Attn. Import Drivers.

[Dark Horse]

Heres a few links you should add to your Favorites list: Beaterz
Import Reviews
I personaly Reccomend them.

----------
For my Message Board Click Here

[JD@af]

Can you just sit down and write out why you have something against imports rather than going around picking on them? I mean this link, which clearly makes a statement against some cars, which believe me are disliked by Honda owners serious about making their cars fast, just as much as domestic fans like you. This is apples and oranges. There are ricers, and then there are serious import drivers like myself. We don't go for tinted windows, Type R stickers, and grapefruit launcher exhausts. My car is not like that. It looks mostly stock. But it has a supercharger among many other go-fast parts. Is it an import? Damn straight. Is it a rice burner? Hell no.

I recognize that domestic owners and drivers probably base their opinions on these ricers, and then their hostility towards imports is justified in my book. But it's not fair to judge all imports being as such, because they're not. Many people admire and respect import manufacturers like Honda, and if you can see fit to actually learn about their technology, you would see that what they can do with a set engine displacement puts the capabilities of ANY domestic manufacturer to shame. I apologize for being short, but I am pretty tired of this crap. I get VERY offended when people call my car a "rice burner" or something like that, because a rice burner, if you must call them that, is a car that is modded to look flashy and be loud, while boasting NO capabilities for actually running fast.

I can state some serious objections to most domestic manufacturers approach to automobile engineering. The fact that many domestic engines stop making torque in literally HALF the rpms (and sometimes even less!) than some Honda, Toyota, BMW, Porsche, and Ferrari engines (just to name a few) can go to and still make reliable power. I scoff at American engines with their poor efficiencies and astronomical power losses (often making less than 60 horsepower per liter - and they call that a performance engine) when people try and trash talk the imports. Besides, what would you rather represent: stagnant technology, or that which is state of the art and cutting edge, forever thinking forward. (This is a rhetorical question, by the way.)

Many of the top quality cars of today produced by Ford do not even use their own technology. I know, Bill Gates used Windows to become the richest man in the world, and he wasn't even the inventor - he saw it a trade show and capitalized on the idea.. big time. Well, it's the way of the world, but note that for example, the key ingredients to the Ford Focus: Great handling (which came from a Ford developed in Europe) and a Zetec engine (which uses engineering principles of - you guessed it - Honda engines). The ever popular, great handling Lincoln LS? Also had its suspension developed in Europe (its powertrains, by the way, are only mediocre - developed here in the US).

The American manufacturers are beginning to wake and smell the coffee, and realizing that if they don't get caught up with the imports on the technology front, they are going to be left out in the cold, like Chrysler (who was bought out by Daimler-Benz) and GM (who is losing more money than OJ sponsoring months and months of court room antics by the "dream team" ). They still must rely on big displacement V8's and low prices (hell, with less money being invested in research and development, they've got no excuses for charging the high prices that the imports charge) to sell their cars and dupe people who have inherent pride in American engineering into thinking they're getting the best. But the truth is it's only a matter of time before the foreigners just eat them right up, even right out of the box. The new Acura IS 2.0 (replacement Integra) will have a 2.0 liter engine with 220 horsepower. The New BMW M3 has a 3.2 liter engine with 333 horsepower. They're catching up, and the Americans have no choice now but to use foreign technology to stay at the heels of the cutting edge.

I'll give you that the classic American design parameters of pushrods, two valves per cylinder, etc. continue, to date, to have the edge in some aspects of performance on the technological powerhouses that the afore-mentioned import manufacturers release here in America. And that's only because they rely on the golden rule: big displacement = big power. And that's it. It's a one-trick puppy. The imports are trying to bend the rules, to use less to make more; they are achieving a lot, and I think it's commendable. But your bullshit of coming into import forums to pick on our choices in cars is just that - bullshit. You have made it clear where your opinion stands and if that's all there is to it, and you can't make any acknowledgement of the achievements of import manufacturers, we certainly don't care to hear about it.

Edited by: JD@af

[vettemaan]

wow

----------
Chevrolet Corvette- "Americas Sports Car"
AOL IM- Vettemaan

[Wholsea]

Its a honda. Yes, you may have not gone all out with the 8" stickers that say Honda-Vtec or Type R. You have done your best to keep your car as "stock" looking as you can. But you are in a crowd known for immature adolescents, who got their Civic SI from mommy and daddy. They use their paychecks to buy stickers and "gofast" goodies that do nothing but make it sound like a farting bedpost.

Yes, you may have gone the right path and gotten that SC, you don't have an ass load of stickers all over your car. Your spoiler doesn't extend beyond the roof of your car, your front bumper doesn't have some radical wild design, your badges arent yellow or blue, your windows arent tinted. But the 16 yr old that is doing burnouts in front of my house does. So does his 17 yr old friend. Running through the city,rasin hell. Makin all sorts of noise...

Attacking the "rice" cars is not an attack at you, its people makin fun of how the cars are treated and or modded.

Putting 18's on a civic may look cool but with -5 camber you will run through a set of tires in not time, and that 3 foot spoiler is not adding anything but weight to the car.

I have faith that you have done the suttle thing in modding your car, but there are just too many civics out there with the alteza lights, the 6" window stickers, outrageous body mods. Huge double and tripple decker spoilers is just out of hand if you ask me.

