What is the difference between JDM and regular?

I am getting a 1986 Honda Civic the current owner claims is JDM. I know what it means but i was wondering what the difference for that specific car is. What makes it JDM? Better motor? Better suspension? It's really cheap and I'm not to concerned with performance just fuel economy. But I still want to know if I have any bragging rights. Maybe with JDM I can finally beat my buddies 5.0 ;)|||Yea. JDM is "Japanese Domestic Market" which means the car was manufactured, and or, sold in Japan. Theres not much difference between them...Even though JDM parts are the craze, and for Hondas, the engines are way nicer and has some cooler parts.





Also, JDM is right hand drive, while US is left.





For example, the USDM Integra (Acura) has the 4 bulb'd front. While as the Japanese counterpart has the "JDM FRONT"...which has headlighs kind of like the G2 teg, and looks way cleaner.





Well if the owner is sellin it to you, ask him what makes it JDM? DId he get it from Japan? etc etc.





For a JDM civic, again, the front is a little diffrent, a "JDM" motor etc.|||I don't think you know what it means. JDM means Japanese Dosmetically Manufactured. It just means that the parts (or perhaps the car itself) were made in Japan.





It doesn't necessarily have anything better than the USDM version, although some Japanese JDM models are different than their USDM counterparts.|||ask him what is jdm about it? if it was built in japan that does not make it jdm. jdm are cars/parts built to be sold in japan. by the way a stock 86 civic is not going to beat or even come close to anything with a 5.0 in it.|||JDM is the Japanese motor. Honda's, Mazda's and other Japanese cars have more power if they were made to sell in the Japanese market. The U.S. is strict with the power of engines and the fuel efficiency and how much smog they produce. The American versions of the Civic are weaker than the Japanese versions by an average of 20HP.


JDM engines are not new. they take used engines with anywhere from 10,000-60,000 miles on them from japan and bring them to America to get an engine transplant.