I've been looking at buying a Civic hatchback for a while now. One's come up thats within my price range and I thought I'd ask for some advice from the experts. I'm fairly knowledgeable on my cars, technology and mechanical stuff but most my knowledge is with Nissans and I know very little about Honda's. I've done a few searches but some of the info confused me so please forgive me if I am posting things which a search could answer, I'm just trying to get all my answers in one place.
The Civic I am looking at is a 96 CXi hatch. Its engine has done a fair bit (235,000) which is somewhat concerning but I have heard the Civic engines can last well into 300k. Bodywork is all fine but this will most likely end up being my project car (as I've learned that, sadly, no matter how much I do it up my Pulsar n13 will always be a Pulsar n13) There are certain things I would like to do longterm.
It will probably need a rebuild first, but what sort of performance enhancement can I get out of the cxi? I've read some of the turbo/supercharger threads but would like to know what can specifically be done with this car. I'm not after a major amount of boost (probably 6psi) but enough to give it a bit of a surprising kick (and that either does not need an intercooler or a relatively inexpensive one). Essentially I'm after something that will provide a reasonable increase without going crazy, require less extra parts and installation work and wont push my insurance and maintenance bills through the roof and wont wear out my engine in less then a year :p. A nice karma balance of all.
I'm leaning more towards a s/c since it has the lower level torque but are either possible on the cxi and how much, also are there specific kits that are available or that will work (and what comes in the kit, just the charger, or all the bits needed). Is there any work that needs to be done to the engine or could the Honda engines take a charger relatively 'easy' (easier then a pulsar, which requires mucho modification or a new engine)
What other work can be done to enhance performance for a reasonable budget (Aside from an electric supercharger, I actually want a performance INCREASE :p)
I did a lot of work on the interior of my last car, how easy do the trims come off the civic? I'd be looking at either dying the current vinyl/cloth or putting my own on. Are they relatively straightforward to re-upholster (The ruddy pulsar had the cloth STAPLED and glued on, making it impossible to replace easily).
Is there ways of getting extra wiring through for a subwoofer to the back? What sized speaker mounts are in the front trims and how easy is it to put a new stereo unit and speakers in? And for that matter, wiring up a central locking kit and alarm.
Does the cxi have power steering? I have heard some models don't. Any common faults/problems with that series?
What stud pattern do the wheels use for getting new rims? Whats the best size rims to put on/biggest legal size with and without modification.
Again, sorry if these are common questions, but I'm still a bit confused on Honda stuff and would really appreciate any help on this, as it will make a huge difference on whether I will get the car or not. Thanks all, and hopefully will be spending more time on the Honda forums.
Oh yeah, should I be REALLY worried that its a dealer car, and its only $4,750? It seems just a little too cheap, considering the next cheapest is $6,000 for another +200k car...
