Hi,

I am looking to buy another used Honda Civic.

Are they're advantages to buying a "pre OBD" vs OBD1 vs OBD2A vs OBD2B civic? Is there an OBD setup that i should avoid?

Are the OBD1 OR OBD2A OR OBD2B civics more difficult to get past inspection? more difficult to fix? do any of them cause problems?

Am i overanalyzing this? being overly concerned?

I am NOT interested in building a race car.

Civics that are 91 and prior appeal to me as they are pre OBD and sound simplier. Another 91 civic sounds good as the one i owned was easy to fix -- pre OBD. But i want to make an informed decision. And want to take advantage of the best buying option that i find.

In my home state of Pennsylvania my 91 civic had lots of wiggle room when trying to get by emissions. Meanwhile i know that my mechanic had loads of trouble with newer OBD2 models (an engine light that went off 3 moths ago would create problems when trying to pass inspection).

Thanks very much for reading and for providing lots of great money saving advice over the years. Excellent forum.

 

You said what you DON'T plan on doing it now perhaps tell us what you DO plan on doing with it. Otherwise there's no need in going further.

 

Hi Grumble Marc,

thanks for replying.

I just plan on having a reliable daily driver with manual transmission. Maybe further down the line i might get a CAI -- but not much more than that.

I did do a search but didn't find this specific question directly addressed. And i'm seeing deals out there now.

If this question was already answered directly then please accept my apology. And providing me with the link would be a bonus.

best regards,

Jim

 

Hey man Philly guy here too! Woot! When it comes to picking a specific "obd" it really all depends on what you want to do to the car minor upgrades will not effect the computer, exhaust, CAI, things of that nature. There are so many options with computer tuning it doesn't really matter what you pick. It's gets a little tricky with engine swaps but there is always a solution.

 

If you don't plan on doing anything past dailying it then it doesn't matter. Save your money on the cold air and leave it stock. They don't really do anything.

 

Hi GrumbleMarc,

Strongly appreciate the advice. thanks

 

In my experience obd2 is easier and quicker to do the inspection because they just plug in, do a visual and you're done. The only issues you run into are check engine lights which are an automatic failure of inspection.

Obd1 they put you on the emissions machine and you have a greater chance of failing because rather than the computer of the car telling them it's ok, the machine reads the gasses directly from the tailpipe and it is more complicated because of the different gasses and variables.

In my opinion, obd1 is easier to get it to pass mechanically, but obd2 is more difficult because of the computer variable and the fact that it can throw stored codes without a check light. If you are going to daily drive the car with very minimal modification, obd doesn't matter.

However, I could be incorrect in one way or another. As I said, just my personal experience and also, I have many friends to help with inspection if I get into a bind do I am fortunate and lucky to not have to worry most of the time.

 

Hey Phranky!

Thanks for responding!

And you're philly also. Cool. I love the fact that we have so many boneyards available for cheap parts.

I use a great mechaninc in North Philly -- recommend him often. I'll PM his info.

regards

skate

 

Hi DPancoast,

Appreciate the feedback.

Those codes and lights are a BIG concern of mine.

When working on someone's new (OBD2B) car, I've seen my mechanic yelling and screaming about a "check engine" light that came on two months ago -- major problems.

Meanwhile my beat up, ancient, old "pre OBD" gets by just fine. There's lots of "wiggle room" when inspecting a 1991 car (i believe).

It's my understanding that 1991 cars and prior are "grandfathered" under old inspection/emission regulations. Hence they can, if need be, fail emission 15 or more times and then pass on the 16th time. It's my understanding that when and if you do have problems; the pre 1992, pre OBD, cars are much easier to get pass inspcetion.

And before buying a 20 year old car this is something that crosses my mind. It's not like i'm going to have someone swap in a shiny clean 2010 engine.



Again, appreciate your response. Helpful.

But it sounds like OBD2 is quicker and easier ONLY when you do NOT have any problems. And i would like to be prepared for problems. But i do not, of course, want to be paranoid -- to be overly concerned -- to be worrying unnecessarily about problems that might never happen.

And I totally appreciate you being forthcoming and honest with that.

cool.

I know people who know people who have "friends" who can "help" with inspection. (and that could mean a lot of things. not to necessarily imply anything about what you mean)

And call me paranoid, but i'm hesitant to make further comments about that in writing.




thanks again,

skate