Gav

Hi all,

Now that the previous shape type R is coming down in price it's got me thinking about one as a track/weekend car. I have a company car for the week so it would only be used for fun! Would one of these be a good idea?

The main reason for one of these is because the engines are pretty much bomb proof and i just love the gear lever position (miss sg555 had one for a while). The first mod i would make is an LSD up front and a couple of suspension tweeks. Stripping out would of course happen too.

Am i daft to look at one of these?

Gav..

300bhp/ton

I don't see why not. All depends on price and what you want at the end of the day.

I'm also not totally sold on the 100% reliability either.

Personally if its just for track and/or weekend use I can think of plenty of other more interesting and fun or cheaper alternatives.

Andy M3

That's what I was going to say. The Honda is expensive to buy/run and although might last a little longer on a track than other cars, it is consumables that will make it expensive.

I would either buy something that is already a road going track day car – or consider something like an elise or caterham – they latter have decent residuals and thanks to the light kerb weight and good standard set up it wouldn’t be too hard on the wallet relative to the grin factor!!!

Freshly built and good to go:
Race Cars : PBMW Race Car .........320 BMW (road legal)

Nice Caterham
Caterham : Stunning 1400 supersport

Elise
Lotus : elise s1, 30,000 miles

zip106

Looks a good car but unless the OP is single then it isn't much good for the 'weekend car' bit

Gav

Thanks for your replies

Thanks for your suggestions Andy, the BM is a bit hardcore as a road car me thinks and miss SG won't fit (a good thing? ). What i've been trying to work out is am i better having a weekend car and a company car or not having a company car and get an Exige instead. A good friend of mine has one and i just love it!

i've just not seen many Civics as track cars, everyone seems to do the usual pug 205, golf gti mk2 etc etc and i fancied something different and a solid base car to start with!

What to do??????????????????

Steve vRS

I drive a nice sensible Octavia vRS Turbo Diesel as a company car and have just bought a '94 Eunos Roadster 1.8 S Spec as a weekend/track car. It needs a few tweaks but should be fun! It's already had me having to apply a dab of oppo which is what you want in a fun car

Steve

The Chief

Gav - what about a VX220 N/A????

Having drove one a few times these are superb cars and are a damn site more rewarding than a Scoob even if they dont have the outright pace of a Scoob.

You can pick up a na version for less than 10k now, and although everyone says 'get the turbo' the na version uses the 2.2 which is an alloy block as opposed to the turbo which uses the iron 2.0 unit and as a result the na is 55kg lighter.

a lot more reliable than an Elise (so i've been told) as the same engine powers the Vectra and is in a low state of tune but also very torquey.

Try one mate i promise you wont be dissapointed.

Btw another buddy drove my mates VX and went to test drive a CTR afterwards because he's been hankering after one for a bit and after the VX was left dissapointed - he told me the CTR felt gutless even though on paper they are supposedly as quick

Gav

Now then Chief

I like the VX too but i just prefer the look of the Elise plus the residuals on an Exige/Elise will be better! A friend might be selling his Exige soon and it's a stunner, black with the yellow and silver cup stripes going the length of the car!

Think my hearts in the Exige more than the Civic really

300bhp/ton

How much do Civics go for??

Rackon you could get a nice Caterham-like or Dax (Cobra) replica for similar money. You'd end up with something way more fun and interesting. Even than the Exige. 500bhp is more than a possibility in a Dax.

The Chief

A guy at work owns a 4.0 litre Dax Rush - awesome cars, more a fast road car as ithas a big lusty V8 as opposed to a screaming bike engine but still an awesome car all the same.

Pity the guy has literally put only 100 miles on it this year

The Chief

Hmmm not sure about that, VX's are cheaper but i dont think they'll drop like a stone as they dont make them anymore, plus a lot of people will move into these cars as they have far better consumption then a Scoob.

Demand will far outstrip supply soon.

Spec'c'57

iTrader: (1)

Looking at just over 5k for them now.

The Chief

What a CTR? maybe a leggy version i'd say looking more like 7k plus for a decent example.

rcwhite

have u looked at the dc5 mate better than the civic and more track focused out the box EG already has limited slip brembos jap better engine

Dandycars.com Ltd : DC5 Type R - Black

300bhp/ton

The Rush is a pretty funky little car. You can run them with a V8, 2.0 turbo with Cossie 4wd setup or even with a superbike engine.

Personally I wouldn't say a CTR is not a good choice, but IMO it is a rather boring choice.

Unless actually competing in a real race then I'd rather drive something with loads of torque, wonderful soundtrack (proabably V8), rwd, and looks good. Go out and have some fun. Hell even a TVR 350i would be more fun than a CTR in terms of grin factor and likely just as capable on the track with a few tweeks.

