After driving perhaps the most con****uous and most highly profiled car in the county for the last two years, it is with great relief that I've registered with hondacivicforum as a user. I've been a visitor for some time, but this is my first post.

I have to say that I've been a long-term Civic owner. I bought a 1982 CVCC Civic in 1983, and then proceeded to drive the snot out of it for the next ten years. On road, off road, curves, high speed, burned a set of Pirelli P-6s, replaced the CV joints, changed a lot of oil and filters, and basically had a ball. After 200K+ miles, sold it for $500 in 1993 (don't ask me about the off-road experiences, the curbs, the times on the track, the hill climbs, the bongs--that's all in the past).

To make a long story short, I've been driving a MINI Cooper S Monte Carlo Special Cooperworks for the past two years. And it's been Hell. Did I mention it was Chili Red with a white roof, hand a wing hangning off the back, a functional hood scoop, MEGA stickers, put out 210 hp at around 62K, and sounded like a 67 Cobra? The name of this car should not have been MINI; they should have name it, " you ARE going to jail!"

Yesterday I sold the MINI and bought a 2003 Honda Civic DX. As basic as you can get. No suspension mods, no power windows, basically nothing. And I love it. It is Black. And non VTEC. And has no antisway bars. It is very black.

And I feel like I'm in Stealth mode.

The MINI is a great car--I'll write more about it if anyone wants to know--but suffice it to say that the local police were following me to work 2-3 mornings per week. And following me home just as often. And I can understand their point of view, after having several side-of-the-road conversations with them, about how a car with a weight/hp ratio of 10-1 ensures that you WILL be motoring with a bit more alacrity than your everyday, cell-phone talking, starbucks sippin', dumb-butt driver.

It's embarrassing when there's always a Crown Vic behind you in line at McDonalds.

So, I decided to activate my cloaking device, and go stealth. I sold my MINI two days ago, and bought a 2003 Honda Civic DX, with a 5mt, that afternoon. It's all black, yet it's plain vanilla. I'll publish my development plan tomorrow. (I need to go play HL2 DM Now) I have some ideas, but I'll need your advice...and I refuse to buy a wing or carbon fiber.

 

welcome to hcf man i had a friend he had a mini cooper s i liked it but i had a 2003 si at the time it was slower but i realy liked it. do you have any pics of your civic and mini post them when you get time enjoy your stay

 

Yep, when I get a few minutes I'll start a gallery. My wife had and MCS, too, and totalled it. Not pretty (the car, not my wife, she's a looker), but the pics are interesting.

Thanks for the welcome.

 

<------ Welcomes another 7thgener.

 

welcome to the forum!!! adam on this forum sold his civic for a mini and he loves it..in not sure if its the s or not

 

Yep, I loved my MINI, but it became a love-hate relationship. Basically an obsession. I'd only park waaay out in the lot, to avoid dings; I spent more time maintaining the car then enjoying it; I felt like I was driving a Fabrege Egg--a beautiful, jewel-like piece of machinery that was about to fly apart or get sideswiped by some chubby soccer mom talking on a cell phone in her Ford Explorer! Great car, a joy to drive, excellent on the track, and if you wanted to go from the fast lane on I-95 to a right exit, you just did it--gobs of power and traction, excellent reaction time, just a joy to drive. You could accelerate onto every off ramp, passing cars still on the interstate.

But it's major flaw was that it was just too Nice. And just too CON****UOUS. If you drove it at the right rate--nine tenths--every Crown Vic for miles around would be on your ***. Too much of a worry...for maint, for accidents, for Johnny Law on your six.

I think the Civic is a much more fundamental automobile--no artifice, no pretensions (and I considered getting an Si, but even that seemed like a target). The Civic DX I have now seems to have about the same P/W ration as the regular MINI Cooper, and about the same handling (I've driven six MINIs besides my own, four of them the un-supercharged plain MINI Cooper).

So, I'm going to try to replicate the performance without the panache--or the police profile!

 

WELCOME! hmm i dunno about a civic being on par with a cooper handeling wise, i've seen a bunch of coopers kill at autox events, real tight around turns.

we'd be glad to help u in every way possible. and a good amount of ppl here like to keep their exterior oem, but if u like a certain style then go for it, after all its ur car and ur dreams...

 

Yep, the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S are, right out of the box, incredible machines, but there's a great deal of difference between the regular Cooper and the S--mostly in anti-roll bar thickness and spring rates. The S has much higher spring rates, especially in the rear, which makes it a neutrally balanced car, that is, you can oversteer when you want to, using throttle, brakes, etc.

My DX reminds me of a stock MINI Cooper--nice ride, good turn in, softer springs. The Civic is about the same weight, but is longer and narrower, so it's quite a bit different on those accounts. All MINIs also come with all poly-u bushings, so that makes them really tight, too, as does the steering wheel turing ratio. They are incredibly easy to drive fast.

Still, the Civic has the feel of the un-enhanced Cooper, and I think with a little work it can get there. And the weight/hp ratio is about the same as a stock Cooper.

Don't get me wrong, the Cooper is great--it's just not the kind of car you want to trust in the long run.....

And every cop I know is now looking for a Cooper to pull over.....

(I actually like the last Si, in the same league, but again, not a stealth car)

Thanks--glad to hear that I can count on your support. I'll be coming out with a design plan and schedule for mods in the nex day or two.