Potential new owner/Looking to buy.

[Djchocice]

Evening all and hello as it's my first post on the forum.

I've been seriously considering buying a DC5 ITR for the best part of a year now, I've perused the forums, sought advice from a very helpful acquaintance, however I still have a few questions before I begin looking at buying a car.

The reason I'm looking at a DC5 is I'm looking for something that can serve as a dual purpose daily driver and occasional track car but with 4 seats and a decent sized boot. Currently I have a Honda S2000 with Ohlins DFV's, Spoon brakes and a few other go faster bits which I've had for nearly 4 years, I adore it but I'm in need of 4 seats and a bigger boot and I've been desperate to scratch the DC5 itch for a long time.

First off, what is a DC5 like as a daily driver? What are fuel, servicing costs, availability & cost of parts like?

Secondly, just how do they cope on track and what are the areas that need addressing for occasional track work?

Thirdly, what is availability and the cost of aftermarket parts like? At some point I'll almost certainly add a few go faster bits as any quick Honda is truly brought to life with some well thought out suspension, brake, engine tweaks.

Apologies for the long winded post, I'm sure what I've asked has probably been asked before but the above are the questions I can't quite find answers for.

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[RE Spirit]

Hi and welcome Steve,

Did you look at the buyers guide? http://www.itr-dc5.club/forum/index.php?/topic/24755-dc5-basic-buyers-guide/

 

[ste01]

Welcome Steve,

DC5s are fine as a daily, no more expensive than any other similar sized "normal" car in my experience and generally don't go wrong. Parts are easy to get from Honda and not usually too expensive, or at least no worse than getting parts for civics.

Fuel is not a problem with these cars. If you take it easy and travel on lots of motorway you can see 370-400miles on a tank easy. (I have with both of mine anyway)

What's your budget?

 

[mikey_t8]

I get on average 26mpg, thats a mixture of town and motorway roads.. the best I've had was when I done a trip last year and got over 400miles in one tank (from East London to Belgium).

Servicing isn't too expensive, most of the parts are the same as the ep3 and can be bought online through tegiwa, japserviceparts, h-tune or eurocarparts.

They are fabulous on track depending on your set up. Coilovers and tyres are the most important in this case. Commonly people go for BC racing or Meister R coilovers with AD08 tyres

Aftermarket parts all depends on what you're after. If you can't find them here, you can ask companies like Injection Import to source it for you.

 

[Djchocice]

Cheers folks, I've had a read over the above thread and it has certainly helped. At the moment I'm steadily parting out my S2000 and returning it to standard. I want to spend no more than about 10k on a DC5, mainly as I'm also freeing up some cash tied up in my S2000, but if needs be I can stretch to 11k or 12k at most.

I'm also slightly torn whether to import a car to my liking or to buy a car that's already in the UK, I've never owned an import before and especially not imported a car before(I'd probably use Torque GT as they have a good rep although I'm open to suggestions.)

Which parts are shared with EP3 Civics? I'm aware that suspension, brakes, some engine bits aren't shared.

My plan with the modding side of things is to leave the car standard for about a year, barring upgraded brake pads/fluid, a set of Yokohama AD08R's and intake & exhaust(I'm a complete sucker for a nutty intake noise/screaming 4 pot exhaust note. Too many years watching BTCC as a kid.) After a year, I'd then assess which suspension mods to do once I'm fully used to the car and can fully identify areas for improvement.

 

[mikey_t8]

Most engine parts are the same as ep3, I believe the only difference is cams and lsd on the dc5.. ep3 suspension will fit on the dc5 but you'll need to install ep3 track rod ends instead.. brakes are completely different..

Throttle body, intake manifold, exhaust manifold are also shared..

As far as I know, the exhaust b pipe from row may also fit..

Induction kit (intake) are different.. strut bars, LCAs are different..

 

[Johngreen537]

Sorry. This is quite wrong.

Cams. Higher compression pistons, intake manifold, different VTEC actuator, wideband lambda, exhaust manifold, lower ratio 4/5/6 gears off top of my head are all different to ep3.

B pipe fits. Only some intakes are different.

Most engine parts are the same as ep3, I believe the only difference is cams and lsd on the dc5.. ep3 suspension will fit on the dc5 but you'll need to install ep3 track rod ends instead.. brakes are completely different..

Throttle body, intake manifold, exhaust manifold are also shared..

