lost love found!

[LXi88Dave]

thanks defiance! ever since i put the rims and muffler on, seems some of the boyz in the vtecs, wrx's, etc have zoomed up on me to check it out b4 blasting away... i like their rides, a lot!! but no way am i ever going to be able to "accelerate" like they do in my humble little DAILY DRIVER. for me, it's all about affordability, reliability, relative comfort, good gas mileage (25.5-27.8 mpg avg so far) and ol' skool kewlness... still smiling from the young kids & teens checking out the lxi all the time as if it were their 1st time seeing a 4 door with Pop Up headlights... even the young 20-sumthing, who put in the kill switch, had a highly modded tuner civic and just never seen an 88.. he suggested showing it at an import show (i'm prob too old for that + it's still pretty bone stock)...

[defiance]

thanks defiance! ever since i put the rims and muffler on, seems some of the boyz in the vtecs, wrx's, etc have zoomed up on me to check it out b4 blasting away... i like their rides, a lot!! but no way am i ever going to be able to "accelerate" like they do in my humble little DAILY DRIVER. for me, it's all about affordability, reliability, relative comfort, good gas mileage (25.5-27.8 mpg avg so far) and ol' skool kewlness... still smiling from the young kids & teens checking out the lxi all the time as if it were their 1st time seeing a 4 door with Pop Up headlights... even the young 20-sumthing, who put in the kill switch, had a highly modded tuner civic and just never seen an 88.. he suggested showing it at an import show (i'm prob too old for that + it's still pretty bone stock)...

Quick question how does the car feel since you put the new exhaust and tires on ? Is it any faster then stock ?
How are the basic maintenance items looking ? Like spark plugs,the oil and the air filter ? Any plans for a cold air intake ?

[LXi88Dave]

Ride is a little firmer.. I shuda went w 195/55-15 instead of 195/50-15 for a stocker ride n better gas mileage.

Sound is quite a bit louder.. I prob shuda went w the magnaflows w dual 3" tips instead of the dual 3.5" tips... Cost me about $135 on amazon. But it still sounds pretty awesome to me...

Most of the basic maintenance hv been done... New spark plugs, cap n rotor, air filter, timing belt, valve gasket, oil, transmission flushed, power steering flushed, suspension bushings replaced as needed, a/c recharged... Struts will be replaced this week w tokicos + h&r lowering springs... I had dent pro come out today to knock all the little parking lot dings, almost like new now.

Need to change motor mounts soon, I think... Vibration at stop ESP if a/c is on, so I put it in neutral at stop lights...

Valves need an adjustment, I think.. I hear a slight ticking when Im in the drive-thru.

I'm still researching the cold air intake thing vs short intake vs electric supercharger... I'm liking the dragon w short air + the "ram air tube" which is seems a good compromise... Some posts say a true cai can be be bad due to hydrolock, whatever that is. But I'm thinking to keep it sleeper stock n add this electric supercharger on eBay that seems good for about 5 psi boost which might be the better compromise.

[obdriver6]

Don't go with the electric supercharger, its a scam! If you want a nice DD, just go with the CAI and some 4-2-1 headers!

EDIT: Nice job on the wheel! Where I work, they had a set of gold DR44 that I wanted to get but I bought something much better for my car!

[LXi88Dave]

@obd - thx for the input.. it's a good highway cruiser and i will keep it stock and easy to maintain/repair... which CAI did u go with? nevermind, i will check your build list again a lil later.

@all - well, the H&R springs + Tokicos got installed last friday. initially, the ride feels much better.. the rickity-rackaty feeling from before is gone, due to 24yo bad struts. the ride is solid, firm, not too bad, tho a bit bouncy on freeway (i'm accepting that for now)... the ONLY PROBLEM i'm dealing with now is that i did not get the ADVERTISED 1.5" drop in the front, esp right front side looks kinda odd to me.

right front gap dropped 1" from 3.00" to 2.00" (do others start high here?)
left front gap dropped 1" from 2.75" to 1.75"
rear gaps dropped 1.5" from 2.75" to 1.25"

i'm having the ebay reseller check for an official answer from H&R. And he wants me to drive it 200 miles to "let the springs seat right"..

