Civic Type R (FN2) as a 16K pa daily. Am I mad?
Discussion
Good stuff, I like seeing a "What car?" thread that actually ends in a purchase. That interior, what a great place to sit, and it will sound ace with the HKS racing suction kit on it, putting a K&N Typhoon (pretty much the same deal as the HKS but perhaps even louder) on my EP3 was the best money I spent on that car.
Mr2Mike said:
Mine's on similar mileage now, and still going strong with minimal oil useage etc.
AMG01 said:
HorneyMX5 said:
PH smiley now residing on the boot in preparation for this weekends Sunday Service. 
I shall move this all to a readers ride thread over the next couple of days.
Look forward to reading it, I have a Milano FN2 with the rage alloys for 2 years now, love it. Enjoy sirI shall move this all to a readers ride thread over the next couple of days.
Edited by HorneyMX5 on Friday 8th November 19:52
Well here we are a year to the day and 22,000 miles later.
What can I say about it after all that time? Quite a lot. I'm a seriel car buyer and generally after 6 months I get bored and want something different. Not this time. While I've had the itch to change as usual it's because I want to try something new and not because I'm bored of the civic. The problem is there is nothing within budget that delivers the performance, handling and low running costs. It really is a winning combo. The wife even likes it (and drives it occasionally) which is uunusual as she's not a fan of more modern machinary.
As for costs I've had to replace all the tyres and I went for Goodyear Eagle F1s as recommended by the Civic Forums and they are night and day better than the Bridgestones it came with from new. Understeer is reduced (especially in the wet), the ride is slightly more complaint, turn in feels sharper and the whole car just feels more planted. It's had a major service with TGM sport racing including valve clearances that set me back £300 and I had to replace the rear pads. Oil usage despite spending a lot of it's time in Vtec has been virtually zero and over the 22,000 miles it's averaged 32mpg. I can get 40mpg on long run like a 400 mile round trip to Runcorn etc.
It really is quite the package. In fact I like it that much that long term I might buy another. I'm thinking that I should probaly pass it on at around 85,000 (54K currently) to avoid it plumeting in value as it nears the 100K marker that seems to frighten brits and replace it with a Championship White one with an LSD. But whatever I do next it'll be with me for at least another 12 months unless a change in circumstances forces my hand.
What can I say about it after all that time? Quite a lot. I'm a seriel car buyer and generally after 6 months I get bored and want something different. Not this time. While I've had the itch to change as usual it's because I want to try something new and not because I'm bored of the civic. The problem is there is nothing within budget that delivers the performance, handling and low running costs. It really is a winning combo. The wife even likes it (and drives it occasionally) which is uunusual as she's not a fan of more modern machinary.
As for costs I've had to replace all the tyres and I went for Goodyear Eagle F1s as recommended by the Civic Forums and they are night and day better than the Bridgestones it came with from new. Understeer is reduced (especially in the wet), the ride is slightly more complaint, turn in feels sharper and the whole car just feels more planted. It's had a major service with TGM sport racing including valve clearances that set me back £300 and I had to replace the rear pads. Oil usage despite spending a lot of it's time in Vtec has been virtually zero and over the 22,000 miles it's averaged 32mpg. I can get 40mpg on long run like a 400 mile round trip to Runcorn etc.
It really is quite the package. In fact I like it that much that long term I might buy another. I'm thinking that I should probaly pass it on at around 85,000 (54K currently) to avoid it plumeting in value as it nears the 100K marker that seems to frighten brits and replace it with a Championship White one with an LSD. But whatever I do next it'll be with me for at least another 12 months unless a change in circumstances forces my hand.
Good to hear. Miss mine (Championship white) like mad – really want that vtec yo! again 
Like others said the rear visibility and the ride quality were the only letdowns and as I was commuting daily across the M62 it became a bit unbearable in the end.
With hindsight I should have kept it for occasional use and upgraded the usual gubbins to improve performance etc.
Like others said the rear visibility and the ride quality were the only letdowns and as I was commuting daily across the M62 it became a bit unbearable in the end.
With hindsight I should have kept it for occasional use and upgraded the usual gubbins to improve performance etc.
I've had mine for just over two months now, and whilst I'm still enjoying the car overall, I do think it is flawed.
The ride in particular is just too hard - it's not so much it crashes into bumps, but it's far too jiggly. I'm also getting a bit cheesed off at having to crawl over speed bumps at 5mph (there's a lot of those where I work). As others have said, rear visibility is an annoyance as well.
I'm still enjoying the car, but I'm not sure it'll be a keeper. For me, the best car with the perfect ride/handling/fun combination was my old Clio 182. Nothing has beaten it yet!
