"Must-do" exterior mods?

[SportHatch77]

New member to both this forum and to the Civic community! I'm planning on buying my first car tomorrow, a 2019 Civic hatch sport in black. What are some of your "musts" when it comes to exterior mods? I've also heard a lot about Hondata and Ktuner, is this worth it for the hatchback sport? I am from Canada, for reference. Any ideas welcome - thank you!

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[bluehatch17]

Hondata is definitely worth it. I would drive it around until after break in period though before I tune...

I like the visors cause I get to leave the windows open slightly in the summer. I like that they are Oem and they fit well and are well made.

I added the red type r emblem front and back. If you’re getting the sport, you have 18in wheels and you have a factory body kit already.

I am going to get the HFP spoiler eventually. Sometimes the things with mods...if something isn’t broke, then why change it and add stuff. It has a spoiler already but I am going to change it out or add the lip spoiler.

So that’s why I have sort of been trying to get mods that isn’t replacing something but is adding something new.

The Oem clear door edge guards are only around like $30. So I added that.

I can’t stand the orange side markers. So get clear corners.

I brought 2 civics within like a 8 month period. Both of them I loaded up with oem all season floor and trunk mats. I added the door edge guards. I added yellow fog lights. I have the trunk guard also. On my non led coupe, I added led headlights. I changed out all interior bulbs to white Leds.

That should probably be your first mod, under $30. Full led interior bulbs...

 

[shoegazer]

license tag frame.

 

[silverrascal]

Congrats! There are quite a few mods you can do but do some research here and decide for yourself. Some are fairly easy like changing put the halogen bulbs for LED or HID for better light output. And some can be a little more involved like an ECU tune for more power and performance from your engine. Mods are only limited by your imagination AND wallet.

 

[xRiCeBoYx]

Dunno how you feel about the piano black pillars. I wasn't a huge fan, so I carbon fiber vinyl wrapped them. DIY job ran me like $40 (cost of vinyl on Amazon, dunno how much it'd be for you), and a couple hours of labor. Wasn't hard, just frustrating bc I'm kinda anal retentive about it looking good.

KTuner was, by far, the best bang-for-buck mod I did on my '18 sport hatch CVT. I opted for the V1.2 version bc I didn't quite care for the touchscreen interface. I have a phone that I loaded the KTuner app on ($5) and it does everything I need, save for unlocking the unit. I have all 5 map slots loaded, so I can flash any map I'd want (OEM, +0psi, +3psi, +6psi, dual target map). I have a laptop, so it was a non-issue for me. Even the +0PSI map (actually gives you 16.5psi, as opposed to the factory map, where most get 12psi on a good day) wakes the car up. The +3 and +6psi maps definitely wake it up a lot bit. My buddy with a '16 EX-T sedan said the difference in our cars is like night and day. He just has an intake (27WON), I have a DIY SRI (I just wanted sound, TBH) and KTuner.

Like others mentioned, clear or smoked sidemarkers are a nice touch. HIDs drop in just fine into stock projectors (H11B Morimoto Elite kit from theretrofitsource.com will drop right in and give you a pretty much OEM cutoff). If you want that sharp, true HID cutoff, they sell a retroquick kit that requires minimal modification.

LED bulbs all around if you're into that -- fogs, turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights, etc. I am, and couldn't be happier with how they all turned out. Just do some homework and find out which LED bulbs out there perform well for given cost. Either that, or you can be like me and take a gamble on some inexpensive Amazon bulbs with good reviews. So far, I've made out pretty well. lol

 

[86salmon]

Tint
Ppf (paint and fog light overlays)

If you don't get it already by the dealer, get tint

If you plan on road tripping at all, get protective film for the thin thin soft soft paint and front bumper.

Overlays can give a splash of color if wanted, but the glass fog lights should get clear overlays for protection at the least. Lamin-x is thick, self healing, and easy to apply

 

[gtman]

The number 1 essential exterior "mod" in my opinion is to keep several layers of sealant and wax on the paint. Our paint is very soft and thin and protecting is a must.

 

[civilian]

iJDMTOY clear side markers, took all of 10 minutes to install. I went with their bundle with the amber LED as it has no color at all during the day and is in compliance with an orange glow at night.

It's the first exterior mod you must do. I went clear (car is Lunar Silver) but you may want to go smoke (on Black).

 

[r.camlin]

Side markers, tint, window visors (if you're into that), some kind of film for the headlights and fogs, better headlight bulbs.

Those are probably the easiest and best exterior mods (in my opinion) that will improve your experience with the car.

And 100% get KTuner or Hondata. It's the best bang for your buck you'll ever get as far as a performance upgrade.

 

[Donuyen18]

My vote is sidemarkers. I went with the "smoke" color. It is on the cheap end of the mods and it is something easy to dip your foot in

 

[U.S.C]

Side markers ( change to smoked not clear ) the
Clear look so weird. Not sure why so many people
Get clear ones.
Just my opinion I guess.

 

[BarracksSi]

Hatch organizer -- get the OEM Honda one (College Hills Honda doesn't list it for the hatchback, but Honda's own eStore does). The dividers snap into place, so they'll last a lot longer than Velcro; and the organizer folds totally flat when you don't need it.

All-weather floor mats -- again, OEM Honda fits perfectly. Get the high-wall ones.

Rain visor -- This is the third thing I want to get (I have the organizer and mats). I park at the train station during the workday and would like to come back to a car that's not two hundred degrees inside. Rain visors would let me open the windows an inch without worrying about the weather.

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