I Need More Power!!! CAI, yes???

[Catspa]

Ok, i recently purchased a 94 fourdoor LX sedan, automatic with AC... ya ya ya, i know its auto, its fourdoor... but the price was so good that i couldn't turn it down, and i needed a car real bad... on the plus side the car is in mint condition..ie absolutely no rust..
At any rate, the car has no gusto to it at all, my girlfriend has 93 hatch manual, and its got way more snap to it.. SOooo is there anything i can do to my Civic?, apart from trading withthe gfriend?
has to be cheep... ya i know, nothins cheep...

Would a cold air intake give me anything... can i even fit one on? i don't think i can because of the AC.... even if i could is it really worth it.

Or should i just keep saving my money and buy the whole new exaust system from header to tail...

or should i consider a turbo - i know nothing about them, yet.

Any advice, info, whatever, is appreciated! :frog:


ps no i can't aford to buy another car right now, cause i'm going back to school, and my tuition would scare the crap out of you.

[Whtehnda93DXSdn]

a CAI will give you a small amount of power....Like 1-3 approx. But if you also go ahead and get the Headers and Exhaust and upgrade your plugs ans wires you should notice a little diff. those are the first few mods that everyone makes for a little extra.


Now you could swap out the motor and convert it to a 5 speed and just get the HP you might want right out the box w/ a DOHC B16,B18 or something along those lines. On top of that you could then add your I/H/E and benefit even more w/ the new engine.

If you did want to go the turbo route then don;t worry about a header and just get like a greddy 92-95 kit or look around on www.thepartstrader.com or www.ebay.com and find you a kit to put on there. that would be an option for some good HP, but also think about maybe building the internals of the engine to lower compression and run higher boost...

Hope this might help a bit.....along w/ other feedback you might hear..:frog:

[sparq]

DONT SWAP YOUR TRANNY!

Most automatics are worth more then manuals anyways - if you got a good deal on it to begin with, I would suggest you look into selling it or trading it for someone with a 5 speed. Sure you can swap it out - going to run you like $1000... and thats just another $1000 you WONT be able to get out of the car once you sell it, because when you list it for sale no one gives a damn that it used to be auto and now its stick - they arent going to pay for your car just because it has that - when they can find a stick car for $1000 less basically.

If your going to mod it, and keep it auto... let me be the first to post that Honda autos SUCK! Sure you can do a few basic mods, do your CAI, header exhaust... you still wont be lightning quick but you can beat someone with a stock civic (whoopy!) But dont even think about cam, cam gears, or anything else internal, the stock auto wont be able to handle it... so unless you plan on going to Level10 for a new auto unit think about what you want clearly.

Im not trying to down you, or the auto... hell the fastest cars on the drag strip are autos - but look at what you actually want out of your car, and your budget... and make a decision.

[Si2000 Vtec]

Sparky is right... Make a decision. If I were you, I'd keep the car, drive it until you find a 5-speed honda you like, and then sell your car and purchase that.

IN THE MEAN TIME...

If you really really really do want to get something for your car, the AEM CAI is your best bet... it's cheap and 9/10 people notice a power increase. Good luck.

[Catspa]

Hey thxs for the reply's!!

What do i want to do...? It can't involve buying another car, it'll be atleast 3-4 years before i will be able to do that... I've got a student dept so big, that i could buy an NSX with it - no sh*t.

So swaping engines/trany is out of the question.. don't have the time or money to do it.

So I've got Two questions.

CIA seems to be the way to go, BUT are there ANY downsides at all, other then increased noise? reliability? longevity? economy?

and what about TURBO's - should i consider this? Or am asking for big headaches? whats the down side here.

thxs all!!
p.s. so a CIA is really worth it..?

[Catspa]

Ok forget the Turbo, did some research, way out of my budget.

So CAI is defantly worth it? for extra passing power..etc..

** Any there ANY downsides to a CAI other then noise??????

thanks again

Still hard to come to terms with this car, considering my last one was an SHO...

[Si2000 Vtec]

Downsides of AEM CAI's:

.. If you submerge the air filter in water, your engine will go into hydrolock and you will have to get a new motor.
.. Almost every AEM CAI eventually rubs a hole in the side of the aluminum, except on D-Series motors like yours.

Upsides of AEM CAI's:

.. Increased power from idle to redline. Your car will feel much different.
.. An agressive growl sound will now come from your engine when you accelerate hard. You'll love the sound.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Only advice I can give you is just don't go offroading or driving through HUGE water puddles. You basically have to be a moron to get hydrolock with your AEM CAI. Anyway good luck.

[SCStreetRacer]

my dad has an SHO that is very fast..........let me tell you something.....you will never be satisfied with the power of your car, unless you go w/ an engine swap, or turbo.......if you go turbo your tranny wo'nt handle it.....if you just want a few extra hp...get a CAI.....and since you're broke......i've seen instructions to make your own CAI that performs just as good as any aftermarket one for very cheap............also......just buy a muffler then get an exhaust shop to bend you some pipe.....cheaper than an exhaust system. also gut your cat for a few extra HP.............but you will never be satisfied w/ the auto civic........

[Catspa]

Ok, thanks for the info guys, i think i'm going to do it...
Now just have to deside on which CIA to get, or whether i have the time to make one myself...

So should i buy an AEM or K&N - I can get a hold of a K&N really easily, where as i'd have to look around for an AEM, unless someone knows where i can pick one up in toronto area??

AEM? - Ok everyone seems to talk about AEM, so i know they are good.

K&N - K&N CAI from Canadian tire for about 170 CND. would be really quick and easy to get it.

I can make one - i could do it easily, but i don't really have the time on my hands, so i'd rather pay the extra 100 and save my time.

So whats the verdict? :smoker2:



p.s. - ya my sho was a really nice - ya i had rust on it, and interior was beat up - but had a lot of work done to it - Rims, tires, suspension, lowered, header to tail, EPROM chip - and the sound - oh my god, Beautiful - and nothing could touch me ah those were the days... but i'd never buy a ford again, dumb bast*rds couldn't fix the engine if there life depended on it... and my explorer before it was a money pit (3 trany jobs..rebuild, ..etc.. never again) I feel like i have been nutered