You can be mad for taking crap about the car you drive, but it goes with the territory. Everyone has their own opinions.

If you want to have a huge spoiler, funny lights that throw off the look of the car, but don't bitch when people give you a funny look.

You are fine, its the ricers who are giving the honda peeps a bad name...

Don't take this the wrong way, I know pleanty of people who drive Civics and such that have modded the same way as you, but I also know the other side. And frankly its scary...

(My parents neighbor comes to mind) The kid has a double decker civic with a fart pipe exhaust and all the normal honda goodies.

This is not limited to honda either. People with domestic cars do the same as well. I have seen Mustangs, Cavilers, Saturn, Sunfire, Probe. I have seen all of these cars modded out the ass with funny looking body parts, and massive amounts of stickers.

The stock look is better. Go stealth, debadge, darken the lights. But don't go overboard.

Just my .02

-- Whol

[justin@af]

I'm getting my 5th gen prelude in a couple of days and i understand the problem with all these ricey mods...Although i will be modding my car i will be doing it with sound thinking...No i'm not going to put stickers...b/c stickers do not add HP as some people think...I am not like that.

I do agree that when i see those ricey cars i can't help but laugh...However i don't mind cars that have body kits on them as long as they are in good thinking...Yes double and triple decker wings are out of style and ricey so lets not go there...I'll probably go with a clean look maybe a Wings West RS Kit with a type-r spoiler...But if anyone has something against Imports pls lemme know...b/c i don't think there is anything wrong with them...Ricey cars on the other hand get on my nerve

[LostBoyScout]

Hondas are some of the best cars getting the worst images due to young punks who drive them. I feel a large portion of the problems arise from kids who are enthusiastic about modding their new Honda but don't have the cashflow to do it - so they start doing every low cost mod available, which makes for a car worse than leaving it stock in most cases (the other problem that makes this one worse, is that because they don't know a lot about cars, they feel they need to add every possible exterior mod possible to make their car look "different" but they don't realize how gross it looks to anyone who knows something about cars

[JD@af]

Yeah, ain't that the truth. It's a sad state of affairs where I have a kick ass Honda and I get pinned as a ricer because of it, seemingly no matter what I do. I have spent a good deal of time today on a web site called "Shit On Honda" trying to justify my views to them. The fact that they had to call their web site by that name really lights me up.

I think it is true that if everybody had the thousands to drop on superchargers, intakes, engine internal mods, etc., than the rice boy phenomena would quietly and slowly fade and disappear.

But there are those who continue to trash Honda VTEC technology beyond that, and point out every short-coming of Honda's marriage to the 4-cylinder. I know it has its limits, but I admire what Honda does. And only Porsche and BMW earn respect in the same league from me for their engineering approaches.

[justin@af]

yeah i saw that site S.O.H. that site is sooo stupid...I just read the posts...and thought if they have to make a site to crack on Hondas they've gotta be jealous or something...I mean they probably can't handle the fact that our cars last soo long while they got problems after the first year...hehe

[JD@af]

Damn straight justin!!

Serving as Devil's Advocate and a proponent for both as a moderator, I know there are of course the inherent pro's and con's to both school's of thought when it comes to engine dynamics and design ideals. But to me that of Honda wins as the hands down no brainer.

[Sikocivic]

The honda line of cars has drawn the intrest of many motorheads because it is the same formula that has been used since the 50s,the abilty to use parts off differant cars to make yours go faster or handle better or stop faster. The reason the civic is used most often is simple, small car low weight. Now you can take parts from the integra,prelude or accord, bolt them on your civic and you have made it better. The aftermarket is only carring on what was already started by the young import guys. Remember some of the 20 year old guys out there cant remember having a v8 powered car in there family. I got my drivers licence in 1969 and the bowtie guys ruled, take a nova or chevelle and drop in a big block and you had one fast car. GM, Ford and Mopar saw what was going on and started selling brand new cars that already had big HP motors. I can remember guys with 6cyl cameros that had the back end jacked up 3ft off the ground and spray painted racing stripes so they looked just like a Z28. The first hot rods were model A fords with flathead V8s and no fenders and I will bet they were made fun of at that time.So remember there has always been "riceboys" out there just dont confuse them with the trend setters and real motorheads who are building real performance cars out of econoboxes just like the first hot rodders did fifty years ago.

P.S.
I would not trade my civic for my old Dodge R/T !!!!

[hondacsi]

Wow those are some ugly ass cars. I am glad that there arn't many like that where i live.

[Spinner]

There's riced out, and then there are mods. It's usually not that hard to tell the difference though I guess some domestic drivers just don't care to really understand why their cars are so nothing compared to imports. i guess ignorance truly is bliss in this case.

[GOD]

Originally posted by hondacsi
Wow those are some ugly ass cars. I am glad that there arn't many like that where i live.

hey chris why dont u post some pics of your riced out civic so everyone can see it

[LakeMountLude]

there just mad because their engine cant pull 100 hp a L stock.. its okay guys im here for you lol...:finger: :finger: :finger: :finger:

[hondacsi]

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!, Ok hermy are you saying that my car is riced out? Ummm no! Second My car also getts 100 hp per liter too. 1.6l 160 hp?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!