honda civic 1.4 16v dohc review

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Average Ratings
Performance9/10
Practicality9/10
Reliability10/10
Value for Money9.3/10
Reviewer Rating9.5/10
Overall Rating9.7/10 Based on 6 ratings
100% Recommended4 out of 4 Reviews

Review of Honda Civic 1.4 16V DOHC

By DJ Buknard. Rank: Lance Corporal on 2nd May 2003

DJ Buknard.'s Ratings
Performance9/10
Practicality7/10
Reliability10/10
Value for money9/10
Overall value9/10
yes DJ Buknard.'s recommendation

Good Points

With a full through flow exhaust system and air filter this car will become scary fast producing 0-60 times of sub 6 seconds!!

Bad Points

Very low car so speed bumps are deadly
can be a bit uncomfortable

General Comments

I got my civic in December of 2002. It has been my love since then. As standard this car can see 115 MPH and does 0-60 in 8.7 seconds. I payed £350 for a powerflow custom exhaust and air filter; increased the jets to the twin carbs and uprated the fuel pump to increase the top end to off the clock speeds 125 MPH+ and the 0-60 is an estimated 6.8 seconds! the wheel base, for a coupe, is big so putting some nice alloys on this car makes it a very adhesive drive + because it has power steering cornering even at low speeds is easy. Dont believe my stats? do it yourself you will be overtaking Lotus Elise Etc, honest. (Although they will have you in low gears but yours should go further; anyway the top end for an Elise is around 120 MPH so who cares!) make sure you go for this MK the newer civics (except the really new ones) are slower and the old one looks rubbish also for this MK there is a injection version single carb and dual carb the last is the best the injection cant be tweaked as much and wont give enough in a fight the single carb is just pointless when a dual carb is available.

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Total Respect: +2

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10 Comments on Review by DJ Buknard. for Honda Civic 1.4 16V DOHC

  1. teen. on 16th Jul 2003

    i have a Honda civic 1991 and i got a b16a and every time my engine is cold my v-tec doesn't seem to kick on but then when it is up to running temp. it runs perfect if i am flooring it but feels like it is missing if i throttle it half way. i took it to a shop and they said my spark plug were sparking out of the wires so i bought some nology wires and plugs and it still does it have any advise? or some kinda of reasons on why it might be doing this?

  2. millga Rank: Lance Corporal on 26th Oct 2003

    A 1.4 civic with a straight through exhaust will never do a sub 7second 0-62 time (don't argue it won't)that said they are great cars. I have a 1.6i16v (DOHC)and its great. v-tecs wont work when the engines cold but you shouldn't be at that rev range if its cold!

  3. gunfreak Rank: Corporal on 19th Feb 2004

    To D J BUKNARD
    having been a honda technition for 16 yrs i can tell you that on that year they did not make a civic 1400 dohc they only made a single cam version but they did have twin carbs what even if you jetted up were still only standard ventury.
    also the only way of getting your car to do a sub 7 second 0-60 is by fitting a N.A.S.A. stage two rocket to the back of it.
    the models on that year was
    1400cc single cam twin carb (not available in coupe only in 3door or 4door)
    16i/16v twin cam (s.i model) pgm-fi injected only available in 3door
    16i/16v twin cam v-tec, pgm-fi injected only available in 3door
    i actually owned a 1991 v-tec version and the performance you are talking about is closer to v-tec performance and thats got 200cc more / an extra cam / pgm-fi racing designed injection / variable valve timed an lift electronic controll system /ecm computer......... do i need to say anymore
    also the next mk (as you put it) model you mean? is a lot faster than the old 88-92 model(not 91 honda bring out a new body shape every 4 yrs) ,what do you think honda invest all this money in research and development to make slower cars (get real).


