is the 4th gen better

I was dead set on doing a b18c swap on a 5th gen but now i think i could pick up a crx or something and put the b16 sir 1 motor swap in there and save thousands of dollars. then use those dollars to prep and turbo the motor. well is the swap as easy as they say? and is this a foolish idea?

thanks

IMHO 4th gens are the way to go. But with all good things come the bad. The good is they are lighter, the crx being the lightest followed by the hatchback. You will definatly feel more power in a lighter car, and as models get younger they have gotten heavier.

The downside is that they pose swap difficulties that newer civics wont face. Wireing is a pain on anything but an si, and cf's require more parts such as hubs etc... you need motor mounts, and a b18 will most likly wont clear the stock hood. The cable trans is also a bitch since most newer engines all have hydro, and it isnt cost effective to switch.

I just think you will probably get more bang for your swap in a 4gen, but your options are limited, and if you do want like a b18c , its really going to cost you.

Pick the car you like the most, making it fast is not as important if you dont like what you drive in the first place :)

"Pick the car you like the most, making it fast is not as important if you dont like what you drive in the first place "

I second that, I love my 4g!

not to diss the 4th gen because i do have one but a 92-92 civci hatch cx is really light if you could find a cx then i would buy that then swap a motor in that. isnt a cx lighter than our 4th gen ?

i'm not too sure...but i know the hf crx weighs' about 1800 lbs.....this is from this one website so if i'm wrong.....my bad.....
and the 92-95 hatchback weighs in at about 2500 lbs......the si at least...not too sure about the other ones.....

so let's say i had a 4g hatchback.....would it be very difficult to drop in a b18c?....i know hasport sells engine mount kits, but i want to know if it'll fit very well....i wanna keep the stock look so i don't want any crazy aftermarket hood or anything just to accomodate for the larger engine..... Have you guys seen the supra-7 from turbo magazine?....the sp engineering one?......they have a CRAZY ass hood so the big ass turbos can clear the hood....

There...

http://www.hondaswap.com/reference/index.php?mode=chassis

I hate to say it, but IMO the EG has the best chassis followed by the EK and EF.

Of course one of the guys in the APAC forums here has a B16A in a 3rd gen Civic so anything is possible.

my friend has a b16 in a 3rd gen. my friend with a 92-95 hatch has a b18c1 in his hatch and he runs low 14s. pretty fast. plus if you can get a cx it is lighter than our cars with exception of the crx. but the crx would be harder to swap in like they said.
i would recommend a 5th gen hatch with the b18c1

my friend runs a b16a2 in his 94 CX hatch. The listed curb weight of his car is something like 2084 lbs. Im sure it went up a few since his engine is heavier than the old CX motor but you can sure tell how light his car is when you stomp it. I used to own a CRX HF and I dont remember the car being 1800 lbs, i think it was a little over 1900...

B16A4ME's 800kg 3G:

http://home.iprimus.com.au/cuchulainn/b16a4me/2.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/cuchulainn/b16a4me/3.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/cuchulainn/b16a4me/8.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/cuchulainn/b16a4me/7.jpg

Runs a 15 second quarter @ 92.4mph - and that's with the 'puter throwing codes.

Anything's possible with enough effort :)

Links to his write up on it here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t49309.html

Originally posted by EFsleeper
my friend runs a b16a2 in his 94 CX hatch. The listed curb weight of his car is something like 2084 lbs. Im sure it went up a few since his engine is heavier than the old CX motor but you can sure tell how light his car is when you stomp it. I used to own a CRX HF and I dont remember the car being 1800 lbs, i think it was a little over 1900...

oh....well that' information was from this website so i'm not too sure of it's accuracy......but if you look on the website that someone posted earlier.....the hondaswap one.....it says the hf weighs in at 1819 lbs.....