2007-05-31

My Honda Civic

My CivicI got myself a red '91 Honda Civic (4th generation) at the end of April. Why would I go and buy a 16 year old car? Well, my brother got a black one in winter. I figured it's a hell of a car for 2000 Lt (around 750 USD). A neat, high tech, lean burning, economical 1.5 L engine that cranks out 66 kW (90 hp). Double wishbone suspension on all four wheels. Great overview in all directions. Low center of gravity and driving position. A peculiar, even a bit awkward, design. And it just about fits a 250 cm windsurfing board along the passenger seat!

Another intriguing thing about Honda Civic -- there's a whole subculture of modding enthusiasts. Honda's D series engines are all pretty similar in many ways, allowing relatively easy "swaps" of the whole engine or its parts in order to achieve more power or better fuel economy. So, once I get a garage with power, I'll swap my dual point injection for a real full injection system. About $100 worth of parts, a bit of wrench work, some wiring changes, and -- tada! -- 10 hp more.

I bought mine without having tested it on the highway, so there was some work needed to get it accelerate better than a trolleybus. :-/ Now it's still far from the official manufacturer figures, but better than it was.