N00B needs advice on cars, teggy vs. ek hatch

Hey everybody,
I'm new to OZhonda and the car scene, however I've always been interested in cars, and I was wondering if anyone could help direct/advise me with the purchase of my first car.

My options are: a dc4 (gsi) facelifted teggy, ek1 hatch (gli) or an ej8 coupe. As I'm a year 12 student(still doing vce), my budget is relatively small, max 7k :(. I also have to consider the safety options of the car; disk brakes, driver's airbag, dual airbags etc.

I know that the b18b from teh gsi puts out around 107kw, and if I do a ls/vtec conversion will it give me a better low-end torque than a straight b18c? The average mileage done for a preface lifted teggy is probs 150,000kms + I don't want to invest my car in the boy-racer's "raped" car, I do want more power than the average "grandma sedan" so I thought that the teggy would be a good first car.

I also definately know that the d16y4 from the ek hatch is good for a daily drive (88kw), but may be a bit underpowered if it comes down to straightline power. Can anyone give me some insight into whether a "mini-me" conversion would be worth the money.

In addition would anyone be able to tell me how safe a ek hatch is? My father's trying to persuade me to buy either coupe or sedan, due to the boot which would serve as extra protection from a rear collision.

The ej8 seems to be quite worth the cash, however those are extremely rare as I'd be buying a manual and no one seems to be selling the coupes (manual) atm anyways.

I've already read heaps about the stats on his car on paper(redbook.com.au), nevertheless some 1st hand experience with the cars would be better. If anyone could help give me some advice on which would be the best value for my buck it would be much appreciated ;)

save up and extra 1 or 2 k and buy an ek4 , they look good and theirs a shitload of aftermarket parts for them as well , ej8's are alright but sohc vtec abit slow and alot of them are high kms due to their old age , but this is my 2cents its really just depends on your decidian i drive a dc2 vti-r though got it 7k wit some parts of the paint job abit faded but with a few goodies on the car :)

seems like you have done some great research :)

i own an integra so im obviously going to say integra.

however it really depends on what you are going to use the car for? will you be regualarly driving with things in your car where you require a large boot?

performance wise im pretty sure the coupes had the b16a which performance wise is an excellent engine, and they are stunning, the looks i believe are perfectly done, and they are not heavy at all not to far off the eg hatch (correct me if im wrong) if it wasnt for an excellent offer for my dc2r i was definately getting a coupe civic. also with the b16a it opens you up to a huge range of performance mods in the future.

the gsi also packs quite a punch and i think are very all round good car, my best friend owns one and they are comfortable good boot space enough to fit enough bags for 4 people for a weekend away :) although the four seats is sometimes annoying :( the looks are great and lowered with a nice set of wheels and your set for jaw drops :P

as for the ek hatch my cousin owns one, and i didnt really like it, performance wise its pretty slow and im not a huge fan of the looks although if tastefully modded they look mint. sorry i dont have more info on these.

my questions to you are,

do you plan on spending money in the future?

what are your intentions for the car? (track days? spirited driving? strictly to and from work? ETC)

@nwa111: Thanks for the quick replies :D (y). An extra 1k-2k ? So I'd be looking at around 8-9k right? Haha, yeah I'm still considering my options, the b16 would be a great base engine to start mods on, but I prefer the face-lifted civic front bar. I know that you can do that 99-00 facelift conversion, however I think that might be a bit trouble-some for such "peasant" as me, (low income). I agree that the ej8's are quite "old" with the amount of km's done, however it would be the best compromise between power and beauty as I love the ek shape. I also don't mind the 4 eyes of the dc2-4 integras but I'm in love with the jdm dc2. What goodies did you get with your's?

@Alexplicit: Thanks for the info! I'm not sure, exactly if I'll be using my car more as a daily or a track car, but majority of the time I'll be using it next year will be to and from uni (if I can get in LOL). Regarding the em1 coupe with the b16 engine, I'd love to get one, but they all seem to be $10k +, so they're out of the question, haha. From what you've told me about the boot space, I'm starting to lean towards the teggy, cause weekends away sounds really good after all the long nights hitting the books. Btw, the dc2r that you have in your dp (stupid question), it's your's right? I really love the jdm look (as i told nwa111) did your's come like that or diy' it yourself? If I was to get a teggy, would it UBER troublesome to get the jdm look? I've heard that some insurance companies won't insure you, cause you've "broken the body work" or smth. lulz

Thanks to both of you for your replies, their def's helping me.

you should take up your father's idea of a coupe especially an em1 which is hot and the mileage aint too bad and you get a b16a which isnt too shabby for a first car. 12k or less

I've had a ek sedan, dc2r, and eg b18c7 hatch and the best car of them all was the Ek sedan

Its not very powerful but with normal I/H/E it will feel quite responsive and an excellent daily driver with 4 doors and a huge boot.
If you get the sedan, theres lots going around, you can pick one up for like 6k and you'll still have 1k to spend, you can get yourself some nice rims and lower it on king springs.

