RE: Honda Civic Type R (EP3): PH Buying Guide

[macky17]

Great little cars. More torque below Vtec than haters would have you believe and flies once above 6k rpm (and I'm not easily impressed - look at my garage). Steering could be better but otherwise it's a tremendous little thing. I'm even tempted to ditch my Mk5 GTi in favour of a super low mileage final edition just down the road...

[britsportscars]

Great cars. The only mod I did was get the "fast road spec" thing sorted at ABP Motorsports. Made the backend more positive and work harder during sharper turns.

Nothing ever went wrong on it in the 40,000 miles I had it. It used a bit of oil (far more than my S2000) and got through the usual consumables. Great engine/gearbox combination, keeping the engine on the boil is awesome! Far more fun IMO than riding on a wave of turbo torque!

Probably quicker point to point than my S2000 which can be a bit hairy.

[MPoxon]

britsportscars said:

Probably quicker point to point than my S2000 which can be a bit hairy.

I replaced my EP3 CTR with an S2000 and in my case the EP3 was much faster point to point as you can happily explore the performance envelope on road in the CTR. I never felt comfortable pressing on in the S2000 as it was too hairy near the limit, fine for track but a bit too risky on the road IMO. The S2000 was good for a bit of low speed slidy action around roundabouts in the rain however

Great article PH I really miss my EP3.

[driftingphil]

Great cars, quite reliable, brilliant engine.

Few issues I have experienced:-

Clutch pressure plate fingers goes soft making it difficult to change gear, clutch pedal needs to be pressed to the floor usually 60 - 70k ( the clutch plate on mine was perfectly fine just the pressure plate) genuine oem clutch £180

Some say the drink oil, I've only ever found this if filled to the top marker, mine will drop quickly to half way and stay there, this is due to breathers taking in more oil when near full.

My driver window regulator broke (cable snapped)
Annoying rattle noise, comes from drive shaft heat shield (most people just take them off)

Early facelifts had a few extra issues:-

Different length top camber arms on the rear ment camber was out (easy to fix with eibach adjustable one)
Second gear synchro issue made changing gear when cold an issue. (I replaced gearbox with a later model)
Some very early facelifts had pre facelift flywheels fitted from factory (apparently, mine is an early cosmic but had the correct flywheel)

allergictocheese said:

At high miles the throttle bodies can block and as the butterfly runs out of adjustment the car can stall at the approach to junctions etc. when warm. Not a major thing and just requires a good cleanout

This is the idle air control valve which is mounted on the underside of the throttle body easy is to remove and clean. This is not connected to The main throttle butterfly!

I would also stick with the standard Bridgestone pontenza re040 if on standard suspension the hard side wall really suited the car, although they are very poor (scary) in the wet, they make up for being brilliant in the dry.

I've modified mine quite heavily but if I was to do only "two mods" it would be:-
Jackson racing supercharger kit incinding kpro ecu mod (would source an Acura Rsx one not the standard civic si kit)
LSD

[Limpet]

driftingphil said:

This is the idle air control valve which is mounted on the underside of the throttle body easy is to remove and clean.

This affects pretty much every car on the planet fitted with one too. I had endless grief with a Pug 306 which was eventually traced to this little beauty.

[kayzee]

Well we got through the first page without mentioning the Clio 182 which is what I have atm actually... thinking of one of these, or a Fiesta ST next, kind of a side step but have had Clio's for 4 years now!

[V8 TEJ]

These are quick cars. My BIL had one which had a lot of money thrown at the engine to make it more powerful. IIRC it was rolling road tested at 220 bhp as he had a printout to prove. This is the only Type R I have had experience of, but whether or not it did produce the 220 bhp or not it was a fast car. The chassis is also very good and remains poised even over uneven twisty roads at high speed. I remember the crankshaft needed replacing at some stage and HOnda said at the time it was a common issue and they had them on backorder!! Not heard this story from anyone else so a bit strange.

[TimS2000]

For me this car suffers greatly from being the successor to the integra in the uk. While I lusted after the latter with its "just driven off the racetrack" style and concept, when the civic arrived with its one box looks and the asthetically odd dashboard with the van style gearstick (I'm aware of the supposed benefits and have driven one several times) - I just never had any desire to own one.
Bit of a performance bargain now mind you.

