Import Al

I've searched and haven't really found what I was looking for like the threads documenting the changes throughout the production run of 4th & 5th gen Civics. I ask because I'm interested in buying a Civic HX coupe but want to know if it's worth holding out for a 99-00. If the restyled front end is the biggest difference and theres no other major improvements than I'd gladly buy a 96-98 car (fuel economy & ECM changes, build quality, available features, part compatibility with 99-00s, etc.)

Driving an Integra GS-R daily is fun but I'd love to get 40+ mpg on regular gas. So, would you get a 96-98 HX & save a little $$ or ante up to 99-00 sexiness? Thanks.

Lasty K

iTrader: (3)

Get it.

Who cares about the front end, IMO - 96-98 owns the 99-00 front.

Add on SiR lip + fogs and you're done l0l.

CRX Toad

Just get what you like. It is your car. People spend there life trying to please people they don't even know or like. Why? Makes no sense if you like it then get it.

NOFX

'96-'98s have more OEM front lip options than the '99-'00s anyway. Three compared with one.

I prefer it and to make matters worse, it feels like the '99-'00 front is some sort of bandwagon since so many people hate the '96-'98 front and/or swap to it. If you do a conversion, at least swap to a different front end than one we can already get in this country.

Oh, and just stay away from the CVT.

Import Al

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRX Toad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just get what you like. It is your car. People spend there life trying to please people they don't even know or like. Why? Makes no sense if you like it then get it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I highly value your word, Toad. You base your decisions on function, not form. This will be my 4th Honda; I've bought all of them for different reasons and have been very satisfied.

1st Honda: '91 Civic hatch, bought it as a teen and loved it till it died when a Ford F350 went over the centerline. My first "asset".

2nd Honda: 1993 Civic EX: Needed a replacement for the '91 & have a soft spot for cars needing a restoration. Still own it as a backup/beater.

3rd Honda: '95 Acura Integra GS-R: Wanted something spicier than the EJ1 & knew the previous owner, who gave me a great price.


I've just really wanted another econobox like my '91 hatch, which I bought with 70K miles, bone stock. The only question I have is what are the differences between the 96-98 and 99-00 Civics in terms of quality, parts swapping, engine management & other areas. I know from owning 4G & 5G Civics that the changes made owning a 90-91 seem smarter than an 88-89, like crash beams in the doors and chippable ECU's. Same goes for 94-95's vs 92-93's; you get 2 airbags standard & more models with 4-wheel disc ABS. Any reason to avoid the 96-98 Civics, similar to 88-89's or 92-93s?


I could care less about what other people think, but from my research the car gained a significant amount of weight for the 99-00 models without adding many features.. I'm guessing sound deadening & body reinforcing for crash safety? This has me leaning towards a 96-98 Civic right now. Thanks for the input, Al.




Modified by Import Al at 7:37 AM 12/21/2007

thisisntjared

99 is better because you can get a model with a rear sway bar and a tranny with great gears.

but the hx is pretty sweet too, lovely oem wheels.

if i had to choose a usdm civic motor i would choose either the d16y5 or the b16a2. no others.

since you are definitely going for fuel economy, i would just get whatever hx you could find.

EK_B

The fogs on a 99-00 &gt; 96-98. The square fogs look terrible IMO.

redb16coupe

Main differences, a/c controls, front end, they mainly came dark interior 99 up, and the rear bumper.

95 honda8

I got my 95 z6 coupe tuned and I have H/I/E and a little shot of spry and on average I get about 37-40 MPG( When I dont spry)

Frickr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by redb16coupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Main differences, a/c controls, front end, they mainly came dark interior 99 up, and the rear bumper.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

this guy here pretty much sums it up. personally, i love the 99-00 ac controls compaired to the 96-98. the 3 dials are cleaner then a bunch of buttons, and 2 slides. the cables on those break easy. the front end i like the bumber of the 99-00 but dont like the headlights as much as the 96-98's. but thats my op. and all of the parts are swapable. if your looking for fuel ecconomy, dont get the b16.. i get 33 at best. anything over 65 and i know the D's get great milage when they are running right.

thisisntjared

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95 honda8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I got my 95 z6 coupe tuned and I have H/I/E and a little shot of spry and on average I get about 37-40 MPG( When I dont spry) </TD></TR></TABLE>i dont understand what that has to do with anything.

