jdmmike818

I'm going to build a project car....Na and tuned for great handling, clean looks. I need something light and cheap so I'm going with either a 99 or 01 DX. Of the two which handles better. I get conflicting opinions. Some friends say 99 because it has double wishbone suspension for better handling, others say the 01 chassis is stiffer....every new gen Civic has a stiffer chassis than the last one. So which one is better? Both are going to have suspension work done so I'm just worried about which is the better platform

The_Todd

I would say the 96-00 because of aftermarket support. I also think the 96-00 would handle better and should also be lighter and IMHO looks better.

OEMJDM

would a k-series fit in a 01 wihtout too much work? if so ill go with that

SiRgUiDoZ

NEITHER!!!! Get rid of the whole DX idea and go with Si

97spooncivic

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SiRgUiDoZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">NEITHER!!!! Get rid of the whole DX idea and go with Si</TD></TR></TABLE>


go with the 99. dont waste money on teh si, crappy motor. do a k20 or k24 swap

alwaysoverkill

if modding both will get what you want. EK a 22mm rear sway bar, good coilovers or Koni/GC and good tires like Azeni and you'll have a great handling car, same goes for the 01 too. EK has more suspension options the are easily installed where as the 01+ is alittle slower with aftermarket support. i'd go EK

K series can go into anything from a CRX to 05, EK have a few done on k20a.org

si dosen't get you anything better suspension wise since it still only has a 13mm rear sway bar and 160hp, so if your modding...either will work, but of course being older the EK will be cheaper.

suspendedHatch

01+ has Mcpherson style strut suspension. 00- has double wishbone suspension. The EG probably has the most potential, but it's close between the EG, EK, and EF.

If you don't know what Mcpherson strut suspension is, it's an easy/cheap to produce/assemble suspension that is used on just about every car. The 01 Civic is basically a Toyota Corolla. You could swap a Celica motor into the Corolla. It has just as much merit as the 01 Civic. The RSX also has the sucky Mcpherson strut suspension. That's why Realtime gave up on them halfway through the season after spending millions trying to build them up (they still drive them with their rookie drivers, but they're not competitive).

The earlier Civic's double wishbone suspension can only be found on high end sports cars and european cars. It's a miracle they put the Integra suspension on this economy car, but that's how Honda was in the good old days. If you have any doubts on this suspension-ypes potential, just look at what the Realtime Integras were doing just a few years ago.

If you want a late model, high potential Honda suspension, get an Acura TSX.

litterbox

If you're modding get the cheapest car so you can dump more money into mods.

99CivicSiBrian

Yeah not much point getting an Si since you'll want to swap suspension parts anyway. And probably the motor too.
B

kyden

pssst. the dodge stratus has a double wishbone, so does the new f150. just a thought.

mluckxxx

i have the 99 dx, its VERY thin and light, almost too light. its a very good platform, no power windows, no power doors, no power seats, so its pretty much a little RC car

MonkeyBoy668

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kyden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pssst. the dodge stratus has a double wishbone, so does the new f150. just a thought.</TD></TR></TABLE>
My old-old-old-old 76 Chevy Nova had a double-wishbone suspension too. I once took a corner so hard in that boat that the outer front tire rolled off the steel wheel. BTW, I don't recommend repeating that experience. Especially in traffic. Man, was I a stupid punk.

Double wishbones are good. Honda keeps on saying that because Porsche uses MacPherson struts in many of their vehicles that strut suspensions aren't inherently bad, but of course Honda isn't Porsche.

I'd go for the 99 DX. You'll want to swap engines in either one to get a reasonable amount of power out of the platform, and the double-wishbone theoretically gives you a better platform to start from. Plus the 99s are probably a little lighter than the 01s.

suspendedHatch

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kyden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pssst. the dodge stratus has a double wishbone, so does the new f150. just a thought.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hah hah. And...?

Even Ralph Nader loves double wishbone suspension. It's the ****.

jdmmike818

do you think an 88 crx hf (1800lbs) would handle even better?

mluckxxx

make up your mind already

NerveAgent

99 dx by far.

mluckxxx

im telling you, i OWN this car. the height of this car looks amazing stock, it handles great, and the potential is amazing. dont be stupid

edit: if you want a picture of my car to show you the suspension height, pm me (its still bone stock minus exhaust)

philosofy1

i would go with the ek, it has a double wish bone suspension, it'll handle better