EDIT: hehehe... before the silver dr44s +40 went on, i actually bought the gold DR44s +25 with the 3" lip... when they put it on, it looked horrible and stopped them... so, i learned something about offsets..

[Legend_master]

Ride is a little firmer.. I shuda went w 195/55-15 instead of 195/50-15 for a stocker ride n better gas mileage.

Sound is quite a bit louder.. I prob shuda went w the magnaflows w dual 3" tips instead of the dual 3.5" tips... Cost me about $135 on amazon. But it still sounds pretty awesome to me...

Most of the basic maintenance hv been done... New spark plugs, cap n rotor, air filter, timing belt, valve gasket, oil, transmission flushed, power steering flushed, suspension bushings replaced as needed, a/c recharged... Struts will be replaced this week w tokicos + h&r lowering springs... I had dent pro come out today to knock all the little parking lot dings, almost like new now.

Need to change motor mounts soon, I think... Vibration at stop ESP if a/c is on, so I put it in neutral at stop lights...

Valves need an adjustment, I think.. I hear a slight ticking when Im in the drive-thru.

I'm still researching the cold air intake thing vs short intake vs electric supercharger... I'm liking the dragon w short air + the "ram air tube" which is seems a good compromise... Some posts say a true cai can be be bad due to hydrolock, whatever that is. But I'm thinking to keep it sleeper stock n add this electric supercharger on eBay that seems good for about 5 psi boost which might be the better compromise.

Great looking ride, really like the wheel and paint combination. I would definitely avoid the electric "supercharger", obd is right it is just a scam. As far as a CAI hydrolocking is a seriouse concern unless you live somewhere with a low amount of rain. Hydrolocking basically means your intake drinks the water, then the engine tries to compress the water inside the cylinder. Something has to break, and its not the water lol. I had a rod literally push out the side of my block due to hydrolocking. Unless your really trying to get the Max horsepower out of the engine you will most likley not notice a difference between CAI and a shortram.

[LXi88Dave]

thanks LegendMaster for the knowledge!!

i've been reviewing ur build, messys, obd's, etc... very, very inspiring!!! my engine is running very strong now and will probably last another 100,000+ miles or 10+ years.. but, i sure do desire to swap in the VTEC DOHC like NOW!!! dunno if i can make it LEGAL in Cali, tho...

here's some pix AFTER the H&R springs went on..

GAPS: 1.75" Left Front (drop 1") / 1.25" Left Rear (drop 1.5")


Gaps: 2" Right Front (drop 1") / 1.25" Right Rear (drop 1.5")


Trunk Shot (someone asked, i think):


Current Project: Refinishing the Window Wipers... hmmm... FLAT BLACK or SEMI_GLOSS BLACK??

[obdriver6]

Do it flat black!...... so jelly of your clean trunk space!

[89HatchbackLxi]

I'd say go with flat black. A few months ago I resprayed my rear wiper with some left over flat black primer I had from another project, and it turned out pretty good.

[LXi88Dave]

done! in flat black... thanks! the wiper's shiny bare metal used to reflect back into my eyes blinding me... now, happy with the results..

evasion: while passing alongside a big rig, he jerked halfway into my lane on the freeway at 65mph... fortunately, i reacted quickly and the LXi responded immediately and deftly... i used to think the rack-n-pinion was messed up, but it is solid and responsive... the old problem were the worn-out struts... LXi... good car!

tomorrow's project: my car mechanic will tighten up the ticky valves, gratis...

next project: installing the ebay SE-i center armrest console... anybody got SE-i cup holders they wanna sell??

[89EX-2.0i_4AT]

This is a really great thread. I have literally no experience of servicing/modding cars. And have only had my accord a few months but this makes me want to learn how to do some of the basics myself.

[HON-DUH]

I love this thread, makes me want to rethink the possibility of selling mine...

Car looks fantastic OP