[octane1002]

Friends,

To cut a long story short, I have been planning to buy a used mid-sizer for use by my folks back home.We currently have a Zen which has done duty for the last 12 years nonetheless without any complaints.Our usage is very low at around 2.5-3k annually.

I am now looking at something that would be more comfy than the Zen, which is terribly cramped.Reliability/Good A.S.S is something that the Maruti brand personifies and I dont want to make any compromises on those fronts either.But my biggest critereon is the fun to drive factor as I myself would also be driving my eventual choice here(I visit my folks every alternate week).

After a lot of deliberations, I have zeroed in on the OHC Vtec.Finding one in good condition is very difficult nowadays, but I've done harder things before..like finding a clean pre-worshipped vRS, so I know what i'm talking about.

Now before any of you guys say it, I'l admit, this isn't an upgrade that purely driven by need/circumstances.Its one of those upgrades where in order to justify your's heart's craving you tend to conveninently justify on grounds like..in this case..something more comfortable/bigger/safer for the family..blah blah blah.We all know what the OHC Vtec stood for in Indian Automotive history:PERFORMANCE.

My question is:
1.Does it still stand as exceptional a piece of machinery for today's enthusiast??As in, given the regular 1.5/1.6l options available in the market like say the 101 bhp fiesta 1.6, the 106 bhp VTEC does'nt really stand out.Agreed the OHC Vtec was deservedly worshipped by enthusiast's all over, in a generation where we were starved of any midsizer having even a 100 horses underneath, but that scenario has changed now.The current gen City with 118 bhp surely must be faster than the OHC Vtec but its not even mentioned in the same line as its predecessor.Why is it so?

Now, Il be frank here, although I've more or less decided in my heart that its the OHC Vtec I want, apart from sheer mod-potential, I feel its a lil over-rated in today's day and age given the lack of features.My usage would never entail any mods to the stock car.So does that mean that getting an OHC Vtec is not really justified in my case??

2.What would be a good price for a 50k done clean OHC Vtec given the currrent scenario?

I'd be glad if I could get a few pointers on the queries I've made here.I am keen to get an OHC Vtec, provided it still is every bit as exceptional as it was back in its heydays.The sheer adulation for this peice of machinery pulls me towards it, much in the same way as the RS has been worshipped for its testosterone charged performance.(And I must say in the case of the RS, after I managed to find one after a long wait, I discovered that all the praises have been justified.Every single drive.)

Guys, your views please.

[ssjr0498]

Hey!

to cut it even shorter, here are your answers!

1. Since you are in cal, there is no resale value for anything other than a maruti. So you should be able to source a vtec for arnd 2.5-3l max.

2. Agreed, that the new Honda city vtec is 118ps but the OHC Vtec will go in circles around the ANHC, as a matter of fact in terms of sheer performance there is no car in the 1.6Ltr NA class that can come close to the OHC Vtec.

Hope this reassures your belief in buying a OHC Vtec!!

Cheers
Shrey

Originally Posted by octane1002

Friends,

To cut a long story short, I have been planning to buy a used mid-sizer for use by my folks back home.We currently have a Zen which has done duty for the last 12 years nonetheless without any complaints.Our usage is very low at around 2.5-3k annually.

I am now looking at something that would be more comfy than the Zen, which is terribly cramped.Reliability/Good A.S.S is something that the Maruti brand personifies and I dont want to make any compromises on those fronts either.But my biggest critereon is the fun to drive factor as I myself would also be driving my eventual choice here(I visit my folks every alternate week).

After a lot of deliberations, I have zeroed in on the OHC Vtec.Finding one in good condition is very difficult nowadays, but I've done harder things before..like finding a clean pre-worshipped vRS, so I know what i'm talking about.

Now before any of you guys say it, I'l admit, this isn't an upgrade that purely driven by need/circumstances.Its one of those upgrades where in order to justify your's heart's craving you tend to conveninently justify on grounds like..in this case..something more comfortable/bigger/safer for the family..blah blah blah.We all know what the OHC Vtec stood for in Indian Automotive history:PERFORMANCE.

My question is:
1.Does it still stand as exceptional a piece of machinery for today's enthusiast??As in, given the regular 1.5/1.6l options available in the market like say the 101 bhp fiesta 1.6, the 106 bhp VTEC does'nt really stand out.Agreed the OHC Vtec was deservedly worshipped by enthusiast's all over, in a generation where we were starved of any midsizer having even a 100 horses underneath, but that scenario has changed now.The current gen City with 118 bhp surely must be faster than the OHC Vtec but its not even mentioned in the same line as its predecessor.Why is it so?

