Dx or Si?

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Dakkon

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I am going to buy a 92-95 Civic Hatchback soon, as some of you know, and the one problem is, I wanted to get an Si because I knew I could never do a engine swap. I dont think I could ever have enough money at one time to get a new engine. The problem is that Si's are harder to get and when I actually find one for sale its either torn up or way to much money. The Dx has like 102 HP and Si has 125Hp to my understanding. I figured that sense Im most likley not going to do an engine swap I should go with the Si, but then again I heard that the Si was around 300 pounds heavier. I do not need air conditioning or a sunroof(although both are nice). So basically, does the Dx have around the same 1/4 time stock as Si, because the Si is so much heavier? or is the Si still faster regardless? Just lend me your thoughts on what I should do, because I am getting this car hopefully within 1 month. What would you do in my situation keeping in mind only a hatch within 92-95 around $3500. How much faster is a Stock 92-95 Si hatch vs Stock DX 92-95 hatch? Can you feel the diffrence between the 20 hp diffrence?
 

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its not just the engine, its the tranny too, dx gears are a lot longer than the si's. the si is significantly faster than the dx (i believe its at least a second diff in the 1/4). the d15 in the dx is a worthless motor to mod, the d16z6 is not. the d16 can make very good power with a turbo, where as the d15 has weaker internals. the si also has a better suspension, but you could change that if you wanted. cx/dx/vx are only viable options if you plan on swapping the engine, the dx eg isnt going to be much faster than the car your driving now, but the si will. its up to you if you want to spend your money on the si or dx. just go out and drive them, see which you like better. another option if you dont need a hatchback is to get an ex coupe or sedan, they have the same engine as the si with different body styles.
 


Dakkon

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what about a Vx, whats good/bad about a stock vx, doesnt it have the lowest hp?
 

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the vx has a 92 hp engine, which is pretty weak, but it also is a special engine built for one purpose- fuel economy. the engine runs very lean at light throttle, and it has extremely tall gears (bad for acceleration) the vx is about the same speed as a cx, which has a 70 hp motor, and is probably no faster than your auto dx. the big draw to the vx is its light as hell (2098 lbs) and its wired for vtec, so its good for a swap. it is NOT a car you can mod with the stock motor, as there is no aftermarket for it. ditto the cx, that is a swap only car. the only d series motors really worth putting money into are the d16z6/y8 mills, and even then you wont see the gains of a b series engine. honestly i dont see why your so scared of a swap, its not mechanically hard, and if you get a correct obd motor the wiring is pretty simple too. a lx/dx/cx civic that you drop a b18b in would be about as fast as a stock 99-00 si, and you can find the b18b in just about any junkyard for very little money (ive heard prices for full swaps under 1000 bucks if you shop around).
 


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oh and why is your title "import racer" when you have a auto dx? what imports do you race, imported bicycles? cus thats about all that car can beat.
 

Si_Racer13

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Originally posted by handlebarsfsr
oh and why is your title "import racer" when you have a auto dx? what imports do you race, imported bicycles? cus thats about all that car can beat.
I was thinking that myself.
 

Dakkon

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Originally posted by handlebarsfsr
oh and why is your title "import racer" when you have a auto dx? what imports do you race, imported bicycles? cus thats about all that car can beat.
Dont hate man, the funniest thing is that I have beaten more people than I thought I could with a little stock auto dx. Cause no one where I live beefs up their car, they all race dumb car around here. But I was actually suprised to see how many people I beat.
heres a few, my friends manual 93 dx hatch, another friends 95 auto dx hatch, a acura tl suprisingly(beat him over by that long road by the tacoma mall, you washington people know) a vw Jetta, my friends new beetle, and more to name a few. But I am getting a manual car. I know alot about these car, I just like to ask things here to get peoples opinions and learn more. On what they did, what other people do, whats best to do in their opinion, I like to hear a wide range of views to help me think.
 

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so you race cars equally slow to yours, does that make you a race car driver? and ive given you all the advice i can, im not hatin on you im hatin on your title. when you drop that eg into the 12's you can call yourself a racer, before that, please dont pretend to be something your not.
 

caddy

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Hey hold on here. My MSN name is MAXBOOST, it doesnt mean im a cartoon character. Let him name what he wants to name himself. He isn't talking trash like a lot of other people out there. There's nothing wrong to want to aspire to something better.
 

