RE: PH Heroes: Honda Integra Type-R

[Rob_R]

I once had a dream about ragging one through Bath. Wanted one ever since.

[digger_R]

Just recently sold mine, I am now barged up in a E39 and miss the teg.
Absolutely stunning machine in every way - the sound track is fantastic, I've never kept a car for much longer than a year the teg changed that - 2 1/2 yrs of 8500 rpm shifts and it didn't miss a beat.

[Gizmo535]

10 Pence Short said:

3rd/4th gear synchros do seem to be a weak point, I had mine replaced at 46,000 miles, but that's about it.

Truly wonderful car and I wish I hadn't killed mine.

Is it that the 3rd/4th synchro is a weak point, or is it that 90% of owners spend 90% of their time flipping between 3rd and 4th staying in the VTEC zone and thus wear it out that much quicker...?

I miss my VTEC... an ITR is definitely, one day, on my 'list'.

[dazsmith69]

in general all the sychros weaken the more u use them - i would say 2nd-3rd takes the most hammering in ITR's, 40mph @5700rpm i rekon is the sweet spot before lift off

[10 Pence Short]

MrKipling43 said:

UKDM? You realise that doesn't make any sense don't you?

UK Domestic Market. Makes plenty of sense to me!

With regards to the synchros- it's a split between a slightly weak piece of design and the nature of how the cars are driven. Even at low miles the Integras can suffer premature wear.

Having said that, I'd go as far as to say gearboxes in general are a weak spot in high revving Hondas. The B16 engined cars can eat synchros, as can the Accord R and early S2000s had quite a few problems.

I've been lucky twice with both my EP3 CTR and my DC2 in that the gearboxes were sorted under warranty. The EP3 had its gearbox replaced and the DC had new 3rd and 4th synchros (which was a job worth over £1000 alone!).

Edited by 10 Pence Short on Wednesday 30th April 15:40

[DC2-ITR]

Not only did Autocar rate the DC2 UK ITR as the best alround front wheel drive car EVER. But the Jap version is EVEN BETTER.

Better looking front.
Faster (more powerful and lighter).
Better steering (Faster and lighter feeling Showa rack - UK = Wooden).
Firmer suspension.
The list goes on..

The UK look ITR was the base model look in Japan. Say no more...

Both cars are great. But the JDM import exceptional.
Awesome piece of kit... :-))

Especially after a few tweaks... Brake and induction upgrades ect....

[C5L]

have to agree awesome car. Especially for the money.

[pbirkett]

MrKipling43 said:

Lovely wheels on you DC2 pbirkett - what are they?

They are the standard 16" wheels that come on all 98-spec and later JDM models. Personally I think they look so much nicer than the pre-98 ones.

To be honest, when I bought it, it was impulse, it was not a concious decision whether or not to buy a JDM, I just saw it and thought it looked nice, and I always wanted a DC2 so i bought it

[Rich VRS]

i looked into a ATR when i was last looking and on the brief test drive i took one on i absolutly loved it and is a serious option when i decide to shift my VRS. i only went the VRS way due to insurance, risk of costs, and comfort oh and the posistion of the rear wing is a bit poor imo.

handling was simply immense and the noise was unbelieveable.

[Silverbullet767]

My mate just bought a fresh import. White, and a minter. He gets it in a week.

Looking forward to going for a spin!

[andypowell]

I miss mine more than any other car.

It was so special, and I only had it 6 months

I regularly contemplate getting another.........everyone should own one once



heres my olden!

Edited by andypowell on Wednesday 30th April 16:50

[RCduck7]

I owned a honda S2000 and i understand perfectly when he talks about the buzz of the high reving engine.
I never drove an integra though, it's 2nd to my wishlist to drive after an NSX.
Has anyone drove both an integra and S2000?? What's it like in comparison??

[wookie]

I once did a trackday at Brands Indy Circuit in an Integra Type R (on slicks) belonging to John Stack. We stuck to the back of this 996 Carrera 2 for about 5 laps, the 996 driver decided he had enough and drove back to the pits. A fantastic car.

[havoc]

DC2-ITR said:

Not only did Autocar rate the DC2 UK ITR as the best alround front wheel drive car EVER. But the Jap version is EVEN BETTER.

