Stock is good.Making an exhaust "purr" does absolutely nothing for racing. It's just a sound. And generally the more sound something makes, the less performance it's actually making.Secondly, let's assume you're actually racing at a track, in which case, it's not your exhaust that's putting you to shape, it's the fact that you have a slow 1998 Civic LX.Nevermind that most exhausts provide practically no gain at all. http://www.importtuner.com/powerpage...tmlThere's a good example. Yes, I know it's a different model than yours, but it's similar to what you'd see.Yes, a whole measly TWO horsepower and 1 torque gained. $700+ spent for 2 horsepower. That won't provide any gain to your vehicle either, that you can notice. Somewhere around 0.05 of a difference in a 1/4 mile. The same gain can be had by getting an oil change done.It's not worth it, man.