Starting my Performance Build

Ainsvillainy

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Hello everyone, new member here.

I recently got my Civic just a few months ago, and I am ready to start adding some "big $$" mods. So far I have done just little stuff, like decals, window visors, side marker exchanges, etc. This Civic being my first car after a couple hand me downs from family members, I want to really make her my own. However, outside of changing the oil, I really don't know much about cars. Everything I've learned has been from my own research in the past few weeks when looking at parts and lurking the forum, so any and all information you folks could offer would be helpful.

What I'm mostly looking for are recommendations on how to make my Civic more of a fun daily driver car with a little bit of noise rumble. I already have a great time on my commutes through hilly Norcal, but I want to throw some money at her for some upgrades. I know I will end up getting at least a few illegal mods, but I want to try to stay CARB compliant wherever possible. So far, I am pretty locked in on:

Mishimoto CAI (or PRL if their CARB Process ever gets finished)
kTuner 1.2 (don't mind flashing back to stock for smog)
Rear Sway Bar - not sure of brand, any recommendations would be appreciated
RV6 Downpipe (not sure if the frontpipe combo is worth it?) - I understand that downpipes are not CARB approved and probably never will be, so will I have to replace it with the stock one for each smog check? I'd be willing to do if the performance and sound gains are substantial enough, any thoughts on this?

I'm also thinking of getting a catback exhaust just for the noise, I know the market is very limited on non-sport Hatch exhaust models. That is going to be further down the line I believe as I shouldn't expect much of a performance gain from that.

Is this a good starting point for a stock civic? Anything I missed?

Thanks a ton everyone! Happy to be a part of the community.
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Alj888

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Here’s my recommendations:

intake, intercooler, charge piping, exhaust, downpipe, Ktuner are all good ideas. Our cars have terrible air flow from the factory so a new intercooler and/or larger charge piping will go a long way with stopping the heat soak that they’re prone to. Intake for cool noises and slight power gain. Rear sway bar, I’ve got the 22mm whiteline rsb, I’d say the handling is very close to neutral. Definitely no understeer and if I really want I can induce some oversteer which is awesome. You can feel exactly where the car is and how much harder you can push it but be careful after doing it cause it can surprise you with the difference in rotation of the back end. Exhaust and down pipe: exhaust really is only for sound, unless I’m wrong or haven’t done my research there aren’t any huge power gains to an exhaust. In contrast, a downpipe has pretty substantial power gains and will really help wake the car up. Ktuner you will want/need for any of the mods above and just in general. It’s the number one mod you can do for our cars. Besides that the biggest things I would recommend are lighter weight wheels, (18x8.5 +35mm is a good performance size) and new tires are a must. Besides Ktuner, handling wise, you will notice the biggest difference after changing out tires.

here’s what I’ve got done:

- 27won race maf intake
- 27won intercooler kit
- Ktuner v2
- 27won downpipe
- 27won rear engine mount
- Whiteline rsb
- Whiteline springs (coilovers in the near future)
- Stage 5 ebc brake rotor and pad kit
- Goodridge stainless brake lines
- Enkei pf09 (18x8.5 +35)- on their way
- Continental extreme contact dsw06 plus for those
- Stock wheels with normal dsw06 as of rn and will be a winter setup.

All said and done, the car is completely different then stock. I’ve got a cvt, 100k miles, 10k miles with engine mods and no problems what so ever. Around the corners I have been yet to be lost by anyone and on the straights you would be surprised how quick these cars are if already rolling. Don’t have the performance wheel setup yet, it’s on back order, but I’m hoping the tires will help with traction issues under throttle. Tbh, have fun with it, make it yours, and do what you want. My word of advice, take it slow, one to a few mods at a time so you truly get to appreciate each mod for their benefits. Cheers mate!
 

dark_knight097

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I think it's a good list. The only things i'd add are an intercooler and some performance tires.

You should buy your ktuner from either Pherable or Twostepperformance. As they sell them with their off the shelf tune for free. Even if you decide to stick with the basemaps, it never hurts to have their OTS for a later time if you feel like you want just a bit more from the car.

