Honda Civic Si Upgrades and Mods
themistocles
Member Posts: 95
Hello there all. Im 21 years old, just signed up for this site, looks like some good discussions. I bought a 2007 blue pearl Civic Si coupe in october of 06. Ive been absolutely in love with it. sometimes i just wake up in the middle of the night and cant get back to sleep, so i hop in mah car and go for a joy ride down some country roads, haha.
anyway, ive been lookin at getting some aftermarket products like, a full exhaust and intake,clutch, comp chip. I dont know what brands are the best and really not exactly sure what i should get at all. Ill start with the basics like exhaust and intake, maybe clutch too? what suggestions do ya guys got?
and also im curious if i broke her in right. i ran her real easy for the first 500 miles, then got a little aggressive after that, did some high runs, havent had any problems. A couple times though, i could smell burnt clutch, is that bad? What about hitting fuel cutoff which is 500 past redline? ive floored it a couple times in a first and second hitting fuel cutoff, havent done that in a long time, but still did it a few times. well, im 7500 miles in, she runs great, take her easy in the day to day city drivin, no traffic + empty roads gotta have some fun sometimes
sooo fun through the windy back roads.
Also what do you recommend as the best oil for her? should i go synthetic like that Q max stuff?
Thanks a ton for your input
anyway, ive been lookin at getting some aftermarket products like, a full exhaust and intake,clutch, comp chip. I dont know what brands are the best and really not exactly sure what i should get at all. Ill start with the basics like exhaust and intake, maybe clutch too? what suggestions do ya guys got?
and also im curious if i broke her in right. i ran her real easy for the first 500 miles, then got a little aggressive after that, did some high runs, havent had any problems. A couple times though, i could smell burnt clutch, is that bad? What about hitting fuel cutoff which is 500 past redline? ive floored it a couple times in a first and second hitting fuel cutoff, havent done that in a long time, but still did it a few times. well, im 7500 miles in, she runs great, take her easy in the day to day city drivin, no traffic + empty roads gotta have some fun sometimes
sooo fun through the windy back roads.Also what do you recommend as the best oil for her? should i go synthetic like that Q max stuff?
Thanks a ton for your input
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Comments
anything by aem, skunk, nuespeed, buddy club mugen should be great for the car. hondata makes good ecu upgrades as well.
I was thinking that they made a mistake and did a oil change thinking it was a normal civic or something.
What do you guys think of these engine oil additives? im thinking that the synthetic oils already have enough additives and that these "engine treatment additives" probably should be used with a non synthetic oil in a normal civic, if they should be used at all.
Or if there is a engine oil additive right for a 2007 civic si, which do you think it is?
im really thinking though that i dont want to use a additive at all, except maybe when im over 100k miles or something.
So, look at your records, see if theyve been changing your oil with 5w20 and watch out for future oil changes. I dont know the extent of the problem, but ive called a couple dealerships around here, and there tech books show 5w 20. So im wondering if its all over the USA.
I also noticed a slight metallic smell a couple times after I'd been driving for a while, but that was all before 1000 miles or so, and I've not noticed it since... Hopefully not too much of an issue, but since it was only that once or twice, I'm not overly concerned...
About the oil/additives, I know that lighter oils (fluids in general) are usually better for performance cars... Concerning what type of oil, I don't really know. When I go in for my first service, I'll ask for their recommendation--the Honda mechanics would probably know what would be best. About additives, I've been told that most of them aren't really necessary, more of an 'icing on the cake' sort of thing. Personally, until I have a well-trained, reliable mechanic tell me to use them, I've got no intention of ever using them.
Theres a couple ECU upgrades i believe. The one i know of is from hondata, and it will change the high cams kicking in at 4500, instead of 6000. You will need new headers exhaust and intake for it though. It will also change the redline to 8600.
I think im going to get an exhaust system first, my honda dealership told me that you gotta make sure you get the right intake if your going to get one, he said something about messing up your 02 sensors. I really forgot what he said, but i think ill do more research before i put the intake in.
The cheapest thing to do tho, www.schucks.com buy a K & N air filter with oil clean kit. The filter is only 43 dollars instead of 55 in stores, and the cleaning kit is only 10 bucks and you get free shipping too, good deal.
Then im going to get a full catback exhaust probably from the tuner shop nearby, maybe DC sports headers too.
hondata's dyno charts are showing you what kind of power increases you'll experience running on 93 octane AND WITH the headers and intake.
so basically, you'll still have a bit of a hp/tq bump without those things, but to achevie the numbers hondata is showing you, you need to have your car equipped with a respective intake and header combo.
"You must have a minimum of an intake or header."
