I'm gonna ask the age old question that has been asked probably a million times. I want some honest feedback here.
I have a 96 DX civic coupe. I've been saving up to either pay off the car or do a B18C1 swap. I have almost half the cost for a b18 swap. I have the rear disc brake setup sitting in my garage ready to be installed. I have a 99/00 SI front sway bar setup with LCA's, strut forks, and sway bar, also ready to install.
Lately i've been thinking that maybe it's not worth it for me to invest so much money into a FWD car. I keep hearing they are one of the worst for racing in if you plan on racing it at the track or something.
I start a new job on the 24th, more hours, better pay, and i'm trying to decide if I should return my car to stock, sell my parts and get something else, or continue down this path. What are some pros and cons of going hybrid with a civic? Right now I wouldn't mind having a WRX or one of those STI's coming out, or maybe a 2003 or 04 mustang GT. What do you guys think? I know some of these new cars are expensive and I could have a fast civic for cheaper than that. But i'm looking for something that has alot of potential. Thanks for the feedback.

 

What kind of racing are you talking about? If you plan to auto x or road race keep your civic. Its a good car to get started with. Theres no need for a 300hp turbo monster when you are just starting out. Once you learned the basics you could always upgrade to a better car if desired.

 

The one thing I like about having a civic as a race car: if something goes wrong, it is relatively (compared to other cars) cheap to fix

 

if you're having doubts, you wont be satisfied with your car.

get the car you want, not the one you're stuck with.

 

What are you looking for from the car? The WRX STi should be a very good performer (and probably make a lot of people who bought the normal WRX when it first came out feel pretty stupid) and I think the new mustangs are looking pretty good. Problem is, there both around $30k. I don't know how good the pay is at your new job, but if you take on that additional payment, your probably not going to have much money to do modifications. Basically, do you want a car that's fast from the factory or one you can work on during the weekends and make fast yourself.

As for Civic's not being good for racing, that's not really true. There are normal problems involved in racing a fwd car, weight transfers to the rear during a launch and off the drive wheels and with most of the weight up front, understeer is also an issue. That said, they can stil be extremely competative with any other car out there. You may not have an easy time with a tubbed out muscle car that does wheel stands and runs 9 seconds but you'll be a pretty good match for any street car (depending on your mods) and a B18C1 swaped civic is a fun car to drive. Seeya.

 

Andy's got some good points.

That being said, if you are tempted to get a WRX, they are offering 0, that's right zero % interest on them through the end of the month. They're really trying to get rid of their stock since the new models are coming out soon. This should also serve as some shred of negotiating leverage on the price. However, even if you only finance $20K, you'll be looking at a payment around $333 a month. It will be impressive out of the box and by the time you get tired of it's performance, you'll have money saved to mod it. The WRX is an amazing car, BUT which would you rather register and insure--an econobox that's a sports car in disguise, or a turbo from the factory sports car with a sticker that is $10k higher and is wrecked all too often? If you stick with the civic, you should have money to mod to your liking and really personalize it. Maybe even have enough to buy flowers for your sweetie to keep her off your back about dumping all your $$$ into a econobox.:naughty:

Notes:
Civic
PRO: Lower payments, insurance, registration; reliability; sleeper effect; Very strong aftermarket support
CON: Limitations of FWD, difficult to drift, no warrany, not as "cool", VERY common

WRX
PRO: AWD, Turbo, Warranty, AWD, Rally Heritage, AWD drifting, not as common as Civic(though getting there), strong aftermarket support, 0% interest, "old" body negotiating power
CON: Higher payments, insurance, registration, less than attactive front end (some say, though I like the bug eyes), tranny troubles

STI
PRO: Great performance from the factory (300hp/300ftlbs...are you kidding me???), aggressive looks, improved tranny, 6 speeds, exclusivity due to limited supply, Driver controlled center diff, sexy World Rally Blue paint, can't forget the AWD

CON: Wallet doesn't like it, waiting lists due to limited supply, nobody will give me one!

 

As andy said, the only real problem with racing a fwd is the launch. In a drag race, most rwd or awd cars will be faster off the line. But for road racing and autocrossing, civics actually compete pretty well with awd and rwd cars (especially with an LSD). So if you don't really care about drag launches, keep the civic, buy a swap with an LSD and enjoy.

That said, if you really do care about those drag launches, there are much cheaper alternatives to a brand-new money pit. You could buy a 240sx, swap in an SR20DET, and have a rwd car that is suitable for any form of motorsport (including drag racing)--all for about the same price as a swapped civic.

But if you don't have any problems with forking out the big bux, by all means, go for it. I just thought I'd offer up a cheaper alternative since I'm a stingy money-grubber.:exnbp: