most power for least money

I just bought a 97 civic ex coupe (manual) and was wondering how i could get the most horseopower out of 1200 dollars. Any and all information would be appreciated seeing as how i am no expert. Thanks

[AzCivic]

If you want to keep the stock engine then to get the most HP for the dollar Id get a AEM cold air intake(about. $200) and nitrous(about. $500) then you'll have 500 left for what ever else you want...maybe a short shifter(90-120bucks) and some lowering springs(not too low and not coil overs) and some good struts.

[Fatal070]

Intake , Header , Exhaust , and a Intake mannifold there yah go u should have enough money for that the best names to get are AEM Intake, Apexi Exhaust , DC header, Skunk2 intake mannafold there yah go

[AzCivic]

Yeah thats a way you could go but for the most Hp for the dollar nitrous can't be beat. If you do everything right you shouldn't have any reliablity problems, although if you car is still under warrany you probably won't want in until the warranty runs out.

[Fatal070]

my honda didn't give a S*it about the Exhaust or intake

Originally posted by Fatal070
my honda didn't give a S*it about the Exhaust or intake

LOL! Mine didn't give a shit, either. Actually, it sounded like it was taking a shit.

[Fatal070]

lol

[thermal]

97 civic EX for $1200.....WOW! anyway, personally, i did the intakes/header/exhaust route myself and it doesnt compare to the power and potential of Force Induction-supercharger or turbo. i prefer turbos. nitrous is cheap but the possibilty of "not being there" sucks sometime....meaning, it'll run out. u can get a GReddy kit (without an intercooler) for less than $1500 now. install it yourself cuz it's really easy. the stock setting is 5.5 psi which is capable of giving you an extra 40-50hp. an I/H/E set up can cost close to a $1000 (with installation) and NOT gain 20hp. trust me, i'm broke but very happy since the turbo set-up. it was worth every penny.........this is my opinion only but i'm sure a few people here will agree.

one thing i would strongly advice is to make up your mind early. do not make the same mistake i did. if u do the I/H/E route then turbo later, you'd be wasting money on the headers and intake cuz the turbo will take its place. unless you choose to supercharge with JRSC then you'd be able to reuse those I/H/E.........

I have a turbo kit that i custom fabricated for my b16 total cost is around 1000$ and from my stock 160 i am now around 230@ the wheels at 7lbs of boost if you need help on going the route i did let me know

[Racing Rice]

I agree with the last 2 statements.. Dont waste your money on I/H/E.. Its just not worth it!

Go FI.. or just leave it stock.. unless you plan on doing some serious internal work..

Originally posted by Fatal070
my honda didn't give a S*it about the Exhaust or intake

Neither did mine. Hehe.

[nonovurbizniz]

(93 Ex Coupe D16Z6)

i don't have a header but my cai and exhaust helped out UNBELIEVABLY the stock system was WAY too restrictive.
I have the iceman cai. when it's in it's short ram configuration it's better than stock... when it's sitting in the bumper IT"S REDICULOUS how much of a difference it makes (even compared to it as a short ram) the exhaust isn't a HUGE difference but it does make a difference. as far as a header is concerened yes if your getting a turbo later you might as well open your windows at 100 with the cash sitting on the passenger seat. but if your not going to do turbo then it's worth it with a cat. other wise you create an air volume incompatability between what the aftermarket header will try to let out and what the cat will let it put in it. this in effect causes a hiccup in the exhaust gasses.

I'm not sure if it's the kind of exhaust you get but everytime i drive by another honda they hit the gas like they're in a v8 and it sounds like shit (way to open) it sounds like a 90 year old angry smoker vomiting or something. my car has a rather nice growl. don't get me wrong with the cai in place and im in vtec my exhaust is nothing short of (REALLY LOUD).

as far as the original question best bang for the buck

LINK <a href="http://www.homemadeturbo.com/">HOMEMADETURBO</a> LINK

DIY BOOST BABY

[2000Pimpinex]

For $1200, get a turbo. I wouldn't get nitrous because you can't use it all the time. Plus if you get a turbo, then you can get more bolt ons later.

SO wot is a desent sounding exhaust? is the Apexi World Sport a good sounding exhaust? coz no 1 seems lyk ne sound exhust.

[AzCivic]

Yes the Apexi WS has a nice tone and isn't too loud.

I've got a 97' EX with I/H/E, pullies, and hi-flow cat . Deffinitely go with the TURBO. Same $$$ with much more GO GO GO! And, if you don't have the outside all dressed up, you'll be a killa sleepa.

Quik

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

If you're looking for more power, nitrous has the highest power/$ ratio. You can't spray all the time, but it will get you the power when you need it.

