Waddup all I'm new to honda-tech.. well I've been looking at this forum for a while but I recently joined so I can post. I drive a 1991 civic si with a rebuilt D16A motor. I have an exedy clutch, aem cai, and a skunk2 adjustable springs/tokico hp suspension setup. I love my car and it's fun to drive but it's old and it was a hand me down from my dad. Now I'm looking for a new ride. I was wondering if anyone could offer any suggestions on what to get for $15-18k. I was leaning either towards a Type-S or a WRX. Anyone out there upgrade from a EF to one of those two or something better? Let me know what you guys think.. THanks

 

ill take the ef off your hands

 

You want total strangers to pick out a $18,000 car for you..??

 

no.. just wanna hear some suggestions

 

go test drive both and see which one you like more. Simple enough.

 

An EF with $18,000 worth of performance upgrades will be faster than a stock $18,000 car. Keep the EF and build it up, someday you might be able to beat those higher-end cars. Just my 2 cents. Not saying you want an SRT-4, but just an example...
You still see EF's on the road all the time because they are great cars. Yeah they're old, but do you think in the year 2019 you will see any 2004 Neon SRT-4's driving around? Probably not, and theres many reasons for this.

 

If you got the patience bro. You could make build your car ground up. here's the pros:
You get the satisfaction of telling anyone worthing of looking under your hood that you earned every single ft-lb/ hp hitting to your rubber.
You know exactly what went into the car.
with 20k.....You could buy your car.
place a badass b series motor in there
new paint
New suspension
All the works and still have enough left over for gas $ for a couple months.

I say you take that 20k hold on to it....search around this site Find a good setup you are willing to go for. And go to it.
My recomendations:
A nice light car....Hf
A nice fast Peppy engine - (xsi)B16a/(96)b18C5 <---my favs
Get a nice tranny
YS1 from the 92-93 Gsr...>
"queefe" Lsd Diff.
OBD2-->OBD1 more after market garbage


But if you are really really LEANING towards a new car go for it. Just remember you could build and OWN a beast for almost 5/8 of what you would pay for a brand new car. and who wants that.... saving money and a learning experience....
Search search search....get familar with this board. if you build your ride you'll need all your answers questioned here....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HalfManHalfFred &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no.. just wanna hear some suggestions</TD></TR></TABLE>

ok
ferri
lambogini
porhse
deloraen
austin heily
grand am
trans am
chey impalla
dodge charger

shall i go on .........

 

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

ok
ferri
lambogini
porhse
deloraen
austin heily
grand am
trans am
chey impalla
dodge charger

shall i go on ......... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Hey, when you see any of these cars for $15-$18k let me know!

 

I have actually thought of putting a JDM B16A in it and all that other good stuff but I need a more reliable car, one that doesn't have 190,xxxK on it's chassis. My hopes are to keep that car and one day when i'm rich I'll make my dreams for it turn into reality: B16A or B18C1 or B18C5 swap. header, exhaust, jdm appearance, new paint job etc.

 

the EF is not only a car but an addiction...you say "fun to drive" i say "shut up enjoy the vtec" notice how true 4th gen enthusiasts argue the building of ur recent "ef" instead of replacing it w/ something newer, certain ppl feel the love others dont...in this case its obvious! good luck paying 25 grand for something w/ a 18 grand pricetag!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HalfManHalfFred &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have actually thought of putting a JDM B16A in it and all that other good stuff but I need a more reliable car, one that doesn't have 190,xxxK on it's chassis.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have actually done this w/219k on the chassis and i couldn't ask for more reliability. I beat on my b16 daily.

Spend 15-18k on your ef. It will be better than 95% of the cars on the road.

2.0L b18c5 w/s80 tranny hondata tuned and drop the rest on apperance. You should have some $ left over and a nice car.

You dad was trippin' i would have kept that car

 

Definatley. Go buy an old accord for like $500. Then strip your EF down to the guts, and rebuild it. Its gonna be so sweet.

 

for 8-10k you could make your EF minty as if it came off the show room floor and with a bigger faster motor and reliability.

give me 10k
and i'll make your car b18c turbo pushing 320 reliably with power windows/mirrors/locks and new suspension and other worn parts. nice paintjob aswell. you'll have money left from the 10k for bling ****.

 

Here's the part that stuck out to me:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anyone out there upgrade from a EF to one of those two or something better?</TD></TR></TABLE>

You mean... there's... something... BETTER?!

