Pseudo civic nubi here

[MilesC]

I am posting here since I think that those who frequent this forum can help the most. I just picked up my 07 FA5 SI a couple of weeks ago. This is a big jump for me since I grew up with and still own a 1969 Mach1. A family man now, I have been driving my wife's old geo prizm for 5 years - ever since she robbed me of my Durango. It took me a while to put it out to pasture, but it finally happened and literally overnight I found myself in my new machine.

The SI seems like a perfect blend of safety (for my wife) and performance (for me) and 4 doors (the kids). It is my daily driver, though I can do "whatever I want to it" as long as I don't void my warranty.

Since the Civics are relatively inexpensive, I find myself in a good position to mod it as I see fit. I have been lurking on 8thcivic for a couple of weeks now and feel like I have read most of the relevant stickies and threads I am interested in.

I should mention that I have been doing the Friday at the Track days at Summit Point, WV for a few years now driving my buddies 93DX with a b16 motor swap. Maybe it is the B20 now, I can't remember, he changes things up so often. He is a true Honda junkie. Anywho, to get to my points, I plan on continuing the FATT days and want to setup my new ride for it. Mind you this is still my daily driver, so I am not going extreme here, but am after a solid performance setup. Given all of this, here are my plans and I am looking for feedback from those of you in the track/autocross worlds.

My first question is HFP vs. Tein basics, what should I do? Just kidding. I read that incredibly painful thread. Seriously though, the HFP setup looks tight. Is there anything out there that competes with it "for the price"? Warranty issues not withstanding? Not that I can see, but maybe someone can set me straight. I am not looking for a set of $2000 coilovers and I could care less about dropping my car more than an inch. Hell, if it made it perform better, I'd put a lift kit on it. I could care less about looks anymore, it is all about performance and reliability.

Progress swaybar with upgraded endlinks. No reason not to do this from what I see. Endlink preferences? Has anyone else had their bar rip out like that one post I saw? Do I need to worry about reinforcing the mounting points?

Wheel/tire combos, I think I will burn through the "summer tires" first and then worry about it though I would like to know what the widest wheel/tire combo I can put on is. When the time comes, I'll get the lightest wheels possible. Suggestions?

I/H/E + reflash. Here it sounds like I might wait to follow nitrousg's route. I am watching you man! I cannot wait to see your intake. Anyone want to differ on that?

Braking. From what I can ascertain, the system is already pretty awesome. Upgrade the pads and fluid and be done. I saw something about Brembo blanks for rotors, but I was thinking on leaving them stock for the time being. Any of you track boys disagree?

Like many of you, I'll be honest, I drive my car hard and fast in general and straight up balls out at the track. I'll be getting into autocrossing at some point, but can't really afford the time currently. Mostly it'll be FATT since Fridays are "work" days.

I am changing all the fluids out with AMSOIL. BTW, I do have that 3rd gear issue. Irritating, but maybe the AMSOIL will take care of that, otherwise I'll have to wait for the fix since I am not willing to fight with the dealerships. I do think it is effed up that Honda has not fixed it yet given the amount of problems people seem to be having with it.

Any other suggestions/tips you care to offer?

I am glad to be a part of the club. Thanks for reading my longwinded post.