I'm really.. really new here.

Braiton

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Hey what's up guys, I'm Braiton. I just got a '19 Aegean Blue Civic SI and I love it so far. But..... I'm super new to modifying cars.. in all aspects.

There is so much to know.

I used to always ride with my neighbors back in the day when they had super nice cars, and growing up watching racing movies, etc. I've always wanted to do this stuff but I now have the opportunity.

I want to make my car stand out to people who enjoy cars. I want it to drive, look, and sound beautifully. Sound pertaining to the car and also to the audio system (which I think is pretty trash at the stock).

I'm looking for a push in the right direction, tips and tricks to get parts at good cost, recommendations for the list of things below, and just to introduce myself to you all.

  • How can I make the audio sound better?
  • Quick, easy bolt on mechanical mods that you recommend to give me some more horse power and possibly make my engine bay look tight.
  • Weighted shift knob, short shifter, where to buy acuity because their site is sold out?
  • Carbon fiber hood
  • LED/HID headlights, or great website links to find good ones.
  • Front lip, side skirts, back lip (if that's what it's called).
  • Lowering my vehicle. How can I do that? I do not know what that entails. From reading forums and listening to friends throughout the years I think it's done by like coils and lowering springs or something?
  • Wheels and tires. I am looking to do white wheels to contrast the blue, but I have no idea how to start going after wheels. I don't know what any of the sizes mean. Offset, wheel width, etc. I don't want to lower my car, then have wheels or tires that don't fit. And I would love to know how I can make them stick out further, bushings?
That's a quick list that I could think of but please tell me your journey and where I should start. Any and all information is helpful and appreciated.

Here's some pictures of the car so I can give you something to look at other than text haha.

Honda Civic 10th gen I'm really.. really new here. front


Honda Civic 10th gen I'm really.. really new here. back side


Honda Civic 10th gen I'm really.. really new here. back luke
 
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RobXsi

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1.) The audio system is the exact same as all vehicles. Replace every speaker in the car with aftermarket upgrades and amplifiers. And add a subwoofer if you want your brand new Si to rattle to death. Our Si's are already notorious for rattling noises so the subwoofer is up to you. A proffesional shop can install this all super easy. But will cost x2-x3 more then if you did it yourself. Sonicelectronix is one of my favorite websites i built systems from many years ago.

2.)Power mods are simple, Research these forums for Hondata or Ktuner tuning devices. They will offer the best bang for your buck and quickest power gains with little to no effort. After that Cold Air Intake (CAI) research these forums for best one. Then Downpipe/FrontPipe and Exhaust will give you power gains and make your car sound mean! PRL has the FIRST 10 second Si in the world. Their performance parts is all i go with personal. Google Engine bay side covers for your year and make. I think they clean up your engine bay alot. They did for me. You can also spend 1,000s of dollars on a Bigger Turbo, a Bigger Intercooler, etc. If you wanna max out your motor capabilities. Im not taking that route with upgrade Turbo tho.

3.) I felt once i installed a weighted shift knob i noticed a HUGE difference. Skunk2 was my choice. Twice the weight of OEM. As for Acuity i didnt fall for that shit. I just swapped out my tranny fluid for Amsoil and a weighted shift knob made my gears feel buttery.

4.) Carbon fiber hood cool, more power to ya! If you got the cash too blow do it.

5.) Headlights i dont know. Satisfied with stock.

6.) Front lip and Sideskirts look sexy. Bayson makes a bad ass front lip ill be buying soon. You got alot of researching and googling to do.

7.) Lowering your vehicle man your really going for those aesthetic looks to show people arent ya. Someone else can chime in on that. Cause its not just that simple to slap on some lowering springs. If you dont chamber kit them or do it properly your gonna ruin your shit. Ill never lower a car, i dont like to drag my ass cheeks across every incline and look like a idiot going at weird angles like the cool kids. Someone else will definitly clue you in on what to do with lowering, but again. Theres MANY forums on lowering already. But theres definitly a con to lowering. Youll figure it.

