which do you prefer: fwd or rt4wd?

durfeecdurfeec Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
i wonder which you guys would prefer cause im looking to get a wagon soon.

i know you cant swap the rt4wd but you can turbo. and i know you cant get HUGE hp numbers on the rt4wd drivetrain but im only looking for a dd. i heard bout 200whp or so on the drivetrain is alright.

and on the fwd of course you can swap and it would be just like every other honda ever made.

im lookin for a dd summer and winter. im planning on building a motor for it reguardless whether turbo d or n/a b depending on what model i get.

so i jw (from guys that have owned both fwd and rt4wd or have experience with both) which one is better for dd.

thanks
cameron

Comments

  • evol911evol911 familEE
    I'm partial to rt4wd's so I would say go with one of those. Drivetrains handle fine if you don't beat on your cars. Plus RT4wd's hold value a little better because they are harder to find.
  • SlammedtallboySlammedtallboy Wagonist
    I am also partial to the RT's. Great for winter, and not bad for fuel efficiency either
  • stephenstephen Senior Wagonist
    i went fwd because i knew swaps would be easier and if i ever had drivetrain problems i knew i would have more options. while i would LOVE to have awd i wanted more options....
  • CharbCharb Administrator
    RT FTW!!

    Especially if you live somewhere with 4 seasons...
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    I will give up the ease of swaps for the rt4wd. Never ever has my wife's little wagon been stuck anywhere. Going up a hill with ice and snow all over it was a breeze. My fwd car was a disgrace on the same hill.
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    I've had a 91 FWD and an 89 RT4WD. I live in Maine, where winter lasts 6 months out of the year :lol: so I'll go RT4WD any day.

    That said, if you want a wagon you can tune up and get some big power out of, go FWD. It's a DX drivetrain, and you can swap things around just like with any other Civic. Not so much with RT4WD.
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Having had both, if i really had the choice i'd go FWD. One simple reason... swaps.
  • durfeecdurfeec Wagonist
    thanks guys for the replies.
    i would love to swap but at the same time i would love to get a rt and turbo it.
    and i live in MI so we get some snow. but my ej1 does fine in the snow with snow tires now so idk.

    any more ppl with both rt and fwd?
  • noahrexionnoahrexion Wagonist
    I've owned countless FWD Honda's, had swaps and all that stuff. This is my second RT4WD vehicle and I think it is about perfect for most all-weather conditions I would ever face. I have taken this wagon into 6-12" of snowy mountain roads (with proper tires) and just had a blast never having gotten stuck once. It doesn't matter what kind of 2wd vehicle you have, you just cannot do what a RT4WD can without it.

    Having said that I truly miss having 150+ N/A whp in my Honda's. I recall seeing a fella on here that had swapped over a CR-V drivetrain into his wagon so he could use a built B18C. For simplicity sake, thats a bit much for what I'd consider doing to my wagon. I've also had MANY turbo vehicles, including an EG hatch with a turbo D16Z6 and that was much fun too. Pay a visit to turboD16 and do some reading up there. Its a great community and the D16A6 is a particularly stout motor for 150-200whp applications which is all a wagon would need IMO. I have a feeling this is the route I will be going in the future as the versatility of the RT4WD is NEVER worth getting rid of; these cars just reach into a whole other element of capability when the RT4WD is retained and in good working order. 8)
  • jpciiijpciii familEE
    If you're shopping for a wagon in the upper midwest, you'll take what you can get. :P
  • noahrexionnoahrexion Wagonist
    You mean you'll take what hasn't had it's rear quarters rusted completely through. :shock:
  • durfeecdurfeec Wagonist
    jpciii wrote:
    If you're shopping for a wagon in the upper midwest, you'll take what you can get. :P

    no joke. its impossible to find parts even for my ej1 in MI. i would prolly go just bout anywhere to get a wagon though.
  • RevmaynardRevmaynard Council Member
    2wd. I hate trying to find wagon parts as it is. LOL Plus the swaps option.
  • Lost is BlackLost is Black Wagonist
    i have a rt4wd and i have not been able to enjoy it because i've had two bad trannies in a row...and in SoCal you can't get CRAP for a rt4wd...
  • evol911evol911 familEE
    Lost is Black wrote:
    i have a rt4wd and i have not been able to enjoy it because i've had two bad trannies in a row...and in SoCal you can't get CRAP for a rt4wd...
    Damn thats bad luck... whats the problems you been having with transmissions???
  • SlammedtallboySlammedtallboy Wagonist
    No trans problems for me, mine has 245k on it :D :D :D
  • durfeecdurfeec Wagonist
    i think i read once on here or somewhere the rt4wd trannys have weak syncros and they grind easy with "lower" miles on them.
    honestly i believe thats almost every honda cable trans though.

