Extensive project, what car to aim for, civic, polo or other
 

Hi everyone

Thinking of possible future project, currently driving a Honda Civic 1,4is (90hp d14a4) running around 37mpg. thinking of eigher modifying existing one or simply changing into another car
Stationed in Sweden i have some choices.
all kinds of honda civics, what´s best in form of potential to modify and use as a good viecle. my requirements are a car that can take 4 pepole so crx & mr2 are out of reach, at least for now.. so what do you think

96-00 Honda civic 1,5 vtec(d15z6) hb vs sedan?, maybe swap in vei tranny price genarally 1700-5000$
Opel Calibra, engine swap to civic? price range 500-1000$

any more suggestions on cars to look at?

HB, HX and VX are the high efficiency versions. Get those if possible- manual transmission, of course. If you have access to a Suzuki Cultus, they have very nice fuel economy as well. Aim for hatchback rather than sedan, as they generally have better aero.

But, really, you could easily modify your current car to get 50+mpg. If I were you, I'd do that.

any toughts on renault twingo, it´s small, light weight with pretty bad cd at 0.35. potential?

Gas Only Renault Twingo Gets 47 MPG - Top Speed
Sounds good. But it would probably be easier and definitely cheaper to mod your current car.

yes i know, will probably do that for starters. i will do some minor mods to my existing car and meanwhile i enjoy these mods i will be looking on a more extensive project, cars with more potential?

sits 4 adults (180-200cm), fairly comfy, silent! cant stand the road noise here from the rough swedish roads, AC, decent power & finally low fuel consumption at high speed up to 140km/h (ca 90mph)

mazda 626 (92-98) seems nice and with some low hanging fruit on that rear spoiler, how are these engines?

or maybe bmw 5-series 1996? i have a problem wit "whole car approval" in Sweden so all cars 1997 and later are hands off, if i don´t change them enough to call amatuer built.. ex turning a bmw e46 into fwd


edit: that twingo looks nice, a bit new though, i could probably trade my civic straight off for a twingo, but i do suspect the ride quality is better in the civic

I'm skeptical that you'll find any car that does this much better than a Civic (maybe a TDi). The easiest thing to change is the nut behind the wheel, and slowing down will help mileage a lot. Most here would probably recommend keeping speeds around 100km/h on the highway, your gas mileage drops sharply above that.

Because the Civic is a great car for what you want, I'll suggest some options for that.

For road noise, look into different tires. Or else, refresh your suspension. The bushings probably need replacement. With aerodynamics out of the way, the main sources of noise are tires and exhaust. These are easily remedied.

If you MUST go 90mph, and doing so will lower your mpg drastically, concentrate most of your energy on aerodynamic mods. Browse some Civic builds here, especially basjoos's Aerocivic - Honda Civic modifications for maximum gas mileage - aerocivic.com and begin improving. A boat tail will get you great fuel economy, but it's a lot of work (3 weeks and about $500 for mine- 46% better MPG @ 60mph). Start with wheel covers, rear skirts and air dam... then think about a boat tail.

TDI's are great for economy but they are quite expensive used.

will start doing the civic, maybe put up a project thread on that one. but toying with the idea of a more "optimum" and changes more to the extreme what´s your opinion

ex. 93 toyota corolla wagon 1,3, cut and lower the roof over the trunk, perhaps bmw 316 with new front end? civic 1,5i vtec (d15z6) aerodeck (MB9 station wagon)
i have read some discussions but never really came to a conclusion regarding the slope of the rear window and at what speeds they tend to "cut off" as i am interested in something that wotks up to at least 90mph, even togh i don´t drive that fast regularly.

at what speed does my civic rear window slope cut off? (EJ95 not MB3)

If I lived in Sweden, I would be looking at the cars avaialable in your price range that are European specific. The first one that comes to my mind would be the VW Lupo like the one Vekke (board member from Finland) drives. Another would be the Audi A2. I'm sure there are many other makes and models that would come close but those two are the ones I can think of right now.

In the meantime work on your civic and your technique, while watching your local market for one of the better, more modern designs that Americans can only wish they had available.

regards
Mech

lupo, can i fit 4 adults? the 3l version(1,2tdi) and audi a2 is pretty expensive, cheapest lupo tdi is 3800$

perhaps a 94-00 polo variant(station wagon) would do the trick (tdi?) should have some potential, maybe cut and lower the roofline after the passenger compartment. only downside i can think of is the front end could be more pointy like my civic
the Vehicle Coefficient of Drag List specifies the polo at 0.33Cd, but what version, 3d, 4d sedan, 5d hatch, or 5d estate?