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Possibly picking up a Honda for DD advice?

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SkyGrowsCold

15+ Year Contributor
192
2
Aug 10, 2003
Barnegat, New_Jersey
I've never owned a Honda and was looking for some advice on what specifically I should be looking into. I'm probably going to be looking at a 94 Civic coupe (Eg?) that has a D15B sohc block with a D16z6 vtec head with about 103k on them, or so the ad says. Honestly I prefer something all stock for DD use but the person is interested in a straight trade for my vehicle (not my DSM), which I value its worth at about 2500 being fair. Is there anything I should be looking at on this car aside from the basics and doing a compression test? I'm sure there are some Honda guru's on this forum and hope they chime in and give me their thoughts.

Thanks ahead of time for your reply’s.
 
Honestly I had a 95 civic dx 5spd d15b hatch that actually beat my friend's DD which is a 5spd d16z6 vtec coupe. Now the hatch was a couple hundred lbs lighter but still, shows there isnt a huge power loss and for a DD it's plenty.

Check for rust in rear quarters, down on corners of rockers, in door jambs.

There really aren't many common problems with the d series hondas that aren't cosmetic, they're fantastic vehicles. my Hatch pulled 37-42mpg like a champ with city driving and high 40's and a couple times low 50's on the highway.

Their speedo's do like to go on the fritz. Their heat sucks naturally but it's good enough.

2500 seems a bit steep unless it's really clean. my 95 hatch was pretty clean and I got it for $800 which I know was a steal but it realistically should of been worth around 1200-1400.
my 92 sedan lx 5spd d15 i got for $900 fully loaded but did need a new clutch, was drivable though. I resold it for 1200 with a new clutch.

I'd need to know more about the car to know if it is worth it.
 
I always heard they were good for daily driving. I'm not really concerned with the hp of the car just needs to get me from point A to B and maybe some Auto X in between. Funny you mention a Neon my plan was if I sold my Cherokee I would try and pick a Neon up.
 
Honestly I had a 95 civic dx 5spd d15b hatch that actually beat my friend's DD which is a 5spd d16z6 vtec coupe. Now the hatch was a couple hundred lbs lighter but still, shows there isnt a huge power loss and for a DD it's plenty.

Check for rust in rear quarters, down on corners of rockers, in door jambs.

There really aren't many common problems with the d series hondas that aren't cosmetic, they're fantastic vehicles. my Hatch pulled 37-42mpg like a champ with city driving and high 40's and a couple times low 50's on the highway.

Their speedo's do like to go on the fritz. Their heat sucks naturally but it's good enough.

2500 seems a bit steep unless it's really clean. my 95 hatch was pretty clean and I got it for $800 which I know was a steal but it realistically should of been worth around 1200-1400.
my 92 sedan lx 5spd d15 i got for $900 fully loaded but did need a new clutch, was drivable though. I resold it for 1200 with a new clutch.

I'd need to know more about the car to know if it is worth it.

2500 is where I valued my Jeep at not the asking price of the Honda. He's asking 2200 or trade. Again I'm not really interested in any of the aftermarket parts just mainly want something better on fuel then the Cherokee.
Here's what I'm told the car has

Black works struts
Sportline springs
Megan Racing 4-2-1 header
Apexi Exhaust piping and high flow cat
Megaphone muffler
B&M Short throw shifter
Poly urethane shifter bushings
Type R front brake calipers
Fresh si wheels
Tires were replaced over summer
AEM cold air intake short ram set up
K&N air filter
Ebay strut bars front and rear
Thicker sway bars
Replaced most vaccum lines and brand new coolant hoses
One step colder NGK plugs
Carbon Fiber 3 gauge pillar pod
Glow Shift narrowband
Mtx 1000 watt amp powering inside speakers
Carbon Fiber steering wheel

It desperately needs to be painted as it looks like the front was rattle canned two separate colors so if I do wind up with the car I'll be making a trip to the store to get some Plasti Dip.
 
Honestly if it were me, i would make him throw $500 ontop with his car. It sounds like its kind of rough, and a mini-me swap and a bunch of E-bay parts isn't anything special.
 