Now, Il be frank here, although I've more or less decided in my heart that its the OHC Vtec I want, apart from sheer mod-potential, I feel its a lil over-rated in today's day and age given the lack of features.My usage would never entail any mods to the stock car.So does that mean that getting an OHC Vtec is not really justified in my case??

2.What would be a good price for a 50k done clean OHC Vtec given the currrent scenario?

I'd be glad if I could get a few pointers on the queries I've made here.I am keen to get an OHC Vtec, provided it still is every bit as exceptional as it was back in its heydays.The sheer adulation for this peice of machinery pulls me towards it, much in the same way as the RS has been worshipped for its testosterone charged performance.(And I must say in the case of the RS, after I managed to find one after a long wait, I discovered that all the praises have been justified.Every single drive.)

Guys, your views please.

[octane1002]

@shrey:You're one of the authorities on the forum when it comes to OHC VTECs.Thanx for the prompt reply mate.I might jus be tempted to mildly mod the Vtec if I manage to get 1.But thats for later.

For now, just one thing comes to mind.Why should the 106bhp engine outaccelerate the 118bhp one??I mean is there such a great difference in body mass of the two cars?Also, I remeber reading the Autocar test for the OHC Vtec which put the 0-100 timing for it at around 9.86 sec. figure.But then the ANHC with 118 bhp manages only 10.28 secs.So what's the catch here??

[ssjr0498]

Nice question there!!

The answer to this might be controversial, however, let me try my best to answer this. This is my prespective:

If I am not mistaken the ANHC is app 118PS (116bhp app), this according to me is the power at the crank and not at the wheels, whereas, the OHC Vtec is 106bhp at the wheels!!! So if you consider a 15% loss of power due to the transmission and calculate,that will bring the OHC Vtec to around 122bhp! At the crank!

Secondly, I think the other reason, although it is minimalistic, is the weight. The OHC Vtec is app 985kg whereas the ANHC is about 1100kg. So the OHC has a slightly better PTWR.

Apart from these factors I dont see anyother reason causing such a huge difference in performance cuz the gearing on the ANHC is much shorter than the OHC Vtec.

In the end, Im nowhere close to being any authority on this! Im just a novice! I would request the techies like Shantanu, doomsday, The Wolf and other guys to shed some more light on this!

Cheers
Shrey

PS: Just fyi. The ANHC does a 0-100 in about 11.8 secs and not 10.28. Whereas the OHC Vtec (stock) will hit the ton in just 9.9sec.

Originally Posted by octane1002

@shrey:You're one of the authorities on the forum when it comes to OHC VTECs.Thanx for the prompt reply mate.I might jus be tempted to mildly mod the Vtec if I manage to get 1.But thats for later.

For now, just one thing comes to mind.Why should the 106bhp engine outaccelerate the 118bhp one??I mean is there such a great difference in body mass of the two cars?Also, I remeber reading the Autocar test for the OHC Vtec which put the 0-100 timing for it at around 9.6 sec. figure.But then the ANHC with 118 bhp manages only 10.28 secs.So what's the catch here??

[rosh_aveo1.4]

First of all, amazing write up. Made me feel like buying the OHC VTEC even though it's around 8 or 9 years old and God, what a classic!!

My neighbor has one, all stock, in white (which he polishes regularly), it looks simply simply immaculate..an opinion my wife and family members don't agree and their exact words when I considered buying one is "it's so old, go for a new gen car like the Aveo!!" Which I did finally

But if I ever had a chance, I would buy one without a shadow of a doubt. I am no expert on the VTEC, but being a Honda, I am sure the engine would be in great shape; just check other things like suspension, body damages and such before buying one.

The RS would be even more wild but considering it's monstrous maintenance cost, the VTEC just makes plain common sense any day.

[toiingg]

octane: i have a friend who is also in the lookout for a vtec. Let me know what prices you come across in Calcutta.

[sanagg1]

Originally Posted by ssjr0498

Nice question there!!

If I am not mistaken the ANHC is app 118PS (116bhp app), this according to me is the power at the crank and not at the wheels, whereas, the OHC Vtec is 106bhp at the wheels!!! So if you consider a 15% loss of power due to the transmission and calculate,that will bring the OHC Vtec to around 122bhp! At the crank!

Not entirely true the underline text.

BHP to PICKUP (what comes in between)

1. weight
2. Drag
3. Torque
4. Gear ratio
5. Efficiency
etc. etc.

and all these factors are not fully independent they are correlated

So ! Let us enjoy cars or do a major in auto mobiles

cheers

[octane1002]

@ team-bhpians: whats happening guys??Can you all be a lil more generous with your advice

@Shrey:You sure the 106 bhp is at the wheels??If that's so then the OHC Vtec's performance creaming the ANHC is a no-brainer really.Also I got the ANHC 0-100 figures from the Autocar's New Cars section and if I remember correctly it was 10.28, although I always had my doubts.And can you be a lil less modest dude bou your knowledge of Vtecs

@rosh aveo1.4: Im one of the few lucky ones here to own the RS..had to wait for a year to get my hands on a totally pristine one though.Read my initial ownership n you'll know how hard that one year was.OHC VTEC would be the perfect partner to the hooligan.

