Whats the opinion on these? Im looking to get one to replace my jeep cherokee as my daily driver. I dont want one thats riced out/engine swap, nor do I intend to rice it out or swap engines. I really like the way these look and the gas mileage on the non-vtecs is pretty impressive; they are just so damn hard to find, especially one with less than 100k on the clock.

8/13/2008 11:36:32 PM

other than the fact that they are a little ~

8/13/2008 11:44:27 PM

When they were out they were considered a competitor of the Miata. Performance-wise it was never a match though.

It has the usual good Honda reliability from the 90s, not sure what else to say. I'd say consider the VTEC model, but good luck finding one! Mileage isn't much worse, but you'll probably care more about it needing premium fuel.

8/13/2008 11:59:09 PM

^ luckily im not a fan of miatas, I think they are more "~" than aficianado considers del sols, and this really isint about performance anyway. Thats why I bought my mustang (yea, yea, laugh if you want). I just want a respectable car with over 30mpg.

8/14/2008 12:23:06 AM

A friend of mine has driven one for years, until he hydro-locked it when he hit a flooded area of the road he was on in Wilmington a few weeks back. I always enjoyed driving the car though, they're fun.

8/14/2008 12:25:41 AM

it's a civic for all intents and purposes, just a little more fun with the targa and roll down rear window. little less practical than a regular civic being a two seater and coming from the room of a cherokee, but that may not be an issue. like TKE said, not really sure what else to say. it's going to be just as reliable as any other older honduh and get great mileage.

i honestly don't know the numbers, but i would have thought performance in most areas would be equal to or better than miatas of the same vintage. especially for vtec models. a friend of mine used to have one, and it was a fun little car to drive if you kept it wound out. i've always thought that if i ever wanted to build up a honda, that's what it would be.

8/14/2008 12:48:36 AM

just get the civic unless you really think a del sol looks good. Don't worry about less then 100k miles.

my 92 civic has 188k (that I know about, the odometer wasnt working for years) , been through 4 owners, and I drive it daily.

I bet it blows up this morning now that I said that

8/14/2008 7:52:34 AM

"less then."

Garage ninja here to attack you.


And if you're getting the SOHC, just get a regular civic like the "less then" guy said. You'll have a lot more room. Get an HB y0, they be tight, G.

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 7:55 AM. Reason : ]

8/14/2008 7:53:50 AM

Quote :

"Get an HB y0, they be tight, G."

dont get anything less then a hatch , B

8/14/2008 7:57:19 AM

I always thought they'd make a great commuter car. It's a lot like a CRX in that finding one that hasn't been molested by ricers or destroyed by an uncaring owner is going to be tough.

8/14/2008 7:59:03 AM

Don't the vtec models have like ~150hp? In a car as light as a del sol, I think that it'd be pretty peppy to drive and still get the honda gas mileage and reliability.

8/14/2008 8:21:51 AM

cool car if you're gay

8/14/2008 9:49:41 AM

yea my moms ex drove one. she is gay.

8/14/2008 9:54:52 AM

Quote :

"luckily im not a fan of miatas, I think they are more "~" than aficianado considers del sols"

i didnt know that rwd and 50/50 balance was ~, but thanks for bringing it to my attention

8/14/2008 10:11:30 AM

Del Sol Si has the Civic EX engine (meaning, SOHC VTEC making 128hp crank). Both the Del Sol and Civic Si have this same engine. The 160hp VTEC engine you might be thinking of came only in the 99-style Civic Si's.

Del Sols are heavier and slower than civics and more ~ too!

8/14/2008 10:14:35 AM

I had one for a year - I wrecked my other car and my GF's mom let me borrow it. No matter where I went, dudes would be checking me out, thinking I was a girl.

8/14/2008 10:18:29 AM

^^ haha, good info. Anyways, I learned early on that FWD sucks. I wouldn't call a miata gay, (I admit, I wouldn't mind having one for a track whore), but it's by far less gay than a Del Sol imo.


[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 10:23 AM. Reason : .]

8/14/2008 10:22:38 AM

^^^ No, one model of the Del Sol definitely came with a B16A3, DOHC VTEC. They were made in 1994+ I believe.

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 10:26 AM. Reason : ]

8/14/2008 10:23:52 AM

Quote :

"yea my moms ex drove one. she is gay."

Quote :

"I had one for a year - I wrecked my other car and my GF's mom let me borrow it."

8/14/2008 10:46:57 AM

I always thought they'd be a fun car to drive. As a cheap convertible to drive stock it's probably a little better than a miata. Mazda's have shitty build quality.

That said, you can get miatas much cheaper, they handle better, and there's plenty you can do to make it a real sports car(stock they're weaaaaaaaaaak). If you think you ever might want to do track days or autocross, you can have a lot of fun with a miata, and relatively cheap.

Personally I don't think either car is really ~, but then again I don't give a shit what other people think about me, especially based on what car I'm driving at the moment.

8/14/2008 1:01:15 PM

Quote :

"i honestly don't know the numbers, but i would have thought performance in most areas would be equal to or better than miatas of the same vintage. especially for vtec models."

Acceleration (esp for the VTEC model) is better than a comparable year Miata. I was mostly referring to handling performance in my previous comment.

As SaabTurbo pointed out, the Del Sol was available with the B16A engine (later found on the Si coupe) with 160hp.

ben94gt, have considered maybe a '92-'93 Integra GS-R?

8/14/2008 1:13:01 PM

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/796271658.html

8/14/2008 1:30:11 PM

^ or

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/792401591.html

A little cheaper...

[Edited on August 14, 2008 at 2:40 PM. Reason : .]

8/14/2008 2:40:30 PM

1994 and later Miatas had a 1.8L instead of 1.6L engine. They also weigh about 100lbs more, which sorta offsets any gain, but with a free-flowing intake and exhaust the 1.8 should be able to put out 150bhp at least. Or turbo it, and the sky is the limit.

The 1989-91 models have a shitty crank pulley bolt design. Over tighten it and you'll destroy the crank. Other than that I don't know any major issues to watch out for.

8/14/2008 5:26:00 PM

^^^^ Ive looked at integras and they arent bad, I like Acura, I used to have a legend myself, but finding one in decent shape with few miles on it that hasnt been riced out is also kind of difficult. and 92 is a bit older than im willing to go, even with a del sol I dont think I would go any older than a 95, unless it only had like 50k miles on it.

8/14/2008 10:35:54 PM

^^ short-nosed crank in early models through midway 1990 model year, if i remember correctly.

yeah, mazda build quality isn't on par with honda's, but you can get a 1G miata for cheap, and they're cheap to fix if anything breaks. even transmissions are plentiful at around $200-300.

neither car is powerful stock (especially the miata), but the miata is a great little convertible sports car with good suspension, steering, and shifter. the del sol is a civic with a targa and an extra helping of gay.

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone could want a del sol more than a miata. it's not even a comparison.

8/14/2008 11:20:41 PM

Especially since one is Rear Wheel Drive and the other is WRONG Front Wheel Drive?

8/14/2008 11:26:23 PM

yeah, that alone is enough to make it a no-contest.

8/15/2008 9:43:12 AM

EXTREME ~ FACTOR

8/15/2008 8:07:30 PM

you should get a mazda mx-3, there's a hot rod.

8/15/2008 9:15:56 PM