Turbo Civic vs Motor Swap Civic

[flip888]

I was looking at the modified civics in autotrader today and got to thinking, what would be faster (in the 1/4 mile or auto-x), a civic with a motor swap or a turbo civic?

I have a friend who swears that his 96 (i think) turbo stock motor civ would kill any h22 b16 and b18 civic on the street but ive personaly had and have seen some close races between another friends h22 civ and some pretty pewerful cars so i dont know.

The main reason i ask is because i plan on buying one here in a few months, and i want to buy one that has already been pre-modded.

The ones im looking at are
96 sedan with a t3/t4 (from a guy i know)
95 hatch with a GSR motor
95 h22a1 vtec hatch
93 b18c hatch,
92 hatchback b16a2 civic
92 crx b20 ls vtec
92 hatch si turbo(i dont know what kind of turbo)
91 hatch with a h22
and a 89 crx with a ZC motor

So assuming the motor swap civics had not much more than e/h/i done to them and the turbo civics were running on stock internals, and none of them were gutted what ones do you think would be faster, more reliable, more fun, and better mpg and also what has more potential for if i do modify it more myself?


*ill post this in other forum to see if i will get more responses*
and i did do a search before hand

[superbluecivicsi]

if you did search, you would see that these questions are asked every week

[civickiller]

if i had to choose between all these cars, i would take the 95 civic with gsr motor

[QUICK_EG_B16A]

Well from what I've heard turbos kill gas mileage and aren't as reliable as NA cars. The LS/VTEC would be a monster either NA or turbo, but in a lot of states swapping a head from a completley different engine is illegal so if it was like a race car only or you just never get pulled over you should be ok. On a side note isn't '91 the last year of the CRX? I have a hatch with a b16 and love it. but, if I had the money, I would have gone GSR or K series(just to be different, but that would have been $6500+). I've heard h22s in hatches are amazing but it is one of the heaviest 4 banger engines honda makes(45lbs more than a B series).
In the end it's all about what you want, if you want to be different, go with the H22 hatch or ls/vtec. if you want something that's just better than stock the turbo si might be a good choice. Personally I'd stay away from a ZC engine just due to lack of aftermarket support for it.

[flip888]

Originally Posted by superbluecivicsi

if you did search, you would see that these questions are asked every week

your right but i couldnt find the exact info i was lookin for + ive found out that you get make a lot of people mad by posting in (dead threads) so i thought ide play it safe and ask in a fresh, crisp, healthy new thread.

[flip888]

Originally Posted by QUICK_EG_B16A

On a side note isn't '91 the last year of the CRX?

your right it was a 91 crx, sorry :s

but yeah i dont like the idea of a limited aftermarket either, i like the idea of having it have a lot of potential. Although that car in perticular is selling for under $3000 (not sure if this is a good deal in the first place though).

[superbluecivicsi]

what ever you buy, fast and reliable is what you make of it.

buying someone elses project car is asking for trouble. researching and starting from the ground up helps avoids problems and gains you some experince in whatever you plan on doing.

what ever car you buy, a little knowledge, serious researching, and consumer awareness will go a long way.

[flip888]

from what i know now i want to go with the motor swap car. The reason i dont want to build one myself is because i dont have anywhere to do it at but i definently know what you mean superbluecivicsi, it would suck to buy a lemon pos. I will have my friends look it over for sure to try to make sure its a good car. and ill definently take your advice on the research too