The ride in particular is just too hard - it's not so much it crashes into bumps, but it's far too jiggly. I'm also getting a bit cheesed off at having to crawl over speed bumps at 5mph (there's a lot of those where I work). As others have said, rear visibility is an annoyance as well.
I'm still enjoying the car, but I'm not sure it'll be a keeper. For me, the best car with the perfect ride/handling/fun combination was my old Clio 182. Nothing has beaten it yet!
I can see why folks struggle with the ride. I'm used to crawling over speed humps as the MX5 runs pretty low and anything over a snails pace results in floor pan/speed hump interface. That hurts when your strapped into a bucket with harnesses.
I really like the way the civic bobbles about on a bumpy a road likes it's a race car but I will concede that bad pot holes and motorway/DC undulations at speed can be rather painful. My poor mrs is 4'11" and the back of head bangs on the plastic harness inserts in the seats. This causes her to swear quite a lot if I'm pressing on. ha ha.
I really like the way the civic bobbles about on a bumpy a road likes it's a race car but I will concede that bad pot holes and motorway/DC undulations at speed can be rather painful. My poor mrs is 4'11" and the back of head bangs on the plastic harness inserts in the seats. This causes her to swear quite a lot if I'm pressing on. ha ha.
Been reading the forums for a while now, more often than not entertaining so I thought I'd sign up and seems like this would be a good first thread to post in....
I've had a Milano FN2 for around 2 years now, love it to bits to be honest and in my view still looks very current due to the fact it was a bit like a spaceship when it first went on sale. The main criticism is that the ride is overly harsh, smooth roads no problem but bumpy roads definitely unsettle it a little. Other than this, it is a great car and it's a shame it was slagged off by Clarkson as it seems to have taken it's toll on the general opinion of the car, especially in comparison to the EP3, which in reality is not much different. The torsion beam on the rear isn't as bad as people make out and the shorter gearing makes up for the extra weight. The paint is definitely shoddy though.....
That said, it is a little down on power compared to the more current line of hatches on the market, which is why I took the plunge and bought a Rotrex supercharger a few months ago. Fitted it myself which was an experience, but after some cursing and graft it made a smidgeon under 300 BHP. Due to the way the boost on the Rotrex works, it drives like standard, no new clutch needed as the increase in torque is completely progressive, the rest of the car is completely stock. Really cant see myself getting bored of it as it is great fun and still perfect for the daily commute, with power on tap for whenever a spirited drive is needed
I've had a Milano FN2 for around 2 years now, love it to bits to be honest and in my view still looks very current due to the fact it was a bit like a spaceship when it first went on sale. The main criticism is that the ride is overly harsh, smooth roads no problem but bumpy roads definitely unsettle it a little. Other than this, it is a great car and it's a shame it was slagged off by Clarkson as it seems to have taken it's toll on the general opinion of the car, especially in comparison to the EP3, which in reality is not much different. The torsion beam on the rear isn't as bad as people make out and the shorter gearing makes up for the extra weight. The paint is definitely shoddy though.....
That said, it is a little down on power compared to the more current line of hatches on the market, which is why I took the plunge and bought a Rotrex supercharger a few months ago. Fitted it myself which was an experience, but after some cursing and graft it made a smidgeon under 300 BHP. Due to the way the boost on the Rotrex works, it drives like standard, no new clutch needed as the increase in torque is completely progressive, the rest of the car is completely stock. Really cant see myself getting bored of it as it is great fun and still perfect for the daily commute, with power on tap for whenever a spirited drive is needed
My wife's got a lovely jet black '07 FN2 CTR GT as her daily driver. I'm not sure of her annual mileage, but it's certainly been up to and over 16k pa in the past. She loves it, although personally I'd find the noise and ride a bit much on the daily grind. She thinks 99% of cars handle like boats and has no issue with the ride, plus she loves the noise, so it's clearly a matter of personal preference.
The only criticism of the car is that we both find all the controls over sensitive in their initial movement. The throttle for instance: the first 2cm seem to give you the same response as the remaining 10cm. The steering's the same, as are the brakes. This makes it a very hard car to relax and drive smoothly and fast, as you would in an Elise, Caterham, NSX, Exige or any other purpose built sports car (or analogue hot hatch - 205 GTi, 106 GTi etc). For example, I find I'll brake for a corner, finding it hard to do that smoothly, and then when I change from brake to throttle at turn-in, often I make the nose rise up with too much throttle, and equally too much steering that then needs backing off. All subtle of course, we're not kangarooing around, but it annoys both of us. These are issues I've never had in ten years of driving racing cars on track and 20 years of driving sports cars and hot hatches on the road, but lots of modern cars are doing this now so they superficially feel sporty to everyday punters (Alfa and Vauxhall have done it with their steering for years, and the FN2's standard throttle map is what the sport button does in many cars, like my old Z4 for example or any current Porsche).
