1988 ED civic upgrades

[TRD_4age]

Well i just purchased a 1988 Honda ED civic sedan. It's gonna be a base for tuning. But i have no clue about how to modify Civic's.

Right now the car has bucket seats and a fully rebuilt Twim carb motor. That's about all it's got.

so im just after a few tips on what mod's will make the car perform a little bit better. I got a few hundred dollars to spend on parts.

So what would be some worthwhile modifications to the car ?

cheers

jarrod

[xtnsevolution]

Start with an aftermarket panel filter, i read in your previous post that it already has one so thats ticked on the list.

I'd suggest a set of extractors and a 2" exhaust with no cat.
The exhaust on my ED is a custom built stainless one and exits on the right hand side of the car not the left. This meant i could have a dead straight pipe for 3/4 of the system.
there's all the carby mods floating around this site, i havn't tried them but I've heard you can get decent power gains.

There a few that should keep you going for a bit.
I'd then throw some money into coilovers and brake pads. A decent set of tyres wouldn't go astray either.

Hope this helps.

Christian

[TRD_4age]

Yeah that's what i was thinking along the lines of. Cause i got the intake sorted out, then that just leaves the exhaust. Should i go custom made or buy a off the shelf headers ?

Also yeah i wouldn't mind getting a set of high performance leads and a upgraded coil pack.

[pat88c]

I would go the set of extractors and a 2" exhaust but with cat as it legal to run without one due EPA rules

if on budget look into a set of new shocks, low springs, buy ED9 crx rear sway bar (ED civic didn't come with one) and some 15" rims with good tyres( Bridgestones, Toyo,, Falken or Dunlop)
Will reduce body roll, improve handle of your civic and make look lower :D

But if you have some money buy a new bush kit for suspension , Coilovers and rear disc brake conversion from ed9 crx
And if you want another motor go with SOHC Vtec engine swap as done by a few other members on here

[TRD_4age]

Yeah i already got me some 17x7" rims from my last little rice burner. So il just whack them on, they got brand new tyres all round so it should already handle better.

yeah i was looking into Polly bushes. They seem to limit movment in the suspension and that.

yeah one day i would love to get a sohc Vtec but damm there expensive.

[xtnsevolution]

17s will rub on full lock.
Im running buddyclub N+ coilovers, whiteline sway bars and i re-bushed the whole car. I also got buddyclub wheels and bridgestone re001's. The car handles brilliantly! the amount of grip is phenomenal.

As far as rear brakes are concerned, I wouldn't upgrade them to disks unless you were going to swap engines or really bump up the power. I think the standard system is really good if you upgrade the front rotors to something like DBA slotted rotors and use a set of decent semi-race style pads ( Hawk, bendix etc ) with some decent high-temp brake fluid you'll have no issues stopping. Im running a set of hawk pads and the only time i get any sort of brake fade is after 20 minutes of absolute punishment. You could also benefit from having your calipers rebuilt using new seals etc.

Christian

[TRD_4age]

Damm that some serious shit you got there lol.

If you don't mind me asking, How much did all that set you back ?

also yeah i would like to bump the power up heaps, but that would be down the track like 1 year from now or so.

also yeah one of my mates, bother in laws works at protorque so i got now worries about bushes and brakes and shit like that.

I wouldn't mind whiteline sway bars, had a set on my rolla and it really seemed to stiffen up the body roll

[markismaximus]

like DBA slotted rotors and use a set of decent semi-race style pads ( Hawk, bendix etc ) with some decent high-temp brake fluid you'll have no issues stopping.
Christian

Do DBA make slotted rotors for the ED? Looking at their catalogue they don't list anything?

[TRD_4age]

could i upgrade the front calipers and rotors at all to a ealier model ?

yeah they do a slotetd rotors for the front. but at $197 per rotor, **** THAT. i rather get the normal one for $79 each lol

[xtnsevolution]

Damm that some serious shit you got there lol.

If you don't mind me asking, How much did all that set you back ?

also yeah i would like to bump the power up heaps, but that would be down the track like 1 year from now or so.

also yeah one of my mates, bother in laws works at protorque so i got now worries about bushes and brakes and shit like that.

I wouldn't mind whiteline sway bars, had a set on my rolla and it really seemed to stiffen up the body roll

It wasn't cheap. I've been adding over the past few years. Im not rich enough to do massive buy up like some of the guys on this forum lol.
from memory i paid:
$1200 for my buddyclub wheels
$1500 for the coilovers
$600 for my re001 tyres
about $1500 ( give or take ) on other suspension bits ( sway bars, bushes etc) ( $300 for the trailing arm bush press tool from the US )
$200 for pads
$200 for rotors
$300 for 4 point harness
etc etc etc

Its depressing now that i look back at the money I've spent lol
I've just forked out $6000 for a DC2R wreck for parts aswell.

Modifying is expensive but I'll happily say I get my moneys worth in fun!

As for power, you have a few options

Dont expect HUGE gains from exhaust, intake, carby mods etc. you'll notice them but it wont be mind blowing.
As I'm sure you've heard a million times, swapping the engine is the better way to go as far as value for money is concerned. I know someone that totally rebuilt their d15b4 with forged internals, bulletproof head and quad barrel webber carbys. That thing was an absolute weapon! problem is it cost over $7000 to build and due to the engine tune it was running, it had trouble starting everytime and had an idle like a broken truck. I guess its a matter of weighing up the pros and cons of each engine and what you get for your coin.

