88 civic dx

hey guys...one simple question...are the 88 civic dx from colorado pulls harder than any other civic dx in any state? cause my dx really pulls hard compared to my friends dx. i dont know why. is it because of the hills there? btw...its a 5 speed. this is quite a tricky question. it bugs me. and i hanged wid a IS300. but not for a long time. maybe for about 30 secs. so what do you think?

it's not really a hard question, i got my ass kick by alot of people when my DX didn't have a tach gauge. My car didn't come with a tach at all, i had to go buy one, and after knowing when to shift gears i beat my friends 96 Civic EX with a 94 Civic Si motor, his car has a intake, exhaust and spark plugs. Mine didn't have much done to it, and mine have like 160xxx miles on it. And still running awesome.

hahaha. Wake up:D I'd like to think that too, because my DX was pretty quick...next to a parked car, lol

but still...are the dx from colorado have different transmission? it pulls and im sure of that...it pulls harder than my 01 sentra....:bandit:

i dunno man...maybe the elevation or something.

Originally posted by EF_LSVtec
i dunno man...maybe the elevation or something.

now that sounds like a possibility, but who knows :)

If anything, the elevation would hinder the cars performance I think... Engines love cool dense air. Granted, maybe the Colorodo air is "cool", but the higher altitude means that it's thinner...

Originally posted by ci5ic
If anything, the elevation would hinder the cars performance I think... Engines love cool dense air. Granted, maybe the Colorodo air is "cool", but the higher altitude means that it's thinner...

Thats what I was thinking, cause my car is porkier than a motherfucker when I go to tahoe. Who knows what the story is?:confused:

Originally posted by bamer02
hey guys...one simple question...are the 88 civic dx from colorado pulls harder than any other civic dx in any state? cause my dx really pulls hard compared to my friends dx. i dont know why. is it because of the hills there? btw...its a 5 speed. this is quite a tricky question. it bugs me. and i hanged wid a IS300. but not for a long time. maybe for about 30 secs. so what do you think?

Hanging with an IS 300? C'mon now man, youre comparing your DX with 70 hp at BEST to an IS 300? IS' arent that quick but I know they blow away your car if they were really trying. All the tranny ratios are the same in all DX from 88 to 91 so unless someone changed something somewhere youre either a better driver or your motor is stronger. You should beat IS 300s when you get your swap done :alien:

Originally posted by EFsleeper


Hanging with an IS 300? C'mon now man, youre comparing your DX with 70 hp at BEST to an IS 300? IS' arent that quick but I know they blow away your car if they were really trying. All the tranny ratios are the same in all DX from 88 to 91 so unless someone changed something somewhere youre either a better driver or your motor is stronger. You should beat IS 300s when you get your swap done :alien:


I hope you mean 70hp at the wheels ( for some reason i think is more than 70hp at the wheels) cause dx's have 92hp at the flywheel, STD's are the ones with 70hp at the flywheel. I know its not much more but I like to know that i have more HP than some of the civics :D

yeah about 70 at the wheels. either way you arent beating an IS if they are trying.

I thought a DX had like 112 at the flywheel and 92 at the wheels.

nope 92 at the flywheel..

i over-exaggerated on hanging wid the IS..it was about 2-10 secs...hehehe...anyways...i used to have an 89 civic lx 4dr and i know that my 88 dx now really pulls hard...harder than my old civic lx...im in cali so air right here is kinda hot and i think that civics from colorado pulls harder...maybe its in the transmission of colorado cars because of the mountains there..maybe they did it specifically for colorado...who knows...hehehe...who's from colorado here? who wants to try out my car and check it out? if its really different or is it just me...hehehe...:sun:

I don't think that car companies do anything to their cars depending on the state... That's one of the weirdest theories I've ever heard... I would say it's probably just you...

Well the DX seems to pull harder than a LX cause most DX do not have power steering or A/C, some do though. Every LX i've seen has had power steering and A/C, some might not have them but all the ones i have seen have. I guess its the power steering that cuts down enough hp that it makes it feel like it doesnt pull as hard as a DX hatch.

Originally posted by 88CiViC_DX
Well the DX seems to pull harder than a LX cause most DX do not have power steering or A/C, some do though. Every LX i've seen has had power steering and A/C, some might not have them but all the ones i have seen have. I guess its the power steering that cuts down enough hp that it makes it feel like it doesnt pull as hard as a DX hatch.