Better looking front.
Faster (more powerful and lighter).
Better steering (Faster and lighter feeling Showa rack - UK = Wooden).
Firmer suspension.
The list goes on..

The UK look ITR was the base model look in Japan. Say no more...

Both cars are great. But the JDM import exceptional.
Awesome piece of kit... :-))

The differences aren't as great as all that, certainly not straight-line (first I've heard that the JDM was lighter - any evidence of that one?). I also wasn't aware the steering racks were different, and the stiffer suspension can be a liability on a typical UK B-road - the UKDM suspension is IMHO borderline for an everyday car...

...so IMHO buy on looks and condition, regardless of UK/JDM.


RCDuck - I own both. S2000 is quicker, is agile rwd (always a bonus! ), and has the soft-top. But it's also less communicative - both the steering and the brake-pedal lack the 'granularity' you get from the 'teg, which makes it harder to push anywhere near 10/10ths, and makes it less rewarding as a result. Plus the S2000 suspension doesn't seem quite as well-matched - there's a slight mismatch at the rear which can result in a slight side-to-side pitching if heavily loaded on a bumpy B-road...we're talking illegal speeds here though. 'teg also has better seats and a better sound.

Look here for an in-depth comparison I wrote...

[dinkel]

I just found a 13K euro 90k kms '98 ITR . . . very nice.

[All2Chewy]

Few things that need to be corrected, it was 6.7secs for 0-62mph, so 0-60 would not have come in 6.2 secs as that actually was the figures for the S2000 not the Integra.
I had one of these on a T reg for 3 years, great cars, even better once you fit an induction kit!

Some of you may not know the lengths Honda went to with this car, it had a thinner windscreen to save weight and even all the internal springs were made from flat metal rather than round to save even more weight, why i wonder did they then put air conditioning in it???

I had the white with red, which was certainly the best colour combo, they feel a hell of a lot faster than they were and really stable at high speeds. I now own a Porsche 911 996, but still remember the fun of the Integra, while I wouldn't swap, if i had to lose the Porsche then I certainly wouldn't be upset having one of these again.

[Paul671]

stew-S160 said:

SplatSpeed said:

try a dc5

if you want a heavier, less involving and thrilling car.

That’s not very fair to the DC5.

I have driven both cars and have run a DC5 daily for the past year and a half and both are excellent. Yes the DC2 is a passenger lighter, has a slightly more characterfull engine and better steering etc, but were only talking shades of grey. The DC5 makes up for this in other areas (better power to weight, more grip, more aggressive diff, better interior etc). Don’t just dismiss the DC5 as a poor relation to the DC2.

Just my 2p, although I agree the DC2 is a better drivers car.

[davecrook1]

ive now owned a JDM DC2 for 5months. and its the fastest motor ive had at 25...and costs me 300 a yr to insure.. which isnt abd at all...
the engine note is one of which that u cant wait for the stretch of raod in which to give it the beans!!

Ive always wanted one and now im strugglin to pay off my loan and save for a house and am on the verge of selling it for a cheaper car...but im finding it tough to let go off!!

[NiallOswald]

This article just cements the ITR's place on my ever-growing list of cars to own - plus I reckon in a few years time I'll be able to insure one for sensible money and have the cash to buy a minter. I remember sitting in one at the Motorshow in the late 90s, all very exciting, I remember the red seats very clearly.

As I understand the term, JDM means 'Japanese Domestic Market' i.e. cars built in Japan for the Japanese. UKDM would be cars built in the UK for the UK market. Should be 'UKFM' or 'UKOM' (foreign/overseas).

Just something about the perennial 'VTEC has no torque' stuff - if you go to the bother of looking up the peak torque figures for Honda's VTEC engines, they actually produce as much, if not more torque than other N/A engines of the same size (for example - Ford 1.8 Zetec gives 118 lbft). It's just that it's produced at 7000rpm and a lot of people think 'torque' means 'torque at low revs'. Power is just torque at high revs Although VTEC helps, I imagine that at pottering speeds as mentioned in the article, there's actually a fair bit less than 130 lbft available hence not feeling 'perky'.

[dinkel]

Also torque is meaningless without a great box . . . Honda has great ones aboard.