For swaybars, most people here go with Whiteline's 22m bar but I would also recommend the RV6 adjustable bar. You can read a lot more about it here https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...nstall-guide-for-10th-gen-civic-type-r.46599/

For the downpipe, RV6 is a good choice since it allows you to keep the factory heat shield. This should help if you have to do a visual inspection. In terms of keeping CELs away, read this https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/cel-after-installing-rv6-catted-dp.45588/

Imo the front pipe is not a must, especially if you're thinking about getting a new exhaust system anyway. The downpipe is the only exhaust restriction on this platform.
 

hobby-man

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I'll go counter to the above points (which are good) and say to not get a downpipe unless you think you will get custom tuned and push for more power than what an OTS tune (Phearable or TSP) will net you. The extra low end torque could hurt your non Si rods.

My list for you based on what I'm hearing your goals are is:

Tune
Better tires
Rear sway bar
Intercooler
Intake
Front strut bar
Exhaust (catback)
 
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Ainsvillainy

Ainsvillainy

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Here’s my recommendations:

intake, intercooler, charge piping, exhaust, downpipe, Ktuner are all good ideas. Our cars have terrible air flow from the factory so a new intercooler and/or larger charge piping will go a long way with stopping the heat soak that they’re prone to. Intake for cool noises and slight power gain. Rear sway bar, I’ve got the 22mm whiteline rsb, I’d say the handling is very close to neutral. Definitely no understeer and if I really want I can induce some oversteer which is awesome. You can feel exactly where the car is and how much harder you can push it but be careful after doing it cause it can surprise you with the difference in rotation of the back end. Exhaust and down pipe: exhaust really is only for sound, unless I’m wrong or haven’t done my research there aren’t any huge power gains to an exhaust. In contrast, a downpipe has pretty substantial power gains and will really help wake the car up. Ktuner you will want/need for any of the mods above and just in general. It’s the number one mod you can do for our cars. Besides that the biggest things I would recommend are lighter weight wheels, (18x8.5 +35mm is a good performance size) and new tires are a must. Besides Ktuner, handling wise, you will notice the biggest difference after changing out tires.

here’s what I’ve got done:

- 27won race maf intake
- 27won intercooler kit
- Ktuner v2
- 27won downpipe
- 27won rear engine mount
- Whiteline rsb
- Whiteline springs (coilovers in the near future)
- Stage 5 ebc brake rotor and pad kit
- Goodridge stainless brake lines
- Enkei pf09 (18x8.5 +35)- on their way
- Continental extreme contact dsw06 plus for those
- Stock wheels with normal dsw06 as of rn and will be a winter setup.

All said and done, the car is completely different then stock. I’ve got a cvt, 100k miles, 10k miles with engine mods and no problems what so ever. Around the corners I have been yet to be lost by anyone and on the straights you would be surprised how quick these cars are if already rolling. Don’t have the performance wheel setup yet, it’s on back order, but I’m hoping the tires will help with traction issues under throttle. Tbh, have fun with it, make it yours, and do what you want. My word of advice, take it slow, one to a few mods at a time so you truly get to appreciate each mod for their benefits. Cheers mate!
Thanks for the information! This is very helpful, I'll definitely look into the tires and some of those brake upgrades for down the road.
 


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Ainsvillainy

Ainsvillainy

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I'll go counter to the above points (which are good) and say to not get a downpipe unless you think you will get custom tuned and push for more power than what an OTS tune (Phearable or TSP) will net you. The extra low end torque could hurt your non Si rods.

My list for you based on what I'm hearing your goals are is:

Tune
Better tires
Rear sway bar
Intercooler
Intake
Front strut bar
Exhaust (catback)
Thanks for the reply,

At some point I think I would run a custom tune. However it is my understanding that a custom tune is not really worth it for a stock car. My plan was to run an OTS/stock tune with the downpipe which would still net solid performance gain until I went in and got a custom one, after getting a few other mods. But, how much of an issue are the rods if I were to get the downpipe and run a stock tune for a while? If it would damage my car in the long run, I would wait and get both around the same time.
 
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Ainsvillainy

Ainsvillainy

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I think it's a good list. The only things i'd add are an intercooler and some performance tires.