[AzCivic]

Anyone notice that the person who started the thread hasn't replied or even made another post since this one???

this is not a smart ass reply but
isnt nitrous bad for your car?...like the engine internals?
i guess youd have to see what the kids gonna do with the civic...cos in auto x, nitrous would be useless, but still fun on the street
for auto x you can start with bolt ons then put on a new camshaft, valve springs, retainers and maybe cam gear and pulleys, then its just your engine pushing harder, thats what i plan on doing

[AzCivic]

Why would nitrous be bad for an engine? As long as you don't abuse it and make sure the extra fuel is there then everything will be fine, as long as you kept the HP shot small. And what does auto-x have anything to do with it. The question was whats the most HP for the money.Lets look at it this way going your route, you'll spend close to if not more than $1800 assuming you do all the work yourself, and that crap aint easy, and you'll get about 30 maybe 40 hp, pushing it though. Not to mention the price of anything you screw up(hypothetically of course). OR you just get nitrous for $475 and instantly have 30-75hp, with like $1400 left over. Oh why would nitrous useless in auto x, asumming it was allowed?

dont be so quick.....it was more of a question, do you have nitrous?.....the straightaways in autox arent really nitrous friendly....so i guess i was just saying it depends on what the kid wants to do to his car....and i know mechanics and they all say the same thing....kids quick to put nitrous on their cars usually **** something up because they dont think long term about their cars....ive only drove in cars with nitrous and i would love to have it, maybe not in my daily driver, because i know it burns clutches out too(just look at the specs on performance clutchs, it has a limit to nitrous shot) i guess if youre looking to save money on performance be careful. right? seriously

oh yeah and for what did you say 1800 dollars that ill spend my engine will run longer, stronger, and smoother so if i did put a turbo on it later id have the muscle in the engine needed to take the abuse, and it is abuse, im just saying before you put out the easy 500 dollars for nitrous ask a mechanic that wont make any money on the deal if its a good idea. so for the least money you should always think long term, but that fast and the furious movie qouted that right?

[AzCivic]

with the stuff you want to get, your engine will not run any longer, or smoother(tad bit stronger though, as in faster).. So that cam your talking about getting is that going to be geared toward N/A performance? which will become a waste of money when you go turbo...I'm tired of explaining myself to you, its obvious from you last post you have absolutely no idea what your talking about, who are these mechanics you say you know, do they work at midas or something? cause midas only hires incompetent morons(at least here in Tucson) or maybe they just have trained monkeys in the back...anyway doing that stuff to your engine will NOT make it any stronger or able to handle boost any better than stock, maybe worse with a N/A cam geared to long duration and overlap allowing boost to flow right out the tail pipe. Nitrous burns clutches? yeah if you're using it everytime you hit the accelerator. face it, if you drive hard thats whats going to burn a clutch no matter if its with nitrous, turbo, or just stock. Knowing how to drive might help though. In auto-x i'm sure nitrous would come in handy when an under powered car is trying to accelerate out of a turn or down a straight away. hmmm instant power that wouldn't help out in a race????Oh wait it would....Well i guess i did explain myself.

midas? are you okay? i talk to mechanics that work on honda and toyota engines allllllll day at dealerships, where they replace worn out engines for teenagers on their parents dollars...how old are you? and how much work have you done to your car, or any car for that matter?.....they make cams for turbos and for n/a, and just the same if i did put a turbo i would reconsider the crower cam and going with the stage 2 turbo cam......have you ever had nitrous in your car?.....ever drove in a car with it?......or did you just see how well it worked in "the fast and furious"?......nitrous in the wrong inexperienced hands can ruin engines......go put nitrous on your car and then try to auto x with it on, they will put you in a class with highly tuned engines(n/a) where you will get your ass kicked in time, because you cant control your car.....and you will be running over more cones then the woman with her husbands camaro out there, because its not used in touring car racing, or ever has in road racing.....in drag racing where you drive in a straight line it is........go read a book and quit reading things of manufacturers websites, they will say its reliable, its quality, and it makes you go fast so you will buy it....go get some nitrous and lets have a reliability test man

nitrous in scca is prohibited....and coming around a turn hitting the nitrous will be so abrupt that you better be in fifth gear around a 50 mph at the apex turn, because you are going to send the car straight into understeer, you know what that is right? they dont allow it in any good competition road racing and even if they did, no racer would need it because theyre engines would be tuned from the block up and would last long, like endurance racing, you think they use it at lemans?