8.) Is this gonna be a show car or a daily??? Sounds like your building a show car and you have a spare car in your garage. Id never do such mods that would make my daily harder to drive. I can literally see you now with some crazy unnecessary mods like out of Fast and the Furious Tokyo drift! Definitly need better tires 110% you get better tires you will get such better grip and less tire spin. And Wheels are a more complicated story. LOTS of forums on this already. Here where i live. Americas Tires company has a database that i can have them see if and what wheels will fit. Check forums though.


Welcome to the forums. You have ALOT of reading to do. Youre going on 3 years of catching up to do lmao! You seem to have a awesome vision so i wish you the best of luck with achieving this!!
 

mauiSI19

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welcome!! I'm new too. In the same boat as you. New to modding cars. Fortunately for us there's a lot of information on this forum. everyone seems to agree you start with a Tune.

 
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SirVicksDeep

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First thing is I wouldn't do anything until you let the car break in. Even KTune suggests 5500 miles as a break in before reprogramming the ECU. Also know that most aftermarket mods will void your warranty.

Audio

There are several ways to do this. Basic speaker upgrades and add a more powerful subwoofer and use the stock 10 channel amplifier. ($500 to $1200 depending on speakers) Honda Hack the head unit and add a DSP app. Insulate everything. This is what I did with my SI the weekend after I bought it. It cost me about $1600 total. I won't win any SQ contest but it sounds pretty good and get loud enough for me.

High end is replace everything with whatever you want. The sky is the limit. Depending on what you choose between $1500 and $20k+

Most people are fine with upgrading their tweeters and adding a powered subwoofer or Sub and amp. About $500.

As far as HP and Sound. Most beneficial upgrade is a K Tune to the CPU. Add about 25 HP off the rip and adding a after market exhaust and upgrade the inter cooler will add another 20 ish HP. If you aren't happy with a 260 HP Civic then you have to spend real money. (Turbo Upgrade, Cat Back Exhaust, Headers... ect...) You're in the right place for advice. There are posts on just about everything. Just remember the more track worthy your car is the worse it will be on the street and harder it will be to pass inspections/emissions.

Good luck
 
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Braiton

Braiton

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Cool thank you everyone for the detailed responses! I will definitely take all of the advice into great consideration!
 


hicompb18c1

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Regardless of what type of mods you want to do to your car (power, handling, appearance only), there is one rule I remember people telling me when I first started, that I wish I listened to. Over 12 years and multiple cars, I learned through experience:

Don't put anything on your car that isn't as good or BETTER than the part you're modifying/replacing!

There are lots of cheap crappy parts AND there are also expensive, good looking parts out there that you will regret if you're not careful. With any mods, do lots of research, try and find pics and feedback from people who have the same mod, and don't cut corners.

I've seen WAY too many people (myself included) regret some mods, or put on a cheap / ill-fitting mod only to have to replace it later with a much better part. Examples can be installing crappy lowering springs, only to replace with quality coilovers later down the road, or doing a muffler delete only to find you don't like it and need a full catback, etc.
 

NkryptD0n3

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  • How can I make the audio sound better?
  • Quick, easy bolt on mechanical mods that you recommend to give me some more horse power and possibly make my engine bay look tight.
  • Weighted shift knob, short shifter, where to buy acuity because their site is sold out?
  • Carbon fiber hood
  • LED/HID headlights, or great website links to find good ones.
  • Front lip, side skirts, back lip (if that's what it's called).
  • Lowering my vehicle. How can I do that? I do not know what that entails. From reading forums and listening to friends throughout the years I think it's done by like coils and lowering springs or something?
  • Wheels and tires. I am looking to do white wheels to contrast the blue, but I have no idea how to start going after wheels. I don't know what any of the sizes mean. Offset, wheel width, etc. I don't want to lower my car, then have wheels or tires that don't fit. And I would love to know how I can make them stick out further, bushings?
Let me start by saying I literally just started my vacation today and its been a rough year at work so I'm trying to do be coherent right now and I may fail lol

First and foremost: Welcome to the club! Glad you are here!

