Open minded people ONLY

Mar 26th, 2003, 01:51 AM

Alright....well here goes. After spending much time w/ the pos car i have, ive been starting to think about a car to get to fix up. I've narrowed my choice down to 2 cars and I was looking for a perspective that is open minded, honest, and as unbiased as posisble to the pros and cons of these two cars.

It is between the Honda Civic Hatch back EG body style (1992-1995) or the 240 sx (1990-1993). They both seem to match up as far as price wise goes. I'm new to the "drifting scene" but do look forward if i chooes the 240sx to learn how to drift. I'm looking for comparisons as far as what kind of features/characteristics each car has in terms of milage/cost for hop ups (engine swap, and other mods), keeping in mind the car I get will be completly STOCK.

I know that w/ the 240sx drifting will be possible, but what should i look for as far as dangers in regular driving that may come upon me as i have not drivin a RWD car before.

I know what people here are goin to prefer, but what im looking for is something that tells me what characteristics of each car more towards the kind of person i am. I am sorry for being sort of redundant, but it is late and im tired

Thanks in advance for your post.

rudeboy · Mar 26th, 2003, 01:02 PM

driving rwd is way diffrent then FF
power delivery is way diffrent. be careful in the rain or on not so great tires. i crashed my Rude240 last week
http://rudeboy.nissanpower.com/photo2.html

Apr 1st, 2003, 02:45 PM

Yes, you have to get used to RWD. If you take a wet/snowy corner too fast your back end will slide easier. Spin and slide recovery is also slightly different IIRC from my young drivers classes...

The steering is a bit different too, FWD tends to understeer whereas RWD doesnt.

Note my expericene about the sliding is from a Nissan 4cyl pickup truck. It slide pretty easy too, ESP braking since there wasnt weight over the back tires. With a 240SX you wont have to worry like I did...

I slid into the back of a red Ford Winstar at about 50km/h 3 weeks ago... Truck was a write off... dunno about the van. It was the van drivers fault.

As to which car... 240SX! I personally like the look of it much more than the civic...

Apr 7th, 2003, 11:06 PM

The 240 will out perform the honda in every way. The 240 was designed as a midrange sports car, whereas the honda...a fuel economy car.

Apr 9th, 2003, 02:16 AM

Thanks for your guys' posts. They helped a lot. I have decided to go with the 240 all the way. Ive been checking out 240's for the last few weeks, trying to find a real nice, decent one, that is bone stock and i can make into my project car. I've decided to stick w/ the 91-93 models especially because teh CWest body kits front end fits on the 91-93 and not the 89-90 front ends. =( Also the 12 vauvle vs 16 is another issue as well. I am really excited abuot getitng my 240. Ive been waiting, and checkin out any cars that are for sale.
= D

bizzy b · Apr 13th, 2003, 02:40 AM

i whole heartedly support your choice to go with the 91-93 240sx. as far as its superiority to the civic, to get that kind of power you'd either have to do a lot of engine work or an engine swap. either way its gonna be expensive and you still won't have rwd. compared to the other 240's the 91-93's have the dohc engine, which is a muck better strting point than the sohc. the other major advantage is if you want to do an sr20det engine swap. the single cam's power steering and ac compressor cannot be used if you do the swap. you'd either have to give up both power steering and air conditioning or get these parts from a twin cam. even compared to the later s14's the 91-93 is better because of a lighter and stiffer chassis.

Apr 13th, 2003, 06:52 PM

yah, since the car that i was prospecting ended up not going through, and it was a 90, i decided that all further cars i look at will have to be 91-93. So thats how it is. Im going to check out a 93 tomorrow. Thanks for the input.

himilefrontier · Apr 17th, 2003, 01:24 AM

If you are looking for a project car, why not find one with a blown engine?I saw a S13 SE for $750 a week ago, and just drove a 93 base model that someone I know just bought for $1200 running.If you get one that needs an engine,you can just put in a SR20DET and have only about the amount you'd spend for a good running example in it.They are cheap around here!

tsi200sx · Apr 17th, 2003, 11:27 AM

When you get the 240, I highly recommend going out on a rainy or snowy (depending on your locale) day to an empty parking lot and throwing the ass end around for awhile, so you can get the feel of how it behaves when the rear wheels lose traction and what you have to do to recover.
I learned to drive RWD on my first car, an 82 200SX, in Buffalo, NY, in the wintertime, on bald tires. Luckily, I never hit anything but a snowbank or two, but by the end of the winter I was having no problems, I actually had a blast driving it in the snow. Now, I'm back driving RWD, and on a slippery road I'd rather have RWD any day, because it's behavior is so much more predictable than a FWD.

Apr 17th, 2003, 08:01 PM

Himile- I dont think that I would be able to afford a 240 and an engine swap right away. I think that it would be too much right off the bat. I was thinking to keep the car for about a year or so, and t hen do an engine swap, depending on the situation of my motor. Im lookin to spend for the car, running anywhere from 2500 to 3300 max. I missed out on a really great freakin car yesterday, I called to offer a guy 3100 for a car i saw the previous morning but he sold it. I was so upset, he had sold it the afternoon i saw it and i was looking forward to that car. IT was in great condition. og owner, no accidents, good condition, minus a gasket leak. But yah, now im starting too look at 240's tht are a bit further, away, maybe in neighboring states or possibly other areas. ive seen a few that are in florida, but im not too sure on cheking them out. The catch is, before i go to get a car, i have to be pretty sure that it runs great etc, w/o ever seeing it, which makes it difficult. This is kinda not for sure yet, but im just checking into it, since it seems 240's in so cali are going really fast and quick. Ive been wtaching the 240's and checking em out for a few months now, and ive noticed they are hot right now. Where in florida do you live? isnt it really humnid there? should i watch out for any easy rust or anytihing like that on the cars there? Thanks.

Tsi - yah, ive been planning on doing that. My friend who is helpin me check out cars, hes been going w/ me to check em out, and he has a crew (sorta). BUt yah, he said hed kinda show me what its about when its rainy, etc. Thakn for the advice. I look forward to the fun. =D

93blackSER · May 8th, 2003, 09:27 AM

tsi200sx - i know what you mean about winter driving in buffalo. i'm from that area. it sucks no matter you drive. for all you florida and cali people, imagine driving down the highway with walls of snow on each side of the road that are like 7 or 8 feet high, and you've got the average snow fall for buffalo. it does get fun in empty parking lots tho, lots of fun.

May 8th, 2003, 10:59 PM

I like RWD alot more than FWD plus rudeboy you like my 180sx

mellojoe · May 16th, 2003, 08:11 AM

The biggest difference in the Civic and the 240 (other than the FWD vs RWD) is the upgrade path. Most Civic's are going for the "all-motor" approach. And while I have seen some pretty impressive Civic's, it takes a lot of money to not go very fast. The Nissan motor is very stout and can take a turbo very easily. The Honda just isn't built for it.

So, if you go all motor, then tit-for-tat the Civic won't be any more or less expensive and all the goodies are there for both. So it comes down to a matter of looks, RWD vs FWD, and exclusivity.

However, the 240 is a great candidate for a Turbo (yes, even the stock KA motor, you don't have do rush out and do a swap) that can put down 300 to 350hp to the wheels. And you can almost do it in stages, too. (Pick up the fuel management, then bigger injectors and a new fuel pump. Then add a bunch of guages to help tune. Then go for a non-intercooled Turbo setup pushing only about 5psi of boost. Then finally add a decent intercooler and up the boost to about 12 to 15psi.)