Thinking of getting an Integra Type R
Discussion
Hi folks,
I'm in the market for a change of wheels soon after finally finishing uni and scoring a job. Thinking along the lines of something a bit mad like a Type R for around £9-10k ish.
I know they're a 'bit' noisy, quite stiffly sprung and from what I have read so far a whole lot of fun. I don't do a huge amount of motorway miles (driving to work is 8 miles of backroad pleasure) so the lack of creature comforts doesn't bother me too much. I understand that later cars (S reg?)don't have to serviced quite so regularly (every 9k miles as opposed to 6k) and they can all cost a bit to keep tyred and fuelled up. I've got the Evo buying guide from about a year ago, but are there any particular faults to look for (come on, its a Honda) or anything else that comes to mind? I have also searched here but couldn't find any similar posts.
What I'm really after is a current or past owners thoughts on what they are like. Is there anybody around here who has had the benefit of owning one, or anyone in the Berkshire area who fancies going out for a drive sometime with a passenger to convince me it is the right way to go?
Cheers
Foggy
I'm in the market for a change of wheels soon after finally finishing uni and scoring a job. Thinking along the lines of something a bit mad like a Type R for around £9-10k ish.
I know they're a 'bit' noisy, quite stiffly sprung and from what I have read so far a whole lot of fun. I don't do a huge amount of motorway miles (driving to work is 8 miles of backroad pleasure) so the lack of creature comforts doesn't bother me too much. I understand that later cars (S reg?)don't have to serviced quite so regularly (every 9k miles as opposed to 6k) and they can all cost a bit to keep tyred and fuelled up. I've got the Evo buying guide from about a year ago, but are there any particular faults to look for (come on, its a Honda) or anything else that comes to mind? I have also searched here but couldn't find any similar posts.
What I'm really after is a current or past owners thoughts on what they are like. Is there anybody around here who has had the benefit of owning one, or anyone in the Berkshire area who fancies going out for a drive sometime with a passenger to convince me it is the right way to go?
Cheers
Foggy
Am I right in thinking that the white ones are quicker. I know that sounds erally stupid but the later white coloured integra's I believe are imports or are just slihly tuned more. Can somebody either correct me on this thinking of back it up with some facts?!!
If so, go for a white Integra for obvious reasons.
If so, go for a white Integra for obvious reasons.
IIRC in the UK they were available in any colour you liked, so long as it was white or black.
Lots of imports around so the normal procedures surrounding buying a japanese import should be bourne in mind. Some slight differences in spec between the imports and the UK ones, but nothing major.
IIRC an awful lot of the imported ones will have been modified in Japan, this was a popular car with the tuning brigade. Lots of bits available from Spoon etc.
>> Edited by TheLemming on Friday 3rd January 14:26
Lots of imports around so the normal procedures surrounding buying a japanese import should be bourne in mind. Some slight differences in spec between the imports and the UK ones, but nothing major.
IIRC an awful lot of the imported ones will have been modified in Japan, this was a popular car with the tuning brigade. Lots of bits available from Spoon etc.
>> Edited by TheLemming on Friday 3rd January 14:26
The UK Spec Integra's came in black, red or white. The vast majority of them are white.
To the best of my knowledge they are all identically specc'd except for air conditioning and security. air-con became standard fit as did security (thatcham cat 1) on later models, earlier ones (97/98) may not have these although I suspect all the ones without security were stolen a long time ago
The change in service schedule was purely a marketing move by Honda. No alterations were made to the engine/drivetrain, they just chose to take things a little closer to the edge so that people wouldn't look at the car and go "oh that needs a lot of servicing! I'll go and by a ford fiesta instead" (as if!). The alarm and air-con are both fairly high maintenance and the work done should be listed on the schedule. If not question the seller otherwise you may find your insurer tells you to get lost if the car is stolen.