1) The speakers can be swapped out. www.crutchfield.com will show you what fits the car. Also, it depends on what you want to spend.
2) Intake, downpipe, exhaust, KTuner & then a rear motor mount to plant all the power to the wheels.
2a) With the KTuner don't be dumb with the KTuner. Meaning don't twostep the motor like crazy (a guy on here blew his motor doing that) & don't power through a high gear at a low RPM even without the KTuner as it wears the clutch excessively.
3) I am so far happy with the shifting so I can't give you guidance on that
4) I am just now looking at CF exterior parts. Seibon is amazing and always a good go to but you'll pay for it.
5) I've started looking at sequential headlights...I think they are cool but I don't want to drop the cash right now really.
6) BMSpec for the Front Splitter/Lip and rear diffuser...I'm still looking for sideskirts. Though you could go the HFP route and get a front, rear and sideskirt set that is OEM and paint matched if I'm not mistaken.
7) Coil overs or lowering springs are how you want to lower the car. Each has their own advantages. Lowering springs are cheap (max like $330 I think) & coil overs are expensive. Though coil overs have adjusting you can do. Are you going to track the car (coil overs) or you want a quick drop (springs)
8) I am looking at Avid.1 AV-06 (or Avid.1 AV06 depending on where you look). They look like Volk TE37s but are like $550 shipped for a set of 4 that are 18x9.5 and we can stretch the factory tires to fit. 18x8.5 are about $10-20 cheaper for the set. I have a white car and am debating white or black on those. +35 & +38 offset seems to fit based on my searching...though you may have some rubbing if you don't adjust camber depending on how low you go. I think based on my research the +35 sits just really flush with the fenders on the 18x9.5

Feel free to DM me and we can talk if you'd like.

Here are my mods (I am probably missing something along the way):
My first mod was window tinting & fake CF inserts for the door handles; followed by Type R steering wheel with real CF on top & CF around the steering controls (that silver piece). Next the 27Won CAI & the engine bay covers that someone mentioned above. The engine bay covers really clean up the engine bay IMO. I recently installed the SiriMoto Phase 2 Front Strut Bar. I'm iffy on that as it's not 1 solid piece and that kind of irks me now that I have it...nothing wrong with it just has me questioning whether it is as effective as a 1 piece strut bar. I think next was the KTuner v2 with the 19/23 basemap. It was like a completely different car when I flashed that. I loved it. I think I had about 2-3k miles when I did the flash. I also have the TSP Stage 1 tune with the KTuner but I haven't flashed that yet...it is insane power and I worry that the clutch won't hold it. I also rooted the head unit to allow it to talk with my KTuner. I also did the ProCivic JDM side marker lights (clear with white LED) which I am happy with.

I am traveling to Florida within the next week for vacation and have an appointment down there with a local shop to get the PRL downpipe, PRL frontpipe & Boomba Racing Rear Motor Mount installed. The NVH (noise, vibration & harshness) is going to be insane but I have an almost 700 mile trip home so it should be calmer within a few weeks due to the long trip.

As you can see thus far I've gone the performance route. I have started looking at front lips and exterior CF parts as well. I am still learning and digging. Welcome to the platform it has been a lot of fun to mod. I had a 300zx that was modded, a 350z that was modded, a Tiburon that was modded and a G35 that was modded; I don't think any of them have been as fun as this platform; though I now have sons that I am teaching about cars and having them help me install parts so its a different experience this time around for me.

*EDIT*
I agree with hicomp, I kind of went mod happy and bought some stuff because it might have been cheaper or whatever and I kind of wish I'd have bought something a tad different. Nothing I can't live with and make work right now.
 

rhino

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new to the car world as well but when it comes to the wheeling and overland scene im not new got a heavily modded Tacoma and she is heavy let me tell you lol gonna give this a follow to get ideas for when i start doing stuff with my car as well
 

AlbertBlackSi

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Let me start by saying I literally just started my vacation today and its been a rough year at work so I'm trying to do be coherent right now and I may fail lol

First and foremost: Welcome to the club! Glad you are here!