[sharpshooter]

One of the best cars I've ever owned, ran a nighthawk black one for the best part of 2 years, only sold it this time last year & I still miss it, mine had a gruppe m induction kit and was lowered by the pervious owner, in all the time I had it I only ever replace tyres, battery & brake pads. The cars truly are bullet proof & seriously quick when your in the mood, I still remember shocking a mazda 3 mps driver & he was shocked.

[Chicane-UK]

sharpshooter said:

One of the best cars I've ever owned, ran a nighthawk black one for the best part of 2 years, only sold it this time last year & I still miss it, mine had a gruppe m induction kit and was lowered by the pervious owner, in all the time I had it I only ever replace tyres, battery & brake pads. The cars truly are bullet proof & seriously quick when your in the mood, I still remember shocking a mazda 3 mps driver & he was shocked.

A Mazda 3 MPS has more BHP and a gob load more torque.. so either the conditions were terrible (as I'm sure they're a bit lively) or he wasn't really trying as I don't see any situation where a Type R would give a Mazda 3 MPS a hard time!

[RobertDawson]

PistonBroker said:

SWMBO

This isn't cute, it's embarrassing. Women want a man to be a man, they don't want a man to "obey" them.

[sharpshooter]

Chicane-UK said:

A Mazda 3 MPS has more BHP and a gob load more torque.. so either the conditions were terrible (as I'm sure they're a bit lively) or he wasn't really trying as I don't see any situation where a Type R would give a Mazda 3 MPS a hard time!

Believe me he was trying, on 2nd gear rolling start he definitely had the advantage & got ahead but the difference wasn't huge, on a standing start the civic was definitely quicker, maybe it's to do with the extra weight the mps has to carry. Anyone can blindly quote BHP figures but in the real world it's not quite like that.

[anonymous-user]

RobertDawson said:

PistonBroker said:

SWMBO

This isn't cute, it's embarrassing. Women want a man to be a man, they don't want a man to "obey" them.

I often think this when I see that cringey term. I do know women like that, they seem to think they want to crush all independent thought out of a man and then they are dissatisfied with the results.

[SaqibCTR]

I thought about the higher specced Jap market EP3 last year. Opted for the EK9 instead given it was a weekend car.

The EP3 is a well supported car in terms of parts, whether it's OEM or aftermarket. And you'll have a few options with the K20 unit should you want more power.

[TameRacingDriver]

I've had a DC2 and currently in an FN2, I did drive an EP3 a few years back when I had a Clio. Nice enough car but st steering and the engine didn't sound as good as the DC2 I had. Bargainous now though, I'd seriously consider one for under £3k, but it'd have to be standard(ish). I'm not keen on super loud exhausts on these, I'm more into the induction noise.

[pigeonskirt]

No mention of the anniversary or premier edition in the buyers guide? They'd be my choice if buying another.

[Axionknight]

MPoxon said:

I replaced my EP3 CTR with an S2000 and in my case the EP3 was much faster point to point as you can happily explore the performance envelope on road in the CTR. I never felt comfortable pressing on in the S2000 as it was too hairy near the limit, fine for track but a bit too risky on the road IMO. The S2000 was good for a bit of low speed slidy action around roundabouts in the rain however

Great article PH I really miss my EP3.

Agreed, the FN2 is also easier to punt around, I loved my S2000 but it was a twitchy beast - I binned it in the wet and wrote it off, the Civics are far more predictable when pressing on.

[Numeric]

[I would also stick with the standard Bridgestone pontenza re040 if on standard suspension the hard side wall really suited the car, although they are very poor (scary) in the wet, they make up for being brilliant in the dry.


[/quote]

Really the worst wet weather tyres I've ever used - even in Australia they left me worried - sorry for going off topic

[JMF894]

Bought a brand new Premier edition back in 2005. I traded in a Leon Cupra 150 tdi with revo remap that was 14 months old

1) Leon was quicker
2) Leon had better grip/traction
3) Leon had better steering
4) Leon had better chassis than you might imagine given it's MK4 Golf roots

Sold the EP3 after 8 months
Tiresome, noisy and not as quick as you would believe, and yes, I do know how to rev a vtec.

Fabulous engine and gearbox in the wrong type of car IMHO

Shame

Jimbo

[TameRacingDriver]

Horses for courses, a Leon diesel is a fking bore compared to any type R.