I currently have a 2002 gti 1.8t 180 hp, i love the car , everything, the car is pretty fast, but ive ahd a lot of little annoying problems with it. I saw a very nice blue rsx-s for sale with i think the oem body it? and wing? and it only has 14 thousand km's for 28,000$ canadian. Very tempting. what should i do, how does the rsx-s match up with the 180 hp 1.8t's?

 

what problems do you have?

Id rather have a 1.8T

 

hehe yo posted here too ... yes it's where you supposed to ask not ITR forume

i'd rather have rsx-s than 1.8T IMO.

 

I'd take the S over the 1.8T, i would suggest going and test driving the S 1st to see if u like the way it feels, u know.. before doing anything

 

1.8t is a ok daily driver. Find your self a Type R. you will be very happy.

 

i would not take the S over a a 1.8t .....its a sweet car ....and very detuned from the factory ...get a simple 300 dollar chip ...and get 177 hp , and 225 lb/ft of torque at the wheels ....drop in a boost controller ..exhaust ...intake filter ...turn up the boost , and be well over 200+ whp ....cant beat that..i've seen some super clean Gti's ....they got that awesome Euro look ....just cant be beat ...

stick with what you got ...its a great platform

 

Both my two best friends have gti's and I have a S. Both are great cars, although some GTI's are having some problems, which ones are you facing? I have heard that the windows are quite a problem in the GTI's.

With a chip you can make them damn fast and that is very tempting, but I could see how you are warying about the problems. The two cars are very similair in performance. If you are really into performance and modifying your car you will be able to get better results for less money with the GTI.

BUT the rsx has a growing aftermarket. HONDATA is making an offical annoucement TODAY and there ECU findings on the rsx and some have quoted to see S2000 numbers with this mod.

So the questions is up to you right now.

 

With all the Honda theft lately, in addition to the attention they get from the fuzz, I could not honestly recommend any Honda product to anyone.

Sad, but true.

 

If you didn't already own a 1.8T, I would say get an RSX-S because of dubious quality issues with VWs in general. They've come a long way, but Acura reliability is head and shoulders above VW. Since you already own a 1.8T, if you can live with the little issues, just keep it and make it a turbo MONSTER.

 

what he said.

if you wanna go hardcore get a type R, don't waste time screwing around with street cars like a type S or the 1.8t. but then it's hard to recommend any honda product because everybody likes to steal them.

 

that;s only if u can handle the noise first @
R is just loud no everyone can handle it

 

I used to have an RSX. I, personally, would keep the GTI. I was looking into a 1.8T Passat or Jetta when I decided to trade in the RSX. I had many problems with the RSX. But, this is just one person's opinion. As you can tell by the name, I stuck with the Honda family.

 

Well bro both cars are very nice, but I have heard many problems with the VW ie.. windows, tranny, and the engine going on the VW. The Gti can better mods for fewer dollars but I heard they have the most problems. I heard the biggest problems with the GTi are the windows breaking and even falling out, and the trannys overheating or just giving out.

Honda/Acura are known for thier dependibility. Strong motors and strong trannys. They last forever with minor to zero problems before hitting 2ook miles.

As of right now Hondata has released thier ECU upgrade for the RSX type S. The base is slow and not much it out for it, but the Type S has more mods out for it now.
The Hondata has gained 2o whp with thier ecu upgrade.
On on a type S vtec would activate at 6ooo rpm, but now hondata has programed the vtec to kick on at 52oo rpms. The redline on the S was 79oo rpm, but now is pushed back to 86oo rpm. But the price for this is 6oo.oo dollars.
On the RSX type S that hondata used to test the ecu the car had intake, and exhaust and he ecu upgrade and produced over 200 whp, which is pretty good. The K series motor is coming along good and this little step has just shown us all what the true potential of the K motor can do.

The only thing we can say is test drive the S and make your decision. Good Luck bro.

 

Go with the S.....my g/f's father just got a Jetta VR6 recently and one of the side windows just shattered for no reason....WTF???

 

if its about speed.... whichever one u can make faster with less money.. go with that.

 

Hold on there horsefly.......the 1.8t engine is bullet proof. 1.BillyT has been running 430whp on a bone stock from oil pan to valve cover 1.8t now for 2 years and has had NO problems from the engine. There have been 3 instances of 1.8t engine blowing from boost........the owners were all boosting more than 26psi and were either on the wrong type gas(pump instead of race) or were spraying a 70shot on top of all of that. The windows are a problem, but only on the Golf/Jettas. The transmissions can be a problem, but only on the Golf/Jettas. Some peoples tranny's hold on those cars, other don't. Most of the time syncronizers are to blame. Chip, intake, exhaust with DP nets anywhere from 187whp~205whp. Depends on your car and the temps when dynoing. Torque is almost always 230wtq+. MOST common 1/4 times are 14.0~14.5........good drivers hit 13.5-13.9(this requires a 2.0x~low 2.1x 60'). So, most of what you said is true, except for the engine part......these engines truely are overengineered to hell and back.

 

Ah, the great 1.8T vs. X engine debate. I've heard 'em all. For a daily driver, I think I'd like the 1.8T, but as for a fun car to let loose from one time to another, there's nothing like the extra revs that you can get from them Honda engines. Since the 1.8T is a badass iron block that VW/Audi have perfected over the past decade, you can flog it to hell without changing internals and it'll hold up quite well (can you say turbo upgrades?). As for all them electrical gremlins, try to avoid the cars from Mexico. Not to be racist or anything, but statistically, the cars that have come from Mexico have had the greater share of problems. VWs still manufactured in Germany are the Jetta Wagon, the GTI 337 (actually I think most the GTIs/Golfs are still made in Germany), or the Passat.

 

I would choose the gti, but then again, I'm a VW fan. I do like hondas also, but a factory turbo'd car is just a bonus Here is a dyno graph of a stock 2002 GTI with just the new Garrett x-chip


going from 180 crank to 186whp with just a chip is very if you ask me! I was at another dyno where there was a 1.8t with giac chip, intake, 3"dp and exahust make 205whp.

 

1.8t

 

Maybe back when i was 16 years old, a 2.0 litre engine would be cool, but these days 2.0 litres just isn't enough unless you've got boost. If you don't have the torque, then you need a turbo. If you don't have a turbo, then you need a bigger engine cuz having no torque sucks!!! VTEC is getting old and I-VTEC is even worse. Stick with the 1.8t unless you plan to boost that S.

 

I think it depends on the person......the high reving nature of the RSX makes a person feel more "racey". I love the seats in the RSX-S and the tranny simply kicks ***. The Vtec kickover is very pronounced and sounds o-so-sweet. So, if your looking for a track car, I think the RSX-S could fulfill your needs for less than a GTI could money wise. If you want just all out power, the GTI would be easier and cheaper to make tons of hp. Both cars can be made into power houses or track machines, but each of them are better in separate categories

 

Yeah, I'm definitely impressed w/ the Honda trannys. The 5 speed on the transverse VWs that I've driven (VR6 mainly) are SO DAMN RUBBERY! I can't stand the shifter. Hell, I'd even take the Audi/VW longitudinal shifter with the suuuuper long throws. I feel like I'm driving a truck! Row them gears!

 

what motor? what car? thats a tall rear, and very high compression. Swap the 750 for an 850 4-bbl, and go stump yankin'. NICE!!

and i think you mean "bored 0.030 over".

 

Easy...1.8t...
M

 

the rsx-s is more reliable, but like $300 bucks for a chip on the 1.8T adds like around 30+ hp and makes it a beast on the street. only reliability issues kept me away from the VW dealership. i really wanted a GTI. but turbo's are high maintenance.