Im getting a 97 civic hx, 2 door, manny tranny etc. I was wondering what kind of hp it can make with all stock stuff and what kind of possibilities, or restraints I have will have the non vtec engine? what advantages will i have (ie: more lightweight, heavier?) thanks. :smokin:

I have the same car, it is VTEC, but a special version that no other hondas have, called VTEC-E, and the E stands for economy, unfortunately. The HX is almost identical to the EX, with the exception of the valve-train, computer, and other options the EX has like sunroof. Other than those few things they are identical cars. The HX gets probably the best gas mileage of all civics, and it is a very light car. It has 115hp, only 12hp shy of the hx, which isn't much in my opinion. I put an intake and catback exhaust on mine and I am looking for more to do with it also. The rims that come stock on the HX are some of the lightest rims for civics that honda made, and to my understanding a lot of people want them, for being 14" Honda rims, they are pretty attractive. As for other mods, im researching right now. I'm 99% positive that you can put an EX performance intake manifold or throttle body on. Same goes for ignition upgrades, pulleys, etc. You can't put a header on however, since the HX has a weird manifold setup, and you can't put a cam in it. Basically there aren't any mods made specifically made for the HX (engine mods at least). You can get away with some EX bolt-ons, but only to an extent. As far as body kits, etc etc. any 96-98 2-door body mod will fit. Hope that helps.

my bad, typo on the hp ratings, i meant to say the HX has 115hp, only 12 shy of the EX. :eek7:

Don't get a Civic HX if u plan on adding alot more power. The CVT transmission on the HX can not handle much more power than stock. Try to get at least an EX model.

If you read carefully he said it was a manual trannsaxle.

i really dont have much choice on the model. Im getting such a good deal with it, its hard not to pass up. Would getting an ex engine help solve my problems, or go bigger? Is there any differences in the suspension, or brakes? I used to have a crx and there were plenty of differences between hf and dx. But, since im stuck, is it hopeless, or would modding it become successful? Any ideas would be great.

The only difference between the EX and HX is mainly the head. The HX has roller rockers and the EX has a different valve setup. Like I said, there's only a difference of 12hp, not very much at all. You could gain that with a simple exhaust/header/intake. If you really want to, you could convert the hx to an ex with very little work. What you would need to do is buy an EX head, bolts right on, an EX intake manifold, also bolts right on, an EX exhaust system, from the beginning of the header all the way to the muffler, which will also bolt right on. You will also need the EX ecu. You could probably do all of this in 1 day...it's called a mini-me swap. Dont listen to anyone telling you that hx can't handle a lot of power because of cvt, only the hx automatic transmission comes with cvt, the manual version is a lot better. I've done a little research, and for best results switch your tranny to an ex manual. ALTHOUGH, i've been reading on the hx a lot lately, and despite the lower hp, an hx can break even with an ex or even beat it in a 1/4 mile. This is because of the roller rockers, and the hx tranny has closer gear ratios and a longer final drive. So with every shift you'd pull a little bit on the ex. Just a thought. I'd get the hx, it's a tad bit under the ex in performance, but gets incredible gas mileage :bigthumb: And you can always do an engine swap later on, i'm doing one myself this summer.

You could spend $1,500-$2,000 on an intake, header, exhaust, throttle body and clutch, for about 15-20hp, or $2250 on a 160hp B16A2 swap from www.hmotorsonline.com and be very much happier with your car. Just a thought.. I mean unless you're going to swap out the internals, tranny, new head etc and slap a turbo on there running 11+psi, you'll never be content and always want more power out of your econo-sohc.

on hmo does motor come wit tranny whe you buy the b16a2???

You could have gone to the site and checked... Yes, they come with every little thing you need.

If you really want to, you could convert the hx to an ex with very little work. What you would need to do is buy an EX head, bolts right on, an EX intake manifold, also bolts right on, an EX exhaust system, from the beginning of the header all the way to the muffler, which will also bolt right on. You will also need the EX ecu. You could probably do all of this in 1 day...it's called a mini-me swap.
eh, the mini-me swap is a 1.5 block with a VTEC head. And also, maybe you can answer this for me, but I've read that the HX uses a bigger cam than the EX does, just wanna know if this is true or not.