What to look for? Bumper alignment is a cue to accidents, they should be perfectly aligned - if not the car has been through at least a minor impact front or rear. The rear number plate holder can become partially disloged and costs a small fivetune to replace. The wheels are prone to kerbing and really show up due to the painted wheels (white on a white car - otherwise they are painted silver). Top end can become a little rattly but unless it sounds like it is going to fall apart it is generally ok. 3rd gear takes some real punishment, if it is notchy or hard to select then walk away or get the seller to have the box rebuilt (at no extra cost to you of course). The gears should be riflebolt smooth...
The interior trim is all very solid, but the plastic "cap" that covers the front seat rake adjustment is easily broken by clumsy back seat passengers.
The car stereos fitted tended to be Panasonics (from memory) and are covered under warranty (or were - as it is likely that everything is out of warranty now) which is just as well as they have a tendency of going wrong - everything else electrical and mechanical is rock solid on these cars.
If you get one and fancy a short(ish) journey to west london I would love to see it as I really miss mine
To the best of my knowledge they are all identically specc'd except for air conditioning and security. air-con became standard fit as did security (thatcham cat 1) on later models, earlier ones (97/98) may not have these although I suspect all the ones without security were stolen a long time ago
The change in service schedule was purely a marketing move by Honda. No alterations were made to the engine/drivetrain, they just chose to take things a little closer to the edge so that people wouldn't look at the car and go "oh that needs a lot of servicing! I'll go and by a ford fiesta instead" (as if!). The alarm and air-con are both fairly high maintenance and the work done should be listed on the schedule. If not question the seller otherwise you may find your insurer tells you to get lost if the car is stolen.
What to look for? Bumper alignment is a cue to accidents, they should be perfectly aligned - if not the car has been through at least a minor impact front or rear. The rear number plate holder can become partially disloged and costs a small fivetune to replace. The wheels are prone to kerbing and really show up due to the painted wheels (white on a white car - otherwise they are painted silver). Top end can become a little rattly but unless it sounds like it is going to fall apart it is generally ok. 3rd gear takes some real punishment, if it is notchy or hard to select then walk away or get the seller to have the box rebuilt (at no extra cost to you of course). The gears should be riflebolt smooth...
The interior trim is all very solid, but the plastic "cap" that covers the front seat rake adjustment is easily broken by clumsy back seat passengers.
The car stereos fitted tended to be Panasonics (from memory) and are covered under warranty (or were - as it is likely that everything is out of warranty now) which is just as well as they have a tendency of going wrong - everything else electrical and mechanical is rock solid on these cars.
If you get one and fancy a short(ish) journey to west london I would love to see it as I really miss mine
Having previously owned the integra and the accord type R, will honestly say I prefered the integra. As long as you go in with your eyes open (which you sound like you are) you wont be disapointed.
I had the accord as a company car, which I ordered very soon after a friend of mine brought an integra. Brilliant car, as you can imagine being a company car I didnt exactly give it an easy life There was a guy here at work who managed to get an integra as a company car and covered 80,000 with no problems at all.
The accord was trouble free, the integra did have a fault with the aircon which went wrong just outside the warranty period. But this in my opinon is minor, word has it that honda uk have never had a warranty claim on ANY type R engine within the 3yr 60,000 mile limit. An advert in itself.
If all cars are UK cars, there are absolutly no differences betwean any of the cars performance wise. The only possible reason I can think someone would say the white ones are faster, is if it was a jap spec car, from memory these have just about 200 bhp rather than the 190 bhp (although some publications say 186 bhp). As someone has already said all early cars came white, then from about 1999 onward they introduced the black and red models. These both come with a completely black interior and grey wheels rather thn the white cars with the white wheels and red front seats, with black rear seats??!?! Which I never understood.
Both cars do eat front tyres, but thats about it. Fuel conumption is sensible, well for a car with that much power anyway. I used to drive the integra from basingstoke to see my girlfriend in loughborough every other week and get upto 280 miles to a tank! But when thrashing it out on the windy roads maybe only 170 miles to a tank, so you can see the difference.
