[Drivesthebeast]

Yes, I became a traitor yesterday...

No, not to country, Queen, and the like. What I mean is, I didn't end up finding a Focus in the NCR that wasn't completely rusty, that had a 5 speed, that didn't have lots of stuff wrong with it, and didn't cost under $2500. I looked on all of the buy and sell websites for the area, as well as kept an eye on autotrader from time to time, for the last 2 months.

I did however, find something that is completely out of character for me... That something is a Black 1998 Honda Civic Si. This car has a 5spd, power locks/mirrors/windows/2-way sunroof, cruise, tilt (all working too), abs, working A/C. It came with 2 sets of steel wheels and tires, the set on it are 14" Michelin X-Ice snow tires, and the 2nd set are 15" with Barum V-rated summer tires. The car has had tons of parts replaced in the last few years (most of them being factory Honda), and it has been Krowned every year for the last 10 years. The car has almost no rust, and the underside, subframe, trunk, rear clip, rockers, and even the roof all around the sunroof look only a couple years old. In addition to all of that, the car ISN'T MODIFIED. I haven't bought some redline racer-boi's basket case. I've got all documentation on the car since 2006, and receipts for just about everything done to it. It also rides down the road like a new car without a single squeak, rattle, or clunk in it, and the engine (D16y8) doesn't burn any oil. The interior has hardly any sunburn on it (there's no tint on this car), the seats have no holes, rips or stains in them, and the carpets are in really good shape too, only needing a light cleaning.

Top it all off, I got it for $1300 as-is, and as far as I can see, it only needs a passenger headlight assembly to pass safety, and it still has a valid e-test from Oct 2012 (which might be transferable to me when I do the registration).

Oh yeah, the only other things wrong with the car are the blower for the HVAC system is noisy, and the Sony Xplod deck that someone installed in the dash doesn't work right. That being said,the Viper car alarm with keyless entry works just fine (alarm is from Durand)

So yeah, I went to the dark side, and I'm not going to be owning another Focus just yet (though I might get one of the newer ones in a few years if I wear out this civic).

L8tz

[sonic_mikey]

If you ever want to swap the engine, or just get any work done to it, let me know. Me and my boss are expert Honda techs lol.

[Oscar The Grouch]

BAN!!!! lol

[2000zx3sct]

does it at least have a big exhaust tip ? lol joking but sounds like its going to be a good reliable car. Congrats.

[adamzx5]

Hondas are great cars , its just a certain group of people ruins them. Just like people in the focus community.The d16 is a great motor they just like to over heat when modded. My first car was a 93 eg with b18 , put a smile on my face everytime I drove it. I would have no problem going back to honda.The only other problem I can think of is rust on the fenders but that plagues jap cars.

[Drivesthebeast]

Well, I got the proof of insurance, the ownership transferred and registered in my name, and got issued a brand new set of plates with a temp sticker. I don't have to have it drive clean tested again, because the last test the car had was Oct 14th 2012, and they said the test certificate is valid for 1 year after issue, regardless if the car changes hands. YAY! one less expense the gov't gets to grab from me.

I went to Kenny U-Pull on Bentley today, and was able to find just one passenger side headlight made by TYC on a 1997 Sedan that wasn't broken at all, and still had it's seals and the light sockets. That was under $30.00 taxes in, so that might be all I need for safety. (The tires are great, the brakes should be good, all of the lights will work, and the body doesn't have any holes coming into the cabin anywhere).

I have put a bottle of concentrated fuel injector cleaner in the tank, and I am planning to clean the intake assembly, and get the fuel rail/intake manifold and whatnot cleaned, and eventually switch it over to synthetic oil.

I'm not going to go crazy with mods on this car, just minor things like a tint, a different head unit, and replace the stock 6x9's with something else a little bit beefier, and maybe some rims. I might not even bother making the switch to JDM tail lights or headlights, as I want the car to look as clean/unassuming as possible.

My real modification bug will be satisfied with my 77 Silverado.

[Lucster1000]

My first car was a 94 Accord coupe. Mechanically it was fantastic,it had a SOHC Vtech with 145hp it was quick and past e-test no problem. Just the parts were expensive because it's an "import" and the rust, there was tones of it. After getting a Focus I have to say I don't think any other car will do.

[Drivesthebeast]

Well, the car passed it's safety inspection with flying colours...guess that $22.90 headlight from Kenny-U pull was all it needed afterall (though the driver side one is starting to fog up now...bloody hell).

