If you want to enjoy your project get an easy car
Learning about cars is one of the most fun, but also a scary part, of getting into the car hobby. For years the first-series NA MX-5 were considered the perfect entry point to learning rear-drive (RWD) handling dynamics, while Honda Civics are still one of the best front-drive (FWD) platforms you can get hold of (not like that, MOOG).
As the boys point out in the latest video (check out the new episode HERE) the ease of working on 1990s Hondas is made so much better thanks to the excellent engineering base of the cars themselves (making them easy to work on), the huge support network of enthusiasts (who know all the hacks to make the cars better), and a gigantic aftermarket ready to help tune the car into whatever sort of maaad beast you want it to be.
Having adjustability in your suspension means you can learn how to tune it not just for different tracks, but also between road and race use. As you grow as a driver, building experience and learning how your car responds to different driving styles or techniques, you then learn how the car needs to be modified to better suit what you want it to do.
With high-quality aftermarket arms and bars available - like this Hardrace unit the lads installed - Civics can easily be built into predictable-handling, reliable machines. This helps drivers build confidence as the more predictable a car handles, the safer you feel when pushing at a track day.
Buying into a platform that has a variety of upgrades you can poach off newer, or up-spec, models is also a great way for novice modifiers to learn the technical aspects of how cars are put together. Marty and MOOG's EK Civic already had the right front hubs to use the big brakes (right) Honda fitted to their all-wheel-drive CRV soft-road SUV saving big biccies over buying an aftermarket caliper and disc set-up.
Having to service your rad ride is a part of car ownership many newbies forget about, but it is a great way to learn how these awesome machines are put together. Changing steering rack boots is a job everyone who owns a 1990s nugget will have to do at some point, and it isn't a fun one.
However, if you bought a very well-engineered car like an EK Civic you can shortcut a lot of the pain as the Honda boffins made their front-drive funbox a dream to work on.
While we all love to dream about owning a mega-power, mega-fast car at some point, sometimes it is actually far better to go backwards to progress forwards. As we get older and end up with families or jobs that chew into our spare time having a simple project that is still fast and rad to drive becomes harder and harder.
There's no shame in not tackling a quad-turbo Bugatti Veyron-swapped R34 GT-R convertible made out of tofu and carbon-fibre, as it may take you 40 years and millions of dollars to finish that. Why not spend your time enjoying a mad Honda instead?
