I live in Los Angeles, and I see modified civics everywhere I go. I also sit in 2 hours of traffic, twice a day, everyday - I sit next to sports cars, trucks, SUVs, and minivans; all going the same speed, regardless of their engine size. Obviously I'm not the only one who does this, and as much as I love to see fast civics, it always makes me wonder why someone would spend money to undo the efficiency that was designed into these cars (its not just gas mileage I'm talking about).

I'm not trying to start an argument, just trying to illustrate a point (or 2)...instead of sinking money into your civic, why not just wait, and buy a bike, or something that was built to suit your needs? Note: i'm not saying that buying some high HP POS car is the answer.

I see people posting 'what if i swap this; or what if i boost it; what if i spend this much money; how much money before I'm satisfied??'

If speed is what you're after, there are better ways to get it; if racing is what you're after, there are better ways to do it; the only substantial thing you will get from spending money on your civic is knowledge; if you don't appreciate that knowledge for what its worth, then you've wasted your money no matter how much faster your car goes.

i don't even know what the fuck i'm ranting for...it's Friday. I just get tired of the whole "i've done this to my car; my car is faster than yours" bullshit - so what if your car is faster?

cuz civic's are cheap, have clean lines, can be tastefully modded, have a very light chassis, and are a dime a dozen when it comes to performance parts.

yah i know i could forget about spending 2grand on my engine and just buy a cheap sports bike and obviously own the shit out of every car i encounter on the road.. but i think its a principal thing. i mean yah its deffinitly cheap and im a college kid and i can't afford to dump 10's of thousands into my engine but i think it will be fun as hell to be able to beat some pretty serious engines and when i pop my head show them my lil 4 banger.

its the same reason anyone buys anything.. personal taste

as for all the ricer civics' you encounter.. please be sure to seperate them from the rest of the civic owner population. they give civic's a bad wrap and should be shameful. lol

and besides all that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE WORKING ON MY CAR. every spare chance i get im either out working on it, working on my engine in the house, or looking up research or parts. if i didn't have my car to work on i'd probably be half depressed or something lol

its my hobby. i love working on it :)

simply put; i'm naturally a quiet person around people i don't know, and my car is my way of being "loud" in a crowd. it's a form of personal expression. i drive a completely beat up, stock, automatic, 90 crx dx as my daily commuter. that is obviously not my form of expression. my art is in my 88 crx project. it's far from done, but i hope to earn sum respect once it is this fall. not that i'm going to be whipping around town racing everything and anything i can thinking i have the fastest car. i got over that years ago. i'm talking about the worthwhile respect of those capable of understanding the hard work and talent that will be required to complete wut i am tackling. if i can i will take sum pics and post them of how it sits right now, and as it progresses.

this isn't really an argument, but a thoughtful discussion. thanks we need these more often around here.

very tru. not an argument at all. simply a thoughtful discussion.

i too am looking for a little 'respect' lol. i do everything on my car with my own two hands.. i mean literally. and i take a lot of pride in my work and parts and taking the car to the local meets and track will make my day when i get ppl going "whoah thats a clean civic. nicely done.. or wow that was a pretty quick civic" etc etc.

asdfbeau--whats your car of choice? are u into modifying cars at all or ur just curious

its a good feeling when people realize the hard work that YOU put in, little details, every visible bolt hand polished, brackets hand polished, the msd hiding on the bumper support, and not a wire in sight...its a way to show how you are without speaking a word

Its a hobby.

Its a hobby.


I agree, I have a beat up 1996 civic hatch, and it's an extension of myself, everything I've done to it, everyone or thing I've hit, MINE! I LOVE MY CAR. I have a motorcycle to get my speed kicks in. Civics are great cars, 150,000 miles and showing no signs of wear.

I think the reason i put money into my car is because i like the looks, i like how it drives and overall i like working on cars....otherwise i would take the easy way out like you are doing and simply buy a different car. People that sink a lot of time, money and effort into their Civics aren't really necessarily looking for a fast car, but something they can be proud of and say that they built...not bought.

I work on cars because it's relaxing, and gives me something to do with my hands and all my pent up energy and frustration after work.

I work on my Civic because... well, I've put 50 thousand miles on it in less then 2 years. I work on it because I HAVE to. As much as I'd like to build the internals and turbo it, strip the interior and put on a rock-solid suspension, I can't. It gets driven daily (obviously). So I put the mods on it that improve it the most for what I do with it. I need that sound dampening material in the car to keep me from going nuts with the sound. I want a soft, comfortable ride (in moderation), and above all the car has to be 100% reliable in all weather and all modes of driving.

Thusly, things that are going on the car in 3 weeks.

Aftermarket clutch, slightly heavier then OEM
Shifter bushings and short-shift kit
Replacement body panels for those damaged over the winter

and slightly down the (figurative) road...

Hub switch for 4 wheel disc brakes and 5-post hubs
15" Alloy wheels with summer performance Yokohamas
13 or 14" steel wheels with blizzaks (for winter)
Some additional minor sound dampening
Coilovers/suspension work

and so on. If I ever get another daily driver (not likely) I might turn the Civic into a rally car, but for now, I just aquired an older jeep that needs my TLC. I'm thinking offroad rally.

Whatever you do, have fun!

prolly cause its fun to take a cheap slower car and make it a fast car with your own hands. i can see the logic in that altho i would prefer to take a car thats already fast and make it faster. but i dont see logic in throwin a bunch of useless stuff on a car and doin nothin to the engine.engine first body kits later.