Budget Racer

99-00 Looks way cleaner, but the older ones can be converted.

99-00 headliights and tail lights are PIMP. no yellow lens crap, Nicer front bumper too

Otherwise they are the same except Si of course.

Hardedge

Maybe I missed something. You want the Civic as another car or you want to rid yourself of a GSR in order to get a D powered Civic? If it's a secondary car then how are you saving money on gas if you spend thousands of dollars on the car? And if it's a trade then you only have two options; let me kick you in the nuts for throwing out a GSR for a Civic...or sell me your GSR!

HondamanXxX

I love how people bitch about their gas millage here on H-T. Lol we all should be lucky. Just look at everyone else out there. V6's, V8's, Hummers, Pick-ups, SUV's. lol who are we to talk **** about our little 4 bangers.

I run GSR 98 Coupe without butterflies and no one here's be bitching.

Lasty K

iTrader: (3)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frickr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

this guy here pretty much sums it up. personally, i love the 99-00 ac controls compaired to the 96-98. the 3 dials are cleaner then a bunch of buttons, and 2 slides. the cables on those break easy. the front end i like the bumber of the 99-00 but dont like the headlights as much as the 96-98's. but thats my op. and all of the parts are swapable. if your looking for fuel ecconomy, dont get the b16.. i get 33 at best. anything over 65 and i know the D's get great milage when they are running right.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sliders ftw!!

B serious

iTrader: (1)

The 99-00 exterior is nicer. The interior is 95165919849519849849198 times nicer. The stupid lights in the climate control never go out. The controls for the climate control are much nicer. There's bigger/better cup holders, and the compartments are bigger. I would hold out. If I want something...I want THAT thing. Not something close. That's how I roll.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Frickr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

this guy here pretty much sums it up. personally, i love the 99-00 ac controls compaired to the 96-98. the 3 dials are cleaner then a bunch of buttons, and 2 slides. the cables on those break easy. the front end i like the bumber of the 99-00 but dont like the headlights as much as the 96-98's. but thats my op. and all of the parts are swapable. if your looking for fuel ecconomy, dont get the b16.. i get 33 at best. anything over 65 and i know the D's get great milage when they are running right.</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol 33 MPG is pretty good. I used to get about that much with my B16A. I'd say after 80mph, it starts dropping fast. You're going to have the same effect with the D series. They get around 30-35 typically....and it drops dramatically after 80. Trust me. I bought my 99 hatchbox 100% stock. I had to drive to newyork to get it. My friend and I made it from chicago to rochester and back in 1 day (19hrs) non stop. We drove like 90+ the whole way. Got about 29MPG. His was a 98 hatch with a D16Y7 and mine was a 99 hatch with a D16Y7.

I had the Y7 for about a month. It got around 29-35mpg around town depending on if I wanted to beat on it. Never really took it on the highway. I 5 lugged it, B16'd it, dropped it, etc. etc. etc. within about a 2 month span.

With my B16A, I typically got around 27-30 around town because I looooove the sound of VTEC lol. I got around 30-32 on the highway, typically. Usually I drove around 75ish on the highway.

Lasty K

iTrader: (3)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The 99-00 exterior is nicer. The interior is 95165919849519849849198 times nicer. The stupid lights in the climate control never go out. The controls for the climate control are much nicer. There's bigger/better cup holders, and the compartments are bigger. I would hold out. If I want something...I want THAT thing. Not something close. That's how I roll. </TD></TR></TABLE>

All the things you listed, not really much of a difference as he asks. He's just looking for MPG. But I do agree, I wish I had the cup holders and that little slot from 99-00 l0l. I wanna re-route my disc player in there.