Crappy part is, I found out the car has been in at least 1 frontal collision, as there are segments of another car welded into the front clip (they are green, likely off an EX), but the mechanic said that it was all welded properly, and shouldn't cause me any grief. He also commented that it's too bad to see that, as from the firewall back, this car is in awesome shape for it's age, and he's not seen many that are like mine.

I did go to Princess Auto and got a 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo cable to try my Sandisk Fuze+ into the apparently useless Xplod deck that's in the car. At least THAT works on the front aux-in, and I can play the radio or mp3's and wma's from my fuze, and I know that all of the speakers still work (it's got 6.5" woofers in the doors, and 1" tweeters by the inside of the mirror body by the A-pillars, and 6x9's in the rear deck, and factory cassette player in the console...lol!). I'm trying to find a used Sony deck to replace the one I've got with (though Sony wouldn't be my first choice) so that I don't have to change much, if any wiring in the dash. Besides changing the deck, I might change the stock 6x9's and replace the 6.5" woofers in the doors and leave the stock tweeters (they sound good actually) and run larger gauge wires to them all from the deck, unless I decide to get a 4 channel amp to drive the fronts and rears.

I have had the car out on the highway a few times to put the spurs to it, and it pulls pretty good for such a small motor (I think it's actually quicker than my ZX3 was when it was stock), and I'm impressed that it will do around 150-155km/hr in 4th, and still pulls in 5th.

I am going to switch it over to at least Castrol Syntec Edge Full-Synthetic engine oil with a new filter before this weekend, it's got a fresh air filter already, as well as new wires, plugs, and distributor cap and rotor that were done back in October. I wanna see how reliable the engine runs after taking it on a drive to Brantford next week, with both of my daughters in the back seat.

The CEL came on yesterday afternoon, and want to get the codes checked soon to make sure it's nothing bad (I read that often the CEL will come on after putting concentrated fuel system cleaner in the gas, and that dislodges gunk from the motor at high speed and gets the O2 sensors dirty, or there is a couple of vaccum control valves that will throw a code. Just hope it's not something pricey like the vtec switchover mechanism (think it's a solenoid actuated setup) that's not working right (though I think it is, because the car makes little torque below 4000rpm, and it pulls harder above 5000 and beyond).

Anyways, having fun learning about another little car and all it's quirks, and how easy you can modify them (resisting that really hard...just with a clean-ish slate for the stereo alone is hard).

L8tz

[reldridge]

Pics? Sounds like you got a good deal!

[Lucster1000]

How many K's are on it?

[Drivesthebeast]

Km's...well, the odometer says 138,000 as of today...but that gets added on to the 71,000 that was on the original odometer (it was replaced under recall or TSB in 2005 by Civic Motors Honda on St.Laurent), though I can't for the life of me, figure out why they didn't adjust it to reflect the true mileage.

I got the Syntec Edge oil and a Fram double-guard filter, and will change to that for now until I can prove the engine on a couple of longer trips, after which time I might go to Royal Purple or Amzoil. Sticking with the OEM recommended 5W-30 for now too.

The deck has completely buggered up now (I think it's the faceplate or it's connectors), as it will only show the demo mode, and ZERO of the buttons work. I think I won't even bother going with another Sony deck after seeing this happen to this one. I will likely go back to a JVC, as I had nothing but success with theirs. Either that, or a Kenwood (there is a nice one they wanna sell me at FS on Bank Street for $99 to get it out of their inventory). I will redirect my stereo info to the ICE forum from here on out.

I'm happy that all of the accessories on the car work, especially the A/C and cruise. I'm also happy that I've got that 2nd set of steel wheels and tires for the car too that the guy just threw in the trunk (195/55 R15 87V Barum Bravuris 2's)...2 of them are fine still, at least 1 more season/year left in them, the other 2 (likely what where on front) are almost bald. I got a quote from Golden Tire on St.Laurent for $125.00 each, taxes in, hung and spun. My dad said this is a good price on tires like that.

After my drive to Brantford next week, I'll be able to report back on how things are going.

L8tz!

[Lucster1000]

The deck my car came with is sony also and it is doing the same thing as your. And on long drives the faceplate gets burning hot.

