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Opinions on the 1.8L second gen?

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    Opinions on the 1.8L second gen?

    I'd like to hear some opinions on the 1.8L second gen (5 speed preferably) if some owners or previous owners wouldn't mind sharing their thoughts on the subject. I'll be in the market for an older car in the next month or so and though I'm a former first gen owner, I'm considering looking at a second gen since I have spotted a few DOHC's FS (DOHC first gen's are a bitch to find in this part of Canada). How does it compare to a first gen, for those who have driven both? I'm not really interested in getting into an engine swap with a first gen, so the 2 most obvious car's I'll be looking at will be the SOHC first gen and the DOHC second gen. I know the DOHC will probably have the straight line advantage, but I'm more interested in overall performance (reliability, handling, 'x-factor', etc.) then I am in the hp numbers.

    I do prefer the appearance of the first gen, but if the performance of the second gen is superior in all respects then I'll certainly give it a good look.

    TIA!

    #2
    Just so you know, not all DOHC 2nd gens have the 1.8L engine. Most of them have the 1.5L POS Z5.

    Comment


      #3
      True,but they seem to be everywhere in Canada.
      just for the hell of it, last week I was looking on the auto trader website and saw like 20 out of 40 that were 1.8l powered.


      Where exactly in Canada are you??
      I've owned my car since August 01.
      I have few complaints about it but here they are. Not nearly enough power for me, I'd prefer somewhere around 5-600 HP and an equivalent number in torque. The parking brake kinda sucks on the rear disc brakes and the caliper sliders need to be kept well lubricated. I also don't have a sunroof which I really wanted, but thats o.k.

      I'm on my thrird set of front brake pads and my fourth in the rear. Though I tend to drive my car fairly hard so this isn't a big problem for me, I expect this to happen.
      I've got a set of KVRs on the front and am quite satisfied with them.

      Unscheduled repairs: Front O2 sensor that went about 180,000 KM or so. Apparently its common for them to go around 150,000 or so...... The part from the dealer was like 250 bucks and another 50ish for installation. I would have done it myself, but it happened when I was away at college and didn't have access to my tools
      300 bucks

      Battery, that happened the same winter, and I sprung for a good replacementwhich was like another 125 bucks or so........ Again, would have been cheaper for me to do it myself, but see excuse above....

      425 bucks

      Thermostat, a new one was like 16 bucks and gasket like 5$ I forget what installation cost lets say 50 bucks yet again this happened in the winter and this time I was at home, but it was probably the coldest part of the year and I don't have a heated garage. 71$ total

      In total my unscheduled repairs on this car have come to 496$ over like 3 1/2 years. Not bad.
      This doesn't include tires, the afforementioned brake pads, fluid changes, timing belt, plugs, wires, cap rotor etc but I consider that maintenance not repairs.

      As far as fuel economy goes, I haven't really figured it out even though I've got fuel reciepts from probably the last 2 years and wrote down what the trip odo said on each reciept. It usually works out that if I've gone lets say 350 KM I'l have to fill up with 35 litres of gas, give or take a few. Or 250 KM Ill have to put in 25l of fuel. Give or take......Its a 50l tank just for reference. I have gotten over 500KM to a tank, but thats with mostly highway KM, usually I tend t rev the engine pretty high alot so if I changed my driving habits I could do better I'm sure. I find that the fuel gauge reads low for example when the gauge reading is half a tank (25L) and I decide to fill it, it will take between 20 and 25 L average seems to be around 22-23L....... During the winter, I find that the fuel economy decreases quite a bit, but I have such a short commute to and from work that on really cold mornings, I will start the car and let it warm up quite a bit before driving.

      Overall I'm quite satisfied with the reliability, fuel economy and the performance.
      I also find it to be quite a fun drive, though I've never driven a DOHC first Gen so I can't really compare.
      Last edited by midnightblue97; 01-01-2005, 08:10 PM.
      Ryan The middle child is always ignored
      BP powered 97LX Touring Edition
      Vibrant strut tower brace, KVR front brake pads, Tungsram Megalicht H4 headlight bulbs, Phillips Halogen H3 foglight bulbs.... 91 GT rims w/ 195 60 14 Yokohomo Mirada GTX sport

      Comment


        #4
        The 1.8 2gens seem to be hard to find, I just kind of happened upon mine, someone said that only 12% of 2gens were ES (and therefore 1.8), but I'm not sure how reliable that number is. I'm happy with mine, even with the unscheduled maintenence (ok ok, the clutch was my fault). When I bother to calculate my mpg it's usually around 25-30 mpg (manual tranny, so I can't complain at all about that. It's decent in the snow, but I do mount snow tires as I live in an area where we get a lot of snow. As far as performance . . . handles beautifully, especially after some suspension mods.

        Comment


          #5
          Thats probably a US statistic.
          They are VERY common in the great white north.
          Funny that they are so hard to come by in Canadian first gens but the second gens abound.
          Ryan The middle child is always ignored
          BP powered 97LX Touring Edition
          Vibrant strut tower brace, KVR front brake pads, Tungsram Megalicht H4 headlight bulbs, Phillips Halogen H3 foglight bulbs.... 91 GT rims w/ 195 60 14 Yokohomo Mirada GTX sport

          Comment


            #6
            Thx for the input so far. I'm in St. John's, NF. I've seen a few 1.8's locally (Yeah, i know enough to steer well clear of the 1.5 ), but the chances of me finding a GT first gen here are slim to none. I've never seen one here anyway and the junkyards don't have any, so the task of importing an engine/gearbox, etc. and finding a mechanic who won't botch the job or overcharge is more than I'm up to. I'll have to just test drive what's available I guess and go from there.

            Comment

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