    and you said it was hard to find parts in SoCal???
    come live where i am. my town doesnt show up a MI map half the time.
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    No probs with my trans either and when I am not beating the piss out of it my wife sure is. It snowed here the other day and I had to go out and make sure that the 4wd system was still working :lol: :lol:
  • rallyrat427rallyrat427 Wagonist
    durfeec wrote:
    i think i read once on here or somewhere the rt4wd trannys have weak syncros and they grind easy with "lower" miles on them.
    honestly i believe thats almost every honda cable trans though.

    and you said it was hard to find parts in SoCal???
    come live where i am. my town doesnt show up a MI map half the time.


    i have 284,000 miles on my 4wd trans and it has no grinds and shifts like butter
  • progressprogress Wagonist
    I prefer my rt4wd even if I haven't driven it in 2+ months and it took my mechanic dozens of phone calls to finally locate a clutch cable .

    Driving last winter was great with it. Never got stuck anywhere and even used it to pull my dad's toyota corolla out of a snowbank.

    And no, I've never tried to initiate a drift around corners after a good amount of snow has fallen on the roads.
  • shenrieshenrie Council Member
    Ive had so many fwd Hondas over the years it was time for something different. The biggest draw to the wagons is the option of awd. Any honda can be swapped, and every swap had been done to death. The rt's are at least something different and they can get all the same swaps that the fwd cars can get, it just takes more dedication. Plus you can do flatspins.

    Like the others, neither of my wagons has ever been stuck anywhere, even when they should have been, lol. I beat the living shit out of both my wagons too. One jsut died with 310k on the odometer, and once I had it apart, it was very obvious that they were original miles. The last 10k being at my leadfoot. Numorous autox's and a few hillclimbs in that 10k before it spun #3 rod bearing.

    And what can I say about the awd b-series wagon, hands down the funnest car I have ever built. Not the fastest, doesnt handle the best, but theres something about a low budget project car that hangs with most of the high dollar cars at our autox events that puts a ear to ear on mah face. Ive found people really dont like getting beat by Hondas, let alone a wagon, it really seems to erk a lot of people...which makes me like it even more ;)
  • lalunettelalunette familEE
    White&Nerdy wrote:
    I live in Maine, where winter lasts 6 months out of the year.

    But not winter like we're getting in Fortress Canada right ???
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    Not at all! We're having a heat wave compared do you guys - it's actually up to 10F right now! :lol:
  • curtcurt Wagonist
    I love my rt4wd wagon. So much fun in the snow.
  • WagonWhirledWagonWhirled New Wagonist
    coming from the awd dsm world...awd drivetrains are great to have but for me they are just more maintenance that I would like to deal with in a DD when the car is old. these awd wagons are old..and if drivetrain parts are scarce now, just imagine how bad in 5-10 years if you plan on keeping it that long like me. just look at some of the horror stories on here with drivetrain problems, some guys end up disabling the awd altogether. if these wagons were recent from honda with parts galore for the next decade at least, then yes I would consider one too. and as far as snow goes...I have 100% snow tires up front during the winter season and can get through most of everything that comes my way with them but if there's ever way too much snow out there, I'll simply stay home like everyone else cause you shouldn't be out there anyway. how many times a year will you really need that awd to go through all the trouble of maintaining such an OLD system is what you need to ask yourself. if the answer is yes you need it then by all means get one but if you realistically don't need it, then to me it wouldn't be worth it. remember this isn't about how much money your willing to spend on it, it's about parts availability and how much downtime and work your gonna have. the extra mpg in fwd doesn't hurt either.

    good luck in whatever you decide
  • durfeecdurfeec Wagonist
    such a good thought^^^ wish you would have said that a week ago.

    i just got a rt4wd wagon...and guess what??? the propeller shaft u-joint is stuck and you have to get the whole shaft from the dealer and its like $280!!!

    this is after i just put $600 into it to get it driveable again.
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