I'm New Here And Also To Cars...

[Wes]

I just got my first car, a [1995 Honda Civic EX 2D], and while looking for some accessories I found this place...

I was wondering if anyone could point me to some sites or places where I can learn more about cars... I'm not completly new to cars, but nowhere near what a regular car junky knows...

Anyways... welcome me and hopefully ya'll can help...

[sjsotelo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Wes @ Mar 13 2006, 06:14 PM) [snapback]100042[/snapback]</div>

I just got my first car, a [1995 Honda Civic EX 2D], and while looking for some accessories I found this place...

I was wondering if anyone could point me to some sites or places where I can learn more about cars... I'm not completly new to cars, but nowhere near what a regular car junky knows...

Anyways... welcome me and hopefully ya'll can help...
[/b]

Hey Wes!

Welcome to the site! We would be happy to help you with any questions you have, you can also learn more by reading the noob forum and read a lot of old posts.. Lots of good info throughout the forum! But if you can?t find any answers by searching the forum don?t be shy to ask.

-Stephen

[Hybrid_Coupe]

welcome...i think this is a much better place than honda tech...not a bunch of hating going on here. I try to be helpful...but i can come off a bit harsh sometimes...so if i do...im sorry ahead of time...just dont take me seriously.

[Wes]

^ Nah thats aight... arguing over the internet is like running a marathon backwards... ya your doing something, but it's getting you nowhere...

Anyways... The car is pretty much stock... just got a new motor put in my the dealer though... (and the rims aren't stock.. but came with the car)

What should I do first? Mod the engine? Do cosmetic work? Do the interior?



There is a backside pic of my car (dirty and scratchy i know... but i was test driving it then.. its all good now)

I'm getting some neons real soon just because a friend of mine is selling me some street-glow ones for $100... then ima get it tinted for free by another buddy... but then what? What did ya'll do first?

btw, I'll be working with probably $343 a month ($240 for the car and a fuckin $255 on the insurance) but i might get another small job somewhere to help out... now that you know my life's story... what should i do?

[Siege911]

What kinda engine is in there? I'd save up the money for turbo or swap... 'cause that's what I'm doin' right now lol. Looks nice, what kinda spoiler is that? keep it clean too btw. Stick around and you'll learn a lot, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

[Wes]

The spoiler doesn't look atock, but im not sure what it is...

Im also not sure tmotor.. where would i look to find out?

Another thing i've always wondered... whats the difference between a spoiler and a wing... as far as i know, a wing is like this (| and a spoiler is like this ]-| (look at that sideways)

[steronz]

all wings are spoilers, but not all spoilers are wings... generally wings are used to describe those giant aluminum park benches you see.

i'd pass on the neons unless you're really super into them... they'll just get you flamed in the import community now. those rims are actually decent, but your first mod should be to drop it... put your $100 in neon money toward some good eibachs or something and start saving up for when you blow the shocks. you'll be able to survive on the stock shocks for a while, but eventually you'll want (need) to upgrade if you're lowered.

also, invest in a can of trim paint to take care of the greying side moldings.

other than that, like they said, keep it clean and save up for a swap. got any more pics of that spoiler? i'm not usually a spoiler kinda guy, but that one actually looks interesting.

[Wes]

How low should i get it lowered? 2-3inches? 6?

Also... the guy i got the car from will pay for anything that messes up with it (like you said the shocks will) until i get it paid off... so thats a good idea..

Probably what i'll do first is get the windows tinted and get a cd player...

But as for expensive work i'm not sure on what to do... should i Lower it?
, Replace head/tail-lights? (those make a huge different in how it looks... besides, i hate the stock taillights) or get a new exhaust system? (for the sound and power)

Get back with me on this... i want my car to look/sound good and i also want it to run fast...

Oh, and here are more spoiler pics:

[steronz]

tint and a cd player are always good choices, but keep in mind that you can nickel and dime yourself out of a swap by doing a whole bunch of little things... tint, cd player and tail lights will run you $400-$500, which is 10% of an H22 swap, so you need to ask yourself... would you rather drive around in a slow car that looks good, or a fast car that looks exactly like it does now. there's no right answer, but it doesn't seem like doing both is in your budget at the moment. from the sound of things, i'd go with looks good but slow for right now.

also keep in mind that it's your car and you should do what you want, but like clothes, certain trends are out of fashion and other trends are "in". of course, being in means that you'll be like a lot of other cars on the road, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it looks good.

that being said, i'd lower it about 2 - 2.5 inches. a good set of lowering springs will run you about $150, and they'll improve handling noticeably. unfortunately, like i said, it'll blow the stock shocks eventually, which i doubt the previous owner would pay for since it would be entirely your fault for over stressing them. therefore, it's usually recommended to do springs and shocks at the same time... good shocks that can handle the lowering will cost between $350 and $500, but a nicely lowered honda always looks good, and a stock ride height honda on 17s just looks wierd. you can get some coilovers if you want to play around with the ride height, but i'll leave that up to you to research.

headlights and taillights you can do fine leaving stock, but with the EG there are some decent looking alternatives (one piece headlights or amber corners). i'd stay away from halos or projectors though. taillights can really fuck up a car with the quickness... if you do anything, do something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/92-95-HONDA...045843066QQrdZ1

that gets rid of the amber portion, but still looks clean.

upon closer inspection, that spoiler doesn't look like it was meant for a civic... is the center support just floating there? i can't tell if it makes contact with the deck lid.

[Wes]

Well if i was saving for a swap... it's probably take me a whole year because of my gross/net (whichever it is) income... i might get another job somewhere parttime...

Tinting will be free for me cuz a buddy of mine owes me a favor

The guy im buying the car from is a lot... and he said he'll fix whatever goes bad on the car (he said tires for sure... im sure he could to shocks, cuz i wear out tires just as much) he's a good guy

Those tail-lights look pretty good.. i just wanna get rid of that nasty orangish color in my stock...

btw, how much would it be to lower my car 2-3inches? I know a friend of a friend that'll do it for me... but i have no idea how much he costs... got a rough estimate?

Also... i don't think i could save my money to get an engine swap unless i had a way better paying job... the engine in it already isn't stock, the guy swapped it when i saw it, it's a stronger motor he put in and it works like a charm... any tips for increasing HP and power through small mods? (like air intake, ehaust or anything like that?)

thanks for the help so far btw