My '97 Civic Mods

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by BuckarooBanzai

check out the final drive ratio in hatchbacks

Thanks. I looked at Clyde and you seem to be considering an LX transmission. Any reason besides convenient availability? I have been wondering about an HX swap one day.

[vskid3]

I think a mirror delete will have to wait until I have more room to store stuff. Right now, my trunk is the only place I have to put them, and its already quite full of tools and parts.

Nice idea about cutting a hole for the lugnuts. I think I'll do that, but with a separate hole for each one. It rained last night, so I'll have to wait for it to dry up a bit first.

I didn't know the HX had a higher final drive. Now I'll have to try to find a complete engine and tranny, instead of just swapping the head and computer.

[vskid3]

Finally got around to doing more on my car. I made a new lower grille block with coroplast, put a belly pan on the back driver's side corner, and put the stock air tube back on (to see how hot the intake air is with it and the grille block).


I originally had it only attached at the front right, back right, and the middle of the left side. This made it sag on the right side, partially because of the crease I had to make in the sheet for it to fit in my car. To fix it, I ran some zip ties through the frame rail holes and used that to pull up on it. Should I close the hole at the front inside the wheelwell (where I took the last picture), or will it make little difference? Now I'll have to see about a smaller muffler when the current one rusts off so I can do the same on the other side.

[justjohn]

I think you guys have the same grill as me so I am following with interest.

I was going to try the insulation pipes but it looked like the ribs would keep them from going in deep enough, and the top section looked too big for it to work. Good idea to just tape a few together. Do you cut slits for the ribs or something?

[California98Civic]

Nice grille block adaptation. Your lower now looks a bit like mine, though I like how you negotiated the curved area at the ends of the lower grille opening. How did you make the curved cut? Does it look very clean up close? I have had difficulty cutting my 4" coroplast in curved forms and achieving a clean cut and crisp line quality.

[vskid3]

I'm not really sure what you're asking about the foam. There are 6 pieces total, all the same size as the bottom ones. I cut the insulation in half lengthwise, it goes in enough to hold it securely (would depend on the size of your insulation, though).

Haha, that curve actually looks terrible. It only looks good in the picture because of the low resolution and the shadow+black paint. I used my cardboard block as a template and had to make a couple slight modifications (the coroplast isn't as flexible as the edges of the cardboard were). I cut everything out with a utility knife. Took some ninja-ing to get the zipties routed, though.

I'm going to see about replacing the stock belly pan that is between the bumper and engine with a coroplast one that doesn't hang down as far. I just keep forgetting to feel how much heat is radiating from the exhaust after a long drive so I can see how far back I can take it without risking melting.

I get comments from gate security all the time about my sweet wheel covers.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by vskid3

I'm going to see about replacing the stock belly pan that is between the bumper and engine with a coroplast one that doesn't hang down as far. I just keep forgetting to feel how much heat is radiating from the exhaust after a long drive so I can see how far back I can take it without risking melting.

Coroplast is a pain to cut. I have been looking for effective cutting tools online. There are options. I don't know which to take. I agree about the stock, short, bellypan. I'm wary of the bellypan extension. I get a lot of heat built-up behind my grille block right now and the fan goes on constantly on the hottest days. Please post your findings about heat and the exhaust. I would appreciate learning what you find. Our cars are virtually identical.

[COcyclist]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

Coroplast is a pain to cut. I have been looking for effective cutting tools online. There are options.

I have found an offset style of tin snips works very nicely and much safer than a razor knife. The style I use has the handles (Wiss, red?) above the sheet metal or coroplast as you are cutting. I think I paid about $20 when I needed them for some sheet metal.

[vskid3]

Here is a close up picture of that curve. I didn't realize it was that bad.


I tried some engine off coasting and bump starting today. I liked it, and because I have the power steering disabled, the only difference is that the power brakes run out after a few presses. I didn't like having to turn the key, though, so I finally made a kill switch (using info from here). I tried it out, it works, but my ultragauge turns off, too. Not too big of a deal for me, I mainly use it to see how different things affect mileage, not what the exact numbers are. I mounted it to the side of the shifter with velcro in case I have to move it for some reason. I haven't driven with it there, yet, but it seems like it work well.
(yes, my car is messy)

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by vskid3

Here is a close up picture of that curve. I didn't realize it was that bad.

I like the offset tin snips idea mentioned above.

Originally Posted by vskid3

I tried it out, it works, but my ultragauge turns off, too.

There should be a way to wire it so only the injectors shut off, no? I don't have a wiring guide handy... btw, when I key it for EOC, sometimes my UG shuts-off too. But not always.