Spec'c'57

iTrader: (1)

For a track focused car tho strip it out etc.

Gav

If it was to be a civic then it would be more of a track car than a road car and will be completely stripped etc. I'm looking for one of the earlier ones on an 02 plate which can be had for good money now!

I know a Caterham would make a much better car but i'm not keen on the safety side of them. Not much protection if it goes wrong! Plus i like to be different and i've not seen many Civic track cars

exvaux

iTrader: (1)

for a track car id rather have a DC2 teg typeR,better handling and drive than the civic imo or a cheap impreza/legacy

firesorter

Think we`re getting somewhere now!! i had a CTR, mate has a DC2 Teg, the Teg will fulfill all your requirements and reward you with the thrills you seek!
EVO magazine "the best FWD ever" excellent reliability (although clutches tend to expire around 60k for some reason.
check out performance car magazine or their website: Performance Car: Performance Car Magazine for owners, drivers and enthusiasts of performance cars. as they have one as a longtermer
or CTR owners website Civic Type R Owners Website

Gav

Cheers firesorter, i'll have a mooch at the dc2 Teg too

The Chief

Gav - my buddy told me he might be selling his VX if thats your cup of tea. nice car, less than 50k hard top and Milltek exhaust!!!!

Richard.B

Get a DC2 ITR. Cheaper than the CTR (including the original Ek9 CTR) They pull better and handle better too and the sound track is just amazing at 8.5k

Cyberevo

iTrader: (1)

DC2 all the way, now I've sold my EVO, I'm on the look out for a mint DC2.

Gav

Cyberevo i just loved your car and if i was in the market for another scoob/evo i would have snatched your arm off

has the Integra less pull being 1.8 and stripped out would it be lighter than a civic?

The Chief

Gav - whilst i'm the first to admit my Scoob was not as fast as some of the other Smacs 350bhp monsters it still ran a respectable 250-260 ish bhp and 300 lbs ft torque. i had a bit of fun with a Teg once and over a distance of about 200 yards i swear he was only about a car length behind me if that.

I thought i would have murdered it - i thought wrong!

Richard.B

The DC2 is lighter when fully loaded up and will quite happily put the Ep3 type-r into the shadows of the Type-R badge, which is where it belongs. Though the engine is an awesome engine and loads better than the B-series. like for like against the DC2 and other older honda's (Mk2 CRX VT/siR for example and speaking from experience) it's a very poor car for the money. It's just too safe and doesn't have the raw feel that the older honda's have.

Infact for the money of a cheap EP3 I could buy and build a low blow turbo'd EG civic that will give a grin factor like nothing else (unless its a supercar, ultimate BJ etc etc). It'll handle like its on rails too.

And you could drive it home after giving it death aronud a track and not really have to worry to much about it.

Zeon

If you're wanting a "weekend car" then don't bother with the hot version of a hatchback. That in my eyes doesn't constitute a weekend car. That's something you'd drive to work in.

Proper weekend cars don't usually come with roofs, doors or windscreens.

lestippp

To answer the OP's question - It's a great idea

These civic's are brilliant in standard form and I can only imagine that they would be something else if you performed a few nice tweeks. I seen one once at Knockhill that was pushing out more than 300bhp but that included about 25bhp of nitrous, still some car though.

I drove these cars for three years and was never disappointed apart from when it was raining (they really are pants in the wet ).

As far as I can tell they really are bomb proof engine wise and that is part of the fun, I repeatedly reved the nuts off them and they just wanted more of the same. They are also faster than some think, probably capable of out running a standard wrx to a ton, so no shrinking violets
The positioning of the gear lever is neat but the way it works in action is quite amazing I run a Cayman S now and it has a brilliant gear change but I reckon that the one in the CTR is better

Get the civic mate, you'll love it and you can use it comfortably on the road with your girlfriend sat next to you without complaining about bugs hitting her face

The guys on here are very clued up on some serious track kit but not everyone wants some ugly lotus or caterham on their drive that is only good for the track

Let us know how you get on with it once you've bought it

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

I had a DC2 for 5 years and now have a 55 CTR so feel I can comment here. The CTR is a good car, a very good car, but if I wanted a car for track work I would take the DC2 all day long.

You can basically slap it on the track in standard trim and it won't disappoint, fettle it a little and wow! You will be literally amazed at the speed it can carry through the corners as will some drivers of more meatier Japanese 4wd machinery

Just try one before you go the CTR route. If you don't like it then no worries.

Eddie1980

I had a DC2 for 3 years and still miss it very much. Fantastic car, and very practical since its a hatch with a big boot!!! More then capable of running track and road in standard form. As stated a few tweaks will really make it perform!