Engine?

I have a 98 civic ex coupe with a 16V SOHC VTEC I4 engine. I want to get some hp going but i dont know if i need a new engine or if i can upgrade this one. Would it even be worth upgraded this engine? Sorry if these questions are stuped, im a newbie. I would appreciate any help offered.

if you're working on a tight budget, then an engine swap probably isn't in the cards... But if you're willing to drop a few dimes on your civic, then an engine swap is the only way to start pulling serious power. The SOHC is puny and a very poor base to start building HP off of. It can be done and I've seen it done, but the bottom line is it's best to start with a DOHC if you're serious about power. Honda's DOHC engines are engineering marvels, creating as much HP per liter as many of the luxury race cars on the market (i.e. porche, BMW...) It all depends on the seriousness of your desire for speed, and your ability to do or pay for an engine swap.

Save up $1600 for a Greddy turbo kit, and about $1000-$2000 in mods/accessories to make it run well and it'll pull damn hard for a sohc. This will eliminate the need for intake and headers, which together cost $500-$1000+ for around 10 horsepower. My friend has a turbo ex and is a little faster than my type r, but he's spent little more on it for a boost controller, turbo timer, programmable ecu, etc... You won't regret a base turbo kit though.