Really? Thats odd, I have never seen a DX with power steering. Has anyone else? anyone?

Yup.....I have
Ex brother-in-law has a '91 DX hatch with power steering and an auto tranny...it was slow as crap.

My 91 DX Sedan has a 5-speed and does not have power steering. It is far from "quick" but it did beat up on the bro-in-law's hatch..mainly due to the tranny I think..those autos suck all the life outta the poor d15.

Peace.:sun:

maybe its just me...ill do a 0-60 test later and lets just see...btw what are the average 0-60 times for a dx hatch 88?:D

Originally posted by EFsleeper


Really? Thats odd, I have never seen a DX with power steering. Has anyone else? anyone?

yup, all DX's that r Automatic have P/S. Mine has P/S cause it used 2 b an Auto.

you changed your transmission? how much did it cost you?

my dx (i think most dx) has no rpm gauge...should i put a tachometer to it? whats a good and cheap tachometer?

didn't cost anything...
the guy i bought it from swapped a new engine & tranny into it along with a few mods. He was a mechanic so everything was done very clean.

oh yeah that's cool...no p/s is a bitch...hahahaha!!!

Originally posted by bamer02
you changed your transmission? how much did it cost you?

cwbetb has stock power steering in his DX....he also paid to have his AT switched to MT. so you might want to ask him how much.

it is really easy to do it yourself if you have tools and aren't afriad to get down on your car. tranny bolts up the same. the biggest thing to change is the pedals

just wanted to know how much..im not gonna do it..i have a MT...thanks anyway...you guys know any shops here in cali that dont charge a lot for swapping engines? and where can you get cheap ZC engines? i know nippon-motors but im still looking for better prices...thanks...

where u from bamer02. Easier to refer someone if we know your location. You can at least save on shipping if you find an engine locally.

Originally posted by bamer02
oh yeah that's cool...no p/s is a bitch...hahahaha!!!

Hell naw! I hate power steering! I love the immediate response of manual steering, and not having it provides a better tactile connection between you and the car and the road...

It's kindof a bitch for parallel parking though. :D

Originally posted by ci5ic


Hell naw! I hate power steering! I love the immediate response of manual steering, and not having it provides a better tactile connection between you and the car and the road...

It's kindof a bitch for parallel parking though. :D

my Si without power steering takes corners better hands down. BUT, i 'm quickly falling in love with the PS in the 4 door. it is so nice to have when i run a million errands.

205 40/ 16's with no power steering sucks....
175 70/13's with power steering rules...
in parking lots, that is ;)

I remember having a power-assisted steering as suppose to just power steering...Steering gets heavier as you go faster, hence better road feel. But I agree with driving no power steering at all grows on you.

Originally posted by LadyNRedSi
BUT, i 'm quickly falling in love with the PS in the 4 door.

Yea, mobbin the sedan!

im from...cali...its pretty big and there are just a couple of good engine suppliers hir...

Do Si's have power steering???

i dont know...try it...if its really hard...it doesnt have one..hehehehe...:sun:

Originally posted by Doc1020
Do Si's have power steering???

not all of em...some might dunno, all the ones i've seen didnt:confused:

nope, power steering only came in auto's and there was never an auto Si
im dont think.....

what was the name of the engine that came with the 92-99 civic ex? is it the SOHC vtec? d16y8? how much can i get it? im thinking on getting this or the ZC engine (DOHC). what do you think would perform better on my 4thgen civic? ill be doing a swap soon.

I'm getting the D16y8. I found one from a 98 ex with less than 8000 miles on it, it's been sitting on a shelf at the junkyard for 3 years. Anyways, I'm paying $900 for the engine. They had some other ones for cheaper, but I wanted the one with the lowest milage.