I hope my ranting is somehow helpful.

Christian.

[xtnsevolution]

Do DBA make slotted rotors for the ED? Looking at their catalogue they don't list anything?

I got my rotors about 18 months ago.
they were " DBA 242mm slotted and ventilated rotors "
They could have been discontinued since?

[pat88c]

I got my rotors about 18 months ago.
they were " DBA 242mm slotted and ventilated rotors "
They could have been discontinued since?

i pretty sure there the ed 242mm disc's are the same size as eg , check tomorrow

If you can't find 242mm disc good time to up grade to DA9 262mm disc's

[TRD_4age]

Shit lol it adds up in the long run. Makes me depressed seeing how much im looking at spending to get the car track ready lol. Makes me wonder why i went with the ED lol. But yeah if i can find a cheap vtec motor im just gonna run thrash the carby motor until that breaks. But yeah im hoping that simple mods will improve the handling of the car to make it worthy of racing lol

But yeah you can make any motor fast just dpends if you have the money to do so.

But for me this is all i got planned so far
. Full exhaust system
. Full polly bush kit
. Stiffer and lower suspension
. Custom CAI
. Thicker leads and better plugs
. Slotted rotors with hawk pads
. Rear sway bar
. Rebuilt or upgraded calipers

Thats all i got on my list for now, it should make for a grear first diy track car lol

It wasn't cheap. I've been adding over the past few years. Im not rich enough to do massive buy up like some of the guys on this forum lol.
from memory i paid:
$1200 for my buddyclub wheels
$1500 for the coilovers
$600 for my re001 tyres
about $1500 ( give or take ) on other suspension bits ( sway bars, bushes etc) ( $300 for the trailing arm bush press tool from the US )
$200 for pads
$200 for rotors
$300 for 4 point harness
etc etc etc

Its depressing now that i look back at the money I've spent lol
I've just forked out $6000 for a DC2R wreck for parts aswell.

Modifying is expensive but I'll happily say I get my moneys worth in fun!

As for power, you have a few options

Dont expect HUGE gains from exhaust, intake, carby mods etc. you'll notice them but it wont be mind blowing.
As I'm sure you've heard a million times, swapping the engine is the better way to go as far as value for money is concerned. I know someone that totally rebuilt their d15b4 with forged internals, bulletproof head and quad barrel webber carbys. That thing was an absolute weapon! problem is it cost over $7000 to build and due to the engine tune it was running, it had trouble starting everytime and had an idle like a broken truck. I guess its a matter of weighing up the pros and cons of each engine and what you get for your coin.

I hope my ranting is somehow helpful.

Christian.

[xtnsevolution]

Shit lol it adds up in the long run. Makes me depressed seeing how much im looking at spending to get the car track ready lol. Makes me wonder why i went with the ED lol. But yeah if i can find a cheap vtec motor im just gonna run thrash the carby motor until that breaks. But yeah im hoping that simple mods will improve the handling of the car to make it worthy of racing lol

But yeah you can make any motor fast just dpends if you have the money to do so.

But for me this is all i got planned so far
. Full exhaust system
. Full polly bush kit
. Stiffer and lower suspension
. Custom CAI
. Thicker leads and better plugs
. Slotted rotors with hawk pads
. Rear sway bar
. Rebuilt or upgraded calipers

Thats all i got on my list for now, it should make for a grear first diy track car lol

I have a set of brand new hawk pads lying around if you want them. They're great pads but need a few sudden stops to get them up to temperature.
As for thrashing the engine and waiting for it to break lol! good luck! My engine is 378,000km old and has had a hard life, taking into consideration oil is always changed at 5000km and i only use 98 octane fuel. It only now starting to show signs of age.

the ED is a great civic because it weighs 870kg!
I'd personally do everything you have mentioned except for the leads etc. I think with the d15b4 it wont give any benefits. Im running standard leads and I've never had a problem.

Christian

[TRD_4age]

PM a price for the pads, cause i can't seem to work out how to pm yet lol .

Yeah they sound like a tough little motor, seeing as mine has had a full strip down rebuild i hope it can take a few months a thrashing lol

Oh yeah i don't want to waste money where it's not needed lol il just go get some ngk plugs , as they seem to be pretty decen nowdays.

[xtnsevolution]

PM a price for the pads, cause i can't seem to work out how to pm yet lol .

Yeah they sound like a tough little motor, seeing as mine has had a full strip down rebuild i hope it can take a few months a thrashing lol

Oh yeah i don't want to waste money where it's not needed lol il just go get some ngk plugs , as they seem to be pretty decen nowdays.

Im running the $5 each NGK plugs. No issues at all.
I'll pm you now

Christian

[TRD_4age]

Yeah lol that's all i plan to use lol bugger spending like $150 on those quad spark tipped ones, or what ever you call them lol .

if i keep the servicing upto it, i don't think i would have many problems. Like i bought a mazda 626 that had it's last serivce at 245.932km and the car is now on 304.560km and it idles rough and spits some water out the exhaust.

but yeah the only thing im gonna spend money on is brakes,tyres and suspension. Everything else is fine until it breaks.. lol

plus im hoping for 60hp from the motor once im done with the mods.

[xtnsevolution]

post up some pics. Im keen to see how she looks!

[TRD_4age]

Yeah man i got pics but there only on my phone. I can send some to you if you want to give me some pointers on how to mod the car.