bunch of stuff

k... i have a bunch of questions so if you could give me ur opinions and knowledge on any of it it would help.

ive finally decided to start trying to pull a few more ponies out of my car. I want to stay N/A just because i think that its a better accomplishment to be able to smoke other cars w/o forced induction or NOS.

first off... ive seen a few people that have made their own cold air intake... not just flimsy air duct piping but with mandrel bent exhauast tubing and coated with high heat engine paint and pieced together with hose clamps and finished off with a K&N filter. Im pretty handy and creative and i thought it might worth my time and money to try and make an intake rather than spend 200 on an AEM or Injen. Has anyone tried this before or has an opinion about it? Also, what is the diameter of the tubing for an AEM CAI for a '90-'93 integra?

next... i wanted to get a full cat back exhaust and high flow catalyic converter. I live in CA, would this be possible and still be able to pass emissions here? or could i just get only the cat back or only the hi-flow cat. which would have the best overall effect for performance and the best for emissions?

next... ive heard alot about different headers and i cant seem to find a good one for my car for under 300 bucks. would it be worth looking into getting a used one or does anyone have any suggestions on brand, price, ceramic/stainless, etc...

next... ive heard alot about throttle body spacers. the ones with the helical air flow design. worth my money or not? any input or facts about this would be appreciated.

next... underdrive pulleys. ive heard that they often have a noticeable improvement and that they are worth the $125-$150. again input is appreciated.

finally... (thnx for staying with me this long) fuel controllers. once i have my engine breathing nicely with few restrictions... i thought that getting the fuel curve increased would be vital for maximizing the performance of my other mods. im really not looking to spend over 100 on this. just something to increase the amount of fuel being dumped in at WOT. Does this look like it might be what im looking for? mugen chip (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1874852458)

any input on any of this would be greatly appreciated. thanks

first off, if you wanna go allmotor, the ls engine is not the engine to start out with. go vtec, a b18c1 would do nice in your car, that would make a good all motor engine.

wouldnt the exhaust piping start to rust on the inside ? which if it does then its only a mattter of time befor eyou start sucking down rust and blow your motor. yeah 200 is alot but you get better quality than homemade stuff. i think its 3" piping

a catback wont effect your emissions at all, idk about the high flow cat though. if you want the best then get both but idk if the cat will pass smog, hopefully someone from cali can tell you if you can or not

i say invest the money on a ceramic header maybe like dcsports, yeah its alot but if you buy a cheap one then well you get waht you pay for.

i think underdrive pulleys are worth it, but ive heard stories of people blowing there motor when they were making high hp and running underdrive pulleys.

you want more fuel, get a fuel pressure regulator, and up yoru fuel psi.
i personally dont like chips because its not tuned for you car, its just tuned for a high hp car, second it raises yoru rev limiter adn on a ls engine, revving over 7 grand maybe result in a blown motor. also revving past 7 grand is just lost hp, doesnt really help unless your get cams to raise yoru stock revlimtier

I've always been a fan of the b18c1, I seem to be able to push more hp out of them than I can an h22 motor. Ok Honda's are all about the short stroke, most engines are built for torque, rather than horsepower. Larger bore equals more horsepower, while a longer stroke equals more torque. A long stroke allows the engine to produce power for a longer period of time, and subsequently more torque. There is a drawback to a long stroke though. b/c the piston must travel a longer distance, there is a limit to how many RPM the engine can handle. On the opposite end of the spectrum, an engine with a large bore and short stroke will produce less overall torque, but has the ability to reach much higher revolutions per minute, and subsequently more horsepower. Honda have been building engines with less torque, but the ability to rev much higher. This typically means that honda's don't accelerate as quickly right off the line as their counterparts, but they are able to accelerate for longer in the same gear. The point of my ramble is that honda's are meant to run at high RPM (b18's are reinforced with cylinder walls of ductile) this upgrade will not hurt the engine, seeing as it is designed to work with the engine at hand. Still I recommend Internal work with any vehicle. I'm mixed on throttle body spacers, but I doubt ppl get as big an increase as they say they do. There supposed to enhance mid-range power, torque, and fuel efficiency, who knows? For the intake, unless your really crafty with a welding torch (or I've seen them in PVC?) I'd recommend buying one, intake isint going to benefit you with the biggest gains. (Focus on internal work)

i understand that u guys want to give me the best advice and everything and i appreciate it... but i dont have nearly enough for a new engine. and if i did i would most likely end up buying a better car w/ the engine already in it. what i want to do is take my little 4-banger and all of its 142K miles and make it into a project. my goal isnt to build a vicious racing beast (although that would kick ass)... but more of a moderate weekend warrior. im sure i would like the speed and performance of a B18C1 but as of right now im just gonna keep what i have and bolt on a bit of power. i want to do it because i like working on cars, i like doing projects on cars, and i like seeing and feeling and being pleased with a job well done.

That having been said, any more advice you could give me? And remember my budget is as high as could be expected for a high school student making about 300 bucks a month that has to still pay for gas/insurance/repairs.

oh yeah... and in response to civickiller, i think the pipe is made of stainless steel so rust wouldnt be a problem. If its not i could always put a couple coats of light high heat engine paint on the inside of it... the segments i need to cut it in would be fairly small so even application of the spray paint on the inside is not difficult.

about getting the highflow cat, it does pass or is at least legal in CA. it will probably run a little less clean than stock, although i havent had the chance to find out, nor do i want to. i planned everything out, so i got smogged and then put everything in the day after. but you can always goto a shop and get some of that "pass smog" stuff that you put in your tank.

Yah........I'm pretty much the same way. I make about 600 dollars a month and I'm not into racing. I just want my car to be nice and I want to be proud of what I did.

1. Id get a DC Sports Ceramic 4-2-1 Header
2. Get the AEM cold air intake or the Iceman intake
3. Get a high flow exhaust system

These three things are the most popular things to do to the fourth gen civic. They will probably get you HP gains in the 15-25 range (it's different for all cars).

http://www.teamdelsol.com/howto/coldair/diycoldair.htm

Check that out... I built it, its great, I would never buy an AEM intake.