In my opinion, the D16y8 is better than the ZC for the following reasons:
1.) Engine drops right in, is almost identical to the D16a6 (Si engine).
2.) It's similarity to the Si engine means that I can still use my existing headers and intake.
3.) It's a USDM engine, so getting parts for it would be really easy. From what I understand about the ZC, it's a pain to figure out what parts you need from what car to fit the engine.
4.) I don't have to pay to ship it anywhere, since I found it locally.
5.) It's specs are almost the same as that of a ZC engine.
ZC Horsepower: 135hp@6500rpm
D16y8 Horsepower: 125hp@6600rpm
ZC Torque: 108ft.lbs Torque
D16y8 Torque: 106ft.lbs Torque
So, it's 10hp less than the ZC, but only 2ft.lbs less on torque.
6.) It will pass a visual inspection without a problem. If you put a JDM engine in your car, there's a possibility that it will fail a visual inspection if they're really looking.

Anyways, that's my reasoning. I'm not a mechanic or anything, and I've never done any kind of swap before, so I feel that this is a good engine to start with, just because of it's simplicity. Both engines can be great, I'm not bagging on the ZC. It's just that this one is more to my level of experience, and it's cheap.

Originally posted by bamer02
what was the name of the engine that came with the 92-99 civic ex? is it the SOHC vtec? d16y8? how much can i get it? im thinking on getting this or the ZC engine (DOHC). what do you think would perform better on my 4thgen civic? ill be doing a swap soon.

92-95 Si/EX d16z6
del sol d16z6
96-00 EX d16y8

edit: all sohc vtec :D

keep me updated on your swap..hehehe ill copy yours...:silly2:

where is the drop shop located? does it have a a store here in cali? btw...i got a second hand autometer phantom (all black, has a shiftlight and it says phantom on the gauge. 10k rpm.) i got everything connected except for the white wire (the dashlight wire.). my question is, where did you guys connect this wire? park light? lighter? everythings working except for the backlight of my phantom. can any of you guys help me? btw, i have an 88 civic dx hatch.

Man, for a DX my old 88 hatch was a little kinky. It would hang with my friends 88 CRX Si under the right conditons (course usually the CRX had the upper hand) but it was a scream to watch my DX scare him lol. But it definally had alot more pep than any other DX i've been in to date. Only mods where a K&N drop in filter, removed air baffels, and axle back exhaust. So it was about stock in reality hehe. I did give it a tach and a perfomance clutch later down the road so gettin the most outta the motor was never a problem. And at 80k it had alot of life in it too. And yea....like my Si it also lacked power steering and I LOVE IT!!!! Just for those who wonder what my DX is doin now...

http://www.4thgenerationcivic.com/Photos/photos/habib2.jpg

Originally posted by bamer02
where is the drop shop located? does it have a a store here in cali? btw...i got a second hand autometer phantom (all black, has a shiftlight and it says phantom on the gauge. 10k rpm.) i got everything connected except for the white wire (the dashlight wire.). my question is, where did you guys connect this wire? park light? lighter? everythings working except for the backlight of my phantom. can any of you guys help me? btw, i have an 88 civic dx hatch.

the tach signal wire is already in your dash. Remove your dash pod cover (its like 4 screws) then take it off, look behind the gauges on your left hand side, look for a solid BLUE wire that goes into the back of a wire harness or plug or something like that, you can get the signal right off of that wire. The rest of the stuff I think i ran off my dash lights but i'm not sure i'd ask someone else first, g'luck!

I connected that wire to the power line I have running to my fog lights.

hehehe...im kinda confused...mighty, where can you see the powerline for the fogs? can you describe it for me? habib_88, im kinda new to this stuff...what's the tach signal wire? im looking for a place to hook up the wire (white) for the backlight of the phantom tach.

I put the foglights on myself, so I had a powerline just running through the firewall to the switch i put on my dash. It wasn't a stock honda wire. If you don't have fog lights you can tap into the powerline for your head unit or something.

Originally posted by bamer02
hehehe...im kinda confused...mighty, where can you see the powerline for the fogs? can you describe it for me? habib_88, im kinda new to this stuff...what's the tach signal wire? im looking for a place to hook up the wire (white) for the backlight of the phantom tach.

the tach signal wire is the wire that tell the tach what RPM the car is at. As for the light of the tach, i'd tap of a dash light from something maybe? its easy enough to find one and use one of those wires. Any other questions just post it i'll try to see if i can help, and i KNOW there are others that have done this that can help ya to, g'luck!

ill try to find a dashlight wire...can you give me an example of that wire? (As for the light of the tach, i'd tap of a dash light from something maybe?) hehehe...thanks.