I've never really liked ep3's all that much, but I've been having problems with my sol this past week, and I cant afford to miss any more work or school. I looked at one at a dealer, and I had some likes and dislikes. I want to see if there is anything I can do about the dislikes.

1.) I'm not too crazy about the way the shifter is in the dash. Is there a kit that can relocate it back down to the floor?

2.) I test drove one and was a bit disappointed with the power. What can be done to make the motor more peppy without going too much further then cams. How well does the k20a3 handle boost? And can it be made reliable without changing the stock compression?

I've taken a liking to this car, and am thinking of buying it, but I dont want to go from a decently fast car to something horribly slow. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93eg2james &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've never really liked ep3's all that much, but I've been having problems with my sol this past week, and I cant afford to miss any more work or school. I looked at one at a dealer, and I had some likes and dislikes. I want to see if there is anything I can do about the dislikes.

1.) I'm not too crazy about the way the shifter is in the dash. Is there a kit that can relocate it back down to the floor?

Believe me you will get used to the shifter on the dash, i know it feels awkward in the beginning but ive come to liking it so much becasue first off you have so much room below. Also it just feel comfrotable becasue its "right there". I dont believe there is a kit to relocate it without custom working costing mass amounts of money.

2.) I test drove one and was a bit disappointed with the power. What can be done to make the motor more peppy without going too much further then cams. How well does the k20a3 handle boost? And can it be made reliable without changing the stock compression?

With the power, of course you got your basic boltons I/RH/E/kpro for NA make pretty good power. K20a3 handles boost very well as ive heard, some of my friends have turbo and thier motor handles it very well. Also supercharging is real good with the k20a3 motors.
I've taken a liking to this car, and am thinking of buying it, but I dont want to go from a decently fast car to something horribly slow. Any and all suggestions are welcome. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How much power was your sol making?

 

Go with an rsx-s the motor is powerful, boltons plus k-pro you'll easily make 200-220 to the ground easily N/A. can't say the same for the ep3

 

I own two EP3s, so I'll chime in here.

I have a strong hunch an EP3 is not for you. I may be wrong, but EP3s are not like olives where you come to like them more over time.

However, to answer your questions: I am not aware of any reasonable way to move the gear shift lever to the floor. Arguably, the current location is one of those oddities that adds to the car's character. (In Europe, Honda likened the shifter to those found on rally cars, an idea that fell flat here, as you post points out.) Certainly there are no commercial kits available to relocate the shift lever, which means someone would have to fabricate one -- significant bucks -- and that's assuming they knew what they were doing. I also suspect such a mod would kill the car's resale value.

As for more power, the expression that comes to mind is: "Speed Costs Money; How Fast Can You Afford to Go?" The EP3's "strength" (if I can put it that way) is torque, not horsepower. Yes, you can bolt a turbocharger on the motor, but essentially you are beating on a plow horse. You may succeed in making an EP3 fast<U>er</U>, but it will never be a fast and still reliable car.

 

if you get that car you will learn to like the shifter, i didnt at first and now i love it. as for the motor... you will never be happy, look into a swap, boost, or another car. i am boosting my ep with a built head, hoping to get some good numbers that i will be happy with. good luck with whatever you do.

 

I appreciate the input everyone. It was really helpful. I went back today to talk to the salesman, and he wouldnt budge on the price. They wanted $14,995 for a 2005 Si with 40k on it. I looked around and found better deals then this one, so I decided not to get it. I might still buy one, just not at the moment.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mechanic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> it will never be a fast and still reliable car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I giggled at this comment a little bit. Any car can be decently fast, and reliable, it's just the amount of money you're willing to put into it. I know of a few people with low 11 sec honda's that drive them to work everyday with no problem.

 

Keep on searching, there is bound to be more cheaper EP's for sale...

 

by reading what u said dont by an ep3..... Ep3 Owners Have a type of love for there car that no other honda owner does... and we all know why

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JustHere4ADay &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">by reading what u said dont by an ep3..... Ep3 Owners Have a type of love for there car that no other honda owner does... and we all know why</TD></TR></TABLE>

I like them. They grew on me pretty quick.

 

There A car u see on the road and u dont say ANOTHER EG... or ANOTHER TEG ... people still think i have a coupe when i tell them what year my car is.... WE are hated but the few of us love our cars... we got the **** end of the stick but o well

 

I don't plan on owning a manual-shift car with the shifter on the floor again. I know that I'll probably have to, but having it higher & closer to the steering wheel makes so much sense, I wish they all had it like that. After owning my EP since 2002, a floor-mounted shifter just feels awkward.

If you want more power, you've got plenty of options. It handles moderate boost fine, and any number of K-series swaps & Frankenmotors can be dropped in there.

The suspension design could have been better, and Honda really should've put the K20A2 motor in it for the US... but still, it's a fun, practical, well-built car. I totally dig mine.

 

But if your going to buy one and "if" you have $15,500...I would buy JDMCivicEp3's EP...He has all the kool parts on it already...The car's been mugenized big time...

Here is the link, you might have to create a account...

http://www.ephatch.com/forum/s...29899

 

i like ep3's looks but the only thing i dont like about it is the shifting, it looks weird

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DC5. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i like ep3's looks but the only thing i dont like about it is the shifting, it looks weird </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'd call it "different" -- "weird" carries a derogatory meaning to me.

Before seeing the EP's interior, every time I saw a track car with its shift lever just inches away from the wheel, I thought that it would be really neat to have in a street car, but I didn't think that I'd see one.

Really, after a few minutes, it totally makes sense. Ya gotta take an EP for a drive on a fun road -- then you'll see what I mean.

 

Found a good price on a type-s yesterday. bought it.

thanks everyone.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93eg2james &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Found a good price on a type-s yesterday. bought it.

thanks everyone.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Kool, pics of your new car?

 

picking it up today at 4. I'll have lots of pics up for you

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93eg2james &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Found a good price on a type-s yesterday.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Fine, turn your back on the EP...


Just playin'...

 

yea man if u dont like the shifter and dont like the power i would go with something else, u are gonna be stuck with the car u buy so mine as well buy one u like... but every ep owner i know likes the shifter, power is where there is a complaint but it can be fixed with f/i or k20a2/k20a swap

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by t-town_ep &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yea man if u dont like the shifter and dont like the power i would go with something else, u are gonna be stuck with the car u buy so mine as well buy one u like... but every ep owner i know likes the shifter, power is where there is a complaint but it can be fixed with f/i or k20a2/k20a swap</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I like the shifter as well...I think it feels alot better than the regular ones in other cars...And EP's are unique...

 

As far as power goes -- that's easy, much easier than trying to install a dash shifter or a full hatchback onto an RSX.

I may keep my motor as-is for a while (mainly to stay within STX rules for autocross) before I finally decide what to do with it.

 

I've loved the ep3 since the first time I ever saw one. Get an RSX... you might like the shifter over time in the ep3.. but not the actual car (if you don't already).

 

why the ep3? why not fg

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by htotheizzo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why the ep3? why not fg </TD></TR></TABLE>

Why not?

There's more to a car than its engine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by htotheizzo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">why the ep3? why not fg </TD></TR></TABLE>

cuhz fg's look like poop.