Advice wanted on a daily driver

[BJ91T]

Ok so Im in the market for a Daily driver with some power for when I want to have fun. My two options (both hondas) are as follows,

1.5th gen prelude I will do intake exaughst etc.. just NA bpu stuff.

2.92-95 civic coupe b18 swap exauhst intake ...stuff like that

Now the prelude is a much larger cost upfront than the civic but I want reliablitlity AC and heat is a must along with decent mileage. Most people are telling me to just get the car and keep it stock but I know how I am it will get small upgrades here and there to make it fun.

What would you do in my shoes???
other opinions welcome (money is an issue)

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

'Lude...

I know 0 about engine swaps in them, but if it involves any wire splicing or anything, reliability is out the window.

 

[Wills7MGTE]

That swap will end up costing a lot more than u think, and reliability of most honda swaps is questionable depending on who does it, hows its done and to what car and all that jazz. If you want a good daily driver that is still fun and you are stuck on the Honda or the H of lameness as I call it. You may try a 95 or newer Acura Integra GSR. reliable, peppy, and decent looking, i still hate hondas though LOL.

Another set of ideas would be:
*1993 or newer Lexus SC300 (2JZGE = decent mileage, 220hp of pep, and you can easily do an NA-T or swap a GTE in and have basically a luxury MK4. Not to mention they are reliable, sexy cars, with nice amount of trunk and front seat room.)
*1995 to 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T or GSX (Reliability depends on maintenance and former owner but these are fun cheap cars, although theres a temptation to mod them)
*1991 to 1995 Toyota MR2 Turbo T-top (Not rpactical but fun)

 

[BJ91T]

only wiring needed for that swap is to make the vtec work. The lude is at the top of the list right now but at the 6-10K price tag is it worth it

 

[starscream5000]

I have a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. Pretty peppy for what it is, and super reliable, it's never left me walking and I can pass just about anything I need to, when I need to .

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

No Vtak, No thx.

But seriously, Keep the thought in mind that you could be out on some empty backroad in pouring rain when a wire comes loose and you're stuck trying to track the wire down after paying to get it home.

$10k, There are a LOT of nice cars out there in that range.

 

[johnathan1]

Get a mercedes turbo diesel, like mine. It's bulletproof, comfortable, turbo, and gets 30MPG.

 

[BJ91T]

but can it make a fool of the ricer that pulls up next to you? Thats my biggest gripe I dont want to get revved on and be "oh if i was in the supra" i want to have a DD with some go up its sleeve

 

[johnathan1]

but can it make a fool of the ricer that pulls up next to you? Thats my biggest gripe I dont want to get revved on and be "oh if i was in the supra" i want to have a DD with some go up its sleeve

Then just drive the Supra...any high-performance car is going to be high maintenance. Either that, or buy a new car and have a car payment.

And besides, when i'm in the Benz, no ricers ever look twice!

 

[annoyingrob]

Haha, "H of lameness" I'm remembering that.


If you do get a honda, there are a few MANDATORY mods you need to do to it. First, it needs rims, 18x6. Second, LED wiper squirters. Third, a HUGE muffler on the stock piping. Sorry, you have to do it to every honda. It's the rule.

 

[Quin]

Get a celica from the same years. Reliable, looks better, probably gets better mpg and can't be too far off in price

 

[SupraDerk]

I thought about a 5th gen Prelude too, I love the look of them. Even went and looked at one (I still might get it) a couple of weeks ago, but the only thing making me apprehensive about buying it is it being FWD. But I'd say if you can get past that they seem like solid cars. I've heard nothing but good things about them in terms of daily driving


It looked like this (minus the side skirts):

 

[tlo86]

ive swapped in / out engines for hondas without even an engine hoist and a few pieces of cardboard to pull the engine under the car. oddly enough engine swaps with hondas are so common they sell pigtails on ebay that make the wiring issue... well a plug and play affair....

but why swap out an engine? the SOHC engine is a great platform to work off of as a DD. they are cheap, you can upgrade them for cheap, and if you blow one there are thousands for sale in any area for a couple hundred dollars.

my friend uses his civic as a dd. SOHC built bottom block t4 turbo few other things~ and its a 300 horsepower DD in a light car with plenty of room to drive around with good gas mileage. he spent maybe $2,000 on top of the car.

the bad thing is the car would be a big target to be stolen unless you were really careful. (at least in denver)

 

[GotBoost?]

I currently own 3 Supras, and my DD is an (almost) stock Civic. Here are my experiences: My Civic is super reliable and economical, and after i lowered it mildly, it's a total hoot to drive. Even before lowering it (about 1.5 inches), the ricers gave it the once over, looking for mods. They constantly rev or blow off on me, while i secretely wish i was driving one of my Supras. I'm OK with that, because i know they're lucky I'm not in my Supra. Either a Civic or a Prelude will attract ricer attention. And if modded, it will attract even more ricers, plus cops and thieves. Besides, modding either the civic or the Prelude just takes money away from the Supra. I recommend the Civic, advise you to keep it stock for reliability and economy, and save your cash for the Supra. My $0.02

 

[johnathan1]

I like driving my Mercedes, it makes me feel like i'm not constantly in competition with all the ricers...

 

[zachm611]

i vote for the integra or celica

 

[kabanimk3supra]

i have had my integra for about 5 years now...it has around 230,000 miles and is still running well.....except for a wheel bearing i really need to replace. i bought the car when i was 15. i had been working that entire year to save up for a car. as soon as i purchased it, i basically wasted all of my hard earned money on it. i'm talkin' rims, body kit, lights, clutch, system, alarm....you know, the works.
it has never broken down except when my timing belt broke @ about 200k. it was my fault..but as soon as i replaced it, it started up and ran great. this just might be one of the most reliable cars out there. keep in mind that i drove it to hell and back, several times. i revved up to 7k on a daily basis. but it still held up through all of the abuse without a problem. integras are great cars...and kind of peppy.

 

[swaq]

Subaru.

 

[Mr.PFloyd]

Subaru.

QFT

 

[Wills7MGTE]

I totally forgot the Celica, but that or an integra or an SC300, I WANT AN SC300 so I can swap in a GTE and a 6 speed or a built R154 and have a mk4 that looks different has a sunroof supple leather and doesnt have the shitty MK4 Insurance cost. Plus you don't pay 30k for the SC300 woot woot.