So last fall I got a great deal on one of those dream cars that was owned by an 82 yr old man who bought it new and drove it to get groceries and lunch with the kids. A ’95 Del Sol S, it’s a ton of fun to drive (esp. with the top in the trunk ), it’s been completely reliable, has just over 55k miles on it, and with 32-34 MPG driving around town it’s very economic too.

It’s also as stock as a base model S can be… No AC… no Cruise… factory Stereo without CD… and the two things that will make everyone in these forums cringe… D15B7 with a 4 speed Automatic trani. The only thing the old man did to it was add BRIGHT red floor mats.

So my first Tech questions are…

What can I do to this car to make it more fun, economic, and dependable?

First two steps taken…
Swapped in 4 Infinity Reference speakers (got ‘em cheap from my salvage yard hookup)
New shoes should show up tomorrow, 15” alloys with 50 series all season Firestones to replace the 13” steelies.

Plugs and wires will probably be replaced at my next oil change.
My Mechanic buddy (who claims to know nothing about imports) says “let it breathe, get a CAI and exhaust”.
Will a CAI benefit my little 1.5L? With the automatic, unless I’m really standing on it, I rarely get above 4 - 4.5K RPM so the majority of the HP gain would never been seen, would it just kill my MPG by sucking more air and gas at takeoffs?
Would I be better off just getting one of those cleanable hi-flo filters for my factory intake?
Does a Cat back exhaust add anything if you're all stock between the block and cat? Again, would it just kill my MPG?

I should probably mention that this car is a daily driver that I’m NOT trying to turn into a hi po street rod, I just want it more fun, economic and dependable. My driving habits are probably 2/3 around town 1/3 highway (around town means mostly Virginia suburban, country, and mountain roads).

I have done some web research, but I know there are alot of folks here with real world Honda experience that can back up or shoot down the ideas I've formed while surfing for info.

Thanks!
Eric

 

Anything that you just bollt on will have almost no noticeable gains.

 

AutoXer is correct, unless you just want to throw money at it, or have the sound that comes with an aftermarket exhaust.

only thing i can really think of since you want to keep its normal DD drivability would be to swap out the tranny for a manual one. at least that ups the fun factor for myself.

just depends on how much fun you want to have... if it were a higher mileage, i;d say to look into a motor swap. just as dependable, and a lot more fun, yet still economical. but seeing that it only has 55,000 miles, just keep it till the motor gets worn out. look into changing/checking the timing belt soon. you are coming up on the 60,000 miles that honda recommends to change the timing belt and water pump, etc etc.

good luck, and any questions you have will easily be answered here. and congrats on the find of the car.

 

I kinda figured the CAI and exhaust would be alot of money with the effect of changing the sound and maybe hurting the MPG. Hi flo air filter, plugs and wires and engine mods will be pretty much complete! how's that for economy

As for the tranni, I'm both cheap and lazy, if it breaks maybe I'll replace it with a manual but for now I'll just let my left leg rest while I drive.

Any other opinions or advice are welcome!

 

more fun doesnt always mean having to go fast in straight lines. Upgrade the suspension with KYB AGX shocks for about 380, and some springs for, say 150. That should up the fun factor for you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by deadend9009 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">more fun doesnt always mean having to go fast in straight lines. Upgrade the suspension with KYB AGX shocks for about 380, and some springs for, say 150. That should up the fun factor for you. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Upgrading the springs/shocks should increase the fun factor yet not harm your reliability or fuel mileage.

 

Dude! you need a huge spoiler and clear tailights! Kidding

If I were you, I would just do a drop in K&N filter for your factory intake. Then maybe a nicer set of plug wires and plugs when you do the tune up. Also a rear sway bar wouldn't hurt either. All these things won't make a huge difference, but they won't hurt the pocket book either.

 

yeah I was thinking about sway bars, but that might wind up being a big can of worms to open. Mine is an S model... no sway bars at all... so I'll need new LCAs, right?... and dont ya have to reinforce the subframe if ya add a rear sway bar?

 

If you installed a stock Integra rear bar, its only 14mm so you wouldn't need to reinforce the subframe.

Anything larger than 19mm I would advise a subframe brace kit. (ASR, Comptech, Beaks, etc)

 

I agree with the manual tranny and suspension upgrades, make it fun to drive.

Ive got a d15b7 tranny with no grinds for sale in about 2 months if your still looking then.

 

lol at the "let it breathe"

 

So I've pretty much decided to reinforce the frame and add sway bars, seems a not too terribly expensive way to add fun and handling. So reinforcement first, I know for sure I need a rear lower strut bar, I don't really see a reason not to get a front top bar. So my next question is...

Do ya think I'll need any more than that? I hesitate to carve up the inside of the trunk and lose the space if I won't need the top rear bar, and is there any benefit to bracing the lower front? Won't the sway bar flex instead of the frame there?

Thanks again