Unfortunatly I have since sold my integra, so can't offer you that blast you were after. If you have ANY questions at all then please feel free to mail me; mark.dann@btopenworld.com
Because to be quite honest I cannot say enough about these little cars. They may not have been blessed in the looks department. But they are seriously fun to drive.
--Mark
I had the accord as a company car, which I ordered very soon after a friend of mine brought an integra. Brilliant car, as you can imagine being a company car I didnt exactly give it an easy life
There was a guy here at work who managed to get an integra as a company car and covered 80,000 with no problems at all. The accord was trouble free, the integra did have a fault with the aircon which went wrong just outside the warranty period. But this in my opinon is minor, word has it that honda uk have never had a warranty claim on ANY type R engine within the 3yr 60,000 mile limit. An advert in itself.
If all cars are UK cars, there are absolutly no differences betwean any of the cars performance wise. The only possible reason I can think someone would say the white ones are faster, is if it was a jap spec car, from memory these have just about 200 bhp rather than the 190 bhp (although some publications say 186 bhp). As someone has already said all early cars came white, then from about 1999 onward they introduced the black and red models. These both come with a completely black interior and grey wheels rather thn the white cars with the white wheels and red front seats, with black rear seats??!?! Which I never understood.
Both cars do eat front tyres, but thats about it. Fuel conumption is sensible, well for a car with that much power anyway. I used to drive the integra from basingstoke to see my girlfriend in loughborough every other week and get upto 280 miles to a tank! But when thrashing it out on the windy roads maybe only 170 miles to a tank, so you can see the difference.
Unfortunatly I have since sold my integra, so can't offer you that blast you were after. If you have ANY questions at all then please feel free to mail me; mark.dann@btopenworld.com
Because to be quite honest I cannot say enough about these little cars. They may not have been blessed in the looks department. But they are seriously fun to drive.
--Mark
Cheers for your replies gents, exactly the kind of stuff I was after. If anybody else has anymore keep it coming.
I presume they run on super or optimax type juice. I've been looking in the classifieds for a month or so now and £9kish should get a decent UK spec example (I prefer the look of the headlights to the imports). There were loads going before Christmas but most of them seem to have disappeared now. I'm hopefully looking to get one around middle to the end of February. The I just need to insure the thing (at 22 ha ha)!
Cheers
Foggy
I presume they run on super or optimax type juice. I've been looking in the classifieds for a month or so now and £9kish should get a decent UK spec example (I prefer the look of the headlights to the imports). There were loads going before Christmas but most of them seem to have disappeared now. I'm hopefully looking to get one around middle to the end of February. The I just need to insure the thing (at 22 ha ha)!
Cheers
Foggy
Hola. I've got a black 1999 UK Integra, had it for six months and ten thousand miles now, and it's really a fantastic car. Nothing has gone wrong with it whatsoever, and I'm still smiling every time I extend the engine over 6k 
I'm averaging around 25mpg, cos I use all the revs all the time, but on motorway runs etc, 35mpg plus is easily possible. Tyres are £75 a corner, and you'll get through a set of fronts in around 9k. Servicing has been very reasonable thus far, (around £200 a service) consumables have been less than equivalent rivals like the 968CS etc. Coping with the car over this distance has been very easy to. Forget the 'Elise with a roof' analogies, this car really is easy to live with. I have a six cd changer on mine which means it cruises just fine for me, and the ride is firm but not overly so. 90mph is 5k on the clock, and although not quiet, not very intrusive at all. It's a real Jekyll and Hyde car though>>>
Anyway all this is unimportant when you take the car to a track or get it going on the road, it's one of the most characterful, hardcore driving experience available for this money IMO. Easy to slide, fast but not too fast the chassis is perfect for *that* engine.
