P1Fanatic

Starting to look for a new car after driving around in an astra for couple of years. Test drove a GT in Red on Sat and was pretty impressed. Not in outright performance but the overall package for the price. With the extra specs of the GT for only £1k more (dualzone climate control, cruise control, fog lights, rain sensing wipers, dusk sensing headlights, folding wing mirrors) youd be stupid not to go for a GT.

Must say I normally dont like red either but it looks suprisingly good. Im also not a fan of the other Civic models, mostly due to the plastic exterior trim. But the Type R with its skirts and spoilers all colour coded looks a lot better.

I appreciate the performance is worse than the previous shape but its good enough for what I need without horrendous ownership costs like my previous scoob (tyres, servicing, fuel, ins). I will test drive the new impreza after xmas but so far I really detest the new hatchback look.

So Id appreciate the views/input of any CTR owners on here. A guy at work was telling me that there have been some reliability problems with this new CTR which I hope is not the case as Honda has always been known as bullet proof.

Cheers,
Simon

P.S. Is it just me being a dullard or is the search function on SN utterly useless these days?

The Chief

I'm no expert or owner so appologies.

anyway whats wrong with the old one? i think they are lovely inside
especially with the red interior, miles better built than a Subaru imo.

Clarkson as you probably know slated the new one due to Hondas cost cutting on the suspension front, old one is quicker in a straight line anyway.

I know this is not helping you but i dont see what is wrong with the old version.

Clarksons advice was spend 10-12k and get a low mileage Mk1 CTR.

MarkWRX

Personally, I like the look of them, but the reviews etc havent been very good.

There is also a hell of a lot of nearly new ones for sale on pistonheads which isnt a good sign.

alpha charlie

When I owned my Mk1 CTR I used:

Civic Type R Owners • Index page

and

Type R Owners Forums - Powered by vBulletin


alot, when the next modification on the list was a supercharger I sold up and bought the STI I have now. The only Mk2 CTR owner I know had his for 3 months before deciding the MK1 to MK2 jump was a bad move and sold up.

Personally the only Type R i'd part money for now would be a Jap import DC5 Integra or FD2 Civic
Cheers
AC

MooseRacer

LOL, very apt link name

P1Fanatic

I like the MK1 dont get me wrong but Im not looking at buying for at least 6 months as need to sort finances. So Im gonna be looking at minimum 18mth old cars and tbh I was looking for new or nearly new.

I saw the Top Gear test and with more weight and no more power it is slightly slower - prob not much in real life usage rather than blasting around their test track.

Apparently Top Gear Magazine rated the MK2 as best hot hatch then slated it in the show. Not sure if this is true as dont read the mag and cant find anything online. But if it is it either means the competition isnt up to much or Top Gear cant make their mind up.

alpha charlie - did the facelift MK1 get anything for the skittish handling when pressing on esp in the wet or do I recall that getting sorted out earlier and facelift was purely cosmetic as one would expect?

Simon

alpha charlie

Facelift Mk1 was just flywheel change and cosmetics IIRC, dont reackon they did anything for the skitish handling and left it down to owners to fit JDM spec anti roll bars which sorted it out no end.

If you fancy modding your FN2 Type R do plenty of research before you buy as it isnt available in Japan or US the big tuning companies dont cover it in the range, unlike the EP3 civic or DC5 Integra.

Cheers
AC

The Chief

CTR's are very suseptable to what tyres are used. they require stiff tyre walls and the wrong tyres can ruin the handling, i've heard the oem tyres are crap in the wet also.

Steering feel can also be an issue even with the MK1.

This can be sorted by having the geometry sorted, TDI North are a good company for this. (apparently)

alpha charlie

Indeed Chief,

I went through a few sets of tyres on mine, started with the OEM Bridgestones then onto Falken and eventually settled on Toyo T1R's that seemed to suit my geometry setup and UK weather conditions along with my driving style. The Mk1 suffered from poor factory setup on the rear and alot of folk suffer with stepped wear on the rear tyres.

The power steering on the Mk1 is via an electric motor and not hydraulic like most other cars, this can lead to vauge feedback around the wheel centre point and an impression that it is over reacting to inputs.

