Does anyone know how to get a lot of hp with out tubro or supercharging your car?

Yeah, get one of those electric superchargers off ebay :loser: . Then add headers and exhaust and you'll be runnin 9's at the track all day long... :grinno: j/p. About the only suggestion I can give you is a motor swap. Otherwise you'd have to go with bolt-ons. I don't know of anything that can produce tons of horsepower without forced induction. Late...

A good engine buildup will produce a good amount of horsepower, but don't expect to reach the same numbers you could with forced induction.

Bolt-on's and internals is the way to go for N/A motors. Higher compression internals will yield better performance, but be sure you reinforce the motor to be reliable under higher compression. Might want to consider a stroker kit or boring out the cylinders slightly for higher displacement and a more agressive camshaft(s). Engine management system and an improved fuel system will also be a good idea. If you want, individual throttlebodies is also an option.

Be sure to decide what you want out of the car first - that will decide what you buy and how you modify it.

A good engine buildup will produce a good amount of horsepower, but don't expect to reach the same numbers you could with forced induction.

Bolt-on's and internals is the way to go for N/A motors. Higher compression internals will yield better performance, but be sure you reinforce the motor to be reliable under higher compression. Might want to consider a stroker kit or boring out the cylinders slightly for higher displacement and a more agressive camshaft(s). Engine management system and an improved fuel system will also be a good idea. If you want, individual throttlebodies is also an option.

Be sure to decide what you want out of the car first - that will decide what you buy and how you modify it.

ya whatever he said.
good ideas for what to do first and what the end result will be is to ask someone down at the local drag strip. port/polishhed head, research and built bottom end, eliminate any unneeded pieces, pulley and flywheel size reductions. cams are a must. skunk2 intake manifold. there is a guy at the local strip who ran an 8.7 on the 8th mile in a del sol, all motor no nos. then he ran an 8.3 with nos, and after adding his turbo setup he ran a 7.9. so you are going to have to build up youre motor regardless.

There is tons of stuff do upgrade inside the motor, plus weight reduction plays a huge role, any given honda can lose at least one or two hundred pounds. that guy claims his del sol weighs 2000. though he did replace the windows with plexiglass and cut out the inside of his doors and stuff. going N/A is a respectable way to go with it, just dont count on being able to get all the stuff you need off ebay or kragen, it takes much more time to get to put out the same HP.

make sure to get that compression up and stable, and it youre not anti-NOS it should become 70shot capable

dont over look any minor details when ur building up your motor. A good all motor company is Toda.

As most people said bolt ons (intake, header, intake) might net you about 10-15hp the most. It's not neck snapping power at all. Realize that you bought a Civic which is an economy car.

In order to get the most power for your $$$ you need forced induction OR a really well built NA engine (which could end up costing more money than FI).

a little note. (i'm almost 100% sure on this) the ratings honda puts on their engines, is w/ power steering, A/C, and the alternator. so if u take off the A/C, and swap to manual steering (which isn't as bad as sum say) there's about 10-27hp. the wide range is all dependant on the motor & accessories u'r dealing w/. and that's pretty cheap hp if u ask me. u can get a used manual steering rack from a yard for around $100, and that's basicly the only thing u'd have to buy.

as for other exterior bolt-ons, yeah lightweight flywheel (not size reduced), lightweight crank pulley, BIGGER alternator pulley (YES BIGGER), CAI, header, REAL hi-flo cat, 2.25" catback (if u dealing w/ a D-series, 2.5 for all the others N/A) w/ straight thru exhaust and not loovered, intake manifold, bigger TB, cam gear/s. actually, stock Honda spark plug wires have tested BETTER than most aftermarket "upgrade" wires. even stock Honda spark plugs r not worth changing out, just get new ones. fuel mods eventually but not absolutely necessary by this point. the stock fuel pressure regulator will notice the better breathing of the motor, and will actually add more fuel than before. but nothing major.

your not really making HP taking off the AC and switching to manual steering, your just freeing up the HP that the motor used to run the parts. same with underdrive pulleys and exhuasts and intakes. these productsz do not make HP they simply free up HP lost due to their stock restrictive design.

your not really making HP taking off the AC and switching to manual steering, your just freeing up the HP that the motor used to run the parts. same with underdrive pulleys and exhuasts and intakes. these productsz do not make HP they simply free up HP lost due to their stock restrictive design.

if u want to get technical, absolutely every bolt on mod, internal and external, is not really making HP. u'r just reducing restrictions on the motor. so yeah u'r right. so yes u'r only freeing up HP, but it's still a gain. either way they r upgrades for more resulting HP.