I've looked for something that would pry me out of my CRXs. I've test driven New MINIs, new Civic Si's, and whatnot, but not a single one of them could put as big a grin on my face as a CRX does. In the end, I just decided to go and buy more CRXs!

You can buy newer than an EF, but it's honstly hard to buy something more reliable. For your money, you can look for a used WRX or Lancer Evo, but you have to realize going in that the basic maintenance on a new car tends to be more expensive for anything that's not covered under warranty. For instance, Automobile magazine recently finished up a 12-month long-term test of an Evo; the UNSCHEDULED maintenance (stuff the warranty DIDN'T cover) ended up costing them $337 a month! Nice car, the Evo, but sure as hell it ain't cheap to run.

Just something to think about before jumping headfirst into four or five years of debt.

Mike

 

so what exactly is a crx going to be worth in 2019 compared to a 2004 srt4. the often overlooked option is to spend 1500 flying to japan. buy a smoker for about 6000. ship it back title in hand for 2 thou. and still have around seven k to mod the **** out of a factory b-series, k-series, rb-sries whatever car you desire. true mad tyte jdm **** yo.

(**** it. if you want someone elses opinion on cars... buy 18000 worth of magazines. )

 

as long as its in good shap to begin with then trow some **** in there,hell i just saw pacmans video,that ****** flyes,hes got that k series stuffed in there and it would smoke the ******* **** outa my b16,even when i finish my turbo setup he would prolly lap my ***, k sieries is about $7k,if i hadd all that cah i would be on it in a heart beat.plus buy a cheap as beater and cruz that until the shop finished up on my hatch.

 

the question to me is..do you already have $15-$18K(in hand) to spend on a car??if so..lucky bitch i personally would'nt dump that much $$$ into an EF project but..thats me saying that because it's not an option..if it were my decision, it would probably be to keep the EF the way i already have it and buy a new car with the cash

 

i gotta admit that EFs run forever, but i felt my self coming down with the "old car syndrom"- the rust, the parts falling off, squeaky hatches, and leaking window... Personally, if i was ever going to sway from honda, Id look at mazda- I was super stoked about that new Mazda Speed Miata... But I might have just been in CRX withdrawl- its been down for the count while i prep it for a b16 I have a feeling though that once i hop in that thing with the new motor, ill never consider getting a new car. just my .02

 

I went from driving a CRX Si to a WRX about 3 years ago.

I dont care what people here say...a wrx is a better car than an EF. It's just true. It's faster, more comfortable, seats 4 or 5 (if some people are small lol), and is more than a decade newer.

Trust me, I love my crx, which is why I kept it and am putting a b18c1 in there right now, but for a daily driver I would rather have my wrx over my crx...even after the swap and stuff is done.

 

Chri5: Gotta admit, I haven't tried the WRX. I love the idea of it, but I don't know how good a WRX you can pick up for his target price ($15-18k).

I'm biased, I'm sure - The one single biggest reason I keep coming back to my CRXs is simple: it's the smallest, most tossable, nimble, fun little car I've found that I can actually fit in. Sadly, at 6'8" tall and 260 lbs, there are a number of great cars that are just off my list forever: Miata, S2000, Elise, any RX7, Supra, etc. I've tried to get in them, and just can't physically wedge my legs under the dashboard and steering wheel and still operate the pedals.

I don't dispute that some of them are *better* cars than the CRX or Civic - I just don't get to find out first-hand. Sucks to be me sometimes... But it's okay; I still have an absolute blast in a CRX.

I do have a WRX on my wish-list, though. I've tried 'em on, and I can *just* fit in it. Hey, I never asked to be really comfortable!

Mike

 

with 18gs on my pocket i will just keep my EF and fully build it, but that's just my opinion..

i suggest you get the new si's or get a.. uhhh... rsx maybe?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HalfManHalfFred &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Anyone out there upgrade from a EF to one of those two or something better? Let me know what you guys think.. THanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

**** i can afford any brand new ride, but i choose to keep my cars. I EF HBs

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kwicko &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Chri5: Gotta admit, I haven't tried the WRX. I love the idea of it, but I don't know how good a WRX you can pick up for his target price ($15-18k).</TD></TR></TABLE>

You could buy one like mine...02 34k miles that would go for around 15-17k depending on condition and location.

 

Get an RSX type-s
I love my ef to the end, but in all reality I can't wait to get a new car after I graduate from college. I have two hatches and I'm not going to get rid of any of them, but when you want to go out to dinner or a business meeting/outing you need something that represents you in a professional manner. Like I said I love my ef and I plan on keeping it forever if possible.