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nothing wrong with aspiring to be something. but calling yourself an import racer when you drive a dx auto civic is pretty ghey imo. i would have no ish if he said aspiring street racer... on another note, you aspire to be a cartoon character =)
 

caddy

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Anyways Dakkon, just ignore them and name yourself what you want. You're not talking trash here and your asking questions, so that's cool. Some people feel that theres some sort of attitude that you have to keep if you like cars, well I say screw that. :P

And it's not hopeless if you get a DX. It's the engine i'm running right now. And i'm beating new civic SiR's at the moment. Yes it's true that not tons of power can be extracted from it, but it still has potential. I chose the DX platform for the fact that it was lighter than the Si. My plans are to swap to a D16Z6, but most bolt ons will go on to both motors (intake, tb, manifold, headers, etc,) which means that you can upgrade the dx motor, and use all those bolt ons when you have enough cash to swap.

But if you have the cash, screw it all and get a B series!
 

Dakkon

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I have sumwhat decided to get a Si, I know its heavier but I cant do an engine swap of any kind. But I was thinking if I had the car for a little bit I might be able to work in a motor swap. I just turned 18 and just graduated so I live and home and when I mentioned to my dad about motor swapping he said "that only what racers do, and you dont race, racing is stupid youll get hurt" So if I swapped he would know I race. I cant take the chance, if I get one unreasonable (like 25mph+ over speed limit) ticket I get my car taken away. Also he is helping by lending 3000 to help me get my car and he pays my car insurance so I dont want to do anything (aka swap) to make him think I race. I know its a confusing situation but its what I got so.. and the worst part is that my dad works on car motors every day ad he does custom car work,so I could get the swap done quick, easy and cheap...to bad

but I plan to get light rims, carbon hood, take out back seats, and some other things that might help.

Also, is there a diffrence other than motor between vx and dx?

btw what would be the average price of a Si motor ready to drop in and go. and where is a good place to get them?
 

98CivicLX2

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wait wait wait let me get this straight your dad will know u race if you swap....but he isnt goin to suspect anything when u rip out the back seats of your car and strip it to take off weight?....you just ogin to say its for fuel economy or something...

What you really need to do is find a track like where im from Sacramento raceway...that way u can race legally
then when you mod your car you can just say its for the raceway thats what i do...i know my parents know that i street race but they arent goin got accuse me of it tell i get caught

you can get a first generation Si motor with 160hp for like 600 bucks for the engine and tranny around where i live those motors are cheap so if i where u I would think bout buyin a first generation Si motor
 

Dakkon

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How about buying a VX for cheap, getting a Si motor and putting that in. Cause the VX already has a type of vtec engine in it so its already ready to put a vtec in easly. is that good?, how easly does a first gen Si motor swap into 92-95?
 

caddy

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If you get a 92 its pre-wired for vtec anyways. (all '92 had underdash wiring for vtec) You just have to run a wire for the knock sensor. And a D16Z6 swap into a 92-95 is stupid easy, pretty much plug and play and hook up the knock sensor wire, as long as its a 92 or a VX.
 

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running a sir I b16a (first gen) is difficult. the motor is obd0, and putting that into an obd1 car is not only completely illegal, its a pain to wire it correctly. you also will either need to source a new tranny or convert your hydro car to run a cable clutch- more money and hassle. by the time you do eveything you need to fit the sirI b16a in there, you could have had a sirII with more hp, a hydro tranny, and have it be several years newer. as for the car, get whatever you can get- dx/cx/vx. even if the car isnt wired for vtec, theres only 6 wires that need to be checked/run, which isnt that bad. heres what you should do with your dad- buy a car with a weak motor or one that burns oil or whatever, and tell him your doing the swap so you can get a more reliable newer motor so you dont get left stranded on the side of the road. you can pic up d16z6's for very cheap, or if your lucky, nothing. many shops that do swaps throw away the old motor after its out, so if you ask around, you might find on that will give you the motor.
 

Dakkon

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I thought a b16a1 fit in good, it said it did on swap guide. I guess that just means it fits. Whats the cheapest I can get a b16a2 for? and does that work easy to swap?
 

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all b series motors have the same mounting points- they all bolt into the eg civic. the problem isnt in the mechanical parts of the engine, its the wiring. the tranny is also a problem, its not huge, but the conversion kit is a few hundred bucks, and its more labor to do. if you want to do a cheap swap, do a b18b. theres no wiring at all to be done, even on a cx/dx, no mounts needed, no nothing. you can get them dirt cheap, and if you break it, you can easily source parts at a junkyard. there arent many, if any b16's in junkyards, ditto b18c's. the optimal find is a 94-95 b18b (cus it stays obd1) but if you get an obd2 motor, you can buy a jumper for a few hundred bucks to take care of that. you can also get it with an automatic if you so choose
 

Dakkon

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Im either going to get a dx, or a si. I talked with my parents about car insurance, swaps and such and a swap wasnt out of the question, it was just the money being spent on it. One thing my parent told me is that I cant get a Si if it raises my car insurance (I have a auto 91 dx right now), so If it does raise my insurance I will go with a dx.
 
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