Which of course, is the greatest four cylinder ever made. Tractable at low revs, and an absolute screamer at high ones. Once you've heard it at top revs you'll have to buy one It was the perfect move up for me from my previous car, and for anyone with a hot hatch. (I had a Mk2 Golf GTI 16v.)
Have a look at the evo.co.uk forum for lots of write ups/ownership stories on the Teg, search function on there is pretty good and http://forum.hondarevolutions.com/ for specific stuff. Watch out for the Honda R moderators and where you post though, they're right buggers!!
Main things to watch out for are:
2nd to 3rd fast changes. If they crunch, the synchros on the way out, gearbox is a general fast Honda weakness.
Seat squab wear - on the drivers side in the main obviously, this is around £600worth done at a Honda dealer, cos alacantara is pretty expensive!
Accident damage. ITR's are pretty specialist, and get driven hard and therefore crashed... so you should make sure any work has been done to a high standard.
Air con is a much vaunted essential for the Teg, because of the car's reputation for steaming up. Mine doesn't have it, and I can't say I've missed it at all. Mine does steam up, but it clears very quickly when you use the conventional ventilation. Nuff said!
In addition to what's been said about the changes for 1999, the much, much nicer MOMO wheel is standard, and the colours other than white, red and black came in too.
There are other options too, fogs, Cat 1 Alarm, Air con, CD Autochanger.
Anyway. I'm selling mine in April sort of time, so if you can wait til then.... mine's mint
Cheers,
Chris.
>> Edited by chris_speed on Sunday 5th January 22:25
I'm averaging around 25mpg, cos I use all the revs all the time, but on motorway runs etc, 35mpg plus is easily possible. Tyres are £75 a corner, and you'll get through a set of fronts in around 9k. Servicing has been very reasonable thus far, (around £200 a service) consumables have been less than equivalent rivals like the 968CS etc. Coping with the car over this distance has been very easy to. Forget the 'Elise with a roof' analogies, this car really is easy to live with. I have a six cd changer on mine which means it cruises just fine for me, and the ride is firm but not overly so. 90mph is 5k on the clock, and although not quiet, not very intrusive at all. It's a real Jekyll and Hyde car though>>> Anyway all this is unimportant when you take the car to a track or get it going on the road, it's one of the most characterful, hardcore driving experience available for this money IMO. Easy to slide, fast but not too fast the chassis is perfect for *that* engine.
Which of course, is the greatest four cylinder ever made. Tractable at low revs, and an absolute screamer at high ones. Once you've heard it at top revs you'll have to buy one
It was the perfect move up for me from my previous car, and for anyone with a hot hatch. (I had a Mk2 Golf GTI 16v.) Have a look at the evo.co.uk forum for lots of write ups/ownership stories on the Teg, search function on there is pretty good and http://forum.hondarevolutions.com/ for specific stuff. Watch out for the Honda R moderators and where you post though, they're right buggers!!
Main things to watch out for are:
2nd to 3rd fast changes. If they crunch, the synchros on the way out, gearbox is a general fast Honda weakness.
Seat squab wear - on the drivers side in the main obviously, this is around £600worth done at a Honda dealer, cos alacantara is pretty expensive!
Accident damage. ITR's are pretty specialist, and get driven hard and therefore crashed... so you should make sure any work has been done to a high standard.
Air con is a much vaunted essential for the Teg, because of the car's reputation for steaming up. Mine doesn't have it, and I can't say I've missed it at all. Mine does steam up, but it clears very quickly when you use the conventional ventilation. Nuff said!
In addition to what's been said about the changes for 1999, the much, much nicer MOMO wheel is standard, and the colours other than white, red and black came in too.
There are other options too, fogs, Cat 1 Alarm, Air con, CD Autochanger.
Anyway. I'm selling mine in April sort of time, so if you can wait til then.... mine's mint
Cheers,
Chris.
>> Edited by chris_speed on Sunday 5th January 22:25
Oh yeah. More:
Optimax is indeed the best stuff to run your Integra on. Seems to me anyhow, that it runs smoother, and revs better with it.
