Overview of this Article Tuning your Honda Civic can be
a very rewarding experience. Before you depart into your adventure
in tuning, you should know how much you are willing to spend and in
what general order you should purchase your parts. In this article
we have outlined paths that we recommend to our valued customers.
Keep in mind this article focuses on the
basic parts for added power,
but when it comes to total car performance that is not the whole story.
You'll want to look at suspension, brake, chassis, and wheel/tire upgrades as well to
handle the new power as well as increasing cornering and stopping abilities. In addition, there are quite a few other parts that will increase
power by smaller amounts, such as throttle bodies.
For this article, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each path in
regards to performance tuning and your budget. The first 3 paths apply
to 2015 and earlier Civics or 2016+ Civics without a factory turbocharger. The last 2 paths apply to 2016 and later
Civics with factory turbos. Most of the 10th Generation 2016+ Civics feature an OEM
turbocharger and intercooler system (basically a full factory turbo kit).
The
The 3 Main Tuning Paths to Upgrade your 1988 to 2015 Honda Civic or 2016+ Civic without a factory turbo
- The first path (A) is going straight for the most horsepower
gains, by using forced induction (e.g. turbo kit or supercharger)
as the base setup for your Honda Civic.
- The second path (B) is to tune your Honda Civic with a
naturally aspirated setup (e.g. cold air intake, no turbo or
supercharger) as your base.
- The last path (C) is to get parts that will work for both a
naturally aspirated engine and a forced induction setup, then
decide later if you want to go forced induction or upgrade your
naturally aspirated setup.
The 2 Main Tuning Paths to Upgrade your 2016+ factory turbo Honda Civic
- The first path (D) is going straight for the most horsepower
gains, by getting a turbo upgrade kit, bolt-ons, and an ECU tune
as the base setup for your turbo Honda Civic.
- The second path (E) is to maximize the power of your factory turbo with
bolt-ons parts and a ECU tune as the base setup for your turbo Honda Civic. You can then upgrade your turbo
at a later point, and most likely re-use all your existing parts, but you will at least need a re-tune.
For each path we will list a few parts to get you started. By
no means is this a complete list of parts to tune your Civic; it's
just an idea to get you started. Feel free to email us
and let us know the year, how many doors, and trim level of your
Honda Civic and we will assist you in selecting the other optimal
performance parts for your Civic.
If you're confused
about what naturally aspirated and a forced induction engine setups
are you should read our
Honda
Civic Upgrading FAQ. The upgrading FAQ is a great place for
beginners to start to learn about tuning their Honda Civic and a
great refresher course for the experienced tuner.
Path A (Forced Induction) This path requires the biggest
upfront investment, but will give you the best gains and the best
tuning base to work with. If you have the money, this is the path we
recommend. Here are the following parts and actions we recommend:
- Get a supercharger or turbo Kit for your Civic.
Depending on the kit you get, you might need to purchase other support parts, like an air intake, fuel delivery components, and an intercooler.
- Get a performance exhaust system. This will help ensure that the increased air flowing out of your engine is not obstructed by the small diameter factory exhaust.
- Upgrade your Civic's ignition components such as spark plugs,
spark plug wires, ignition coil, modified distributor cap/rotor
kit, and a forced induction ignition component. Tuning your
Civic's ignition system is a low cost upgrade that will be well
worth while for an older Civic.
- If needed, also upgrade your Civic's fuel
delivery components. Superchargers and turbo kits often hit the maximum flow of the factory fuel system.
- Go to a dyno shop and tune your turbo kit or supercharger.
Although this is not necessary on the kits we carry, we generally
recommended it for maximum power and efficiency. If you have a 2006 or newer Civic, your best option is to purchase a
Hondata FlashPro as your tuning device.
Path B (Naturally Aspirated) If you choose not
to go big with a forced induction setup, then you'll be headed down
the naturally aspirated path. Here are the following parts and
actions we recommend:
- The most inexpensive item you could get that will give you the
best gains is a cold air intake for your Civic. We carry different
brands and types of air intakes for Civics.
- The second item to purchase in this path should be an exhaust
system. All exhaust systems we carry are
highly tuned and will give you similar horsepower gains on lightly modified Civics. The
choice of what exhaust you select comes down to a preferrence in
the exhaust system's look and sound that is produced.
- Upgrade your Civic's ignition components.
- If you are putting out a lot more power, you may also need to
upgrade your Civic's fuel delivery components.
- Get a tune! This will result in more power and efficiency. If you have a 2006 or newer Civic, your best option is to purchase a
Hondata FlashPro as your tuning device.
