The Evolution of the Popular Honda Civic
Honda is a well-respected brand worldwide. Just about any American would attest to the wonderful overall driving experience and low cost maintenance of the car. Certainly, this has to do with their high attention to quality. Hence, Honda has made excellent reputation for reliability and cost-effectiveness for any car brand. Established in 1948, the Japanese Honda strived to provide fuel-efficient vehicles for its fellowmen, who were ravaged by the war. They started producing four-wheeled vehicles in the 1960s.
Honda produces different models for different countries. In Japan the turnaround is usually 3-5 years as mandated by law. More than that, and the Japanese are required to acquire a new one. Hence, most Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars have low mileage use. Importing these JDM Honda motors is a lot cheaper than buying a new one here in the States. You don’t buy them from junk yards (they don’t sell them), but from qualified Honda JDM engines recyclers. In contrast, you’d probably never find working low-mileage components unless you source them from crashed cars. Let’s look at Honda Civic models through the past generations.
Launched in 1973, Honda Civic now produces its ninth generation of cars. The eight generation (2006-2011) saw the civic in coupe and sedan body designs. There was the usual DX, well-quipped LX, well-heeled EX, leather-accentuated EX-L, muscular Si, cost-saving Hybrid and GX trims. Excluding Si, all models has a 1.8-liter, 140-hp four-cylinder engine couple with five-speed manual transmission. On the other hand, the Si, featured a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission attached to a massive 2.0-liter, 197-hp engine.
Prior to this, the seventh generation (2001-2005) basic 1.7-lter engine produced a good 117 or 127 hp. The Civic Si came equipped with a 2.0-liter engine for 160 hp.
During the sixth generation of releases (1996-2000) the 1.6-liter JDM engines were offered in different trims. For DX and LX, output was 106hp and for the VTEC-equipped EX, 127 hp. The more fuel-efficient HX produced a 115-hp output. The introduction of the Si trim in 1999 saw these outputs rise to 160hp.
Along the same period when Subaru engine was introduced in the JDM market, the fifth generation Civic (1992-1995) also saw the introduction of aerodynamically-designed styles and the rise in popularity of VTEC. The hatchback base CX and coupe base DX had 70-hp 1.5-lter engines. The Civic VX featured a 1.5-liter four-cylinder motor with VTEC-E producing 92hp of output. The more powerful Civic Si and EX sedan trims came equipped with a 125-hp 1.6-liter VTEC four-cylinder motor. Meanwhile, the JDM Honda Civic Si motor featured a DOHC non-VTEC valve train. Until today, the fifth generation Civic is one of the most popular JDM motors.
The fourth generation Civic (1988-1991) started as a 75-hp single carbureted 1.3-iter SOHC motor. The 1.5-liter SOHC model was widely produced with a varity of models, dual-point injection, single carbureted and dual carbureted. Two top trims were introduced, the earlier Si had a 1.6-liter DOHC engine, while the SiR has a 158-hp 1.6-liter DOHC VTEC engine, the first Variable timing and electronic lift control technology (VTEC) of its kind. In short Honda Civic Engines from Japan are the lowest mileage and better quality engines.