hi im new...help

I have always been a fan of honda. my brother gave me his honda civic 00' ex because he got himself a bmw. i was wondering what i could do with it to make it faster without changing the engine but at the same time making it pass smog. does anyone know where i could learn about these things because im really tryin to widen my horizon in the honda world. im hoping to spend a lot of time and money when its coming to fixing this car up so that i could learn and not be one of those people who are putting in things not understanding what each part does. thanks    

get yourself a cold air intake, these lower the temp of the air coming into your motor, go with the aem v2 intake,  this particular intake is kinda pricy but well worth it, you will notice a deeper, more throatier sound coming from your engine compartment, as well as a slight hp increase and better throttle response esspecially at high end. just make sure you cleen the filter once in a while  

thanks man is there anything else i could do? anyone else got more words of wisdom for me?  

work on your exhaust, i dont know n e thing about the smog regulations, but i went with a 2 1/2 in. exhaust with a high flow cat and new headers.  If your car has manual trani, you could look into upgrading your transaxle, start with a good clutch  and a lightweight flywheel. you could also look into rebuilding your motor if you have the money, if you got dough, theres endless possibilities.  

yea i feel you. right on tho. thanks for the advice.   anymore help out there?  

short shifters are cheap an effective.