    hi teen
    As for your problem check rotor arm/check for freeplay in distributer bearings/cracks in distributer cap/
    change your fuel filter if it has'nt been changed/also change oil reguler if v-tec system slugges up v-tec can stick also if tappets are to tight that can cause mis-fire effect.
    also honda had a big problem with ( oki ) igniters (oki writen on side of igniter unit) if this is the type you have got you may have to replace it soon with a (nec) version
    if your problem is still there i would advise you to take it to a dealer (specialist tools required to check other parts).
    p/s millga is right until the car is warm and the oil thins out v-tec wont work so just give ten minutes of normal driving before you do your michael schumacker impersonation.
    p/s v-tec systems use oil by vapourising it at high revs so always check your oil level.

    happy motoring

  4. djbuknard on 4th Mar 2004

    Hi Gunfreak

    Just to say that my car had dohc 16v stamped on the engine. I dont doubt that you are infinately more knowledgable than me about Honda's however you are wrong in this case. I also did not fully conclude the extent of the engine modding involved to create the figures I wrote about. I recently read a review in max power of a gentleman who had a renault 5 with a 1400cc engine to in excess of 385bhp which is insane but true. In all fairness, the fact that I got a civic of said "model" (in the UK we call this mark) to sub 7 seconds is perfectly plausable. The car had a lot of time and money spent on it.
    Anyway, I really did have the speedo bouncing of the top end and I really did have the fastest civic of that spec that I have seen. I can understand you being confused but prehaps now you can see that my review was a little simple and that the car was significantly altered. I was mainly trying to get across to anyone interested that the honda engines of that vintage are remarkably versitile and accomodating allowing huge increases in power with a bit of effort on both parts. I don't appreciate suggestions of dishonesty on my part, however looking at the review again in the pros section I said sub 6 seconds this I believe would be pushing it! and was a mistake. However I am willing to be proven wrong!

  5. djbuknard on 4th Mar 2004

    Gunfreak

    The models available in the UK that year included: 1500cc injection, 1300cc, single carb sohc 1400cc. I dont know much else about them however two colleagues of mine both own to different variants that you did not mention. Both are standard UK registered cars(1500cc and single carb sohc 1400cc 8v). If you are from UK I dont understand, however if you\'re elsewhere this may explain the difference in the models.

  6. new kid on 3rd Dec 2004

    Hi I have recentley bought a honda civic 1.4, 16v, sohc, twin carb. I was wondering what modifications I could do to the engine? Thanks a lot. Paul

  7. new kid on 6th Dec 2004

    Hi I recentley put in a question about my honda civic! I am desperatley in need of some upgrades for my 1.4, 16v, twin carb, sohc?! I have looked around for a while but cant find much! I have changed the air filter and uprated the suspention but need some extra grunt! Any ideas? Please help!! Thankyou

  8. jaylee2000 Rank: Corporal on 24th Feb 2005

    Hi new Kid

    If your having problems about modding a civic then you may not be looking hard enough. Apart from RS turbo’s and such like civics are one of the best cars to mod with a whole variety of solutions out there.

    But if you want more performance then you should think about a new engine. My bro got a EK4 with a D15B2 (96bhp) and even he modded it slightly its just not worth it. He ended up buying a D15Z6 (115bhp), ok power, great mph and cheap tax.

    Not to familiar with twin carbs, just injection, but heres some suggestions pulling more power our of the car

    Induction kit with cold air feed
    Widened Throttle body
    Polished and ported intake manifold
    Up rated sparks
    Performance header 4-2-1 (for mid range) 4-1 (top end power)
    De-cat
    Full straight thought exhaust system
    Lightened crank pulley
    Overdrive pulleys for alt and power steering
    Lightweight flywheel
    Uprated clutch
    Maybe some engine timing or re-profiling your cam
    Maybe try to lighten the car somehow

    Then NOS, turbo or new engine in you have the money

    Thanks about it

  9. SM1703 on 6th Oct 2005

    hi i have just purchased a honda civic 1.4 sport 2000 i would like to know how much to lower the car if have 17inch rims on it im thinking about 35 - 40 mil but not sure

  10. flames1212 on 23rd Aug 2006

    alrite mate i have a civic h reg 1.4 16valve dual carb and i need some help, please get back to me if you can regardz oliva.



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