The average Civic Tuner takes this path. This path is the best on
your wallet and gives you the most gains for the least money spent.
We find that new tuners will take this path to get a better feel for
Civic customization. Some of the tuners will eventually get a turbo
kit or supercharger and others will fine tune their naturally
aspirated engine.
Path C (Decide Later)
This path is designed for those Civic Tuners that are undecided on
getting a turbo kit or supercharger, and/or will attempt to save up
for one. If you are sure you will not get a turbo kit or
supercharger anytime in the foreseeable future, then path B is your
best path to tune your Civic. Here are the following parts and
actions we recommend:
- Get a performance exhaust system first.
- Upgrade your Civic's ignition components. You can find the
ignition components.
- Get a tune. This will result in more power and efficiency. If you have a 2006 or newer Civic, your best option is to purchase a
Hondata FlashPro.
- Analyze your budget. If you feel like you will get a turbo kit
or supercharger in the near future, keep saving for it. If you are
unsure contact us and we will give you some other low priced
choices for tuning your Civic with performance parts.
This path will allow you to postpone the decision of
committing to a forced induction setup. If you want to tune your
Civic to get medium gains and save some cash, you could simply
follow path B. If you feel like you're ready to commit to the
high performance of a force induction base, then you could branch
into path A. In other words, starting on path C will allow the
most flexibility in regards to committing to a forced induction or
naturally aspirated configuration.
Path D (Upgrade Factory Turbo) This path will give you the best gains and the best
tuning base to work with. If you have the money, and a turbo upgrade kit is available for your Civic, this is the path we
recommend. Here are the following parts and actions we recommend:
- Get a turbo upgrade kit. A turbo upgrade kit is essentially a more powerful version of your factory turbocharger unit. Typically, the installation
is straightforward and much easier than adding a turbo to a Civic that was not turbocharged from the factory.
- Get a performance exhaust system
and a front pipe. This ensures better exhaust flow from the cat converter to the muffler tip.
- The ignition components on 2016+ factory turbo Civic are robust, but can still benefit from an upgrade if the components are getting old or you're running quite a bit of boost.
- If needed, also upgrade your Civic's Fuel
Delivery components as well.
- Go to a dyno shop and get a tune. Your best bet is to use a Hondata FlashPro for tuning.
It is possible the turbo upgrade kit will come with a "base map", but we still recommend a custom tune for reliability, efficiency, and best power gains.
Path E (Use Factory Turbo, Possibly Upgrade It Later) If you choose not
to go big with a turbo upgrade setup right away, then you'll first be purchasing parts to maximize the power and efficiency of your factory turbo. Here are the following parts and
actions we recommend:
- The most inexpensive item you could get that will give you the
best gains is a cold air intake for your Civic. We carry different
brands and types of air intakes for Civics.
- The second item to purchase in this path should be an exhaust
system. All exhaust systems we carry are
highly tuned and will give you similar horsepower gains at factory boost levels. The
choice of what exhaust you select comes down to a preferrence in
the exhaust system's look and sound that is produced.
- A front pipe will be the next
parts to get in this tuning path, if your exhaust didn't already come with one.
- A vital piece of any turbo system is the intercooler and associated piping. An intercooler system significantly reduces the temperature of the air entering into your engine.
The result is that you make more power, and make it more reliabily, while also reducing potential strain on your engine. Upgrading to a larger
intercooler and piping on your turbo Civic
can result in great horespower gains for this reason.
- The ignition components on 2016+ factory turbo Civic are robust, but can still benefit from an upgrade if the components are getting old or you're running quite a bit of boost.
- Since you're using your factory turbo, the factory fuel delivery components should be sufficient to meet your fueling needs. The 2016+ Civics use
DI (Direct Injection) injectors, which are quite powerful and operate at very high pressues.
- Finally, get a tune! The best bang for your buck product you can purchase for a factory turbo Civic is an ECU tuner, such as the
Hondata FlashPro. A tune can
greatly increase your power because it can raise the factory boost levels, resulting in quite a bit more air flowing into your engine. You can use
a "base map" or get a custom tune for maximum gains.
- If you do finally decide to upgrade your factory turbo, try to select a version that does not come with parts you already purchased - this way,
you'll save money. Also, you will probably need to upgrade your fuel delivery components.
The average Civic Tuner takes this path. This path is the best on
your wallet and gives you the most gains for the least money spent.
We find that new tuners will take this path to get a better feel for
Civic customization.