I wouldnt, honduhs stopped being reliable in 2001 when f&f came out. Now they are all full blown mad tight jdm race cars yo. With the mentality of 99% of the hunduh owners out there, i wouldnt be caught dead in any of their cars. Good luck finding one that isnt a ragged out piece of rigged jdm'ness.

A real dd is all about reliability. You dont want a modded car as a dd. Its just not very smart or practical.
 
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I wouldnt, honduhs stopped being reliable in 2001 when f&f came out. Now they are all full blown mad tight jdm race cars yo. With the mentality of 99% of the hunduh owners out there, i wouldnt be caught dead in any of their cars. Good luck finding one that isnt a ragged out piece of rigged jdm'ness.

A real dd is all about reliability. You dont want a modded car as a dd. Its just not very smart or practical.

I understand your point. I'll more than likely continue looking for something stock. It's unfortunate how so many reliable cars were hacked into sadly the same can be said about many of the DSM's out there also.
 
Just the fact the honda is that modded I'd steer clear. 95% of modded hondas aren't done right and have had the best of their life ragged out of them.
 
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Just the fact the honda is that modded I'd steer clear. 95% of modded hondas aren't done right and have had the best of their life ragged out of them.

Especially anything that's JDM this or type R that. :rolleyes:
 
We've had hondas/acuras in the family since 1983. Unreal reliability.

Keep cap/rotor/plugs changed.

Ignitors fail.

That's about it.

I've got a '95 Integra with 240k on it. Never a problem. Original engine, doesn't lose one bit of oil. Just keep the ignition parts fresh and drive...
 
All good information and yes anything that has a selling point of being "JDM" flags a lot for me. My thoughts are if he contacts me this weekend to set up a time to look at the car I will keep my word and at least go take a look at it. Obviously nothing is finial until papers are signed. Another way I'm looking at it is there is a higher demand for Hondas as opposed to my Cherokee so if all checks out and it seems decent I can pick it up, clean it up, and trade for something better. I've been spending quite a bit of time on craigslist lately and it seems that everyone wants to trade for a Honda which is what gave me the idea that if I do happen to pick it up I can use the above strategy if I'm unhappy with the car.
 
I think you guys all have a scued idea of what reliable means. Having to change a timing belt on all those foreign pieces of shit every 60k is not reliable to me. Plus the added cost in maintenance and upkeep. Which all takes away from making them a good dd. The cost of timing belt changes alone on one metric car could buy you another dd. Ohv is a must for a cheap,reliable dd.

When you can take an american 4,6cyl, or v8 and just plain drive it for 400k+ miles and never touch the thing other then oil changes and plugs/wires.

I really think you guys are too stuck on the import fad.

We've had hondas/acuras in the family since 1983. Unreal reliability.

I wish i would have recorded my last trip to florida. I took a cavalier i had at the time with about 220k miles. Real clean car though. I drove it straight through, and as i crossed the florida boarder, no lie there were three civics broke down on the e-way.

Would have made a great commercial haha
 
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If you wanna stay away from timing belts, then look into the Toyota Carolla and Nissan altima, they are OHC and run timing chains

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
 
Get you a 5th gen civic and then do a b18c1 gsr swap, get 35mpg, it has vtec, makes about 210hp and it will out run a whole bunch of cars.
 
Get you a 5th gen civic and then do a b18c1 gsr swap, get 35mpg, it has vtec, makes about 210hp and it will out run a whole bunch of cars.

Try about 180HP, closer to 190 on the type R but that is ridiculously expensive due to the JDM kiddies, and maybe 30MPG. Might wanna make sure you know what your talking about before you post.

If the OP wants a swap with power and mileage, he needs an EG hatch with an H22 swap, nearly 220HP on the type s model, and in an EG hatch can net nearly 50MPG.

I know from personal experience, i had a 93 CX hatch with an H22 and on a cross country trip averaged 47.3MPG.
 