1) The speakers can be swapped out. www.crutchfield.com will show you what fits the car. Also, it depends on what you want to spend.
2) Intake, downpipe, exhaust, KTuner & then a rear motor mount to plant all the power to the wheels.
2a) With the KTuner don't be dumb with the KTuner. Meaning don't twostep the motor like crazy (a guy on here blew his motor doing that) & don't power through a high gear at a low RPM even without the KTuner as it wears the clutch excessively.
3) I am so far happy with the shifting so I can't give you guidance on that
4) I am just now looking at CF exterior parts. Seibon is amazing and always a good go to but you'll pay for it.
5) I've started looking at sequential headlights...I think they are cool but I don't want to drop the cash right now really.
6) BMSpec for the Front Splitter/Lip and rear diffuser...I'm still looking for sideskirts. Though you could go the HFP route and get a front, rear and sideskirt set that is OEM and paint matched if I'm not mistaken.
7) Coil overs or lowering springs are how you want to lower the car. Each has their own advantages. Lowering springs are cheap (max like $330 I think) & coil overs are expensive. Though coil overs have adjusting you can do. Are you going to track the car (coil overs) or you want a quick drop (springs)
8) I am looking at Avid.1 AV-06 (or Avid.1 AV06 depending on where you look). They look like Volk TE37s but are like $550 shipped for a set of 4 that are 18x9.5 and we can stretch the factory tires to fit. 18x8.5 are about $10-20 cheaper for the set. I have a white car and am debating white or black on those. +35 & +38 offset seems to fit based on my searching...though you may have some rubbing if you don't adjust camber depending on how low you go. I think based on my research the +35 sits just really flush with the fenders on the 18x9.5

Feel free to DM me and we can talk if you'd like.

Here are my mods (I am probably missing something along the way):
My first mod was window tinting & fake CF inserts for the door handles; followed by Type R steering wheel with real CF on top & CF around the steering controls (that silver piece). Next the 27Won CAI & the engine bay covers that someone mentioned above. The engine bay covers really clean up the engine bay IMO. I recently installed the SiriMoto Phase 2 Front Strut Bar. I'm iffy on that as it's not 1 solid piece and that kind of irks me now that I have it...nothing wrong with it just has me questioning whether it is as effective as a 1 piece strut bar. I think next was the KTuner v2 with the 19/23 basemap. It was like a completely different car when I flashed that. I loved it. I think I had about 2-3k miles when I did the flash. I also have the TSP Stage 1 tune with the KTuner but I haven't flashed that yet...it is insane power and I worry that the clutch won't hold it. I also rooted the head unit to allow it to talk with my KTuner. I also did the ProCivic JDM side marker lights (clear with white LED) which I am happy with.

I am traveling to Florida within the next week for vacation and have an appointment down there with a local shop to get the PRL downpipe, PRL frontpipe & Boomba Racing Rear Motor Mount installed. The NVH (noise, vibration & harshness) is going to be insane but I have an almost 700 mile trip home so it should be calmer within a few weeks due to the long trip.

As you can see thus far I've gone the performance route. I have started looking at front lips and exterior CF parts as well. I am still learning and digging. Welcome to the platform it has been a lot of fun to mod. I had a 300zx that was modded, a 350z that was modded, a Tiburon that was modded and a G35 that was modded; I don't think any of them have been as fun as this platform; though I now have sons that I am teaching about cars and having them help me install parts so its a different experience this time around for me.

*EDIT*
I agree with hicomp, I kind of went mod happy and bought some stuff because it might have been cheaper or whatever and I kind of wish I'd have bought something a tad different. Nothing I can't live with and make work right now.
Hey where abouts in FL are you getting your installation at? I live in soflo looking for a trust worthy aftermarket shop but I am struggling to find one.
 

NkryptD0n3

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Hey where abouts in FL are you getting your installation at? I live in soflo looking for a trust worthy aftermarket shop but I am struggling to find one.
I was on Okaloosa Island (Destin/Fort Walton Beach). I went to Emerald Coast Motorsports in FWB. They did awesome & were fairly priced. Only complaint is my PRL Stickers weren’t put back in my box of old parts so I gotta call them but that isn’t too big a deal.