"It is not designed to work with a stock 06/07 Civic Si and will lose power between 4500rpm and 5600 rpm if installed."
so you need atleast a intake or header
I was only saying that it is possible to put a new ecu in and make very miniscule hp ant tq jumps, but that the hondata data is showing what is possible if you have the intake and header combo.
If its TOTALLY neccessary, fine. but not ALL cars are like this: there is a ecu upgrade for my vw rabbit that put significant power to the wheels simply by running on premium: its more if you have an intake and full exhaust, but there is NO power LOSSES if you install the chip without the intake and exhaust, like the case would be with the hondata chip on the si.
Lets not even get started on ecu upgrades for the gti.
Also what oil you think is best? ive heard that a thinner oil is better for performance at high rpm? like 5w20, but with 5w30 or 10w 30, youll maintain much better oil pressure and probably make it last longer
my buddy with the blown civic swapped his turbo b16 into it without ever doing anything to the suspension or brakes except rims w/performance tires and cheesy lowering springs (which have now been replaced with a nice coilover tein suspension.)
themistocles: ok you obviously have not read my post. Just get the aem short ram. More torque for you, as thats what your si needs.
anyway, im not looking to go racing and what not, just interested in putting a couple mods in. I dont need to go all out and replace the suspension and do all sorts of chassis mods. Im already replacing the brake pads anyway, first thing done. the most id do is just intake, brake pads, maybe a few odds and ends when more crap comes out. Maybe in the future, when its not a brand new car, id do more stuff, like replacing the suspension, and dropping the catalytic converter out then putting new pipes in and race headers an all that jazz(if you register the area you drive in outside of the metro area, never have to go to DEQ).
anyway, i got the brake pads, im just talkin bout intake now to open up some more air into her.
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-d3, Dunlop SP sport 9000 or yokohama AVS sport, anyone have a preference or input on what they think?
im leanin toward the Eagle F1's.
o yea eldaino i didnt mean to be rude or anything, i just really couldnt find any post that was responding to my question about short ram/cold air intakes.
Dunlop SP9000 are nothing special. I'd buy the Goodyear's too.
You posted your question in so many forums that i think you forgot where it was that i had responded to you. But its cool man!
I still say short ram, as it will only suck up the same air that your stock intake did, but will give you more torque. CAI's are a bit overrated in my opinion, but the si really needs the torque, so why not?
Yea thats what i figured about the muffler, I really dont like at all the rusty chainsaw or weedwacker sound. I figured it would be a deeper sound in this car, But yea makes alot more sense to just get the whole package.
The best gains is derived from a race header; since the biggest bottleneck in the engine system currently is the catalytic converter, other than of course displacement and piston/valve/port/polish, i.e., serious engine work, and forced induction.
If you removed the cat, of course, you'd be a polluting lametard.
Small bolt-on gains include IMG, P2R gaskets + tb spacer, and pulleys; and again, the header. Unsprung weight reduction would help, and overall load reduction (battery, creature comforts, etc.)
environment > performance mods that sacrifice air quality on a daily driver, IMO.
Yeah, hi-flow cat, header would be a good power combo.
And F.I.
at any rate, a turbocharger will accentuate your honda's high rpm horsepower, and add torque across the line. a supercharger will give you greater low end thrust, while still adding some high end power. do a search on the internet and you will find plenty of companies who offer kits of the car.
its interesting to note that a supercharger will yield comparable torque numbers to a turbocharger, but cost quite a bit more.
Right now:
GReddy Turbo
AJP Turbo (unreliable customer service and reputation)
CompTech supercharger
CompTech Stage II to arrive soon
RedShift supercharger (in pre-production)
I think there's one more turbo; and a couple of 'off-brand' ones.
Keep in mind that you'll need to add other parts specific to these mods (oil pan return, exhaust, fuel rail, et al. for turbo, etc.)
I'd wait awhile for the market to settle.
Said another way, if anybody was foolish enough to have actually tried running low grade fuel in their Si, they’d be even more foolish if they posted that fact on the internet. Why? Simple, word gets around, and if they try and have their engine repaired under warranty following an engine failure, and if Honda was to see the post, they'd be sunk. The fact is that Honda doesn't just "Recommend" Premium fuel, the "Require" it.
Last but not least, here in the States it is all but impossible to buy 87 octane fuel at any gas station. The "87" on the pumps refers to the "Anti Knock Index" (AKI), an index that is an average of two different octane measuring formulas, hence the fact that your local pumps say "87 AKI" and not "87 octane". What you should be running is a minimum of 91 AKI in your Si motor.
Best Regards,
Shipo