I went to ABP for my suspension set up but TDi for the power hike to 240 BHP

Cheers
AC

lordlucan

Just bought a Civic Type S GT (fully loaded with every extra) six weeks old private for 15k, it was 21k new. Its the 2.2 diesel and looks exactly like a type R now I have changed the wheels and front grill. I had it live mapped last week and it got a healthy 195bhp. Pulls like a train and still gets 45mpg. Its known that the power on the 2.2 was restricted by Honda, in the real world I wouldnt be far behind a type R on the road. Problem is in this weather getting the power down, although the traction is quite good and allows a fair bit of spin before taking over.

This was a sensible purchase !

The main gripe from Honda owners is this model has done away with independant rear suspension which allows a much larger boot. Makes the rear end a little crashy. Early 06 models did have a few issues that were fixed on later cars.

Ill be keeping mine for a couple of years as I quite like it, miss rear wheel drive though and am not liking understeer to much ! But as a complete package it cant be beat.

Dream Weaver

I have the Diesel which has all the GT toys, and they are defo worth the extra money.

I love ours, great car to own - they have a few teething problems, all sorted under warranty so I wouldn't worry.

The Type R isn't very quick (I killed one in the 205), but it looks the part and you're probably like me looking for "quickness" rather than outright performance. Great car IMO.

Dream Weaver

Jason - how did the mapping go, any downsides to it and what cost?

The Chief

What mods get you 240bhp? and how much did it cost?

cheers

P1Fanatic

Cheers for the input but depends what you call quick and I doubt very much you actually "killed" one in a 205 unless it was modded. My old classic impreza with 215bhp could only just eek away from one once rolling at motorway speeds and Id imagine they are more streamlined at the top end so would claw it back.

Im still wondering how the straight line speed can be slower. The quoted 0-60 time for both is 6.6secs. MK2 weight is 1246kg so 36kg over the MK's 1210kg. That like 1 third of a passengers weight.

Simon

lee-swindon

i work at honda in swindon and must say the new one imo is a much better drive i also think it looks loads better but still love the old one,

what 'teething' problems did you have out of interest?

P1Fanatic

Wasnt really loooking at modding much other than an aftermarket exhaust. But surely the FD2 is similar albeit more highly tuned so many parts should be transferable?

Simon

harry007

the new type r's are ****e, just drive one, and then drive the old one!!! or go for a dc5...

P1Fanatic

Thats a really constructive post, erm thanks....

Simon

Dream Weaver

My Pug isn't std, 221bhp/ton so it was right to kill it I thought he would keep up a bit more than he did though.

I haven't driven the Type R, but judging that its slower than my Pug and my Pug feels "fast" rather than out and out quick (in my terms a P1 or similar feels quick) due to having to get the revs up very high, I imagine the Type R is good but doesn't make you go ooh when booting it

lordlucan

DW - No problems at all mate, pulls like a train now, made a huge difference !!! Had a play with a 2007 325i coupe yesterday and stuck with him to 85, then he started to creep away. And we were both going for it so I was more than happy. Quite safe for those who worry on a deserted straight dual !
The mpg went from 42 to 47 however when doing manual checks its just made the computer lie as she is still doing 42....Told this will get better at about 10k as the engine is so new and still tight.
As I had the BM mapped by the same guy I got a really good price of £250, the company has agents everywhere as he spent half the time on the phone helping them out, I went to Birmingham to the HQ.

Happy xmas fella !
J

ScoobEvo

We have a red GT with every option under the sun.....it's a stunning car, inside and out. It sounds like a touring car at full chat and, despite all that has been said, it handles much better in the real world than our old model....and is certainly not slower (just smoother!). Build is superb.
Just two gripes.....torsion beam rear suspension makes for a brutal ride (worse than my Evo) at times.....and no xenons FFS!!

lee-swindon

didnt you ask for xenons to be fitted? as they do do them on the type r

CyprusScooby

Your spot on about the search function on here being sh*te these days!!!!

I would be interested to hear from some new shape Type-R owners as well.
The cars looks are growing on me know.

Although the DC5 Integra still looks much better.

jaypug

iTrader: (4)

My dad has one and he loves it:

alpha charlie

Manifold,exhaust,induction kit and ECU reflash about £2500 or there abouts
Cheers
AC

FATBOY_STi

Slight thread creep here - but for those with the Type S GT in particular - anyone driven the 1.8 petrol - and what thoughts against the 2.2 diesel ??

Not that worried about economy - so driveability versus the extra cash the real consideration ?

Thanks.