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cheap performance upgrades for a civic?

W

wasssup

Diamond Member
I was trying to sell my '99 civic, but all i'm getting is lowball offers so far, so I might as well keep it as my daily driver. What are some cheap performance upgrades (that actually make a difference)? It's 100% stock right now. I don't want to be a riceboy, I just want a car that handles better.
 
you won't get any worthwhile gains from anything outside forced induction... leave it stock

edit:
for better handling, get some eibach springs and tokico shocks and maybe some swaybars. You'll probably need better tires and wider rims also.
 
You might want to overclock it. It might need a voltage mod, and if you install some proper cooling you might get 15-20% more.
 
a friend of mine added a strut tower brace and better tires to his Civic...said it made a noticable difference.
Not real familar with Civics...perhaps, headers, CAI, computer re-tune, stiffer suspension parts.
 
If you like working on your car I'd say put a cold air intake in it, I put one in mine and get faster low end speed it seems.
 
I dont have a civic, but I have done a range of performance mods to my car (a 99 Supercharged Grand Prix...sort of an anti-civic 🙂 ). Anyway, you'd need to do some research, but for handling there are a few inexpensive mods that you can typically do. Front and rear strut tower bars are usually pretty cheap and easy to install and help keep the body a little flatter in hard turns. Also, sway bars again help with body roll, but they are a little harder to install (but still possible with instructions and the right tools).

DONT get a wing...

If you want to add power, you can always look into NOS. Just dont get a ghey fogger like in Fast and the Furious. Also, get one that kicks in at wide open throttle not via a big red button (again like Fast and the Furious). Trouble with NOS is that it can be dangerous. I think a small 35HP shot or so would be pretty safe, but do this at your own risk. I also would assume that a new intake would help a little bit as would exhaust, but stay away from the fart can/can of angry bees mufflers.
 
Intake and exhaust are the easiest, but if you cheap out on them, you'll just make your car sound like crap. Best bet is to not even bother, because you're not gonna get anything worthwhile without FI.
 
Thanks..yeah, I think I might go for the sway and strut bars for now and see how that works out. Is a certain brand better than others, or will those cheapo ones on ebay actually work?

Thanks for the suggestions on suspension upgrades, i'll definitely look into it...as for engine swap, I guess i'll see if I can find a cheap 99-00 civic si donor car for that. I've heard people are getting b16a2's for around $1000 installed these days...
 
Tires will make the biggest difference IMO, 17in rims with some low pros...will definitely increase your cornering ability.
 
I/H/E, but it won't be cheap and the gains will be minimal. I did I/E on my integra, bought a header, but never put it on because I didn't think it's worth the price. So I'm going to sell the header (along with the car now) instead of taking the time to put it on.
 
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