Fishguy

why is this thing so often looked to as today's common performance car?

I mean, even a brand new SI isnt very fast, and older ones are pretty much dogs, and how well do they handle?

I know, they are great cars , i mean, i sure wouldnt mind a civic to run around the winter, or as a reliable daily driver, but i dont really see a civic and think its at all competition

Are they easy and cheap to modify to get them really fast? when modified a bit, are they really competent performance cars?

why?

Geo

For starters they are relatively inexpensive. A lot of kids get them handed down from their parents.

They have an extremely competetent chassis with the modified double wishbone. They have lots of suspension travel which is key for good handling for a lowered car.

You can drop in an Integra engine for pretty much dirt cheap and for relatively little money you can put down a great deal of power.

I'm not a fan of Honduhs, having owned a CRX and an Integra in the past. I think as a stock package they are rather pedestrian. But I have to admit that they are a solid platform upon which to build a pocket rocket. Parts are plentiful and relatively cheap for Civics. I am a fan of the original Sentra SE-R which performs pretty much on par with the NA 944. But a well put together Civic with an Integra engine is mighty fast and even faster than a modified (non-turbo) SE-R. The hybrids are light and powerful. My biggest objection to having one is that you have to replace the engine and suspension before they are particularly fast. I also hate Honduh seats so they would have to go (for me) too.

There are plenty of ricers out there to be sure, but there are a lot of bright enthusiasts out there with hybrid Civics who know what they are doing and they have some damned fast cars.

Dal Heger

It's not, It's an economy car.

A turd is still a turd, no matter how much you dress it up.

Having said that, there are some neat things you can do with them. I wouldn't mind having one for a daily driver/beater, but I'll still keep the real sports cars.

Dal.

Matt H

After test driving a Civic Si when they first came out, the girl at the delear says, "What did you think?"

I reply, "I think it is a piece of junk. On throttle this thing is as loud as a big rig and it feels cheap." To which she responded

(funny cuz it is above)
Salesgirl: "You can polish a turd but no matter how shiny it gets, it is still a turd."

I thought it was funny the way they thought of their own product. There are a lot of cars on the market being sold as sports cars that are certainly not sports cars. I used to say of my Eclipse, it is a sport"y" car but certainly not a sports car. There is a difference. I think the Civic Si is sporty (kinda). The rest of the line is grocery getter and no more.
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Sami951

I'm confused, what's Si? We have a Type-R over here, it's 2.0 w/ 200hp, somewhat decent "streetracer" sort of suspension and a bodykit... definately a sporty grocery getter. Not a sports car though, it just doesn't have anything that a proper sports car would...

Btw, anyone else have a problem with Volvo calling their big-*** station wagons "sportwagons"?

pete944

I would never consider them a "sports car". It's an econobox, a good econobox, but still an econobox. I remember when kids would soup up Pinto's, Vega's, and Gremlins. No one would ever confuse those cars with sports cars.

Grandmother's drive Civics. Nuff said.

Geo

As someone once said about the Porsche 935 (Brian Redman I think).....

You can't make a thoroughbred out of a pig. But if you spend enough time and money, you can end up with a mighty fast pig.

I think it applies to the Civic. Despite its pedestrian origins, it can be make to out-perform a 8v 944, even remaining NA.

Chris_924s

it's not. period. neither is anything with a US "manufacture" except for the Corvette. I had some a-hole argue with me that his Sunfire GT was a "sports car" because of the "GT" badge.

It's a racing heritage that makes it a "sports" car. Just like the SS Monte Carlo isnt one. Nascar aint racing.. it's following some other guy around an oval.

I do like the Civic's for what they are, not what modified into.

iloveporsches

Dodge Viper might have something to say about that, along with the new Ford GT

Anyway, yeah, they aren't sports cars. Yes, given enough money, they can be made to blow my car away at the track, but give me the same amount and then see what happens. At it's soul, it is not a sports car. It was still engineered with frequent trips to the grocery store, not the track, in mind.

My friend went from an S2000 to an Si with Koni's. Don't ask me how he did it.

Chris_924s

ILP- I, uh.. missed those 2... shouldnt you be doing homework??!!

axhoaxho

Why not a sports car? Ever heard of Honda's in Formula 1? These years Honda applies a lot of its racing technologies and experiences in their cars, including the Civic's.

theedge

They arent. Just dont tell all the morons who rice them and "tune" them that

Pretty much all theyre good for when theyre souped up is straight line. Put them in the twisties and let the laughs roll!

People mistake them for sports cars because they are pretty easy to get into the high horsepower numbers, like 500+. But theyre still a cheapo POS.

And then theres the Neon SRT4

odie

It's a "sports car" so insurance companies can bend teenagers over and not get arrested like Michael Jackson.

theedge

Were talking about the Civic itself and peoples retarded misconception that its something other than a grocery getter.

Manning

I don't know about that. There was an instructor out at Nelson Ledges the last time I was out there for a PCA drivers Ed event and his ride was a hotted-up little Civic coupe. It sounded like it might have had a blower of some sort. Anyway, he drove the doors off that thing and spanked just about everybody else on the track.

How about the Realtime racing Acuras? Those cars are fast as **** seem to handle great on track.