What can I do for some cheap performance.

[cMoOn7799]

Hi all,I'm new here & i dun know jack about cars. Anyway..., I finally save up enuff money to buy myself a Civic '99 (Auto). The car will be ready for me to pick up in a few days time, I like the price, like the outside of the car, but not too crazy about the engine, coz its a SOCH. i wanted to modify it but i've pretty much empty my bank account getting the car, plus I didn't sold my old Wira coz wanna keep it just for extra incase my family needs it. So rite now I hav around RM4k - RM 5k budget left to spend on the Civic. and here's the question : what can I do for some cheap performance with that small amount of money ?? please me out guys. Thanks

 

[boosook]

well...are u going for the performance or the visuals?...if ur not going for the performance then u can mod the looks...maybe wit some bodykits..change to a sport rims..change muffler..heheh... if u change all that ur car will have the sporty looks oledi...hehehe..

 

[cMoOn7799]

Well.... the car has bodykits install already, it also has a nice looking muffler on it.Except for the Braking system. I’ve made the shop owner do lots of stuff for me, something like checking the CV joints Suspension bushings, bearings Air filter, oil filter, oil change, transmission oil, PS oil, Power steering system, steering rack, tie rod ends, at 1st he offer the car to me for RM64k then discount it to RM61k, so I told him that I dun want the discount but he has to do all those stuff for me, he even agree to change the rims & tyres for me, the car came with a 17” rims & low profile tyres, I ask him to change it to a 16” for me, coz 17” tyres too $$ for me. So I guess I hav to change the rear drum brakes to a Disc brake right ?? how much would it cost ?? & wat’s a good one ??
Oh yeah..., and I’ll be bring along a mechanic to make sure that everything’s all rite, b4 I take the car.

 

[EVO3gsr]

from 17 to 16??? u gotta get the 17 n sell it urself then buy 16....worthy.....

since ur car half mods....try to tinted it if not yet done

servise ur car with Q8....better response n got kind of flushing function....

brake oil change if dirty....flush it....

rear brake not necesary to change to discbrake unless u change engine....sohc engine not tat powerful...drumbrake stil can hold it...

 

[cMoOn7799]

it's oledi tinted, the 17" tyres r kinda worn out, so I dun think can sell, just the rims can sell only. i let the shop owner do this coz he can make money out of it so he can do all the other stuff for me. the car will be service b4 I get it.
I just want to make it perform a lilttle bit better, and oh yeah, the air filter has been change oledi, I dunno wat brand but i think that shape is call a cone.
so wat else can I do to get more performance out of RM4k - RM5k ??

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

do basic service for ur car first lo... later only think about mods...
if u car already serviced, try patch up some leaks and rust (if there are)... coz usually 2nd hand cars are kinda old...

 

[boosook]

Well.... the car has bodykits install already, it also has a nice looking muffler on it.Except for the Braking system. I’ve made the shop owner do lots of stuff for me, something like checking the CV joints Suspension bushings, bearings Air filter, oil filter, oil change, transmission oil, PS oil, Power steering system, steering rack, tie rod ends, at 1st he offer the car to me for RM64k then discount it to RM61k, so I told him that I dun want the discount but he has to do all those stuff for me, he even agree to change the rims & tyres for me, the car came with a 17” rims & low profile tyres, I ask him to change it to a 16” for me, coz 17” tyres too $$ for me. So I guess I hav to change the rear drum brakes to a Disc brake right ?? how much would it cost ?? & wat’s a good one ??
Oh yeah..., and I’ll be bring along a mechanic to make sure that everything’s all rite, b4 I take the car.

if u wanna change the back to disc brake go to halfcut shop better...its cheap and can consider good if u choos ethe rite wan..hehehe

 

[boosook]

4k-5k...if u wan good performance...do an engine transplant first lo as a start..then slowly mod..for further info as ppl who owns honda...hehe

 

[gavan]

hmm, a worth while upgrade of can enigne to to install a b16A in it, but with Rm5K budget, i suggest you just keep it just in case things turns up not too good :D get what i mean?? cause an engine transplant is not cheap, especially since its a honda ;D maybe just do a full service and check up of your car before doing a mod :D

and erm, since you getting it from a shop, take it home and send it to a mech to do another check again, cause i had the same experiance, i got the car, the mech at the seller there said the car is okie, good condition and such, then i brought it to my regular mech and i had to do an engine transplant as the blocked cracked already, so more money went out there, so i suggest you keep the extra cash just in case something like my case happens :D and:( congrats on gettig a new car too :D

 

[cMoOn7799]

Ok, i'll keep that in mind. so here's wat I'm gonna do, I'll take it to a good mech shop (there isn't much of those in Penang thou) ask him to check everything to see if there're good. Then I'll get an engine transplant rite ?? how much do u guys think i would hav to spend on it, coz i just remember I still hav my credit cards i never really used them b4, i should be able to fork out another RM7k, will that be enuff for the whole operation ?? How & where can I get a good used B16A ?? :rolleyes:

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

after u do whole body check for ur car and ur mech say ur engine still in good condition, dun transplant first lo... use till u fedup with the underpower engine... now u still getting used to the car ma...
my advice after do servicing, do some interior or exterior refurnish... put some ICE inside...

well, of coz the choice is with u... if u so eager to have an engine transplant, go for it... scout around chopshop area and see where got lo... found ur target adi, ask ur mech come along check out the engine...