Quick update since I don't like to leave a thread end with a mystery. First and foremost I was not looking for a swapped Honda let alone a modified one simply a car that can get me from point A to B, a Geo Metro would have worked. If I need to get into a fast car I only need to get in the Talon and drive it. The car that I had questioned was just the first to contact me about doing a trade and I was looking for some insight since I have never owned a Honda and for that insight everyone gave I'm very thankful for but the person never contacted me back so I never got to see the car.

I ended up trading my 92 Jeep Cherokee with 223k for a 97 VW Golf with 108k on it. The car is completely stock aside from being lowered and having been owned by a kid who was trying to pull off the euro look and also painted the mirrors and rear hatch spoiler red :ohdamn: always something. It also has a stripped out reverse gear which I read is very common on the MK3 VW's. Overall in my opinion it was worth it for me since the car is still in very good condition and worth getting the repairs done as it will be much cheaper on fuel as well as saving money on car insurance. That's where that ended up so once again I thank you all for your advice and if anyone knows of a good transmission shop in NJ please let me know since it seems that Dogbox Racings site was down last I checked and I'm not even sure if they deal with VW's.
 
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I think you guys all have a scued idea of what reliable means. Having to change a timing belt on all those foreign pieces of shit every 60k is not reliable to me.
I don't understand this argument.

I don't see the massive inconvenience of a stupid easy job that only costs like $100-$175 depending how much you're doing.




Anyway, i do love civics for DD's.
My 95 civic dx 5spd hatch I sold with 240k miles and it ran absolutely perfect and despite me beating on it always got a minimum of 38mpg. Usually I got about 42 and high 40's on the highway.
Paid $800 and only issue at the time was a clicking cv shaft. $860 and I had the best DD in the world basically. I did get a stupid good deal on it, the guy had just listed it and had 2 people call him while riding with me on the drive for it.
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My 92 civic lx 5spd was fully loaded, 4door, and I sold it to my best friend who still drives it every day and it's well over 300k miles.
Paid $950 for it, clutch was shitty though. Put a clutch in, so for $1050 it wasnt quite as good as a deal as my hatch since it had more rust but it still worked out to be a good deal.
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D series civics are simply incredible DD's if you find one that isnt ragged out/hacked up.
 
Try about 180HP, closer to 190 on the type R but that is ridiculously expensive due to the JDM kiddies, and maybe 30MPG. Might wanna make sure you know what your talking about before you post.

If the OP wants a swap with power and mileage, he needs an EG hatch with an H22 swap, nearly 220HP on the type s model, and in an EG hatch can net nearly 50MPG.

I know from personal experience, i had a 93 CX hatch with an H22 and on a cross country trip averaged 47.3MPG.

How bout you get an education before you talk or run your mouth! Because I have a fifth gen civic with a GSR swap that on a mustang dyno made 210hp and gets 35mpg! And you can find GSR swapped civics all day long, at least the USA version a B18c1 which im sure you have no idea what that means. Though I will agree an H22 is a nasty motor, but it dont bolt directly in and is more expensive than a GSR
 
you don't want aftermarket suspension on a DD, it kills your lower back, see if he still has the stock setup...
would type more but i have to go to work.
 
you don't want aftermarket suspension on a DD, it kills your lower back, see if he still has the stock setup...
would type more but i have to go to work.

Honestly the ride is much more comfortable than the Jeep which had a 6.5" lift so the VW's H&R coilovers are a welcome change. I'm very impressed with the suspension setup which has little to no bounce at all. Biggest issue is pulling in and out of the driveway where the front lip scrapes which I plan on seeing if I can get some more ride height out of the car.
 
I wouldn't buy a modded Honda (or any car for that matter) because you never know what was half assed.

That said I had a 93 Civic Hatch as a winter beater ages ago and apart from putting winter tires on it and replace the muffler after it rusted off; the only thing I did with it was dump 4L of oil into it every time the oil light came on (every 6-8 weeks). It had over 300k kilometers on it and cost me $800 so I was trying to spend as little as possible on it LOL.
 
hondas are dope and the resale is great, id definitely make sure it has a clean title before purchasing.
 
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