Civic Exhaust Buyer's Guide
So you've decided to modify your Honda Civic exhaust. Good for you! Modified Honda Civics have taken their fair share of abuse over the years. The low cost of the Civic, combined with the fast emerging import tuning crowd in the 1990s meant that the Honda Civic was known for buzzing exhausts and little horsepower.
The advantage of the Civic's popularity is that there is an almost limitless array of aftermarket options available for the car. The modified car industry has grown up a bit since those early days and there are tons of high quality parts out there today.
The Civic has been out for decades, and has gone through many body styles over the years. Enthusiasts tend to refer to the different models by their Japanese chassis code. The chassis codes below aren't 100% accurate for each model, but these codes are generally how many refer to the different generations of Civic.
- 1988 to 1991 - EF
- 1992 to 1995 - EG
- 1996 to 2000 - EK
- 2001 to 2006 - EP or EM
- 2007 and Up - FD (Or, for some reason this one is also just known as the 8th Generation)
Power gains will vary from exhaust to exhaust and from model to model. The general rule is that the newer the car, the less likely you are to gain power from an exhaust upgrade.
The most common type of Civic exhaust is the catback style. The catback exhaust comes with a muffler and a long exhaust pipe that is fitted to the car, and runs from the catalytic converter all the way back to the tailpipe. For the most part, the difference in power from one exhaust to the other is negligible. A good way to go about picking the right catback for is to figure out which one creates the sound you're looking for. Cost is also a major factor as well as quality. Someone in more rust prone climates might want to spend a little extra and get a stainless steel model.
Many people opt to make their own catback by buying a universal muffler from companies like Borla, Magnaflow or Flowmaster and have them welded onto pipe supplied by a muffler shop.
Another popular option is the axleback exhaust. Unlike the catback, the new piping only goes as far as the rear axle. This provides a cheap alternative to the catback, but also has the advantage of being bolted onto the exhaust system, rather than welded on.
EP Civic with an Apexi muffler and custom piping:
EG with a custom Magnaflow muffler:
8th Gen Civic with a Borla axleback exhaust:
EK Civic with a Flowmaster muffler welded in:
EP Civic with a Flowmaster Muffler welded in:
EM Civic with a Greddy catback:
EG Civic with an HKS Hi-Power catback:
EP Civic with a Tanabe axleback exhaust:
