So I drive an 89 Hatch. I have for two years now. I love it, I love Hondas. I went out on a whim today and test drove an electric blue 03 Si and I fell in love.

This car has 30,000 miles on one owner (he traded it for a new Si) and is going for about 15,000 from the dealer. I know that if I took that money and poured it into my current hatch I would have a monster of a car, but the newer car appeal has got to me. There are so many advantages and my civic will still always be just that gold civic, fast or not.

What are the pros and cons to the Si you have found. I can't afford a new one and I don't really want a 99-00 Si because they are just run down and whatever.

Please tell me what you think. I am very interested and very curious. I like the fact that it has only 30,000 miles and it was just an awesome car to me.

 

**** dude go with the ep3 it has a k20 trust me it has potential

 

look around the ep3 section for all info

 

Do you all absolutely love it?


WHy does this one have 50 less horsepower than a Type S RSX. What is different about the motor.

I don't it doesn't rev as high and has less HP but almost the same amount of torque. With a short geared tranny.

What do basic bolt ons I H E get you power wise? What does ti take to get to say... 200 HP?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by square_1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you all absolutely love it?


WHy does this one have 50 less horsepower than a Type S RSX. What is different about the motor.

I don't it doesn't rev as high and has less HP but almost the same amount of torque. With a short geared tranny.

What do basic bolt ons I H E get you power wise? What does ti take to get to say... 200 HP?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It is becasue it has a k20a3 motor and the type s has a k20a2 or z1 depending on which year you get. If you do get a new s1 either head swap or boost the hell out of it they love boost

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by square_1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you all absolutely love it?


WHy does this one have 50 less horsepower than a Type S RSX. What is different about the motor.

I don't it doesn't rev as high and has less HP but almost the same amount of torque. With a short geared tranny.

What do basic bolt ons I H E get you power wise? What does ti take to get to say... 200 HP?</TD></TR></TABLE>
you would get better opinions in the Ep3 forum like Fventura said

 

You are in the wrong forum.

We are 2001-2005 NO SI!

u want the RSX/Ep3 forum

as for the HP.

THe head and compression ratio. The head on a k20a3 is made for gas milage, while the k20a2 is made for performance. U can find the logistics of how this is accomplished here

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/1689966

it is very hard to get a k20a3 to 200whp with just bolt-ons, probably impossible without VERY extensive mods, in which case it would be cheaper to turbo.

VERY good results can be had by turboing the a3, due to its low compression and long gearing. people are seeing 250+whp on safe levels of boost.

Supercharging is another good option.

I/H/E and Kpro might get u up to 165 whp on the k20a3 if your lucky.

 

So they are pretty turbo happy then?

I dunno. I really like this car but everyone is like "dude that is the slowest Si", etc.

If I like it I don't really care what they think. But I do wanna have mods for it in the future.

 

i love mine i have had it for a month i used to have an integra and i would choose my ep3 over my old integra any day

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by square_1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but everyone is like "dude that is the slowest Si", etc.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
if you can't get over "that" stuff others say... dont buy it...

stock? yeah... 165 hp = 108lbs/torque... pretty weak to the wheels...

but if you look at the power to weight ratio's some of us "modders" are getting, you'll see some good numbers...
i've seen others around 300WHP w/turbo.

if you want a "Race Car" -get the S2K!
this isn't a true race car...
unless you have some money to throw away (like i do)

but i have a family, and it doubles as the kid-picker-upper... and i've always loved the civic hatches.

no matter what driving style i choose, it's always fun to drive!

***Remember... to most people -it's the hated Si ***
so, we don't get them for "status symbols"
if you want that, get the TLX...

 

I recently went from an Blue 04 EP3 to a 2003 RSX Type S.

Got the Type S with 55k on the odometer for $14,000. Do yourself a favor and go shopping. You will end up being disappointed with the EP3 motor after about a year. Just find a used Type S and you will be GOLDEN. I pulled 184WHP stock on my DC5 - and when my header, intake and test pipe go on next weekend, I'm expecting good gains.

Buy the horsepower up front, it will just be easier in the long run.

