Honda Civic coupe question

fonecrusher1

Quick question for the Honda heads.

Is this correct?: The 1.6 non-vtec Honda civic coupe (1996 - 2001) has two variants. One is 105bhp & the other is 125bhp.

Are there letters on the back of either vehicle to distinguish one from the other? ie; i or ils????

Thanks.

zilog_jones

From what I can see the more powerful version is the SR in the UK - Honda trim levels are usually the same here but I don't know for sure.

Gumbo

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Quick question for the Honda heads.

Is this correct?: The 1.6 non-vtec Honda civic coupe (1996 - 2001) has two variants. One is 105bhp & the other is 125bhp.

Are there letters on the back of either vehicle to distinguish one from the other? ie; i or ils????

Thanks.

i wouldnt trust the letters on the boot either. best bet is to get the engine code form under the bonnet and double check which variant it is.

i think the non vtec engines were D16xxxx or something similar.

fonecrusher1

zilog_jones wrote: »

From what I can see the more powerful version is the SR in the UK - Honda trim levels are usually the same here but I don't know for sure.

But isn't the SR a vtec engine?

If you scroll around halfway down this list you'll see information on 2 coupe's. I presume the 125bhp version is the SR? Even though it doesnt say that...
http://www.topcarguide.com/index.php?subj=list&app=242

zilog_jones

OK I'm getting out my old magazines:

November 1996 and May 1997 What Car?:
1.6i LS - 104 bhp
1.6i SR - 124 bhp (not clear if this is VTEC or not)

March 1998 Top Gear:
1.6i LS - 104 bhp
1.6i VTEC SR - 123 bhp

September 1999 What Car?:
1.6i LS - 104 bhp
1.6 VTi - 158 bhp

May 2000 Top Gear:
1.6i Sport - 104 bhp
1.6 VTi - 114 bhp (I suspect this is incorrect judging by the former and latter)

July 2000 Car magazine:
1.6i LS - 105 bhp
1.6 VTi - 160 bhp


The English Wikipedia pages on the Civic are a mess, but some others are a bit more useful:
German: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_6._Generation#Coup.C3.A9 (I think the HX and Si/SiR listed there are the US specs)
Japanese: D16A 1.6 SOHC VTEC-E (120 PS) only (might be useful if you come across an import)

There are at least 14 different 1.6 litre D engines, so this is a real pain finding out what's what. It's quite possible the earlier SR listed above could be either VTEC or non-VTEC.

zilog_jones

Other figures suggest the SR is a D16Y8 which is VTEC, so I believe the only non-VTEC is the 105 bhp 1.6.

Bonito

Might get some answers here.

http://www.mcivicownersclub.com/feedback.html

jayok

As others have suggested there three variants available for the Civic Coupe.

1.6 iLS - 105 BHP
1.6 iSR - 125 BHP (SOHC VTEC)
1.6 VTi - 158 BH_ (DOHC VTEC)

The VTi came in later years (99-00) and was only available in the UK.

Midnight_EG

The SR is VTEC, but I also believe they're only Automatic, if you're looking for an EK with proper pull, and I'm assuming you need a coupe, well..... the Si is the one you want. Hard to find though

JHMEG

D16Y7 is non-VTEC, 105bhp.
D16Y8 has a VTEC head, 125bhp. VTEC written on the cam cover and a VTEC solenoid at the back of the head.

Or, just look at the front of the block. Engine model is stamped right there.

JHMEG

Midnight_EG wrote: »

The SR is VTEC, but I also believe they're only Automatic, if you're looking for an EK with proper pull, and I'm assuming you need a coupe, well..... the Si is the one you want. Hard to find though

Not correct. SRs are mostly (all?) manual. Si... hmmm... Japanese model, but a Jap import Civic Coupe is oddball, as the Coupes are all US-built. VTI is the one you want. Plenty of ex-UK models here now.

Midnight_EG

JHMEG wrote: »

Not correct. SRs are mostly (all?) manual. Si... hmmm... Japanese model, but a Jap import Civic Coupe is oddball, as the Coupes are all US-built. VTI is the one you want. Plenty of ex-UK models here now.

You sure? Of the 5 or so people I know with them, they're all autos?

And yes, Si

fonecrusher1

Thanks for the info lads.:)
Im just thinking about buying an unmodified civic for peanuts (3000euro max) in the near future.
Anything from 1996 to 2000, not a 1.4. Something with a bit of poke but isn't going to cost a fortune to insure. I was thinking about a mazda 323 or an almera but the equivalent size engines are nowhere near the same power as Honda.

Whats the general opinion on the 1.6i non-vtec coupe that i mentioned? I know its not vtec but 105bhp/0 to 60 in 9.6sec isnt bad for a 1.6?

Tea 1000

JHMEG wrote: »

Not correct. SRs are mostly (all?) manual. Si... hmmm... Japanese model, but a Jap import Civic Coupe is oddball, as the Coupes are all US-built. VTI is the one you want. Plenty of ex-UK models here now.

The VTi's were Jap built, no? The rest were US?
Mate had a normal 1.6, 98 one and it was US. Green Honda plate in the engine bay. Another mate had a 99 VTi coupe, original UK car, and that was Jap built. Blue Honda plate in the engine bay.

JHMEG

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Whats the general opinion on the 1.6i non-vtec coupe that i mentioned? I know its not vtec but 105bhp/0 to 60 in 9.6sec isnt bad for a 1.6?

I had a black one years ago. Comfy car that looks good. Not fast or raw in any way.

Coupes were only ever built in the US (Ohio).

JHMEG

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Blue Honda plate in the engine bay.

VIN that starts with 1 or 2 means US-built. Civic Coupes all started with 1. Japanese made cars have a VIN that starts with J.

zilog_jones

Midnight_EG wrote: »

if you're looking for an EK with proper pull, and I'm assuming you need a coupe, well..... the Si is the one you want.

I believe the Si only existed in the US, and is the same engine as the UK VTi. Maybe people are pretending their VTi's are Si's?

@Tea 1000: Maybe it was just the engine that was made in Japan?

stimpson

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Whats the general opinion on the 1.6i non-vtec coupe that i mentioned? I know its not vtec but 105bhp/0 to 60 in 9.6sec isnt bad for a 1.6?

I had a Dual Carb D15 CRX which had 106bhp. Nice car, but not the most exciting thing in the world. You really had to rev it to get it to shift, and hte CRX was lighter than the coupe.

I sold that and got a CRX SiR - same car but with 1.6 DOHC VTEC (B16A engine). There's no comparison between them to be honest. I spent most of the time in the 1.5 wishing I'd bought the VTEC (and spent most fo the time in the VTEC with a big dirty smile on my face!)

I think the coupe came with the B16 engine in 99-00 - thats the one I'd go for if I was in the market for one.

Tea 1000

zilog_jones wrote: »

I believe the Si only existed in the US, and is the same engine as the UK VTi. Maybe people are pretending their VTi's are Si's?

@Tea 1000: Maybe it was just the engine that was made in Japan?

Maybe. The non-vti coupe with the green plate said "Honda Motor Company USA" on it, where as the blue plate had "Honda Motor Co. JAPAN" on it.
Funny thing is the hatch (which I had) and jap import Civics all had orange backlighting in the dash. The US non-v-tec coupe had green backlighting, where as the VTi coupe, with the Honda Japan label had the orange backlighting.