My mate has been rebuilding a 2000 plate ragged DC2 for the past 5 years. After many set backs and problems,it is finally on the road..and my god what a car it is now. Started out with a forged prelude 2.2 engine swap,which gave him nothing but problems,so took the drastic step of ripping it all out again,and going for a standard 2.3 accord type S lump. Which was then turbo`d using the best parts money could buy. many,many problems with getting it in the car,as well as using the later spec 6 speed gearbox for a uk spec Civic Type R,with added LSD. Hi spec 4 pots,KW suspension,hondata ECU and every bush and suspension component replaced, with genuine Honda at horrendous cost! So was the 20 grand he spent on it worth it???...After driving it last night..FK YEAH. My god that thing is so fast its genuinely frightening..makes my 270hp R26 look like a Kia! He just drove half way across the country last weekend to have it tuned by one of the best in the country. It made 360hp and 305 lb/ft at a massively safe 9psi boost! It spins its wheels in 4th gear! But by choosing all the correct suspension components,and beautifully made adjustable open gate gear shifter,that sits just like a touring car..inches from the steering wheel,its wonderfully easy and comfortable to drive. The legendary honda shift quality means you can throw it up and down the gears in seconds..although you dont need to,as the boost by gear gives you so much low down power, that holds all the way through the rev range..if you are brave! Its just amazing that everything is bespoke,but it honestly drives like factory..just at a ridiculous pace. When the turbo kicks in,it is like a storm is brewing under the engine..you can really feel the immense power gathering with 1100 kg to push down the road. It defiantly hits 60 close to the 4second mark..its nuts. You would need very deep pockets to buy a production car to rival its in gear performance..money well spent! Will put up a pic of the engine when i see him next.
Pic of the outside would be great as well. There is a modified DC5 that I see up Knockhill and it's stunning.
Yes..they really do ridiculously over engineer the engines. 360hp through a bog standard 2.3 handled with ease..try that on a megane lump. They just dont like being opened..The 2.2 prelude lump originally fitted was fully forged,and still somehow scored the bores on a brand new build. They say the new civic type R lump is laggy..but that will be tuned out of it, when the aftermarket guys get hold of it. Be interesting to see what the engine will safely tune to.
When you start poking about with them, the all round engineering attention to detail is impressive. A quick and cheap 360 bhp remap on the FK2 and FK8, no brainer and like you say you can bet there's a load more to come on the stock lump. Shame there is too much attention to the detail on the latest styling. Very edgy but they could be growers in the looks department. Was looking at EP3 prices recently and how a decent one is good money now. Old school fun back in fashion.
The chassis is why he went for the dc2...i had one for 5 years,and its one of the best all round performers..ever. Everything is right,driving position,feel,brakes,handling...i only sold it because the red paintwork was starting to go pink on the leading edges,even though it lived in the garage with a inch of wax on it.
Keepers you should have kept but never did.......... Same goes for my Megane, not sure about it as a keeper and much will depend on if the MK4 is decent or a change in direction and the end of the Renaultsport heritage. If it's a change, I do fancy a Jap.
they dont seem to be doing any track laps tests between the new civic type R and its rivals..not sure why. I honestly think it will be significantly faster round the track,and on the road. Honda have actually built its civic range around the multi link set up it needed, to give the new type R every chance to be class leading,sacrificing internal storage in the process. Seems a extreme thing to do, when the majority of new civics sold will not be hot models. Only hot hatch to run 20" wheels..I remember a few years back when Porsche fitted 20`s to the GT3,all the motoring press though it would be over wheeled..until they drove it. If its as good as all the signs point to..it certainly will be a strong candidate for a future purchase. Honda only sold 2500 of the last variant..so this one really needs to be good. And at 32k with a very limited options list..unlike all its rivals that end up north of 40k ..its good value.
A chap with a 360 mapped new type r was at abingdon last time. He came over and commented on how impressed he was with the Renault as I was one of the very few cars to pass him...he couldn't keep up. Good old r26
The only car where a tone down kit would sell well. Chris Harris sums it up well, plus a load of why the old school still rocks:
I saw an interesting comment from a car reviewer the other day. Why are people getting so caught up over the fact the Civic has independent rear suspension? The Megane didn't have it and people lauded that as the hot hatch of the last few years. It's a fair point...
Good point and as andrewjeffs mentioned we still have to see how this new one does on lap times. The previous FK2 was pretty handy so this should be a bit of benchmark in the dry. It's also rides really well now so maybe the independant rear has allowed Honda to play some more tunes with the adaptive suspension. Lap times? Theoretical I know but it would be interesting to see how this new Type R would compare with a mapped 310 bhp Mk3 Megane Cup.
The whole reason for the change by Honda to rear multi link is to get more control of the suspension. If you read the reviews they say the damping is far superior to the outgoing model with front and rear working great together. Where the type R mode was un-usable before on a bumpy road,it is now the default setting. When Honda junked the multi link from the Integra,and went back to a solid beam for the civic,it immediately went backwards in the handling department, I always marveled at how good the Integras damping was over rough ground..on a car that has been around since 1996! Surely independent damping and control on each individual wheel ,is always going to work better. I think the megane works so well on the later models as it just had so many years of development, to get it to work as best as it possibly could...older 225`s etc dont have anything like the damping and body control of a R26-on. Interestingly my mates Skoda octavia vrs has multi link suspension..
Some decent Honda suspension engineering there for sure. The new Type R is supposedly very supple in Comfort mode and with the 3 way adjustable damping allowing a good combination of ride comfort through to track firmness. Not something found on the old model. That Megane Cup fixed spec firm option, and with Renault going down that route again with the new RS, they may have missed a big trick. When you're not in the mood for it, the UK potholed roads can be a pain in the arse with the Cup type suspension.
nice power curve..the thing builds power nicely with boost by gear...just dont flex that right foot to hard!
true what they say about honda and not enough torque to pull skin off custard haha jokes, but still quite a low torque output for the power? what turbo is he using and suppose could be down to the low boost pressure too.. not knocking it, will drive alot better FWD
Nice curve. People often forget there's a thing called a gearbox and there can be life after 6000 rpm.
Yes its low-ish as its a standard lump..Anyones guess how much it can handle..but honestly it would be pointless to give it anymore. Even with boost by gear it spins the wheels in forth ,if you are to aggressive with the throttle...and it weighs 1100kg! Good thing is is managable-just...anymore power would be just wasted in wheelspin. Short straight..120 in a heartbeat. Genuinely frightened me how quickly it gathers pace when the blower kicks in. Will get the pics up as soon as i see the car again.
