StepInTheMirror

Heres the situation, I'm a 17 year old kid and I love cars, my current ride is a 1995 Miata which I love to death... I love having a light, rear-wheel drive sports car that is so fun to drive, as I can imagine most people on S2Ki can understand.

Anyway, ever since I started coming on this website I've had an attraction to Hondas, obviously the S2000 would be an amazing ride to claim as my own, but it is way out of my range.

Its no big deal that I can't get an S2000 though, I'm almost equally enthusiastic about other Hondas like the Integra or a Civic hatchback, the problem is, I've never been really excited about front wheel drive...

I fantasize about driving a clean hatchback, and am considering selling my Miata. Its an old car with 100K on the clock but its a pretty desirable special edition version... I could probably get around 5,000 bucks for it. Think I could find a clean Hatchback EG or EK and afford a B-swap?

Another thing for me to think about is having my entire drivetrain hanging out in the front of the car where I might hit a curb or something (not out of the question for a relatively new driver, just trying to be modest) and ruin a whole lot more than a control arm.


What are the pros and cons of each car in my case? Anybody here have experience with both cars?

Any input at all is much appreciated!

-Thomas

Chris Stack

Do you want a specific car, or do you want a Honda because it's a Honda? The latter is kinda silly.

Drive some cars and see what you like. But swapping a sweet car like a Miata for an econo box with a brand name you desire is a bad call. IMO.

MULDER

100%

IMO, keep the Mazda.

I had an '03 Special Edition (stratoshere blue).

StepInTheMirror

I suppose its a little bit of both.

Ive grown up around a car culture that glorifies imports and I guess a Civic is the icon thats grown into my head. I know they are econo-boxes like you mentioned, but how are they to drive if you change the springs, dampers etc?

I love the handling of my Miata but it could be described as... gutless. If a civic handled respectably, (does it?) a hatch with a b-swap and a little more power would make me smile, or so I think.

MULDER

A MX-5 has excellent handling. Nothing you can do is going to make a civic handle the way a MX-5 will.

Beejs2k

I seriously recommend you drive one before you consider it. That said...

Keep the Miotter. Yes a B-series Civic would be quicker, but I don't think it'd keep you as happy as the Miata. The grass is always greener.

Chris Stack

I would think that for much less than a trade and an engine swap, you could throw, say, a JR supercharger or some turbo kit or something on your Miata.

Besides, if a Civic isn't more gutless than the Miata (and it might be, I'm not sure), it will definitely FEEL more gutless. A Miata feels faster than it is; my 98 Civic EX 5sp never felt particularly fast.

Look at this: JRSC kit on Miata.net classifieds for $1850 obo. Forget the Honda, hit that up.

Your Miata looks sweet, btw.

nodisguise

Don't do it. I used to have a turbo eg civic before my S2000. I dumped thousands into the turbo setup, the suspension, brakes, everything, only to make it a tiny bit faster than the S2000 (in a straight line), but still not as fun to toss around. Some people say the Miata is even more fun than the S2000.

Have you ever driven a front wheel drive car hard? Front wheel drive sucks. No, really, coming from a Miata, you'll HATE it. The newer cars are better with fwd, but any civic you can get for $5000 will be plagued by terrible handling (compared to your Miata). You'll be taking a huge step back in handling, unless you got some good tires and springs/shocks for the Civic, in which case you'd only be taking a small step back.

For the money you'd spend bringing a Civic up to Miata performance, you could just throw a supercharger, or turbo in the Miata and call it a day.

StepInTheMirror

Thanks for all the replies!

ItsBen

Your Miata looks very clean and I love popup headlights. I gotta agree with everyone here. Keep the Miata, save up and turbo/sc it and it will be an awesome car.