I heard the suspension on these wasn't double wishbone and I know its not the same K20 as the RSX-S. Can this car be easily tuned to 180-200 all motor fwhp with bolt ons and handle well with a few suspension goodies? Or should I just invest in an RSX-S?


Modified by n3o at 12:57 PM 7/11/2006

 

Neither the ep3 or dc5 have double wish bones anymore, in fact they have almost identical suspension components now. Having said that it just doesnt matter on a DD...unless you are wanting to slam the car or turn it into a race car.

Slamming an ep doesnt work well at all, its really past the limits of the cars geometry.

If you bolted on header, exhuast, intake and Hondata you should be getter close to 180 whp. Several of the guys on here have those mods hopefully thell chime in.

 

I/H/E on mine, including a Type-S catalytic convertor, and no Hondata, dyno'ed at 158 whp. If I added KPro, cams, pistons, & rods, it could probably crack 180 whp or more.

Not many K20A3 drivers have done much n/a work on their cars, though. It's easy to boost (already has a lower compression ratio), so turbo installs with upwards of 300 whp and JRSC-R kits putting down 240+ are not unheard of.

 

You're already getting good advice but I'll chime in since I had to move a thread here a couple secs ago.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by n3o &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I heard the suspension on these wasn't double wishbone....</TD></TR></TABLE>
For most anything you'd want to do with these cars, the design of the suspension is not a problem. It is a McPherson suspension in a straight up/down position under the front fenders. This means that you don't have and cannot get a long shock absorber travel, and this can make for problems in extremely high performance applications, or at high damping rates and high spring rates on the street.

You should not lower the car more than about an inch, and you should be leery of high rates on the street because you could blow a shock in a pothole that might have been survivable in another kind of application.

Don't be scared, though, if you like these cars. Just be reasonable with the changes you want to make on a street car.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...and I know its not the same K20 as the RSX-S. Can this car be easily tuned to 180-200 all motor fwhp with bolt ons and handle well with a few suspension goodies?</TD></TR></TABLE>
The EP3's K20A3 is a good start for turbocharging. If you don't like that idea, then there are bolt ons that will get you close to your goal but it's not going to give you the kind of VTEC performance you might be looking for if you're coming to this car from an older Honda.

A K20A2 in an EP3 is a fairly cheap and instant 200 HP solution.

As far as a good suspension suggestion for the street:
Mugen SS suspension
DC5 ITR rear sway
Crash bolts on front for more camber

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Or should I just invest in an RSX-S?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Most of your concerns would still be there with the RSX-S, except you'd be having those concerns with 200 HP.

 

mmm, Interesting replies peoples, thanks very much. I should of pointed out however, I do not want to spend more then a couple of grand on mods and I don't want to turbo a car that will be my daily since I am building a 400awhp pump 95 talon. I already have one money pit, don't need another one lol.

 

well if u want to spend no more than a couple of grand.. do a skunk2 stage 2 cam swap, dc race header, and catback exaust, kpro, and any intake and u will definatly get ur moneys worth and be around 200 whp on a k20a3


i have spent around 2300 and i will be at give or take 200 whp

my mods are the nuespeed p-flow intake, dc race header, apexi ws2 catback, hondata kpro, hondata intake manifold gasket, and a rsx type s cam swap...

just an example...

and for further info i ran a 14.4 @96 with shitty street tires and no cam swap untuned... so its not a bad way to go

 

interesting....that seems like a pretty good time, All I care is that it handles well, the 11 second dsm is what i will worry about the 1/4 mile with use for fun on autox