so I drove a dc5 for first time.......

[moodyedge]

Well I drove my first dc5 last night.......

One came up for sale near by so I went to check it out. Seemed like a good one on paper.


He said do you want to drive it? I said yeah. He said don't drive it too fast will ya? And handed me the keys......here we go.......

Initial thoughts.......

The driving position felt good and I liked the feel of the gear change, was much lighter and accurate. The engine was smoother and quieter and the vtec point didnt have much snap although the sound clearly highlighted when it had engaged, there wasnt much of a kick..

The car was standard appart from an induction kit which probably did little other than make an unessasary noise and suck in warm air.

The ride was firmer than I thought it might be, partly due to the 17s I imagine but it seemed to handle ok.

Not sure if my expectations were too high or something else..... but it didn't feel as fast as Id have hoped.

I asked a lot of questions and some of the answers I got set off a few alarm bells. The guy seemed a little too blasé for somebody as anal about cars as I am. I asked what type of oil it had in it meaning brand/spec.......the answer came with a laugh and.....tsssssh I dont know......synthetic?

I was quickly disappointed to discover the car was covered with stone chips, had a few dents and scuffs and scrapes, also the seats were a state. I did some quick sums in my head walking around the car and by the time Id walked 1 lap I came to a figure of 2500 just to get the exterior and interior sorted. It just needed too much spent in it to get it where Id want it to be so I walked away. Part of me felt sorry for it like coming across a stray dog.....and I wanted to save it but the other part didnt want to fund that.....the head and the heart... this time the head won.

What were other peoples views one first driving one?

 

[Mark_teg]

You did the right thing walking away.

These cars can take a little while to get under your skin. At the same time, they are not suited to everybody!
How it feels on the first drive depends on what you've owned and driven before I suppose.

Hope that helps a little

 

[DC5RS]

Dont get disappointed by the first teg that you see, there are so much better examples out there. I have seen 3-4 before buying mine. The key is to be patient, once you like one and dont find so many bad points then its the right one for you. As Mark said it depends on what you used to drive before, an M3 driver will find the teg pretty slow but he does not know how much reliable and cheap is to maintain the teg compared to the M3

 

[Crazylegs]

You did the right thing walking away.

These cars can take a little while to get under your skin. At the same time, they are not suited to everybody!
How it feels on the first drive depends on what you've owned and driven before I suppose.

Hope that helps a little

You missing yours Mark or is the M3 a completely different animal?

 

[p1tse]

Had you a link to the car?

Also as you mentioned:
"gear change, was much lighter and accurate. The engine was smoother and quieter and the vtec point didnt have much snap"

What are you comparing it against?
Were you full throttle going into vtec, should pull strong and hard then at high revs, but it's a personal choice; it's not a snap pull like a turbo charge though.

 

[MrRy]

Bone stock Dc5's are not the most exciting cars to drive on the road it has to be said. And they are not straight-line speed fast, it's only when you really throw them into corners and get them into an apex or hairpin where they really shine, handling and braking wise.

If you drive one that's well setup on coilovers with some light engine mods for sound, you'll feel it's more like a fun go-kart. Whether it's technically faster than stock on the road doesn't matter anymore, it's just about the experience.

 

[moodyedge]

Had you a link to the car?
Also as you mentioned:
"gear change, was much lighter and accurate. The engine was smoother and quieter and the vtec point didnt have much snap"
What are you comparing it against?
Were you full throttle going into vtec, should pull strong and hard then at high revs, but it's a personal choice; it's not a snap pull like a turbo charge though.

Im comparing this to the jdm dc2 I own at the moment.......

Bone stock Dc5's are not the most exciting cars to drive on the road it has to be said. And they are not straight-line speed fast, it's only when you really throw them into corners and get them into an apex or hairpin where they really shine, handling and braking wise.
If you drive one that's well setup on coilovers with some light engine mods for sound, you'll feel it's more like a fun go-kart. Whether it's technically faster than stock on the road doesn't matter anymore, it's just about the experience.

Agreed......I think it would require modifications.

 

[spooke]

For me the DC5 is deceivingly quick, although my last car had half the horsepower... I'd definitely like to try it round a track but I'd like to attend a quiet day

 

[Rob R]

Also remember that some of these are 14 years old now so stone chips and some small parking dings almost a certainty unless it's had a recent full respray.

