Honda Car Forum

Now, I am not trying to dis or down anyone who does, I am just trying to understand.































Honestly I don't get it. It may seem stupid but, why would you spend hundreds upon thousands of dollars to fix up and "trick out" a civic? I have seen some people spend upwards of $20,000 on modifications. Sure the car was fast, but I don't get why they wouldn't just go out and spend that $20,000 on new, or different cars? For $20,000 you could get and modify a nice 300zx, or buy a 350z, or a mustang (they are a dime a dozen as well though).































I have pondered the idea of why for a while. It can't be uniqueness because thousands people using the same car to be unique seems to defeat the purpose...















I don't think it is they want to save gas, because some (if not most) actually kill the gas mileage...































Is it the cost effectiveness of it?















Do all of the people who do it just like the car and think it looks good?















I just don't get it.































I, myself had a 97 Toyota Celica GT (deer got me on a highway...) and now have an Audi A4. I have done some work with them but nothing like some of the Civics you see (especially those coffee-can exhausts and pointless wings...)































Anyways, back to the main question, Why would you just keep dumping money into a Civic, where for similar money you can get a different car that you may get more respect for? (Yes, with modified Civics you do lose respect from some people, not being mean, just an observation).































Please let me know.















I shouldn't have been so generalized.































I will admit I do occasionally see "tasteful" modifications.















But it's not only civics and I have seen (for lack of better words) stupid modifications on more high end cars.































Possibly the notably worse of them being coffee can mufflers (dual exhaust though) on a 2006 Corvette... yeah they actually chopped the rear end to fit them...































anyway, I mainly called after Civics because (lets face it) its the most common in the cheap looking/sounding category.































Also on a side note, my brother had 2 300zx's (one twin turbo), and sold one (the non TT) to buy a civic. however his civic was base, and was used as a gas saver. It increased his insurance (more than having 2 300zx's), and he ended up selling it because it was to expensive to fix. (prior owner was a ricer and thought he was making it great...but ended up making it fail inspections)































but again, its not just civics, it is many cheap cars, i.e. neons, eclipses, Sentras, etc.

the fact that you can modify and tune a car that was not meant or designed to ever be modified and tuned.... bragging rights?

well, firstly, honda parts are cheap and all of them are practically interchangeable...































but I think most of it stems from all of the people that fell in love with the fast and the furious...































NISMO FOREVER!!!

As somebody who owns a Supra... I hate these people. I think the appeal is that it is cost-effective. You can drop 6 grand on a used civic and go to town doing random stuff to it. There are so many people doing it that there are almost unlimited configurations so there is a level of uniqueness to it. It's basically the myspace of the car world. Almost nothing required to get started, easy to do, and as long as your friends don't know jack about it, they think it's awesome.































Bottom line is, I'm with you on that. and 20 grand into a civic will get you a car that is slower than a used real sports car for the same dollars... Maybe somebody who has a fart-blaster-equipped civic can chime in?

another more common term would be "ricer"

its just about opinion, i dont like old mini's, they are poorly built and slow, yet people spend thousands on them. i personally like civics as i like B-road hatches, ie. quick acceleration and good handling. Im not for the big body kits and spoilers, but rather the performance side of things, civic's come with great engines and are very fast in some cases. Yes, you can argue spend the money on a better car, but i prefer a car that's ''built not bought'', anyone with money can buy a fast car but it takes an enthusiast to build one.































i think that people who put massive body kits and 19 inch wheels on civic's give them a bad name, not many people appreciate the engineering and tuning that can be put into them, the 1999 EK9 civic type-r for example has a 1.6 that produces 185bhp N/A stock from factory (worlds most powerful engine in terms of power:capacity ratio) .....a seam welded chassis and factory weight reduction. 0-60 in 6.5 secs from a 1.6L....for me thats a reason to respect them. You used to own a celica GT-FOUR, so should have a level of liking for japanese tuner cars.































I guess its about what people like, everyone has different likes and dislikes. civic's get respect from alot of people, the people who see a tuned VTI or type-r and slate it as rubbish and ''ricer'' usually know nothing about them and think every civic is a 1.4 with a massive spoiler. fast vtec civics are respected among the tuner community- i can assure you































I just feel people who know nothing about civic's and the engines they come with (not saying thats you) should educate themselves rather than hating































d.russell, fistly honda parts are not cheap, and that comment about fast and furious, is that an S13 in your picture?.....

1, Honda Civics are very small and cheap. they are light-weight too. also good fuel economy and very reliable. Honda Civics also have a bunch of aftermarket parts. you can find honda civic parts very easy, that why they are tuner cars. you dont know how much horsepower u can expect from a 4 cylinder. In my opinion i think that Honda civics are great cars, my favorite too.

Well for starters it's their car so they can i they want















the price of gas and insurance could be factor as well































but personally i really don't mind as long as it the power to back up the looks (that's my view on it)































i do hate when some kid in a riced out civic, neons, cheap cars, try and prove their manhood to me in my evo















































Good point though in say 20 grand can get you a better car than a civic that looks like it's decorate with a walmart grab bag of bling































I would never modify a civic why? because its a civic it has it's limits i'd rather use the civic as a beater and modify a car with a higher potential such as an evo