B serious

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lasty K &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

All the things you listed, not really much of a difference as he asks. He's just looking for MPG. But I do agree, I wish I had the cup holders and that little slot from 99-00 l0l. I wanna re-route my disc player in there.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I guess. But you can have MPG and do it in style lol. 99-00 FTW. +....nobody mentioned......99-00 foglight potential?? cmon. The 96-98 fog lights dont look nearly as good.

Lasty K

iTrader: (3)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I guess. But you can have MPG and do it in style lol. 99-00 FTW. +....nobody mentioned......99-00 foglight potential?? cmon. The 96-98 fog lights dont look nearly as good. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Annd, B serious is entirely correct.

NOFX

Quality is the same. Parts are almost all the same (some electrical differences and such - nothing that will stop you from modifying it or make it harder to modify). It being an HX has more to do with weird parts than the year it is.
Well yeah, but to clarify, the HX does not come with a rear swap bar.
The '99-'00 fronts look bland imo. But that's because I see them all the damn time.
The interior color codes are the same. The '99-'00 TYPE K interiors have darker seats than the '96-'98 though.

For the HX, Excel Charcoal (TYPE F - Light Gray) was only available for 1996. Classy Gray (TYPE K - Dark Gray) was available for all years 1996 to 2000.

This isn't normal though. Most trims keep the same interior color options for all years. For example, I've never found a Milano Red coupe with anything but a dark gray interior.
I have never even heard of anyone having a cable break on a '96-'98. Mine haven't broken on my '97 EX coupe or my '98 EX coupe. My boyfriend's '97 CX hatch haven't broken. Our friend's '97 sedan haven't broken nor has my boyfriend's cousin's '96 HX coupe broken.

What DOES happen is the cables don't get hooked back up after disassembly sometimes or sometimes the cables are routed incorrectly, causing the selectors to read incorrectly. It's a metal cable. It's not horribly thick, but I imagine it needs some abuse to break. It's in an area that doesn't have parts rubbing all against it.

I always thought the ***** on the '99-'00s looked too chunky and out of place in the otherwise pretty smooth interior. That was also something I disliked on the RSXes. I love the car, but hated the *****. As mentioned above, my opinion.
The interior is the same except:
- ***** on side of seat for '99-'00
- ***** on dash instead of sliders for '99-'00
- cupholder is different and cubby is not removable so no lower radio relocation for '99-'00
- map lights for EX and Si '98-'00 only

I've never had a light go out inside my '98. Never had issues with my '97 either, though I did have a brief issue with the CD slave on the '97 once (needed to be cleaned).
What little slot?

My boyfriend's CX "oretty much" has '99-'00 cupholders. His cupholders are very similar in size since they're from an EL. They blow. We hate them. Mostly because of the lack of room for cups (nothing larger than a medium fits because of height and angle). The large cupholder is too big for anything that would even fit unless we're planning to drive with a cup of soup or noodles.

Even my cupholders in my '98 don't have enough room to fit anything larger than a medium now since I installed the cigarette lighter and ashtray.

I still stand solid in the belief that the '96-'98 has the potential to look much better than the '99-'00's potential. Almost all the '99-'00s I see look the same.


Modified by NOFX at 9:38 PM 12/21/2007

NOFX

OP, you should look at this thread too.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/2055230

PHiNaTiK213

+1 for the 99-00 Civic! I'm on my third one! 2 Si's and my current '00 EJ8, tho i'm looking for a fourth EM1

NOFX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PHiNaTiK213 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">+1 for the 99-00 Civic! I'm on my third one! 2 Si's and my current '00 EJ8, tho i'm looking for a fourth EM1 </TD></TR></TABLE>
What happened to the third Si?

Lasty K

iTrader: (3)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NOFX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


What little slot?
</TD></TR></TABLE>


You know, below the climate control area. In front of the cup holders. You can put stuff in. I usually put my change in there, even though there's a change slot on the left side of the steering wheel. Unless I'm confusing myself.

Edit - The cubby hole!