 

No offense but I hate the RSX with a passion. I could never feel happy about driving one. And I don't really care too much about what others think (after all I have driven an 89 automatic stock civic hatch back for 2 years thinking it was awesome). My friends actually say that is their favorite Si.

I feel that if I got that guy I would still be happy even if it wasn't a speed demon just because I was finally driving a NEWER Civic Si. And I would think I would be happy with I H E and like an ECU flash of some sort. (At least until it is paid off, then I can go bigger).

I DO know I am not paying 16K or it and won't drive it out of the dealership for more than say... 14K or so.

 

Keep searching, there should be more cheaper ones...

 

You hate the RSX with a passion? Why? The base model shares pretty much everything but the body style and interior with the EP3. And it does it all in a much more attractive package with better options available.

The Type-S builds on this already great platform by adding leather, stiffer suspension, possibly one of the smoothest 6-speed manuals ever built, and the real VTEC with 40 more horsepower. You can't honestly say that if you test drove an EP3 and a Type-S DC5 back to back, and had your choice of one at the same price, that you would pass on the RSX.

You might as well say that you hate the integra. And that sir, is blasphemy.

 

i like my ep3, but if i was you, i would rather get a rsx type-s. plus, $15k is too much dinero. shop around. is $15k your budget? are you in love with the ep3? cuz if you are, who are we to break hearts?

few things i like about my ep3:
- styling. i like eggs and it has a sweet ***.
- interior.
- stock, it rides great.
- predictable handling.

few things i dislike about my ep3:
- steering creak. hate it.
- stock for stock, suv's are a challenge to beat. lol
- no double wishbone suspension.
- hard plastic interior. even the older civics had squishy materials and not the hard plastic on the doors.

 

oh, btw.




i actually love my ep3. she's one of those girls you gotta put a little $ into to get what you want out of her. instead of implants, you give this girl boost or an k20A. you can call her Casper. lol.

 

whats with the tape?

 

i would find an ep3 that's cheaper. I bought my '03 with 30k miles on it in 2005 and I paid less than 15k

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gsr_pimp88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whats with the tape?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hiding in shame with a k20a3

 

OH NO YOU DIDN'T! lol

keeps debris from messing up your car. actually, i usually just tape the headlights but my last run at this track left my car battle scarred. so, i began to mask the front and then ran out of tape. lol.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CobblepotDC5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">possibly one of the smoothest 6-speed manuals ever built</TD></TR></TABLE>
What a joke

 

Are you serious? Honda is reknown for building some of the best shifting manual transmissions on the planet. I've driven late model BMW's whose shifters had awful throw and no feel. No comparison to the DC5.

The EP3 is the only joke around here. Pile in the kids. Enjoy the minivan.

 

look at all the ep haters, theyre just mad we have a way cooler shifter some people say why buy a ep when you can have an rsx type s? why buy an rsx when you could buy a wrx? why buy a wrx when you can buy a corvette? people buy civic dx's every day with plans to do swaps or boost them whats different about the ep? quit hating, the ep is basically a base model rsx just way cooler because its the latest hatch back civic to date (right now any way). if your really interested in gettin an ep check out ephatch.com and dont pay any attention to any one elses opinion when buying ANY car!!!

oh ya look around on the classifieds section on ephatch.com you can find an si for alot less than 15k

 

The EP really only looks like a minivan with the stock wheels and no spoiler (CTR fixes that).

My buddy is having synchro problems with his DC5 with 18k miles. Oh and... https://honda-tech.com/zerothread/2024309
Have fun driving the typical college girl car.

 

My Type S has 62,000 miles and I've never experienced a grind or a pop out. (I sure as hell did on the 1-2 shift in my EP3 though!!! And that one only had 30,000 miles!)

Wow, college girl car, nice zing. Don't hate because you're slow. And come on, we all know the EP3 looks like a big ******* suppository.

Also, the point I'm trying to make about purchasing a Type S over an EP3 is because if you do your shopping, you can find them used at the same price point. It's not just a factor of power, as Hybrid EF is so ridiculously implying in his post. A WRX of the same year and miles would be more expensive, a corvette of the same would be way more expensive.