i test drove an 03 ep3 today. it was bought from auction and is at a used car lot. the people at the car lot know very little about the car. when they bought it, they thought it was stock other than a loud megan exhaust. when looking for the cd player code, they found a list of mods including 04 k20a2/tranny, skunk2 stage 2 cams, springs, valves, retainers, eagle rods, acl bearings, light flywheel, stage 3 clutch, eibach springs. other things that i noticed, the car has been converted to 5 lug and has 16 inch rsx wheels on it.

it appears that the swap was done by modifying the stock harness because of some wires and electrical tape that didnt look stock. the car has the check engine light on but i dont know what code(s) it is throwing. the key only works to unlock the pass side door. the dealer said that the springs were cut but they had just gotten in a set of B&G springs to replace them with. ive never heard of b&g. so i assume theyre not that great. other than that the car was in great condition. theyre asking 10k and will give me 3k trade in for my 97 prelude. plus i think i can talk them down on the price.

the car drove well, but it didnt have the power i expected from the a2. i assume its running in limp mode because of the CEL. if it were running off the a3 ecu would it throw a CEL?

if anyone can give me their opinion on what the think the car is worth or if its even worth getting. if you think its way too much of a potential problem, let me know that too. thanks for your time.

 

wow thats A LOT of work done. I'd ask them to inspect the ECU and see what kind it is. Then I'd also check the code. If it's running in limp mode that could definitely be the reason it feels slow cause that thing should be hauling *** pretty good with all those mods listed.

Can a A3 ecu even run a A2 because of the true i-VTEC in the A2? I don't imagine so but not sure...

As for price I can't help you there I've never looked into the EP3

 

Yikes, I'd be VERY cautious about buying a car without knowing it's true history, especially considering this may/may not be running correctly. Who knows how well that motor was built and what it really has? I wouldn't even consider this car unless your very mechanically inclined and good at diagnosing problems.

Personally, I would want to pull the head AND the oil pan to inspect the parts it supposedly has.

If you're really serious about it, I would definitely do a compression test at the minimum, and pull the ECU codes.

 

ok, thanks guys.

im new to k series and ep3, what are the a3 and a2 ecu model codes? the a2 is PRB, correct?

as for if the a3 ecu could run the a2 engine, i dont really know. i read about using the a3 ecu and keeping the rpms low until you could get honda to reset the immobilizer and a2 ecu to your key. so i guess it can.

im mechanically inclined enough, but diagnosing is not my strong point. the k series and what needs to be done for it to be swapped and run correctly in an ep3 are foreign to me. all of this, plus not knowing the quality of the work or if it even has the parts is supposed to has me weary of buying it. Im just trying to figure out if im staying clear of a huge hassle or if im passing up a diamond in the rough.

 

That's a tough call dude. IMO souds too good to be true. It sounds kinda like, "here take the keys to my Ferrari and go for a test drive, but if you break traction on the wheels, the car will explode haha." What I mean is, why want a car that you can't have fun with because you have to worry about other things going wrong with it.

 

it does sound to good to be true and probably is. i drove 40 miles to check out the car thinking that all that was done to it was the 6 speed tranny swap. when i got there i saw a piece of paper on the dash listing all the mods.

 

What's the rev limiter at and do you hear and feel a V-TEC crossover. Seriously though, with all those mods you would definitely notice something.

 

i dont know what the rev limit was because i wasnt really able to drive the car very hard. i kept it under 5k. the exhaust was extremely loud and the cops were were out hard. i saw three people get pulled over on my 20ish min test drive. the guy from the car lot that was riding with me said the cops there are very tough. so i didnt want to push my luck too much.

the engine felt like it had pretty good torque it just seemed slow to climb through the rpms.

 

my advice is don't that one and keep looking...there can be more things wrong it with...

 

look under the car at the oil pan.....if it steel, its most likly an a3, ribbed al could be a2......most a2's are also going to have a 6 speed........

 

x2, if you don't know the history or whats done, wait for something you do know and by then you'll understand more about the ep's and k series

 

i would not buy a car like that most likely the previews owner didnt put all those mods just to have it seating down on the drive way and plus how did it end up in a car auction. i bet the guy who had it before beat the crap out of it. if u gonna get a car just get it clean and start from ground zero that way you know what ur doing and whats ur car pushing

 

Dont buy it

 

ok, thanks guys.

im probably not going to buy it. however, i am going to see if i can find anything else out about it.

i have no idea how it ended up at auction. it may have been repossessed or something.

ill let you guys know if i find out anything else about the car.

EDIT: heres a link to the listing. they dont list all the mods that were on the piece of paper laying on the dash.

http://www.premierpre-owned.com/details.asp?ID=541

 

there was a local guy here selling an 02 ep3 with the same swap. he was asking 10k obo.. hope that helps tried to find post but it was gone already... try ephatch.com

 

That's my old car. Long story how it got to the auction but it did.

I would take it back in a heartbeat.

 

seriously? do you mind giving me a bit more info on the car? the place selling it knows very little about it.

thanks