[Drivesthebeast]

The oil change went just fine, and the engine seems to like being on synthetic oil (idle is smoother, and the engine is perceptively more responsive), and I drove it to Brantford and back this week/wkd past, with some driving around Brantford, Hamilton and Dundas in the mix. The car got over 550km to a tank on the way there, and that cost me $38.00. I filled it a little more for the trip home, and still got over 550km's (I think I can get it closer to 600 before it needs more). That's not too bad considering I had the cruise set at around 120, had my daughters in their big heavy racing-type kids seats and a trunk full of luggage, and went to 140 and as much as 160km/hr for short bursts all the way down. The engine runs extremely well on the highway, and it accelerates quite quickly in 5th from 120k up without needing to downshift (except for making a pass on an incline). It ran/drove like a champ all the way down and back up again, and so far, I'm very happy with my purchase.

[Drivesthebeast]

Another little update...I replaced the Sony Xplod with a JVC KD-R330, which has proven to be a fantastic unit, considering it was less than $150 installed, taxes-in. It drives the stock speakers a lot cleaner and louder than the Sony did, and so far, it plays my mp3 player, cd's and the radio all just fine. I am tempted to get an amp and sub for the trunk, and just run the stock speakers off the deck with the HPF in the internal amp engaged and call it a day (like a bazooka tube, or a single 8" or 10" in a sealed box).

The engine still runs really well, and has decent power for what it is. I am going to need to get the timing belt replaced, as this hasn't been done yet, and I am aware that this can be a catastophic failure for these engines. I will also get the other gaskets replaced, and perhaps a new thermostat and whatnot, while the engine is apart. I would like to get the same amount of mileage and beyond out of the engine while I own the car, and once I'm sure it's good to go, I will use good quality engine oil in it, and perhaps look at getting a CAI or a couple other bits for it.

The handling with the 15" 55-series tires is even better than the winter tires on the 14's, and that's with 2 of them being pretty bald too. I'm going to drive the car until the tires are no good, or start to make me feel uncomfortable before I get new ones.

So far, I can understand why these cars are so popular, and still in demand, even when they are 15 years old and beyond. It's fun to drive, has decent room in it for a coupe, and the trunk holds all my gear when I'm away on course.

Anyways, more to follow later....

[sonic_mikey]

These old hondas are awesome. My boss is lending me his DC2 integra while my car is getting fixed up. The little 1.8L is pretty damn peppy for what it is, but i think thats because it has a B16 transmission attached to it lol (@ 120 km/h im pushing 5000 rpm in 5th :S). Its lowered on just springs with OE struts, but handles very very well. My only issue are the little annoyances: door drops when you open it, window guilds are gone so the driver window rattles, the sunroof shimmies back instead of slides, etc.

[Drivesthebeast]

Well...my membership to the Civic Nation was short-lived. Car started overheating, and other goodies. Took it to the shop, and the head gasket was toast, and the engine was starting to consume a lot of oil too. Engine couldn't hack the pace. I ended up selling the car to a student on my street for $500 just to get it out of my hair. That sucked, and I took at least a $700 loss on the car, after only owning it since March.

I went and looked around again for another Focus in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, and the only ones I could find were either too expensive, or too rusty or needing too many repairs to be worth looking at. So, I started looking at other cars that were available in the area, with a larger budget than I used for the Si, but still reasonable.

I ended up finding, and buying another car only a week after selling the Honda. What did I buy? A 2004 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. Got it for below market value, and it's got decent mileage on it for it's age. It doesn't have the sport package (which is really the only upgrade from the standard Spec V), which is the Rockford Fosgate Stereo and Sunroof, but it does have the optional paint colour for that year, which I think is called Glacier Silver (has blue in it). The 6-spd took some getting used to, as the throw for 5th isn't very easy at times, but I am doing well with the other 5 gears. The handling is wickedly good, and steering response is really quick. Ride quality is really good (has winter tires on steelies right now, the 17's are in my garage with almost worn out Falken Y-speed rated tires). The 2.5L in the car has power through almost the entire rpm band, and it gets really going above 4000 in every gear. The car does have torque steer in 1st and 2nd when making tight right-handers around curbs, or left turns around medians (this is if you are on it more than half throttle), but the helical limited slip diff keeps it planted around corners when you are up and moving.