 

[kingcobwidley]

As it wasn't your car and you were already asked not to drive fast this may have been your problem. Cars always seem faster when you're the passenger as well, you don't know when the burst of speed is coming! I'd been in STI's and skylines 350-400 bhp before I went in the Teg I bought- It obviously wasn't as fast in a straight line but still surprised me how quick it was

These cars aren't for everyone though, it depends on what you're looking for

 

[moodyedge]

As it wasn't your car and you were already asked not to drive fast this may have been your problem. Cars always seem faster when you're the passenger as well, you don't know when the burst of speed is coming! I'd been in STI's and skylines 350-400 bhp before I went in the Teg I bought- It obviously wasn't as fast in a straight line but still surprised me how quick it was

These cars aren't for everyone though, it depends on what you're looking for

I made sure I floored it though. I was a passanger too because I wanted to listen for noises etc. I maybe have to go and try another somewhere and see. Not sure if Id learn anything else. Be good to have one for a week........

 

[moodyedge]

Also remember that some of these are 14 years old now so stone chips and some small parking dings almost a certainty unless it's had a recent full respray.

I know what your saying but my dc2 was 18 years old and was in way better condition than this, now its had a respray its perfect.

It just wasnt the best example. When I say stone chips, I mean it was peppered, i dont think Ive ever seen a car with so many, was 2004 model too, they were all over and the car was black. If it was me I wouldn't have let it get into that state to the point where it needed a lot if work. He obviously wasnt that bothered enough about it......I thought they were dead flys at first. Its a shame to see a car like that not looked after a bit more.

 

[TyperItr]

I know a lot of people who swear their dc2 is faster. But at the end of the day there is nothing in it. The dc5 is tuned to not have that b-series kick when engaging vtec. It's not as low and raw as a dc2 I am guessing that's the experience you are feeling. But Honda didn't make a slower car as the next generation Integra. If you were in a well set up Car, it would probably still feel slower just due to the design but on the stopwatch would tell a different story.

 

[nellly]

the blacks are bad for showing the chips, mine was. You also cant compare a dc2 to the dc5 for stone chips the angle of the bonnet makes them a magnet for them there just bad, mine was bad when i got her, but i have had a front end respray to remove them. its just one them them things with the bonnets you get on cars not much you can do about it

 

[tricker_luke]

Also seems the lower lip is good for catching stones and sending them up

 

[moodyedge]

I know a lot of people who swear their dc2 is faster. But at the end of the day there is nothing in it. The dc5 is tuned to not have that b-series kick when engaging vtec. It's not as low and raw as a dc2 I am guessing that's the experience you are feeling. But Honda didn't make a slower car as the next generation Integra. If you were in a well set up Car, it would probably still feel slower just due to the design but on the stopwatch would tell a different story.

Its not saying the dc2 is faster, just that my first go in the dc5 after 5 years of a dc2, I felt somewhat detached from the experience, not sure why. The noise inside was a bit lower but the car didint feel as alive. I expected to feel more power but it didnt really seem that way. I will have to try another.

 

[integraleo]

It's because in b series engine there is a pause before vtec where power tails off then big kick into vtec. With k20 you don't have that there's more torque from lower down and the kick is a lot less pronounced. It's the feeling of speed the b series engines give that a standard k20 doesn't. It doesn't feel as fast but put it side by side with dc2 and you will see the dc5 will pull ever so slightly away. The biggest difference comes after its been mapped! With full bolt ons and a map a B18c struggles to gain 15hp,the same bolt on mods and a map on a k20 can see gains of 30+hp and huge gains from 4000-6000rpm. Drive a mapped one and it will change your view

 

[moodyedge]

It's because in b series engine there is a pause before vtec where power tails off then big kick into vtec. With k20 you don't have that there's more torque from lower down and the kick is a lot less pronounced. It's the feeling of speed the b series engines give that a standard k20 doesn't. It doesn't feel as fast but put it side by side with dc2 and you will see the dc5 will pull ever so slightly away. The biggest difference comes after its been mapped! With full bolt ons and a map a B18c struggles to gain 15hp,the same bolt on mods and a map on a k20 can see gains of 30+hp and huge gains from 4000-6000rpm. Drive a mapped one and it will change your view

A sou,

Id like to drive a modded version but easier said than done!

Cumbria...its a jdm no mans land.

 

[Johngreen537]

Test drive one with an open cone filter. When I put the first one on my 1st EP3, it took me back to the b series sounds. Amazing how much that quiet engagement takes away the impression of vtec.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[moodyedge]

Test drive one with an open cone filter. When I put the first one on my 1st EP3, it took me back to the b series sounds. Amazing how much that quiet engagement takes away the impression of vtec.
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

As I said that one I drove had an induction kit on....which made a lot of noise but little else