Pre and post facelift EP3 Civic Type R.
Discussion
..Just wondering how much difference there is between the pre and post 2004 Civic Type Rs....been looking today on Ebay and notice the 2004 on models fetch a bit more. I cant remember what was different, seem to recall the post 2004 had a smoother torque curve?
..Does it really make much difference if you are looking for a cheap Civic Type R as a fun car for road and potentially track use?
..Does it really make much difference if you are looking for a cheap Civic Type R as a fun car for road and potentially track use?
Lifted straight from CTRO's FAQ
The facelift model was introduced in 2004. There are roughly 1500 changes, however the main ones are:
Lighter flywheel
Additional sound deadening
Different front and rear light clusters
Different front bumper
Red door inserts and red inserts on the seats
I own an early EP3 and have driven a friends facelift, visually a bit different but to me they felt more or less identical in the way they drive.
The clutch was the biggest difference I noticed, but mine is probably just on the way out.
My car did feel a touch sharper to turn in, but I do have better tyres.
The facelift model was introduced in 2004. There are roughly 1500 changes, however the main ones are:
Lighter flywheel
Additional sound deadening
Different front and rear light clusters
Different front bumper
Red door inserts and red inserts on the seats
I own an early EP3 and have driven a friends facelift, visually a bit different but to me they felt more or less identical in the way they drive.
The clutch was the biggest difference I noticed, but mine is probably just on the way out.
My car did feel a touch sharper to turn in, but I do have better tyres.
Another question then,
Does modifying a Type R enhance or spoil the experience? An awful lot of cars for sale have an induction kit. I have one on my MX-5 and like the sound it makes....does one of these with an aftermarket exhaust add or detract BHP?
Eibach springs and the like...will they make the car undriveable on rough B roads?
For example, this car is for sale, not too far from me. Seems to have been a really cherished example, but lots of mods...not sure whether to take a look, or just go for a standard car!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-Type-R-2004-...
Does modifying a Type R enhance or spoil the experience? An awful lot of cars for sale have an induction kit. I have one on my MX-5 and like the sound it makes....does one of these with an aftermarket exhaust add or detract BHP?
Eibach springs and the like...will they make the car undriveable on rough B roads?
For example, this car is for sale, not too far from me. Seems to have been a really cherished example, but lots of mods...not sure whether to take a look, or just go for a standard car!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-Type-R-2004-...
As I understand it Eibachs on an EP3 do actually improve the ride and handling, it's the same with the DC5 as both cars have quite hard springs as standard. Eibach in general are actually quite highly regarded.
A good induction kit like the Gruppe-M sounds great and is arguably an improvement on the standard air-box. But the piper my Civic came with was cheap rubbish despite sounding good, went straight in the bin, so it's best to do your homework I guess.
It's a minefield, there's good and bad stuff out there and lots of differing opinions. The most important thing if your unsure is to test drive it before you buy it, if your satisfied it's fun and you can live with it then it's probably worth it.
A good induction kit like the Gruppe-M sounds great and is arguably an improvement on the standard air-box. But the piper my Civic came with was cheap rubbish despite sounding good, went straight in the bin, so it's best to do your homework I guess.
It's a minefield, there's good and bad stuff out there and lots of differing opinions. The most important thing if your unsure is to test drive it before you buy it, if your satisfied it's fun and you can live with it then it's probably worth it.
There are 3 types of Eibachs for the EP3. The Pro Kit lowers the least, then Sportlines then ABP Motorsport do their own Sportlines which are very popular. Most seem to agree the Sportlines can cause scraping, especially with an aftermarket B pipe as they hang lower. Pro Kit seems a good compromise. Worth keeping in mind that after lowering it needs camber arms/bolts to correct the alignment, adds to the cost a fair bit. I am going to go for just camber bolts/arms and a more aggressive alignment on standard springs, I don't want the risk of lowering ruining the ride but want improved handling.
There does seem to be a wide range of mods you can do for fairly cheap that net a good return. There is the alignment/FRSU (Fast Road Set Up) mentioned above (Circa £250 all in from a specialist), a JDM rear anti roll bar is thicker than the UK version and suppose to improve things (Looking at around £100). A short shifter or shifter bushes improve the gear change action (£70 for short shifter, £45 for bushes - Yet to do these to mine). An unsilenced 2.5" B pipe removes the most restrictive part of the standard system and gets a bit of noise (£80) Makes it quite raspy though so watch videos first. Then there is an induction kit, K&N Typhoon for the lolz or a Tegiwa M/Gruppe M for more performance at a greater cost. The bonus is a good second hand market for parts to buy/sell things on, so lots are available cheap.
There are 2 "special edition" variants of the EP3 to keep an eye out for. There is the 30th Anniversary which is a pre-facelift car. Only 100 were made in each colour (Red, black, silver), they have a few changes like red Recaros. At the end of the production run they ran a "Premier" edition as well, again some changes like Recaro seats, tinted windows, Momo wheel, red carpet. Both attract more of a premium over the standard models.
I love my EP3 and how it can go from a quiet sensible hatchback to 8K screamer in a second or two
There does seem to be a wide range of mods you can do for fairly cheap that net a good return. There is the alignment/FRSU (Fast Road Set Up) mentioned above (Circa £250 all in from a specialist), a JDM rear anti roll bar is thicker than the UK version and suppose to improve things (Looking at around £100). A short shifter or shifter bushes improve the gear change action (£70 for short shifter, £45 for bushes - Yet to do these to mine). An unsilenced 2.5" B pipe removes the most restrictive part of the standard system and gets a bit of noise (£80) Makes it quite raspy though so watch videos first. Then there is an induction kit, K&N Typhoon for the lolz or a Tegiwa M/Gruppe M for more performance at a greater cost. The bonus is a good second hand market for parts to buy/sell things on, so lots are available cheap.
There are 2 "special edition" variants of the EP3 to keep an eye out for. There is the 30th Anniversary which is a pre-facelift car. Only 100 were made in each colour (Red, black, silver), they have a few changes like red Recaros. At the end of the production run they ran a "Premier" edition as well, again some changes like Recaro seats, tinted windows, Momo wheel, red carpet. Both attract more of a premium over the standard models.
I love my EP3 and how it can go from a quiet sensible hatchback to 8K screamer in a second or two
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