You should buy your ktuner from either Pherable or Twostepperformance. As they sell them with their off the shelf tune for free. Even if you decide to stick with the basemaps, it never hurts to have their OTS for a later time if you feel like you want just a bit more from the car.

For swaybars, most people here go with Whiteline's 22m bar but I would also recommend the RV6 adjustable bar. You can read a lot more about it here https://www.civicx.com/forum/thread...nstall-guide-for-10th-gen-civic-type-r.46599/

For the downpipe, RV6 is a good choice since it allows you to keep the factory heat shield. This should help if you have to do a visual inspection. In terms of keeping CELs away, read this https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/cel-after-installing-rv6-catted-dp.45588/

Imo the front pipe is not a must, especially if you're thinking about getting a new exhaust system anyway. The downpipe is the only exhaust restriction on this platform.
I'll definitely do some research into those OTS tunes, thank you! I am thinking a catback and downpipe are going to be the way to go for my needs. For inspections, do you happen to know if reinstalling the stock downpipe is a requirement or have people gotten away with leaving the RV6 on?
 

hobby-man

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Thanks for the reply,

At some point I think I would run a custom tune. However it is my understanding that a custom tune is not really worth it for a stock car. My plan was to run an OTS/stock tune with the downpipe which would still net solid performance gain until I went in and got a custom one, after getting a few other mods. But, how much of an issue are the rods if I were to get the downpipe and run a stock tune for a while? If it would damage my car in the long run, I would wait and get both around the same time.
You're right it's not super beneficial to get custom tuned on a stock car. On the other hand, I ran all the standard bolt ons for a while before deciding to add a turbo and get custom tuned. I blew my motor on the first run. So I think there was a problem already brewing before. A lot of people run downpipe on non custom tunes so maybe I was just really unlucky. But I wouldn't do it again.
 
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Ainsvillainy

Ainsvillainy

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You're right it's not super beneficial to get custom tuned on a stock car. On the other hand, I ran all the standard bolt ons for a while before deciding to add a turbo and get custom tuned. I blew my motor on the first run. So I think there was a problem already brewing before. A lot of people run downpipe on non custom tunes so maybe I was just really unlucky. But I wouldn't do it again.
Oh wow sorry to hear that happened. I'm assuming you never found out the root cause of the motor failure?

I'm definitely going to keep doing research into Tuning and its risks, I've been keeping up on the running reliability thread. Thank you again for the help.
 

dark_knight097

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I'll definitely do some research into those OTS tunes, thank you! I am thinking a catback and downpipe are going to be the way to go for my needs. For inspections, do you happen to know if reinstalling the stock downpipe is a requirement or have people gotten away with leaving the RV6 on?
I'm not too sure on the inspection process in Cali, so maybe some locals there can chime in.
 


hobby-man

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Oh wow sorry to hear that happened. I'm assuming you never found out the root cause of the motor failure?

I'm definitely going to keep doing research into Tuning and its risks, I've been keeping up on the running reliability thread. Thank you again for the help.
Not yet, I've been pretty focused on getting the new motor sorted out. It does look like I bent a rod though. Torque is usually what kills rods.

I definitely wouldn't say basemaps or OTS tunes are unsafe. Just that when you start adding bolt ons, especially those that can produce more low end torque (read: downpipes) you're out of the realm of what the tune designers had in mind and it's better to look at custom tuning.
 

Alj888

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I’ve got another recommendation....

Go buy the $20 type r subframe brace. Seriously, it was my very first mod and I genuinely noticed a huge difference in how composed the car was on the road afterwards. The rough bumps and uneven roads do not affect the car nearly as much. Makes it feel much more planted in my opinion. Some people say they didn’t feel a huge difference but I definitely noticed one.!
 

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I'll go counter to the above points (which are good) and say to not get a downpipe unless you think you will get custom tuned and push for more power than what an OTS tune (Phearable or TSP) will net you. The extra low end torque could hurt your non Si rods.

My list for you based on what I'm hearing your goals are is:

Tune
Better tires
Rear sway bar
Intercooler
Intake
Front strut bar
Exhaust (catback)
do you recommend to do these in the order from top to bottom?
 


 


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