I had the PRL catted DP, PRL Frontpipe & Boomba RMM installed by them.
 


charleswrivers

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Welcome.

So far as your sound system, something you might try right off the bat is looking on how to do the HondaHack and using apps that can apparently drastically improve your sound quality, including bass, before you start sinking money into replacing hardware. Might as well do the essentially free stuff first. Is it sits, I agree it's not terribly impressive. I'm not sure if the hack is working with the 2019s yet however. I do know there was a lot of raving about the stock sound being made from crappy to decent using the hack and apps alone.

As to performance mods, I don't recommend doing anything else before a tuner, save maybe an intake. You could do front pipe, downpipe, exhaust, intake, intercooler with $2k invested in all of it... and all of it combined won't give you what a bone stock 23# reflash or TSP Stage 1 will give you for a few hundred bucks and won't give you all the drivability improvements either. If you got all-seasons tires, better tires are a good investment.

Have fun!
 

AlbertBlackSi

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I was on Okaloosa Island (Destin/Fort Walton Beach). I went to Emerald Coast Motorsports in FWB. They did awesome & were fairly priced. Only complaint is my PRL Stickers weren’t put back in my box of old parts so I gotta call them but that isn’t too big a deal.

I had the PRL catted DP, PRL Frontpipe & Boomba RMM installed by them.
Thanks a lot fore the reply! FWB is like 9 hours from me though but I actually have heard of them even from down here so that speaks something abojt their reputation.
 
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Braiton

Braiton

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Hey thanks Charles. Those are great recommendations. I have installed the honda hack and would love to know what apps you're talking about or how I use the honda hack to make the sound quality better! I haven't messed with it too much yet, but please let me know. Also if there's any other apps to allow the use of youtube or netflix, please send those over as well as I have a long drive ahead of me. Taking it on vacation to put some miles on it before I tune. And also, some say to always tune after putting in those mods (CAI, Intercooler, exhaust, fp, dp, etc.) so you think I should tune, buy those and then retune? or buy them and then tune?

Thanks man. I have been enjoying the hell out of the car!
 

AlbertBlackSi

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Hey thanks Charles. Those are great recommendations. I have installed the honda hack and would love to know what apps you're talking about or how I use the honda hack to make the sound quality better! I haven't messed with it too much yet, but please let me know. Also if there's any other apps to allow the use of youtube or netflix, please send those over as well as I have a long drive ahead of me. Taking it on vacation to put some miles on it before I tune. And also, some say to always tune after putting in those mods (CAI, Intercooler, exhaust, fp, dp, etc.) so you think I should tune, buy those and then retune? or buy them and then tune?

Thanks man. I have been enjoying the hell out of the car!
Get Ktuner with TSP Stage 1 and you can run that with the PRL CAI. Then retune after FBO
 

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Regardless of what type of mods you want to do to your car (power, handling, appearance only), there is one rule I remember people telling me when I first started, that I wish I listened to. Over 12 years and multiple cars, I learned through experience:

Don't put anything on your car that isn't as good or BETTER than the part you're modifying/replacing!

There are lots of cheap crappy parts AND there are also expensive, good looking parts out there that you will regret if you're not careful. With any mods, do lots of research, try and find pics and feedback from people who have the same mod, and don't cut corners.

I've seen WAY too many people (myself included) regret some mods, or put on a cheap / ill-fitting mod only to have to replace it later with a much better part. Examples can be installing crappy lowering springs, only to replace with quality coilovers later down the road, or doing a muffler delete only to find you don't like it and need a full catback, etc.

Yep. This. Absolutely this. Reading the OP almost makes me wince. It is his car of course and he is free to do whatever he wants. But lowering the car will wear out the suspension faster. Opting for "show" vs "go" mods will avoid the risk of voiding his factory warranty but will get lots of attention from Johnny Law, car theives, and shithead street racers. Having a car that looks modded but brings nothing extra for performance is going to be frustrating over time. It also detracts from the value of the car as any modifications will.

In any case. Welcome to the forum. Use the search. Good luck with your new Civic. Don't buy a BOV.
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