noob with questions

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mr.mugato

new and confused
I currently have a 98 civic ex coupe and a minimum wage part time job, and just wondering what else i can do to the car aside from the regular i/h/e set up to gain some horses with out touching the engine internals or swaping, I considered a vtec controller but apparently you need some bigger mods for that to work, another question of mine is that if i remove the rev limiter on my car and shift at 8 rpm meaning it drops to 4 and i never leave vtec will that add some horse power (and is there a big difference between the ex vtec and the si one?), thanks for the help.
 
so how big is the difference between sohc and dohc vtec, and what is the engagement point for vtec on my ex, and Im selling another car right now so I might have around 1200-1500 to invest in to my car and was just considering a small build up, since the motor does not have that many miles on it i dont want to swap it, and since i dont know that much about cars i can't get to technical.
 
well here are my plans so far:
apex n1 muffler $100
2.5 inch cat-back $150
aem cold air $120
dc headers $100
and i was considering msd and a after market fuel rail and maybe like some ground control springs
 
MSD and aftermarket fuel rail will be a big waste of money.. they arent needed unless you making big horsepower.. ground control springs are good.. but i'd suggest upgrading the shocks as well..
 
you dont need a dc header the cheaper ones do great for a street duty beater.

you dont need the msd

aem intakes look nice but i wouldnt spend money there either

if you have a semi built D or b16 a 2.25"exhaust will provide enough flow & back pressure


i believe N1 mufflers are loud. a stock looking free flowing exhaust are quieter and usually nicer sounding.


so get the suspension worked on.
 
so i guess the msd and fuel rail like the vtec controller are only needed on the stronger motor, but the only reason Im getting the dc and aem because their carb and i live in cali, but what I was aiming for is like 175 horses on small mods so with my 127 i need to gain 48, so with all those mods i gain about 35 where can i get the other 13?
 
you have 127 to the flywheel, not wheels.. those mods arent gonna get you anywhere near 35whp.. maybe 10whp at the most, if that..

a member here has his d16z6, which is basically the same as your motor, sent out and had the whole motor just about fully built (spent $3500) and made not even 130 whp.. its gonna take a whole lot more than bolt-ons to make 175whp with a single cam..
 
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I realize that im not making 127 to the wheel but the bolt on should add the 35 to the flywheel right, most of my motivation for doing this is because i have a friend (who i hate very much) who has a jetta 1.8 turbo which stock makes 150 to the flywheel but it was chipped and should be around 200 to the flywheel thought its probably not so much, but its a jetta weights freaken 3200 so my stock civic can pull ahead during the first and second gear but after third he pretty much kills me, so what i want to do is build my car up enough to keep up.
 
thank you Blanco.. i was waiting for you to chime in.. we all know you're the d-series guru around here.. :D
 
so for about $400 or so Im going to get 10hp, so I guess I am better off with a swap, thanks for all the help at least I learned something
 
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