Performance upgrade or change the beloved car?

Pubsamare · June 27, 2018

Guys, really appreciate your valuable inputs to help me make a decision. This is my dilemma.
I have a 1995 honda civic ek3 VI manual. This is my first car and has been with me for the last 4 years. My and this car have had a good run so far. Needless to say, being a 23 year old car, there are episodic minor repairs which are getting a bit frequent, but nothing major.
Within the next few months, I am to receive some cash, and I would be able to spend about 0.5 to 1 million for an upgrade, the lesser the cost, the better, obviously.
I guess I could sell this one and go for a bit newer car. But as I said, me and this car have been through a lot together, and even the thought of parting with it is very difficult to handle. So here are my questions.

1. Would going for a performance upgrade for this car be a bad idea? I did some reading and seems a B16A2 swap is possible and that it would cost somewhere close to 5 laks (I am not sure about these values). I am a total noob at these stuff, and would like to know if this is worth the cost.
2. If such an upgrade is possible, what are my options? Are there better options than the B16A swap? What would be the cost?
3. If such an upgrade is not advisable, what would be a good replacement around 3mil? It needs to be a sedan and a manual transmission, and I would like to have a bit of power as well. The options I came up with were Honda civic ES3rs, lancer cs2/3, masda axela/3 and am having trouble deciding what would be better. Are there any other good options?

So, I kindly request the help of the experts here, who have helped me in the past as well. Thanks in advance!

Ps. Sorry if I am starting an unnecessary thread, couldn't find answers to some of my issues after going through several threads as well.

Edited June 27, 2018 by Pubsamare

iRage · June 28, 2018

Well....whether you should go for an upgrade or a new car is totally up to you....whilst in your mind you might feel that moving on to a newer car is the sensible thing to do, seems like emotionally your heart says otherwise. For a car guy, the logical/sensible path followed doesn't always end up being the emotionally gratifying one. Lets be honest, you are considering of buying a new car only because you got some money...not because you dislike your car and want an upgrade..

So....lets say you go for a newer car, you should not spend your entire budget on buying the car. You will have to save some money for unintended/unexpected/prudent repairs/services. So, the car is actually not going to be that much newer and you still have to do some fixing up. Since you have to do all that anyway with a car you know nothing of...why not take that money and just fix up the car you have with the things you want, the way you want it ? As I believe there are some pretty decent suspension, brake and engine options for your car.

Or...just simply put the money in a FD...wait for a while and get a proper decent upgrade when you are good and ready for it (emotionally..as a car guy)

Just for curiosity....any idea how much a ViRS conversion for your EK would cost ? That might be one option.

If you do think you should follow your brain...then personally, I believe the Civic would be the better option. It does not feel as basic and plasticy as the Lancer and edges out both the 3 and Lancer in terms of driving pleasure and that extra bit of refinement. But c'mon...if you want to follow your brain ALL the time in regards to your wheels....be a good little boy and buy a "professional lady doctor owned Corolla 121 with just 67,000 original kilometers".

Edited June 28, 2018 by iRage

TheClutch · June 30, 2018

VIRS conversion is a good idea but hardly the VIRS and and a manual Vi differ in performance .. Since both share the same motor with 130bhp. But VIRS come with different chassis and stiffed suspension ,all 4 disk breaks, abs and airbags together with few cosmetic modifications.

As said in the previous reply save the money in FD and upgrade to a newer car in a while with improved safety features is a best option..Else try few mods like upgrading the breaks to disks and suspension to feel a difference in ride if you want put a nice set of wheels..But the performance should come with safety which I don't feel the 95 ek will deliver..I had a 95 Vi manual for 6 years and would say the ride was crisp through out the years but the there were some drawbacks when it come to safety which is ok for car that old. However if you are not in to track or drag I don't think spending too much in to performance will realy benefits.

Pubsamare · July 1, 2018

On 6/28/2018 at 4:01 AM, iRage said:

Well....whether you should go for an upgrade or a new car is totally up to you....whilst in your mind you might feel that moving on to a newer car is the sensible thing to do, seems like emotionally your heart says otherwise. For a car guy, the logical/sensible path followed doesn't always end up being the emotionally gratifying one. Lets be honest, you are considering of buying a new car only because you got some money...not because you dislike your car and want an upgrade..

Since you have to do all that anyway with a car you know nothing of...why not take that money and just fix up the car you have with the things you want, the way you want it ? As I believe there are some pretty decent suspension, brake and engine options for your car.

Or...just simply put the money in a FD...wait for a while and get a proper decent upgrade when you are good and ready for it (emotionally..as a car guy)

If you do think you should follow your brain...then personally, I believe the Civic would be the better option. It does not feel as basic and plasticy as the Lancer and edges out both the 3 and Lancer in terms of driving pleasure and that extra bit of refinement. But c'mon...if you want to follow your brain ALL the time in regards to your wheels....be a good little boy and buy a "professional lady doctor owned Corolla 121 with just 67,000 original kilometers".

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On 6/30/2018 at 2:20 AM, TheClutch said:

VIRS conversion is a good idea but hardly the VIRS and and a manual Vi differ in performance .. Since both share the same motor with 130bhp. But VIRS come with different chassis and stiffed suspension ,all 4 disk breaks, abs and airbags together with few cosmetic modifications.

As said in the previous reply save the money in FD and upgrade to a newer car in a while with improved safety features is a best option..Else try few mods like upgrading the breaks to disks and suspension to feel a difference in ride if you want put a nice set of wheels..But the performance should come with safety which I don't feel the 95 ek will deliver..I had a 95 Vi manual for 6 years and would say the ride was crisp through out the years but the there were some drawbacks when it come to safety which is ok for car that old. However if you are not in to track or drag I don't think spending too much in to performance will realy benefits.

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Thanks for the advices iRage and TheClutch. Yes, you are absolutely correct, the emotional bond with the car is huge. The performance is good and and I do enjoy driving it. But I cannot deny that the frequency of repairs, even though small, are becoming high, and I wouldn't mind a bit of a change.

Yes, the safety is an issue, specially now that I have 2 little ones travelling with me. So I guess you are right, saving the money and going for a better car is a more sensible option.

So, to trouble you guys again, considering I would not be able to go for a vehicle upgrade in the near future,

1. What repairs/replacements should I do in this car to minimize the future unexpected repairs other than the obvious ones until I go for an uprade? (Coolant lines/sensors etc?)

2. This car does not have airbags or central locking. Is it possible to install these? If so, does it cost a lot?

3. What are the other improvements I could do to improve the day to day driving experience and safety without spending a lot?

Ps. With regard to the 'professional lady doctor driven car', would never recommend that, I have first hand experience on how they look after them! No regular services, rarely check coolant/oil etc... (no offence to the few ladies who do look after them!)???

Thanks guys!

Edited July 2, 2018 by Pubsamare