RE: Shed Of The Week: Honda Accord Type R

[otolith]

You have to keep in mind that at launch the alternative to the EP3 was something limp like a mk4 Golf GTi or a Focus ST170. It was a lot quicker and more exciting than most of its direct competition. Integras were not a mainstream alternative.

[walton1231]

WhyAyeMan said:

What makes the accord a better road car then you bellend?

Teg is lighter has a better gearbox, is faster and handles better, doesn't ride any worse and is just as comfortable. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Accord is fine for a shed but there's a good reason why a teg is worth a lot more money. Because it's better, simple as.

After owning a dc2 type r for 5 1/2 years I must say your body must be a funny shape to think its as comfortable as a atr, which I now own. B series box and wat a car.

[MonkeySpanker]

KimJongHealthy said:

Stoatman said:

I was advised to buy Honda OEM as it is obviously going to fit , by VTEC direct, in their exoerience the copies never fit right or work the same. A second hand one was an option but can be tricky to remove without damaging something.

Still.. you can buy 10 of copies or second hand ones for the price of one OEM. Who in their right mind would do it with 10 year old car?

I had a similar thing with my Accord's lambda sensor, genuine Honda was around £300, 'proper' aftermarket was about £180 & bandit ones were/are about £35....had a bandit one & it didn't work, the only time it's happened so I bought another....that didn't work either. So I eventually bought a proper aftermarket one....

[Ali_T]

WhyAyeMan said:

They're the same aren't they? (both recaro buckets)

Quite different seats, actually. ATR thigh bolsters were less pronounced but back support was superior and the materials were ore expensive. Both were better than the EP3 cheapo seats though. And, yes, the EP3 was a brilliant drive train in search of a better car. Had marketing not removed the LSD and Recaros at the 11th hour and meant a softer front damping with unchanged rear (and a thousand tales of lift off oversteer), things could have been so much better.

[Kozy]

WhyAyeMan said:

Better interior... OK I'll concede that one, but better seats? They're the same aren't they? (both recaro buckets), not sure about the driving position, I found that fine in the teg, no problems with traction, ample torque (totally overhyped non-issue IMO). I can well imagine preferring one to an EP3, I drove one of those, couldn't see what the fuss was about. Marvellous gearbox, everything else was a bit "meh".

Seats are very different. DC2 Recaros are designed for 80kg JDM chaps. ATR Recaros are far more suited to the average 90kg British beefcake.

There is also no problem with the gearing. None at all. The ratios are pretty much identical to the 96 spec DC2 when you take the wheel diameter out of it. The problem lies in the H22 having the narrowest VTEC zone of any Type R. It 'kicks in y0' at 5700rpm and redlines at 7900rpm, giving it a measly 2200rpm on cam. Most other R engines are 2400-2500rpm wide, which makes the gear ratios seem better.

The ATR has a better chassis and brake setup than the the ITR. The engine is also far more capable of gains too, if that's your cup of tea. The only quantifiable downside is that it's physically bigger and heavier than the Teg.

[SaqibCTR]

Kozy said:

The ATR has a better chassis and brake setup than the the ITR. The engine is also far more capable of gains too, if that's your cup of tea. The only quantifiable downside is that it's physically bigger and heavier than the Teg.

In what way does the ATR have a better chassis than the DC2? Not disagreeing with you, just curious! Both had double wishbone setups front and rear? No doubt about the brakes though.

Edited by SaqibCTR on Monday 23 June 20:47

[Kozy]

[quote=SaqibCTR]

In what way does the ATR have a better chassis than the DC2? Not disagreeing with you, just curious! Both had double wishbone setups front and rear? No doubt about the brakes though.

Solid rear baulkhead makes the chassis stiffer and the ATR actually gets a more advanced multilink setup at the rear. I believe it has a slightly better weight distribution too, but I've not seen any figures to actually prove that one.

OK so they don't really make up for an additional 200kg, but in terms of design it's technically that little bit better.