I'm 22 too, so there is hope insurance wise,
try Noel Dazely, Direct Line, Tesco, all came up with good quotes. Currently paying £1200, which ain't bad given the performance. Here's my motor btw:
Chris.
PS Apologies for the verbal diarrohoea I'm rather fond of the Teg!
Optimax is indeed the best stuff to run your Integra on. Seems to me anyhow, that it runs smoother, and revs better with it.
I'm 22 too, so there is hope insurance wise,
try Noel Dazely, Direct Line, Tesco, all came up with good quotes. Currently paying £1200, which ain't bad given the performance. Here's my motor btw: Chris.
PS Apologies for the verbal diarrohoea I'm rather fond of the Teg!
Hehe. Thought they're might be some around here!
While I'm out of the Lions Den though....
I can never do searches on that bloody site! You put in endless combinations of Integra buying guide, buy Integra, Integra buying tips, want to buy an Integra, ITR buying, Teg purchase and you come up with Jack!!
Anyhow. I feel so much better now...
Christoph.
While I'm out of the Lions Den though....
I can never do searches on that bloody site! You put in endless combinations of Integra buying guide, buy Integra, Integra buying tips, want to buy an Integra, ITR buying, Teg purchase and you come up with Jack!!
Anyhow. I feel so much better now...
Christoph.
This is getting down to the nitty gritty now, but hey I have been called into work and bored waiting for a customer to call me back 
One of the best things I did to improve my ITR handling was change the tyres. They come shipped with Bridgestone Potenza S-01, which are a great tyre on this car. Well great until you try the Potenza S-02!
These tyres improve grip in the wet dramatically, even though a quick peek at Bridgestones website suggests this tyre a summer use tyre?! Performance in the dry is also noticeable and in my personal opinion they motorway road noice by a noticeable ammount, oh and they look alot better
However, dont be tempted to mix both the S-01 and S-02 on the car. Rotate and buy all 4 tyres at once, I initially brought two on the front, eek! The difference in grip really screwed the cars handling and I ended up swapping the tyres to the rear, which was slightly better. But by then I had lost all confidence after a few hairy moments
Mind you I sold my integra about 12 months ago now, the S-03 is now available in 195/55 R15....
Here it is all waxed up!, and yes it is without the front splitter. Managed to catch it on a kerb and sent it away for painting.
One of the best things I did to improve my ITR handling was change the tyres. They come shipped with Bridgestone Potenza S-01, which are a great tyre on this car. Well great until you try the Potenza S-02!
These tyres improve grip in the wet dramatically, even though a quick peek at Bridgestones website suggests this tyre a summer use tyre?! Performance in the dry is also noticeable and in my personal opinion they motorway road noice by a noticeable ammount, oh and they look alot better
However, dont be tempted to mix both the S-01 and S-02 on the car. Rotate and buy all 4 tyres at once, I initially brought two on the front, eek! The difference in grip really screwed the cars handling and I ended up swapping the tyres to the rear, which was slightly better. But by then I had lost all confidence after a few hairy moments
Mind you I sold my integra about 12 months ago now, the S-03 is now available in 195/55 R15....
Here it is all waxed up!, and yes it is without the front splitter. Managed to catch it on a kerb and sent it away for painting.
Interesting reading - I am thinking of changing the dull 'bought for the commute' Clio I drive for a more fun option - The Teg really seems to fit the bill as reliability and ease of ownership are key factors.
Insurance does seem very reasonable for a car of this performance.
I have never driven one and my only experience of VTechs is an S2000 - I came away from that feeling very underwhelmed, BUT, I was driving a Chimaera at the time and was a bit of a torque junkie! Is it not quite tiring keeping the Teg on the boil?
Chris - how much will you be after for yours when you sell it (must admit I would prefer aircon though)
Insurance does seem very reasonable for a car of this performance.
