Should I even Bother?

Hey everyone, I had a question or two about Hondas. From what I keep reading it seems Honda Civics are the sucky, low-end or "poser" car on the streets. Is this true, or am I mistaken? Im curious because im turning 16 soon, and the car im getting is my dads '94 Civic EX. My dad and I are going to work on it together, and turn it into something amazing. But is it going to be a waste of time? Will it be stupid to put money into this car? Does it have any racing potential? Thanks in advance for any info...

Oh, and I'm sorry if this is in the wrong forum, wasnt sure exactly where to put it.

try the honda section....

ok ill try that, thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhzyBSQmb_c

http://videos.streetfire.net/search/jawsome/0/cd86fb97-62e9-4637-9743-42a8db0c66a5.htm

any car can be made into something amazing. What you have to realize is that the older hondas (newer ones are a bit more sporty) were made to be practical sedans or coupes, getting good gas mileage, realible, etc. These are not hte characteristics of a race car. Fast and the Furious and other such, very public and very fake movies/media have cast many cars in different lights, for added dramatic effect. So while anything can be done, and there are certainly plenty of possibilities if you are willing to invest a few grand or more, it was never made to be a sports car from the factory. Is it worth it? If you want to do it, then yes. I've seen plenty of nice hondas. The problem is when every kid out there sees the Fast and Furious trilogy, tosses on an intake and exhaust and thinks their car is now comparible to a Trans Am or something.

As long as you stay honest with yourself about your goals, your ability, and your funds, I think it's a great car to start learning/working on, as well as a great car to learn to drive with. I did both on a 90 Accord when I was younger, and years later I have moved on to bigger and better things.

The 94 Civic EX is a good car for a 16 year old to start on. It is OBD1 so tuning possibilties are available to the stock p28 computer (chipped for many other vtec engines... basically a keeper if you mess up the car keep that ECU!). Also, you can find out tons of info about Hondas from the Honda section on AF (not just the 92-95 section either). And since it's an old car and "just a civic" if you mess it up while learning how to drive then you wouldn't care as much as if you had say a 300zx or RX-7 etc. GL

^i agree.

i think the civic is fine for your first car to tinker with and drive around. keep it, mod it a little, learn to drive on it and when you're more experienced get yourself something sweet. being that it's your first car, chances are that you're gonna crash it or bang it up somehow so it's better to do that in a hand me down civic than in your ideal car .

Ok cool, thanks for the responses guys

1st car = great choice on civic. mess around with it, and if something breaks, there is soo much of it around that everything is pretty cheap.

plus, if you want to keep it, you can swap engines quite easily, and get quite a bit of speed.

basically mirror what everyone else has said. its a great choice for a new driver. dont try to take things too fast with it, learn the fundementals of driving first, become comfortable in the drivers seat. Personally I would say you don't really need any additional power for at least the first year you are driving, but once you are ready there are plenty of things you can do with a civic. And get a job as soon as you can so that when you are ready for more power you can afford it.

To answer your questions: Yes it would be waste of time and money to put any energy into that car. Yes it has some racing potential. The problem is that it's been done SO many times already thanks to F&F that NO ONE will be impressed even if you throw $100k at it. The most people will think is "yea thats kinda cool but it's a civic so it's rice". In the end it's up to you, if you love the car and don't care what anyone else thinks, then by all means do it. It doesn't get much easier than modding a civic, it's not a bad place to start for a first car. Just know that not too many people are gonna be impressed even if it's "amazing". Personally I wouldn't bother, I held off for a long time until I got the car I wanted before starting mods.