Look out for that jumpiness on the test drive to see how you get on with it, but to be honest everything else is just great: it has really good handling, an amazing engine (one of the last great n/a screamers), one of the best gearchanges you'll find, very supportive seats, excellent stereo, good ergonomics, very practical, super reliable. The jumpiness is genuinely our only criticism.
One final thing - buy carefully. We looked at so many under serviced ragged examples until we found this one. We drove from Hampshire to Wales and back to collect it, but the previous owner was fastidious with servicing, took great care of it and it was definitely worth the trip.
The only criticism of the car is that we both find all the controls over sensitive in their initial movement. The throttle for instance: the first 2cm seem to give you the same response as the remaining 10cm. The steering's the same, as are the brakes. This makes it a very hard car to relax and drive smoothly and fast, as you would in an Elise, Caterham, NSX, Exige or any other purpose built sports car (or analogue hot hatch - 205 GTi, 106 GTi etc). For example, I find I'll brake for a corner, finding it hard to do that smoothly, and then when I change from brake to throttle at turn-in, often I make the nose rise up with too much throttle, and equally too much steering that then needs backing off. All subtle of course, we're not kangarooing around, but it annoys both of us. These are issues I've never had in ten years of driving racing cars on track and 20 years of driving sports cars and hot hatches on the road, but lots of modern cars are doing this now so they superficially feel sporty to everyday punters (Alfa and Vauxhall have done it with their steering for years, and the FN2's standard throttle map is what the sport button does in many cars, like my old Z4 for example or any current Porsche).
Look out for that jumpiness on the test drive to see how you get on with it, but to be honest everything else is just great: it has really good handling, an amazing engine (one of the last great n/a screamers), one of the best gearchanges you'll find, very supportive seats, excellent stereo, good ergonomics, very practical, super reliable. The jumpiness is genuinely our only criticism.
One final thing - buy carefully. We looked at so many under serviced ragged examples until we found this one. We drove from Hampshire to Wales and back to collect it, but the previous owner was fastidious with servicing, took great care of it and it was definitely worth the trip.
RobM77 said:
One final thing - buy carefully. We looked at so many under serviced ragged examples until we found this one. We drove from Hampshire to Wales and back to collect it, but the previous owner was fastidious with servicing, took great care of it and it was definitely worth the trip.
I've had it year, I was just updating an old thread incase people were interested. 
Mine also came from wales as it was the best maintained one I could find and I also live in Hampshire!
HorneyMX5 said:
RobM77 said:
One final thing - buy carefully. We looked at so many under serviced ragged examples until we found this one. We drove from Hampshire to Wales and back to collect it, but the previous owner was fastidious with servicing, took great care of it and it was definitely worth the trip.
I've had it year, I was just updating an old thread incase people were interested. Mine also came from wales as it was the best maintained one I could find and I also live in Hampshire!
Spooky!!
HorneyMX5 said:
Ace!
I love superchargers, I have an Eaton 45 on my MX5 which took it from 115bhp to 221bhp. Makes me giggle and occasionally soil myself.
If you don't mind me asking what were the costs of fitting the Rotrex to the Civ and how do you now find the fuel consumption?
They are great fun I love superchargers, I have an Eaton 45 on my MX5 which took it from 115bhp to 221bhp. Makes me giggle and occasionally soil myself.
If you don't mind me asking what were the costs of fitting the Rotrex to the Civ and how do you now find the fuel consumption?
K20's love superchargers and the brilliant thing is it doesn't change the dynamics at all, it's still revvy and builds power up top, so you still have to drive it properly to get anything out of it. As it runs perfectly on a stock motor it turns it into somewhat of a sleeper, not that they are slow to begin with but there is a common view that they are down on power. Peak torque is up about 50% to 210 lb-ft which is still pretty low compared to turbo motors, but people forget they rev to nearly 9k and the torque doesn't drop off it just builds! It just makes an already decent car even more fun...I picked up the kit from TTS for around 2,500 when it was on offer, already had a flashpro which costs about 600 and the mapping set me back 300 via Romain Levesque (awesome dude). I saved a big chunk on fitting by doing it myself, TTS quote around 5 hours labour, it took me a weekend which isn't bad considering the only work I have ever done previously was change brake discs and pads and the usual service bits and bobs. Fuel economy isn't massively different, if you rag it everywhere it will drink fuel but a mix of commuting with a bit of fun thrown in I'd say it gets about 25, which is only a few less than standard
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