I have never driven one and my only experience of VTechs is an S2000 - I came away from that feeling very underwhelmed, BUT, I was driving a Chimaera at the time and was a bit of a torque junkie! Is it not quite tiring keeping the Teg on the boil?
Chris - how much will you be after for yours when you sell it (must admit I would prefer aircon though)
Indeed, the handling is very tyre sensitive. First Teg I drove was a shoddy white example with Dunlop Ecocontacts on the front. Steering was atrocious, and the handling balance was ruined. Tyre pressures can also have the same effect. On roundabouts, certainly in the dry, there should be zero understeer due to that trick diff. Fortunately when I drove my MOMO wheeled, Bridgestone tyred example, it was a very different car.
As for selling my car, I'd be looking for around £10,500 when I come to sell it, as it's really a perfect, top spec example. (Lack of air con makes it faster y'see....)
Cheers,
Chris.
As for selling my car, I'd be looking for around £10,500 when I come to sell it, as it's really a perfect, top spec example. (Lack of air con makes it faster y'see....
) Cheers,
Chris.
Arrgh!
Somebody always does it - sticks an 'h' on the end of VTeC. Vtech are a cheapy electronic toy company.
On the positive side for Foggy, go buy an Integra, you won't regret it.
Only other note I don't recall seeing so far:
Watch out for the claimed power of imports - Japan has 100+ octane fuel to up power.
Somebody always does it - sticks an 'h' on the end of VTeC. Vtech are a cheapy electronic toy company. On the positive side for Foggy, go buy an Integra, you won't regret it.
Only other note I don't recall seeing so far:
Watch out for the claimed power of imports - Japan has 100+ octane fuel to up power.
Not sure where you got the zero understeer from. Trick diff or no you can still exceed the limits of adhesion, especially on slippery roundabouts. On the upside it is supremely easy to catch.
Better still it is great fun on snow, pulling straight despite the frequent and drastic changes in grip. The front splitter works nicely as a snowplough too
Only managed to get 11k for mine back in May 2001 after a year of trying to sell it. That was just under 3 years old (98 S) by then with 28k on the clock.
As for buying - beware, once you've driven one you won't be able to say no. A lot of car salesmen know this and just wait for the stupid grin to appear on your face before negotiating the price. Be sure to check everything out first and keep your wits about you. If you think you're enjoying the test drive too much at least try and pretend to look serious
Better still it is great fun on snow, pulling straight despite the frequent and drastic changes in grip. The front splitter works nicely as a snowplough too
Only managed to get 11k for mine back in May 2001 after a year of trying to sell it. That was just under 3 years old (98 S) by then with 28k on the clock.
As for buying - beware, once you've driven one you won't be able to say no. A lot of car salesmen know this and just wait for the stupid grin to appear on your face before negotiating the price. Be sure to check everything out first and keep your wits about you. If you think you're enjoying the test drive too much at least try and pretend to look serious
hughjayteens, if your used to the torque of a TVR then sure enough the Integra will disapoint you, because it hasnt any However the handling of the car more than makes up for its lack of torque. You soon realise you have the ability to not even use your brakes on approaching a roundabout!!!
As for insurance, there group 18 and in my opinon very expencive to insure. But even this is a good thing, with prices falling. The insurance premium is the only thing stopping all these cars from becomming a popular choice with the max power lot.
I loved mine so much, only hope they decide to bring the "new" integra to the UK. Although there is not even as much as a rumor of this happening at the moment
However the handling of the car more than makes up for its lack of torque. You soon realise you have the ability to not even use your brakes on approaching a roundabout!!! As for insurance, there group 18 and in my opinon very expencive to insure. But even this is a good thing, with prices falling. The insurance premium is the only thing stopping all these cars from becomming a popular choice with the max power lot.
I loved mine so much, only hope they decide to bring the "new" integra to the UK. Although there is not even as much as a rumor of this happening at the moment
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