 

[gavan]

hmm, i heard the last time someone did a b16a transplant plus some mods, cost him around 11K for the whole job, i duno wether its just the transplant itself or totally done up, but i guess its around 8K to be safe :D the last time my mech did a b16a(A), small v, costed the fella around 5K i think, but yeah, like what skywalker said, get used to the car first, then till the engine dies(overhaul or konged) then only think of getting a transplant, like myself, im using a 1.3 engine, not satisfied with the power, modded it step by step(student style is alwiz like that wan, alwiz shortage of $$), and even tho ive trashed the engine kidna bad(highrevs sometimes, eg: carb tuning, high speed testing and also shootout event) but my engine still lives, cause i meantain it properly, like oil change and all, but i bet when i clocked enough milage on it, it soon will have to reach its age, only by then i hope i have enough cash to do a transplant, like what most budget modders would say, if your engine is still running fine, leave it be, cause once you have transplanted(unless you get a whole new engine from the factory), the engine you got might also give you problems, so if your current engine is running fine, leave it be :D i bet it would serve you well if you take care of it :D then slowly mod to your liking :D like extractors and all that, gives you more time to bond with the car :D

 

[whatdamn]

crimson moon,
other forummers have said it once, i'll say it again, fully service the car, make sure everything's fine. actually you should downgrade to 15"s they'd give you better drivability. if you really want to mod your car, i'd suggest this in no particular order:

1. 15" rims with good tyres like bfgoodrich = RM 1440
2. TiTaN suspensions = RM 3000 (without pillowball mounting for the front)
3. Mintex brakepads = RM 500 (rough estimate)
4. Q8 Oils = RM 170 (F1 fully synthetic)
5. SSCUS Semi Buckets = RM 1000 (driver+passenger)

i guess that should keep you pretty happy till you've got enough money for a b16a or b18c...mmmmm :D

oh do the rims then suspensions first. cause then you'd get the suspensions to match the rims due to the downgrade (if you want la)

however, it would be wise to just service the car and wait till more funds (cash...not credit) arrive. i wouldn't suggest using your credit card to pay for an engine transplant.


good luck with your car :)

 

[boosook]

i suggest u not to do ICE for now...coz alot of ppl breaking in cars and steal the ICEs..
and ICE need alot of money to spend...

 

[boosook]

B16A is around 6k...my bro just did his transplant to his city...but auto la...if manual more expensive...6k together wit installing wan...diff place diff price wan...im not sure how much izit in penang tho..

 

[cMoOn7799]

Well..... i got a pretty good taste of a 1.6 SOCH engine for the past 4 years :thumpdown , I've been driving a waja 1.6 (Manual) for the past 4 years, the handling r very good tho. my bro traded it in for a brand new VIOS 1.5G, so now I'm driving a 1.5 wira (manual) stock car just for simple transport. oh yeah, I still hav my ICE that i've install in my old Waja, not a very good sets but I kinda like it, 2x 6" and 2x 5" Focal component speaker, 2x Cevin Vega 12" Woofer, 1x Sound Stream Amp and a normal monoblock Amp for the woofer and a Panasonic MP3 player, I dunno all the model no. of these thing lol.... :tongue:
This will be my 1st car that I dun hav to share with anyone at all, I get to do shit to it & nobody cares but wat u all said is true also, get to know more about the car better b4 transplant, that way I can know how much different it will be when I change 1 thing on the car.
I just wish that there's something small I can do to it for the time being, like changing the Air filter & exhaust pipe, but that was oledi on the car when I got it. is there anything else simple I can do to it ??

 

[cMoOn7799]

Wow, this forum is really running, b4 I finish typing my last msg, there's oledi 3 reply. I really like this, I could sit here & type all day if I had enuff time, lol.... I'm still working at my office rite , coz I'm a computer technician & our shop is inside a shopping complex so hav to work on sundays :frown:
Oh & btw, the car is oledi lowered, & has full normal body kits install on it, just without a spoiler. I might give the suspension a good long thought. I think it might not be good anymore. so for the time being I'll try to refrain myself from doing an engine transplant, coz I tot an engine transplant isn't a very extreme thing to do, but after I heard all your advise, I think it will be the last thing on my to do list.

 

[gavan]

ahaha, well, yeah, engines are the last things you should do, unless you plan to go all power and no outlook :D then all the money can go there lor :d kekekeke :P but yeah, really should try to get the handling good first before anything else, makes the transplant later easier as you dun need to worry bout suspensions giving you bad handling marr.. :D titans are fully adjustables, makes like so much simpler when you need to adjust them, wish i had the cash to get one set myself tho :D

 

[SkYwAlKeR]

yeap yeap... do with the handling first... engine transplant is kinda extreme... coz u need to spend much time looking for a good n reliable engine, look for good mech to install, and deal with jpj.. after that, u might get other small problems if u didnt mount the engine properly...

since u have so much money, go for titan adjustables... heard many say vr vr good... IMO, titan shocks are much bigger than normal... means better kua... haha...
put some bars in ur car also increase ur handling capability...

in short, make ur car as comfortable and suitable for u first before going engine upgrade...

 

[cMoOn7799]

lol...... I always tot installing turbo or super charge r extreme coz I see all the cars here did engine transplant, but seldom see ppl with turbo or super charge. Does anybody now how much Titan for my Civic would cost ?? and i think Titan is one of my customer, they make all kinds of stuff including computer CPU heat sink, if they r the same Titan maybe I can get a discount for it lol