's info for these cars all over the web.

 

[kg562]

alright cool, thanks bro! and what about control arms or something? I was told about it by a friend? i don't even know what they are. im new to all of this. i don't know anything about cars besides driving it but im tryna learn on my own slowly lol

 

[MistahJuice]

I'm 99% sure that the 96-00 civic rear control arms are all the same so you have the hole necessary for the sway bar already. And the LX already has a front sway bar so if u wanted to upgrade it there's spots in those control arms as well

 

[203CT]

Control arms are more for looks then anything else but if you are going to run a rear sway bar its a good idea to get some while your at it. The best rear lower control arms for our cars IMO are made by Function 7. Another popular suspension upgrade is a subframe brace. Again Function 7 makes a brace which is great but there are other option as equally good like ASR( A-Spec Racing). Like already stated do research and see what's out there. If you have any questions you can PM me and I'll be glade to help out in any way. Welcome

 

[AlaskaB16]

+1 on wheels

One thing to consider is going springs vs. coilover. For me, it's not about money. It's the surroundings and intended use. For example, my most recent stay in the lower 48 was in Denver CO where I could hit up various auto cross events or do some dirt road stuff when I chose (not a honda) so coils were a nice option to have. Now that i'm in Alaska, I don't have a reason to be swapping wheels or changing ride height so springs were alright. I see them for sale on Craigs fairly often for $100 or less but if you're going coils, you'll more than likely be paying a nice size chunk more than that (on average). Though if you can score them at a "good" price, by all means...

So in conclusion, be honest with yourself and what your true most immediate intentions are. Do you NEED coils or can you settle on springs for a while?

... I'd also like to point out that this logic does not apply to boost. That IS a NEED.

 

[kg562]

thanks for you guys help. yes, im all for the looks. "all show no go" lol, what are some popular brand names for swaybars and 3pt front strut bar.

 

[MistahJuice]

There's a couple good brands in the clubcivic/tuner sports store.