21st Oct 2007, 00:55
Interesting chatty row guys. I used to get involved similarly in my 'yoof'. However, being a little older & wiser, let me give you the benefit of the wisdom gained. Stop messing around with front wheel drive! The front wheels are for steering, the back wheels are to get the grunt down. I'm the proud owner of a 2004 face lift Monaro VXR (5.7litre, no bonnet scoops). The only thing that Vauxhall have to do with it is the badge (oh and the servicing I suppose). It's an Aussie. Crack the bonnet and the only badges you'll see are Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). Best bang for yer buck around. Will go as fast as it says on the tin, in comfort. Economy, take foot off loud pedal on motorway and get close to 30 mpg (A/C off). Not so great round town, nearer 12 mpg (ouch) Still, great carbon foot print, he-he. I know Yank's can't make cars to go round corners, but it's true what they say, 'Ain't no replacement for cube's, boy'. That's as standard. You wanna tune a motor, tune a V8, easy. New exhaust, new chip set, done. Oh, get better brakes, going's important, stopping's more important. Turbo's blow up, big block's generally don't. Oh, if you wanna get really silly you can bolt on a supercharger, overkill really, 383bhp is plenty, trust me.
24th Mar 2008, 03:35
"A 205gti MI 16v, and I beat Imprezas, Evos, VXRs"
Ye go on mate keep dreaming...
7th Dec 2008, 09:01
I own a 91 Civic GL, they motor on for a 1.4, but I wouldn't say they're quick. I am in the process of trying to simply get 100bhp. Any tips, apart from the obvious?
2nd Nov 2010, 06:22
Hey, been enjoying this 'discussion' and as a current owner of a 1991 1.4 GL Civic, I thought I'd add my tuppence worth. I bought the car for £150 off a friend 3 years ago, and have spent a grand total of £300 over the years to put it through MoTs and for general servicing.
After seeing a clip on youtube "CRX vs Lambo" sort of opened my eyes what can be done with a Honda. However, money being an issue to mod the car to that standard, I thought as a small project, I'd do mine.
I have had the head worked, ported and polished, 3 angle valve job and a 40 thou skim. Am in the process of installing a new stage 2 cam shaft and springs from Bisimoto. Have a reconditioned pair of Weber 40's to go on. Have a 4-2-1 header and an upgraded exhaust from a 1.6 on it. And upgraded the discs at the front to 262 with different calipers, still drums at the back though I know that the car only produced 90bhp from new, but considering its weight is 880kg, it does pull well.
I drive mostly in Scotland on windy roads, and keep the revs above 3500, and notice the potential of the car. Though I am under no illusions what my car can beat.
I love it, it is one of the funnest cars I have ever owned. Last car was a BMW 540i, and it accelerated like a rocket ship compared to the Honda, but left me dubious about the speed it could go round corners. The Honda doesn't have that problem.
At the moment I am looking to have a mild tuned 1.4 GL. Hopefully when I have it finished by the added mods above, I will move on to the bottom half of the engine. Yes, I know I could buy something much faster for probably about the same price that I will spend on the car, but there is a certain satisfaction in having a home grown motor.
Bottom half, I'm looking at a balanced crankshaft, skimming the bottom end, and installing d13 pistons with d15 con rods to raise the compression. The overall goal for this is to achieve over 100bhp per litre, hopefully leaving me with a car which is still a daily driver. I know as said above that in Malaysia they are racing 1.4's with a bhp of 200 for a n/a motor; that's awesome, and I know Bisi has the fastest n/a SOHC motor in the world, with an output of something like 700bhp.
The Civic 1.6 SiR or 1.6i VT is regarded as more of a drivers car than the DC5, though the Teg does look amazing, but the cost still for a Type R version is nuts.
The Saxo is a great handling car, and the VTR version is great, as is the 106 Rallye (one of my favourites ever, strange yes, but hey we've all got our own foibles).
In relation to what can beat what; a modded Civic is up there with Scoobys, Evo's, Focus etc, and if you watch the CRX vs Lambo clip, it will will beat Lamborghini's and Ruf Porsches. Don't argue, just watch the clip ;-)
23rd Mar 2012, 14:09
Just bought a Honda Civic 1.4 16v. Got 17 inch alloys, and the big box on the back end. The only thing is it's an automatic. Has anyone got any good ideas on how to make this old girl go faster? I was playing with the idea of sticking a bigger engine in, but hoping not to have to move the engine mounts if possible. Any ideas would be welcome...
John.
19th Mar 2013, 14:12
I've got myself a 1990 Honda Civic GL on dual carbs. I'm interested in finding out how to make it a lot quicker - what mods can you do?
19th Jun 2016, 18:21
I had a b20 block with a b16 Type R head, Skunk2 stage 2 all the way. It was a beast, it could dust anything it came across. It was in a 99 Civic SiR (JDM) EK body... Type R flywheel, stage 3 clutch, stock SiR tranny, short shift linkage, Integra Type R brakes, custom 3.0 headers and downpipe with HKS Powerpipe 6.0 outlet as the tip, and about 2 ft straight 3.0 pipe before the tip.
Then about two weeks ago it set on fire because of my H.I.D. wiring and an obvious gas leak (I assume from my fuel pressure regulator hose) whilst I was driving it.
Just sharing man, not being cocky, I never tried to race a car like yours though, would be interesting... My friend got a drag race setup b18c in his SiR (which he races at 13 sec. 1/4 mile). N/A all motor... and when I'm behind him and he tries to pull away, I can keep up on half throttle... Haha... Feels good right ;)
11th Oct 2007, 12:21
I know. Like I said, I used to own a Civic Type R and I loved it, but when I got my VXR I definitely upgraded; it's faster, better looking, the interior is better, and there is a lot more equipment. However, I do think the dc5 Integra Type R is better than the VXR, and I would buy one tomorrow if I could, but I can't seem to get cheap insurance for it (I'm 22). The Integra seems to get respect from everyone, even the people that hate the v-tec system. One day I will get one; better fuel economy, nearly as fast in a straight line, but miles better handling with an LSD and plenty of "street cred". But for now, the VXR will do.