are stock fd's more desirable now?

 

They've always been more desirable if modifying it is your goal. These cars are so easily modded, not everyone's does it right or the way YOU would want it. That's why it's always better to start with a unmolested car. In the end, your car is an expression of yourself.

 

would they be a descent daily in stock form? i have a fc that i beat on and i kinda want a fd to daily because they just look good. and what are they worth? i'm looking at a 93 touring with 50k og miles...they want "best offer"

 

^agreed. Having an unmolested foundation to start with is a lot easier to work with. You'll never fully know everything that has been modified on a car until you start tearing it apart. Then you'll ask yourself a dozen times, why would the previous owner do it this way?

 

Sure, many people on this forum DD their FDs. You just have to keep up on the maintenance like any other car. The price point for the car you're looking at should prolly go for around 11-15k depending on it's condition obviously.

 

i bought mine bone stock.... i love it i did do all the necessary mods but other than that its pretty much stock .

 

what mods? and cost? i'm trying to either get myself into or out of buying a fd haha.

 

Assuming it doesn't have low mileage here is what I recommend to daily.

New wiring harness, delete AST, 3" downpipe. Replace coolant lines and fuel lines. Perform vacuum hose job while replacing fuel lines and FPD, install aluminum radiator, install quality MBC in place if turbo control and pre-control solenoids. Then drive and enjoy. The engine and turbo control are really the only thing that separates the FD from any other car. They can be great DDs if you don't care about comfort or convenience.

 

Or really bad gas mileage
Or expensive replacement parts if you can find them
Or lack of competent mechanics
Or very high cost of frequent maintenance
Or expense of rebuilding engines more often than any other car on the road

An FD is a horrible choice for a daily driver. Get a Honda. Drive the FD for fun, not commuting.

 

downpipe, catback , ast, radiator and hoses, vac lines boost gauge, 20w 50 oil change, that pretty much it.. say it cost me about 600 dollars so far, maybe a little more

 

Right...I have the FD for fun and I have an 02 civic that gets 38mpg.

I bought mine from a one owner and in good shape. I just installed a Koyo rad, spark plugs, Viton check valves,boost gauge etc. with all receipts to keep car happy and tastefully for a possible later resell.

 

I disagree with the comments that a 3rd gen is a bad car for daily driving. The first two fd's I owned back in the late 90's were both daily drivers and they were just fine.


The misconception is that it's a good idea to modify a car you plan on driving all the time. It's not typically a good idea to start wrenching on a car you need on the road. If the car is mechanically sound there is no reason that it can't be your every day car.


If you want to start modifying the car beyond basic reliability mods like vacuum hose tie wrap, down pipe and maybe a cat back/ intake then your opening a can of worms.

Obviously 95% of the guys on here enjoying tinkering with this car, but that doesn't mean leaving one stock is a bad option. I enjoyed my daily driven 3rd gens probably more than my heavily modified single turbo one. Just saying.

 

I agree 100%. The fd's biggest problem is us messing with them. Mine, I only did downpipe, boost gauge and MBC. She went 108k before she blew from over boosting (and that was my fault cause I didn't re-adjust the MBC for cold weather with 87octane in the tank). I bought her with 60k on the clock and all that time, she was perfectly reliable and got 25mpg hwy while still having the stock radiator, wiring harness, AST, FPD, ect. Do preventive maintenance and cool the car down properly to avoid cooking the engine bay components and you will have a perfectly reliable stock fd.

 

Reliable and affordable are not the same thing. My car has been very reliable. Only left me stuck once, and it was my fault for not tightening a coolant hose.

If you dont have a bunch of extra money for maintenance, its not an affordable daily driver. Especially at 20 + years old. Those of us that daily drove their cars did it a long time ago.

 

I just dont see how people have so many issues with them. If the compression is good and you dont have any other electrical gremlins everything else in the engine bay is just like that of any other car.

What consistent expensive maintenance is required? Plugs once a year? Oil change every 2k miles?

What expensive replacement parts need replaced often?

Ill give you it isnt the best on fuel economy but it does better than my 4 door sedan on MPG around town.

Rebuilding engines is due to incompetence and every once in a while bad luck.

The car is not a horror story to drive daily. The comfort and impracticality is my biggest issue with them as a daily. But I'm old with kids. I used to daily them all the time a decade a go.

 

Depends who is doing the desiring

I've always maintained that the car needs very little so my mods have been minimal. The less time and money I spend 'modding', the more I enjoy the car.

If I were to buy another, it would be stock or close to stock with minor mods - and absolutely no body mods.

 

Your right about that. Geez time is flying!

 

I don't see either. See that's the thing, maintenance wasn't ever expensive. Personally I did 3k oil changes and changed plugs and fuel filter every 12k. I flushed the coolant every 2 years. I also did the water steam clean 2 twice a year to keep carbon build in check. My fd rewarded me by never flooding or leaving me stranded. I didn't even premix and my fd was far less problematic than my 2000 M5. That damn thing!!!!Every time I fix something, something else goes wrong.

 

I am restoring to stock at the moment with the reliable mods. I wish to DD it but we only get good sunny weather 3-4 months of the year. Gas mileage gets worst with the wet weather. Plus its too pretty =)

 

i bought my fd stock and im glad i found a stock one, you dont have to deal with cheap mods done to it and unknown mods done as well

 

As others have said stock FD's are rather reliable for DD. They start up every time, no worries about the car leaving you stranded as long as you maintain it correctly. But that still doesn't mean issue free. IIRC it had a plethora of little issues due to DD. But you fix em and go on.


But honestly its not the best choice to DD. Take it from someone that pretty much used his FD as a DD. The car takes a beating... and we all know these cars aren't cheap to repair either. The worst part about my car is that I had 2 other cars to choose from . But every morning as I'd head out the door I would look at my three key chains and 99% of the time I would reach for the 7. Finally after a few years I got wise and realized that it just wasn't worth it. My car was ******* beat... In the time that I DD' my car had been hit 3 times while parked, countless door dings, suspension was sloppy, transmission needed to be rebuilt, turbos needed to be replaced (not rebuilt but replaced), engine rebuild as well. That's a lot of $$ if you think about it. So I dumped a bunch of money and I no longer DD... I guess I finally learned through pain.

 

^ Well put Montego.

 

you're talking about 15+ years ago.
you think the ones you drove a few years after release can be compared in reliability with those that have been driven for 15+ years?

 

I think he was talking about reliability in general for a used car. Yea there is a big difference with DD a car 10yrs old vs 15 or 20. Mine was only 10yrs old when I DD mine and it was fine. Sure we're 20yrs later now but not too many vehicles built in the early 90's are gonna be reliable today regardless of manufacturer. The reliability of most vehicles is judged over a 4-5 year period (not 10,15, and 20).