New exhaust for 2000 Honda Civic DX

[asdfbeau]

itll help a (very) little bit. chances are you'll feel like it helps at first, and then you'll start to really notice the separation between 'power, and no power'.

good luck on the low end thing, the same discussion's in the technical forum; cam tuning is all I can think of to help with that. that and lighter parts would help your acceleration. But I don't know enough, and the consensus seems to be that you just cant get low end power out of todays small engines(not that i fully agree with that).

at least itll be more responsive

[Nickeleye]

Ok, well, I guess the low end power issue is a whole other topic.

Back to the exhaust. I think I've determined I'll probably go with a ceramic coated 4-2-1 header, but I've noticed some come in two pieces and some as a single piece. I see the installation reasons behind the two piece, but is there any sort of difference in performance between the single piece and two piece headers?

[Nickeleye]

Can anybody tell me if the Thermal R&D Stealth catback system has a single tip exhaust or a dual tip exhaust? I've seen pictures of both and no sites that have it for sale seem to specifiy which one it is. The reason I want to know is that I don't think my current (stock) rear bumper will allow for a dual tip coming out of the muffler.

[SilverY2KCivic]

To my understanding dual tip mufflers will only come for cars that already come from the factory with dual tips. So a Thermal Stealth system for a Civic should come as a single tip.

Oh, and for referance sake, since I see lower end power is in your concern (as I don't blame you) the A'PEXi World Sport cat-back system is aimmed to increase lower to mid end powerband responsiveness. Also the type of headers you get will be a big factor in this as well. My recommendation would be getting the World Sportexhaust system (for EX Civic of course) and then getting an A'PEXi GT Spec header, which should further increse your lower to mid end responsiveness, as that's what the designe of that header should increase.

Also for a good comparison of headers for us D16 engine people, check out this very handy link.

[Nickeleye]

Well, actually I think I've pretty much decided on a ceramic DC Sports 4-2-1 header. After reading several posts it seems that trying to give a decent amount of low end power to a honda is just not going to happen... at least not too much anyway. It seems that since hondas do better at the high end I might as well go for an exhaust to help my mid to high end. However as you have said, the Thermal R&D Stealth is geared towards the lower end. One reason I was actually looking at the stealth was because it looks like it gives good performance and is a bit quieter than some of the others. I really don't feel like having a car you can hear coming from five blocks away.

[SilverY2KCivic]

You CAN get a bit of low end power from Hondas, it just can't be done with minimal money, and a couple mods. As for quietness, with my stock airbox on, you can't even hear my World Sport exhaust a house away.

[Nickeleye]

Ok, I'm just about ready to order all this stuff. I just want to check with some of you more experienced people to make sure that the stuff I'm going to buy will all fit together when it arrives. Keep in mind this will be going into a 2000 Civic DX Coupe:

Header:
DC Sports 4-2-1 Ceramic 2 pc for a 2000 Civic EX

Catalytic Converter:
Random Technology Hi Flow Cat. Converter for a 2000 Civic EX

Catback:
Thermal R&D Stealth for a 2000 Civic EX Coupe

I'd like to get this stuff to my house before next weekend so I'd appreciate if somebody could reconfirm that all of this will work together. I'd hate to get all this stuff and find out something doesn't hook up right.

[SilverY2KCivic]

Sounds like it should work to me... But some feedback from anyone that's already done the whole 6th gen w/ OBD2 header to exhaust upgrade would be some good help.

[Nickeleye]

Cool. I'd also like to hear any previous experiences people have had doing what I did.

[B16EJ1]

Never worked a DX motor but they should all fit unless your Civic is somehow different than any other. I've bolted parts on B series and OBDI only but basically what you bought should fit and if they don't it's because of a manufacturer mistake. The only problem I see would be the relocation of the second o2 sensor in the cat. I know that the cat is located in different places on the DX than the EX so you might need an o2 sensor extension and I've never been able to find one.

[Nickeleye]

I don't think the O2 sensor should be too much of a problem as SilverY2KCivic has said earlier:

"So get an exhaust made for a Civic EX ,and then when you get headers, just get a Civic EX spec cat and bolt that in between the headers you get and the exhaust system. Also you'll need to lengthen the 2nd o2 sensor wires to reach behind the new cat, or else you'll get stuck with an annoying check engine light being always on."

[Nickeleye]

Well everybody I did it. I bought the stuff I mentioned above and I installed it last weekend. So far things are working great and I'm pleased with the results so far. Thank for the help everybody.

[SilverY2KCivic]

Originally posted by Nickeleye
Well everybody I did it. I bought the stuff I mentioned above and I installed it last weekend. So far things are working great and I'm pleased with the results so far. Thank for the help everybody.

Sweet! What did you do about the 2nd O2 sensor?

[mattyoung33]

why the thermal stealth? I have the thermal R&D catback and I love it....

[Nickeleye]

I just spliced in about 2-1/2 feet of wire to the second O2 sensor. Looks good and worked like a charm. No problems.

Why the Thermal R&D Stealth? Why not? I got it because I didn't want an extremely loud exhust (although it's still much louder than the stock exhaust), it's all stainless steel (I really like this feature), and lastly because it's geared toward low-mid range RPMs.