my2cents.

ej8s great car, considering the price of em1 is still high, only down side the drum brakes, but other wise good car, an very spacious, an when i mean spacious, i mean fitting 4 grown dudes in the car with plenty head room lol.....late model ek1 are generally the key civic many go for cause of the age an kms, with regards to ek4, dont b surprised at the condition an kms at that price range, many have been thrashed and good ones still go for 10k plus... outta the 3 the teggy pulls the hardest, with its b18b 140hp motor

at the end of the day, what ever floats ur boat, there all good cars

What i find is that people will always say save up more an more, when will it end? lol, the more u save, the better the cars u can buy.... id say stick to your original budget an work from there my 2cents, an plus, being a first car, u cant always expect the best

Thanks guys for all the 2cents worth. I'll be rich soon! :D
Yeah I understand that another 2-3k would "get" me another better or more powerful car, however like mugen_ctr said, it'll never end with saving for the next best thing.

@chauster: Which of your cars are you using atm? Is it the ek sedan? When you were running the I/H/E setup do you know how much you were putting out? (kw or hp) ? Was your's the 96-98 ej6? Or the newer 99-00 model? My cousin's running an 99-00 model sedan, and when we go for runs, I wanted to mix it up a bit, but two of the same cars would also be quite cool.

@mugen_ctr: Yeah I'm sort of leaning towards the dc4 gsi, but yeah I've always loved the ej8/em1 shape (y), btw mugen_ctr, is your car for sale on firesport? I think i've seen an blue ej8 running si tails on there. Sorry if i'm mistakened. Have you got an mods for your ej8?

Thanks again to everyone for their contribution. (y) :)

I've got an eg b18c7 atm which is off the road and for sale.

Don't even bother about KW/power with ek sedan You drive it stock, then you do it up and it will feel ALOT better. Its not all about the numbers. It was ek1 btw. ej6/8 are coupes.

@Chauster: Is your eg a hatch or sedan? I was also looking into an EH vti sedan, since they have the SOHC vtec + sunroof. Gotta love sunroof's throw eggs and drive off >:D
Oh I thought that ej6 was the sedan chassis and ej8 was the coupe chassis code? my bad. Were you happy with your ek sedan, was it teh 96-98 or 99-90 facelifted model?

One thing that puts me off about the 6th gen civics, is the inability to put in double DIN, unless you get the vi-rs jdm sedan from japan or you get the ek9 dash.

Atm I'm leaning more towards the teggy. For the power, but I've heard the driving noise has a habit of leaking into the cabin, while driving, so it's really noisy? Does anyone know if that's true?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mloo

Thanks guys for all the 2cents worth. I'll be rich soon! :D
Yeah I understand that another 2-3k would "get" me another better or more powerful car, however like mugen_ctr said, it'll never end with saving for the next best thing.

@chauster: Which of your cars are you using atm? Is it the ek sedan? When you were running the I/H/E setup do you know how much you were putting out? (kw or hp) ? Was your's the 96-98 ej6? Or the newer 99-00 model? My cousin's running an 99-00 model sedan, and when we go for runs, I wanted to mix it up a bit, but two of the same cars would also be quite cool.

@mugen_ctr: Yeah I'm sort of leaning towards the dc4 gsi, but yeah I've always loved the ej8/em1 shape (y), btw mugen_ctr, is your car for sale on firesport? I think i've seen an blue ej8 running si tails on there. Sorry if i'm mistakened. Have you got an mods for your ej8?

Thanks again to everyone for their contribution. (y) :)

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It was up awhile ago, not really blue, but sorta greenish an blueish, but i got lazy, tryna sell it, an plus i cant be bothered with rwc an such, lol.... my cars got few mods here an there, basic bolt-ons really, cat back, lowered springs, sound system, nothing fancy... few more mods goin on it, bigger sway bar, heavy duty clutch, an struts... i know u dont see many modded ej8s goin around, which kinda gives me more reason to do it up as it stands out more over the em1's

Generally the theme with honda's, is handling an more handling, lol, even after a b16 build, you b lucky to net 130kw, unless u turbo it, its the only way for honda's to make power really

Teggys a nice choice, only let down was insurance for me, as i was in the same boat last year....only problem iev heard, an from a mate was the leaky boot, related to boot seals, but other wise no other problem iev heard

You ask so many questions LOL

Ek1 Sedan = Ek gli/vti sedan
Ek1 Hatch = Ek cxi/gli Hatch
Ek4 = EK VTi-r Hatch

EJ6 = EK gli (auto) coupe
EJ8 = EK VTi Coupe
EM1 = EK VTI-R Coupe

Eh were never my thing. You have to read my posts more clearly mate, I've alreayd said the EG was HATCH.
I can't stand pre facelifted EK so yeah it was face lifted.

Probably the best to go for in that price range is EK1 hatch of sedan or EJ8 and just do small stuff. No need to start thinking of the engine swap now. It wont be for a LONG while.