First time tuning/moding 10th gen 2018 civic ex-t

[DesertRider92]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this whole moding and tuning world. I just bought my first Honda a 2018 civic ex-t

I wanna start doing things with it and learning. Idk where to start honestly. I have started with the the head lights, brights and side markers. They’re all LED now(see pictures attached) I’m doing the flood lights Monday!

what do you guys suggest? And tips and lessons do you have to teach? I’m doing all cosmetic for now but will want to look into doing air intakes, blow off valves, coil overs, exhaust all that good stuff but I’m not that knowledgeable and do wanna over spend or make rash decisions. I’m open to listen learn and look at everyone’s builds.

 

[Velonici]

Our cars use a reticulation valve, so a blow off valve is normally a no no. Intake and exhaust seems to not do a whole lot other than sound due to the turbo size limitations. Best bet is to get a K-Tuner with an OTS tune and have fun with it. If you do want to go with an intake seems like PRL is one of the more popular ones. Exhaust is really up to what you want it to sound like.

My personal plans are K-Tuner -> Eibach Pro-Kit -> Better tires once the stock ones wear out. If/when I can hear some exhausts in person maybe one of those some day but my days of having a bunch of angry bees sound are long behind me so not sure what to go with. Also I always say the first "upgrade" anyone should do is a dashcam. Thats one of those things people never do/think about until they wish they had one. And by then its too late. Hope that helps some.

 

[DesertRider92]

Our cars use a reticulation valve, so a blow off valve is normally a no no. Intake and exhaust seems to not do a whole lot other than sound due to the turbo size limitations. Best bet is to get a K-Tuner with an OTS tune and have fun with it. If you do want to go with an intake seems like PRL is one of the more popular ones. Exhaust is really up to what you want it to sound like.

My personal plans are K-Tuner -> Eibach Pro-Kit -> Better tires once the stock ones wear out. If/when I can hear some exhausts in person maybe one of those some day but my days of having a bunch of angry bees sound are long behind me so not sure what to go with. Also I always say the first "upgrade" anyone should do is a dashcam. Thats one of those things people never do/think about until they wish they had one. And by then its too late. Hope that helps some.

Can you give more insight on tuning. I don’t know much about it

 

[Velonici]

Can you give more insight on tuning. I don’t know much about it

I havent done it myself yet, but from the jist of it you get the K-Tuner from the tuner of choice (phearable seems the be the one of choice), plug it into the OBD2 port and connect it to a laptop. Upload the tune and thats pretty much it. @gtman could probably fill in any holes I missed.

 

[Wingman520]

To give a VERY simplistic explanation of what tuning is that the ECM (engine control module) has a set of blueprints, or instructions provided by Honda for our engine to work to it's specifications. When you tune an engine with KTuner or Hondata you are modifying the set of instructions that were given by Honda. These can improve the performance of the engine, and in a lot of cases complement the bolt on parts and give more horsepower/torque that you get from aftermarket companies. @gtman would definitely be the person to provide some more information, or if other members wish to provide information about this.

 

[zspeed]

Get a CAI for intake. Ktuner or Hondata and you can call it the day. Make sure you use the proper gas for your tune.

 

[OhMyItsKev]

So if you want to hear more turbo noises, I suggest picking up a cold air intake such as the PRL Cobra.

And then, as others have suggested, getting a Ktuner from either TSP or Phearable which includes their tune will be the best bang for your buck.

The tune really changes how the car feels and makes it a much more peppy car.

Those two mods alone will cost you roughly $1k unless you buy used from members here.

Side markers, side mirrors you can get from Suma Performance. Not only do they have quality parts but amazing customer service.

Lastly, a BOV is not recommended for our cars and the stock BPV is more than sufficient.

 

[gtman]

OP, first off I see you mention a BOV. Get that thought out of your head right now. Trust me on that... just say no to BOVs.

In terms of what tuning is, it's a pretty vast subject and if you check my profile/topics you'll find plenty to read. What Wingman and Velonici said though is spot on. Basically, for our 1.5 turbos, it's the easiest and best power mod. It takes the very mild Honda stock ECU tune and totally transforms the driveability of your car in a way that no CAI, downpipe or other traditional bolt on mod can do. There are some risks due to the added stress, but nearly 98% of the owners in my tuning reliability thread have been basically problem free.

With an ECU tune file uploaded (like a Phearable 1.5 or TSP 1) you'll be giving cars like a GTI a real contest.

 

[DesertRider92]

Get a CAI for intake. Ktuner or Hondata and you can call it the day. Make sure you use the proper gas for your tune.

What’s a CAI? Sorry guys all these acronyms are new to me ???

 

[DesertRider92]

So if you want to hear more turbo noises, I suggest picking up a cold air intake such as the PRL Cobra.

And then, as others have suggested, getting a Ktuner from either TSP or Phearable which includes their tune will be the best bang for your buck.

The tune really changes how the car feels and makes it a much more peppy car.

Those two mods alone will cost you roughly $1k unless you buy used from members here.

Side markers, side mirrors you can get from Suma Performance. Not only do they have quality parts but amazing customer service.

Lastly, a BOV is not recommended for our cars and the stock BPV is more than sufficient.

Which PRL cobra? I am seeing two different types. Thanks for your input with everything!

 

[DesertRider92]

Thank you everyone for all this info! As for acronyms help me out a little lol I can figure some out but not all. Thank you all again!

 

[Velonici]

Thank you everyone for all this info! As for acronyms help me out a little lol I can figure some out but not all. Thank you all again!

CAI is cold air intake. Its the one with the longer tube that draws in colder air. And just a heads up you can get the K-Tuner from them directly, then buy the Phearable 1.5 or TSP 1 tunes later, if you buy the K-Tuner from one of those 2 companies you get the tune for free. Saves you like $100 doing it the other way.

 

[Ex-t hammer]

First Tires, your gonna need them! next Go find a Maxima and show him you paid 10-15k less for just a Civic ?

 

[OhMyItsKev]

Which PRL cobra? I am seeing two different types. Thanks for your input with everything!

I'm not 100% sure about Race vs Street. I think Race requires a specific tune or something like that as the Race version allows more air to be sucked in? Not sure someone can correct me. Street is just plug and play.

I personally have the Street version. The noises from it are wonderful. Also the temps are quite low compared to a Short Ram Intake (SRI). SRIs are not preferable due to heat soak as the intake is right next to the engine so the engine sucks in hot air which is no bueno.

https://www.maperformance.com/produ...ntake-2016-honda-civic-1-5t-prl-int-10g-cai-a

I also agree with tires. I was naive and didn't think tires would make a difference but i went from $60 iron man something or other tires to Yokohama Advans and it's a night and day difference.

 

[PRL Motorsports]

Which PRL cobra? I am seeing two different types. Thanks for your input with everything!

You would want to get the cobra that is for your car. We have Si specific option and the Non-Si specific option. You would want the Non-Si option since you have the Ex civic. As for street and race, the street you can install on your car and be done. But if you are also looking into getting a tuner you could also pick up a race intake and put a tune on to run it. That part is completely up to you and want you plan on doing in the future of modifying that car. I hope this helps

Here is the link for the intake that would fit you vehicle: https://prlmotorsports.com/collecti...ivic-non-si-1-5t-cobra-cold-air-intake-system

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