good ways to keep it good is dont drive it a high RPM. driving at high RPMs is just making the engine die faster. I own 2 civics (one is a blown motor =/) and i rarely beat on any of them. you should check between every oil change in the motor to make sure theres no grease or any leaks. i do an oil change every 2500 miles on both to keep it running clean. Also what i do is every 2 or 3 months when your low on gas to put some fuel injection cleaner. if you want power out of your civic but dont want to go all out you can do simple basics such as intake, exhuast system, headers. should be able to get maybe an extra 40 or little more HP out of it.