As far as I know, the exhaust b pipe from row may also fit..

Induction kit (intake) are different.. strut bars, LCAs are different..

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mikey_t8]

Sorry. This is quite wrong.

Cams. Higher compression pistons, intake manifold, different VTEC actuator, wideband lambda, exhaust manifold, lower ratio 4/5/6 gears off top of my head are all different to ep3.

B pipe fits. Only some intakes are different.




Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Exhaust manifold depends on which brand.. I got tegiwa one which fits both ep3 and SCT.. I had also fitted my oem dc5 exhaust manifold onto my brothers ep3

 

[dave7368]

I think the bumpers are different too...

 

[mikey_t8]

I think the bumpers are different too...

😂😂😂 Would be great if they fit.. so much cheaper

 

[Djchocice]

Cheers folks, with quite a few parts(more than I thought) shared with the EP3 I'll be spoiled for choice. Something I've been thinking of recently is would I better off buying a fresh/recently imported car or a car that's been in the U.K. for a while? Fresh imports do have a premium attached from what I've seen so far.

 

[p1tse]

Can be used as a daily and as above running and maintenance is no much more than a ‘normal‘ car but modifying an import and a natural aspirated car is expensive.

More important what exterior, interior colour combo you like and factory options such as tints, rear wiper, electric folding mirrors; these three are known as c pack.
Parcel shelf can be a premium if without and can be circa £200 alone!

 

[Djchocice]

As far as colour combo goes I'm not massively fussed, however I couldn't have a DC5 with the blue smurfskin interior. I'd love a red DC5 but I understand that they're few and far between, black with red interior though is lovely, a guy at the local cars and coffee rocked up in a nicely modded DC5 had that colour combo and it looked very good.

I'm not fussed if it's a C pack car or not, so long as I've got air con I'll be happy. I've not had a car with a parcel shelf in for about 5 years, but seeing as they cost that much it's something to consider and be mindful of when looking at cars.

 

[p1tse]

That‘s fair
Mines championship white and red which is the more iconic type r colour, but the others do look good

Sent you a PM if you‘re near bristol you can have a nose at mine

 

[CW05TEG]

Thought I would add my 2p as I'm using my 2005 FL as a daily driver at the minute...

They are perfectly usable for commuting but don't expect an overly comfortable ride in regards to refinement or forgiveness over potholes/speedbumps. They will do the job but that's about it. I must admit it does get wearing if you travel on poor surfaces a lot. They are doing a lot of roadworks near me at the moment which are a bit of a nightmare but hopefully that's just temporary so should be sorted soon. The interior is a bit rattly over uneven surfaces, mainly due to the lack of any real sound deadening or a parcel shelf. I'm on the lookout for a shelf simply to help muffle out a few trim squeaks from the boot area, but at around £150 they aren't exactly cheap compared to most other cars out there.

Fuel economy is OK at best. You are talking around 30-35mpg if you drive out of vtec, but you are a better man than me if you can resist the temptation! I usually get about mid 20s all said and done...but I don't care as I do about 200miles/wk. Fuel costs aren't really a concern for me. Get the car on an empty country road and it all makes sense, they are built to be driven fast. Throttle response, feel and turn in is bloody awesome imo.

Something which is a bit love/hate for me when driving around town however is the gear ratios. They are so low/short it requires a lot of short shifting through the box in busy areas which again is a bit wearing, but the bonus is that it'll happily pull 5/6th gear at 30mph, which can't be said for many cars. That means you can leave it in a higher gear for longer periods of time. Sometimes I go to put it in 6th and realise I'm already in it! Get used to it after a while. Mine is ready for a new clutch soon and I'm presuming its still the original oem one at 93k miles. Not bad going really.

I'd try and look for a pre-registered fresh import if possible. That's what I managed to do and it meant I could inspect the car before committing to anything and once I decided I wanted it, I drove it away a few days later - not weeks as is the case with a personal import. Alternatively, save a bit of cash and buy one that's been in the UK for a while but just make sure it's clean underneath and is well maintained/undersealed. There are some gems floating about and if you are lucky it might have a few tasty mods already fitted which will save you a bit more later down the line. Most of all, don't rush it. There are enough to choose from so just give it time for them to come onto the market and be prepared to travel for the right example.

Good luck!

 

[Crazylegs]

Good advice, good post mate.