[AzCivic]

How old am I? what in the hell does that have to do with a damn thing. Yes i agree in the wrong hands nitrous is bad for an engine, hell in the wrong hands a stock engine isn't going to last long. And don't tell me to read a friggin book your the one over here saying that a cam, cam gear, pulleys, boltons, is going to make your engine last longer and run smoother and be stronger, the only thing thats going to make an engine stronger is replacing the internals with stronger ones. Have i had nitrous in my car NO, have i driven a car with nitrous YES. Its not like the car is just going to fly off the damn road when you floor it or hit the button. Don't come up on this board spoutin $hit about fast and furious this and that, like thats what i base my opnions on. I base my opinions on fact and trusted opinions of others. If you asked any damn professional track racer if they could have nitrous hidden in their car and no one would care, do you think they'd say oh no way man, its just too powerful, it'll make me go too fast, i don't want an edge on anyone. Yeah frigin right. As far as putting nitrous in my car it'll have to wait cause I'm saving for a H22 swap which i'll do myself. Oh if you really need to know my age I'm 21 and incase you're wondering what i do for a living, I forecast weather for the Air Force, I have the responsibility for protecting BILLIONS of dollars worth of military resources. No i'm not some friggin kid who watches fast and furious over and over, as you do apparently, since you keep bringing it up.

whatever dude, you go watch your two billion dollar blips on the screen.......my first post was merely a question of "doesnt nitrous ruin engines?"........if i had another 1200 to put into a unmanipulated car i would go bolt on because its safer. and it is safer on your car.....you will go a hell of alot quicker, but if your engine is not high performance tuned, its not gonna last as long as an engine with bolt ons, rightttt? just answer me that, cos thats allllll im saying.....www.scca.org...and look at their rules, no nos allowed, id love to have this conversation with someone who has it, because then id learn something, i just feel like ive wasted alot of time, but being in the military you know what thats like right?

[AzCivic]

i no longer have an f'ing clue as to what the hell you are talking about. First your like nitrous would be useless in an auto x race and now you're saying they don't allow it in the rules, ???????????????????? They don't allow allot of damn things what the hell does that have to do with anything. wasting time in the military WTF??? High performace tuned??? do you have any clue as to what you're saying? If the fuel can keep up with the nitrous and you retard the timing, everything will work out fine.

[AzCivic]

And another thing" blips on a screen" WTF are you talking about, are you a complete moron or do you just play one on the internet?

[Sivik]

wow this is funny... i got my entertainment for the night

and yes, nitrous is safe if you have adaquete fuel, proper ignition signals and sparks, and don't try a 100 shot on a stock engine.

and actually, if you had lets say a small 20-30 shot, coming out of a turn would not be that bad and would give you a quick boost to gain speed. it depends on your set-up. you can actually program a chip to vary the nitrous amount at different rpm's.

and yes, i've had nitrous before .

[AzCivic]

Originally posted by Sivik
wow this is funny... i got my entertainment for the night

and yes, nitrous is safe if you have adaquete fuel, proper ignition signals and sparks, and don't try a 100 shot on a stock engine.

and actually, if you had lets say a small 20-30 shot, coming out of a turn would not be that bad and would give you a quick boost to gain speed. it depends on your set-up. you can actually program a chip to vary the nitrous amount at different rpm's.

and yes, i've had nitrous before .

Thank god someone with some common sense.

[Sivik]

Lol, your not alone...

[thermal]

alright chill out everyone......we are all friends here. any FI and nitrous system can be safe providing ample fuel and ignition is applied. tuning is the key.

im not trying to make enemies and i know that properly tuned any system would work, but do you really think someone thats trying to save money should put something like nos on his car?..thats all and i work with tons of military guys so that was not personal, just used to f#$5kin with them

[thermal]

nitrous is not really cheap anyway. getting it refilled once the bottle is empty can be costly. eventually it will reach the same cash amount as a turbo kit.

thermal this is just a question, how much would it be to get nitrous for the d16z vtec engine, like the zex kit? and the places around here always refill tanks, how much does that cost?....

[AzCivic]

If you want to talk common sense... You can get the zex kit for $465 from http://www.importcarpartsplus.com/ which is about as cheap as it gets. It'll also answer alot of questions people have about nitrous.

Nitrous will reach the cost of a turbo, but it'll take awhile a long while would be my guess. Assuming your just a casual, everyonce in awhile racer.

To clarify what I was saying: THE MOST HP FOR THE DOLLAR IS NITROUS. Also Nitrous WOULD come in handy in a race around a track.

unless you wanted to compete and thats all im gonna say

[AzCivic]

This is what you said: "the straightaways in autox arent really nitrous friendly". We're not talking about rules here.

k