Right, here we go again.
Brought the Civic Type R which will be a replacement for my VW Sharon which is kind of a daily but it will keep the miles off the M3 when I do boring driving, going shopping, taking the dog out etc. I was looking at the FN2s but they were a bit more than I wanted to pay so was looking at the EP3's, considered a Clio but they were a but small with my silly long legs. This one popped up, was pretty local and had a build thread on one of the Type R forms.
The car was full Honda SH and sold through Honda network up until 2015. Then a Honda enthusiast got hold of it with about 60k on the clock and made the below mods. He was a bit of a purist and not a track guy, fast road set-up was his target. It was then owned by a Toyota dude (hence plate Toyota Racing Development - TRD) who didn't really use it. So in the last 2 years it's only done a couple of K.
Spec as purchased:
-Tegiwa cat back exhaust
-Tegiwa intake
-Solid Fabrications exhaust manifold
-K100 ECU Romain Levesque at AMD -239 bhp and 175 lb/ft at the AMD
-Eibach Prokit Springs
-JDM rear anti roll bar
239 BHPs which is about 40 BHPs more than stock is good going for a NA car.
What's it like - I didn't really push it on the test drive, I gave it one pull just to see it was all ok. You notice the absence of torque from a turbo or 3.2 of the M3 - even the Sharon has a 2.8 VR6 engine in it and more torque, so its just like driving a normal civic if you are pottering about. Not that loud, but stiffer due the the Eibach springs. The driving position is great, nice little wheel which feels sporty. The interior is really basic and functional. There's no DSC settings, nothing to really adjust just you the wheel, neat little stick which comes out the dash and the pedals. It's a simple driving experience. However, when you get to a stretch of open road, and you can drop it a cog, and hold it in gear when the vtec kicks in at about 5/6k all hell breaks loose. It sounds like an old skook BTCC super tourer with the carbon intake and the exhaust system really howls until it smacks into the round to red-line. Gearing in the lower gears will keep it fizzing on vtec but you really have to work it to get that sweet spot of power. Handling is really good, feels like an well sorted hot hatch. Its only running stock 205 profile tyres at the mo.
I think I'm going to take to to Brands next week, mate has a S2000 which should be pretty even on pace.
Just won some 888's on ebay so if I can get them on for next week that should work pretty well.
As an all rounder it's a great option. The M3 is better in most areas as is the WR1 but as a simple driving experience per £ you'd find it hard to beat, maybe a Clio. Wonder what the new FK2s are like with the turbo - found myself looking at them now (stop it).
Couple of photos.