[Shan2nu]

There's no point trying to figure out why a certain car is slower than the other. Far too many factors to be considered.

Even when Gaurav Gill test drove the ANHC on track, he seemed surprised to hear about the bhp output of the car, considering it's sluggish performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsYvd6G7dFw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHbQg...eature=related

So, just look at what a car offers and choose the one that suits your requirements.

At least from my personal experience, im pretty satisfied with the way the OHC VTEC performs on the road, as well as the race track. Blistering acceleration coupled with awesome fuel economy, makes it an overall performer.

And as you've mentioned, the OHC VTEC is known for its performance.

If you want a sedate car which is comfortable, spacious and loaded with gizmos, the OHC VTEC is the last car you should be looking at.

Shan2nu

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Totally agree with Shan2nu. It's simply a pure performance car (after the crazy RS ofcourse) which is only meant for the boy racer in you (again, after the RS).
Ofocourse, it can be used to take your parents around in reasonable comfort as well.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Totally agree with Shan2nu. It's simply a pure performance car (after the crazy RS ofcourse) which is only meant for the boy racer in you (again, after the RS).

Ofcourse, it can be used to take your parents around in reasonable comfort as well.

[octane1002]

@shan2nu:Finally some inputs from the OHC Vtec club..


When I'm talking about comfort, its only a relative term and I'm in no way equating it with the benchmark there.It surely can't be drastically worse than say an Esteem/Ikon/Baleno.Comparing with these as they were somewhat the only performance oriented cars of that era.All I'm talking about is reasonable space and comfort, since the car's gona be used sparingly anyways.

Also as Shrey pointed out earlier, does the OHC VTEC put out 106 bhp at its wheels?

Some additional inputs here:Im getting a 2003 Vtec for 2.5 final price.64k genuine service recorded mileage.At the same time there is a 73k '03 corolla H2 for 40k more.The thing that just about swings it in favour of the VTEC is the fact that the corolla would definitely require more maintenance and incur higher costs as well considering its a whole segment higher than the Honda.Also, I can't even dream of ripping the corolla in the same way I'd rip the Vtec on city streets on those late nights.The OHC VTEC is just right when you view it as a total performance package.Am I right in my justifications?

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by octane1002

@shan2nu:Finally some inputs from the OHC Vtec club..


When I'm talking about comfort, its only a relative term and I'm in no way equating it with the benchmark there.It surely can't be drastically worse than say an Esteem/Ikon/Baleno.Comparing with these as they were somewhat the only performance oriented cars of that era.All I'm talking about is reasonable space and comfort, since the car's gona be used sparingly anyways.

Also as Shrey pointed out earlier, does the OHC VTEC put out 106 bhp at its wheels?

Some additional inputs here:Im getting a 2003 Vtec for 2.5 final price.64k genuine service recorded mileage.At the same time there is a 73k '03 corolla H2 for 40k more.The thing that just about swings it in favour of the VTEC is the fact that the corolla would definitely require more maintenance and incur higher costs as well considering its a whole segment higher than the Honda.Also, I can't even dream of ripping the corolla in the same way I'd rip the Vtec on city streets on those late nights.The OHC VTEC is just right when you view it as a total performance package.Am I right in my justifications?

@Octane: Having had a chance to own this awesome piece of automobile, I'd just say, you are dead right in your justifications!!

Here's a link of my Vtec's dyno test (if you might not have seen already):

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...gtos-vtec.html

We also got 106bhp@wheels but I might add that my car had an FFE(greddy headers,4X2X1), CAI and was running on Mobil1.

All the best!! Just take good care of her and she'll 'reciprocate' in the best way possible

[octane1002]

@avinash m: You got yourself one of the nicest VTECs out there bro.Sad to hear bou what happened.

Also, does the OHC VTEC need any special maintenance apart from the routine services?

[avinash_m]

Originally Posted by octane1002

@avinash m: You got yourself one of the nicest VTECs out there bro.Sad to hear bou what happened.

Also, does the OHC VTEC need any special maintenance apart from the routine services?

Don't think you'd need to do anything more besides regular maintainance. I had it for 6 months only so couldn't learn her the way I wanted to. Experts can comment!
In my case the car was already well kept, thanks to GTO! But since I got it as my first, I ensured it was in the best health mechanically! Got the regular service done at Honda A.S.S and replaced the clutch (was running the original at more than 73K and still had life in it).

Cheers!