On the highway it kicks ass...can leave it in 6th, and it pulls hard from 120 up to 160 really fast without having to downshift. It's also really quick from a rolling start too, and it can outpace lesser cars without any effort (read corollas, civics, sunfires and cavaliers, and even some bigger cars too). It's kinda like a fwd skyline...it's overall package and execution is addictive. Best of all, hardly anyone has one, let alone a regular SE-R. It also earns 2nd looks, and street-cred from people that actually know a thing or two about cars. It's a factory tuned car that slips under the radar of almost everyone...and I like the stealth looks of the car...the 2004 looks more like the regular Sentra's, which is fine by me. Most kids with civics, corollas, or lancers with fart cans and clear tails and rims have no idea that I have between 175 and 180hp and 180+ ft lbs of torque (with 91 octane...manual says results may be higher with higher octane), it just looks like any other Sentra, with a factory spoiler when viewed from a distance. The SE-R Spec V emblems are only visable from closer to the car. I guess the blacked out headlight bezels and smoked tails are the only other differences from the lesser models.

Anyways, I still have to E-test, safety and register it (I bought it thursday night, and couldn't get to the MTO while in Kingston). Will see how that goes, and report back.

L8tz!

[Drivesthebeast]

Well, the safety went mostly ok, but it needed new brakes all the way around (there was lots of life left in the ones on it, but the shop said the rules on how they are corroded are more strict), the front driver side wheel bearing, and a couple of other goodies. After that, it passed it's e-test (new computer one too) with flying colours, and I have managed to get the 17's on, and keep air in 3 out of 4 of them all the time, and have to keep adding to the front right one (has a nail right into it between some of the tread blocks, but seems to hold pressure ok for upto a week). The car handles and steers even better with the larger wheels...well, at higher speeds...the added unsprung weight is noticeable when maneuvering at lower speeds. I can corner on highway on-ramps and off-ramps at an almost ludicrous speed with this car, even with only the bone-stock suspension, and the tires don't make a sound.

I am curious to see how this car will be in the winter with the 15's and Toyo Observe G-02's on it. The Falken FK452's that are on the 17's are pretty useless in 1st and 2nd gear in the rain (these cars are known to be a bit of a torque monster compared to smaller-engined fwd cars).

I have done at least 2x oil changes on this car now, both with 5w 30 Mobil 1 full synthetic and now with a K&N oil filter, and been running minimum 91 octane fuel in it, and the engine seems really good, especially since it has almost 175,000 on it now. The engine does consume oil, which I have researched is actually one of the most common attributes to the QR25de. I asked some other spec-v owners here in Kingston, and they said they have to monitor and add oil to there cars too...just the nature of the beast. Which is weird...it's not coming out of the tail pipe (can't see or smell evidence of it, and there aren't drips under the car either).

I have to figure out what is wrong with the driver side fog light (both have new Eurolite bulbs in therm, but the left one still doesn't work), and I broke the factory stereo (the harness clip that goes to the factory free-air woofer got damaged by stuff I put in the back, and I discovered that the HU gets power from the circuit board that is mounted to a plate on the bottom of the speaker), which sucks, because there are some high-quality pioneer 6.5's in the rear deck, and a slew of wiring for aftermarket amps/caps and subs under the back seat and trunk liner (no, it's not connected to the battery, which is new...as is the alternator).

Just a few teething problems, but I don't mind too much, as this car only cost me 2 grand to buy, about 1200 to safety, and it is in better shape, and more fun to drive than just about anything else I could find in that price range that my wife would approve of.

Anyways, l8tz

[Drivesthebeast]

Another quick update,

I have around 178,800 km's on the car now, and it still runs really well, and wants to accelerate pretty fast too. The rust the car had on the driver door sill/rocker and drivers door has gotten worse now, and a few more spots are starting to show up here and there. Not a big deal as this car IS 10 years old now, and I don't think it's ever been oil sprayed in the last 9. I will look into fixing up those areas, and I still haven't fixed the radio (which I will likely do during march break with a new deck, and maybe a Bazooka for the trunk to be driven off the Power Acoustik amp I used to use in the ZX3). There are some noises from the suspension now (though they have been mostly noticeable in the cold), and I think that's just because the roads here in Kingston are so rough ( I think they can seriously give Ottawa a run for it's money).

I am going to get some new tires for the summer for it, and I am waiting for the headlight bulbs to burn out so I have an excuse to upgrade them (at least with some Eurolights or GE Nighthawks...I bought Nighthawk front turn indicator bulbs for it a couple months ago). So far, this car has made me wish I had bought one sooner (perhaps instead of my Mustang), and given me a silent appreciation for Nissan products that I didn't really have before.

Guess we will have to wait and see what happens over time...(someone at work got a Focus ST, and I am thinking about test driving one for myself).

L8tz