ST225 to dc5

[Unionrep]

Cheers Carl, appreciate that mate.
Would love to see some of your dc5 track videos, are they on YouTube?
To be honest I’d imagine a dc5 may not be as quick in a straight line, but as it’s lighter I’m sure it’ll handle better and probably carry more corner speed, personally I like being quick in corners as opposed to having massive bhp and just being quicker then everyone on the straights only but then holding everyone up as soon as you hit a corner. Obviously there’s fuckers out there that have both
My mini r53 I had sounds similar to a vtec where as you have to keep it in that power band otherwise it feels gutless, but it was great fun, that engine seemed bulletproof. The focus on the other hand has so much torque you never need to go lower then 3rd gear on any corner on track.
I know some people will be put off a car that gets tracked but with my lot and I’m sure alot of trackdayer’s are the same, these cars tend to be over serviced to try prevent any issues so I wouldn’t have an issue with buying a car that’s been tracked as long as it had some history with it.

 

[carl hammond]

Cheers Carl, appreciate that mate.
Would love to see some of your dc5 track videos, are they on YouTube?
To be honest I’d imagine a dc5 may not be as quick in a straight line, but as it’s lighter I’m sure it’ll handle better and probably carry more corner speed, personally I like being quick in corners as opposed to having massive bhp and just being quicker then everyone on the straights only but then holding everyone up as soon as you hit a corner. Obviously there’s fuckers out there that have both
My mini r53 I had sounds similar to a vtec where as you have to keep it in that power band otherwise it feels gutless, but it was great fun, that engine seemed bulletproof. The focus on the other hand has so much torque you never need to go lower then 3rd gear on any corner on track.
I know some people will be put off a car that gets tracked but with my lot and I’m sure alot of trackdayer’s are the same, these cars tend to be over serviced to try prevent any issues so I wouldn’t have an issue with buying a car that’s been tracked as long as it had some history with it.

Yeah drop me a pm and I will sent some links, the DC5 will carry more speed through the corners for sure but if you gfet one set the geo up according to your driving style. I prefer lift off oversteer to understeer and mine was setup by my friend and I specifically for my weight and me on certain circuits so I could push the car at all times without an issue but I could also force the backend out when I wanted (which was what I liked to do with it).

Corners are where the funs to be had, straights are boring lol

Agreed but one thing to be cautious of is owners who are cheap, buy cheap knockoff parts, fit cheap nasty replica bits and don't service a car properly, many Honda scenes have gone this way with the nasty cheap parts and they cause the cars to have issues and drive worse than an oem example would.

 

[danr19]

It might be worth trying the Facebook page instead to try and track down a local owner. I think more people look at that nowadays.

 

[Unionrep]

I’m not on Facebook danr19, but I’m sure I can get log in details off a mate to go on there and be nosey, cheers mate

I had my car set up at Matt roach motorsport Carl, I went for a fast road set up and got it corner weighted, made a massive difference, I went from doing a day at brands wanting to sell it to then doing a day at anglesey being blown away by the difference in handling and then ploughing more money in to it. But I’ll be honest, I’m not quite there as a driver yet to know how I want a car set up, and I definitely haven’t mastered lift off oversteer, quite good a spinning though

 

[JordanSuth]

I purchased a DC5 a few months ago, and its a summer weekend toy. I drove it 500 miles home on the day I bought it in relative comfort, it has Bilstein coilovers.

I would say the DC5 is perfectly fine on Motorways, Dual Carriageways and Back roads. Where it struggles is around the streets due to crap roads and speed bumps. I imagine it would be better on standard suspension.

Exactly this. I'm taking it from Highlands, Scotland to the Ring & SPA in October. Me and the wife find it comfortable enough on long journeys.

Along with the rust buckets, you get throwing cheap parts at the suspension etc and expecting better performance. I personally wouldn't daily the DC5, but that doesn't mean it's awful to drive on the road.

Sent from my SM-F926B using Tapatalk

 

[s_barker@hotmail.co.uk]

Another thing worth noting is your build and height. The seats in these cars can be very snug if you need to lose a few pounds. I'm tall and had to fit spoon seat rails which if I remember correctly lower the seat about 50mm and were hard to find. I then had to fit a small steering wheel and boss kit to get that perfect seating position which makes the car illegal or insurance void I'm sure as the airbag had been removed. This was the only way I could be comfortable in the car.

 

[carl hammond]

I’m not on Facebook danr19, but I’m sure I can get log in details off a mate to go on there and be nosey, cheers mate

I had my car set up at Matt roach motorsport Carl, I went for a fast road set up and got it corner weighted, made a massive difference, I went from doing a day at brands wanting to sell it to then doing a day at anglesey being blown away by the difference in handling and then ploughing more money in to it. But I’ll be honest, I’m not quite there as a driver yet to know how I want a car set up, and I definitely haven’t mastered lift off oversteer, quite good a spinning though

Love it, all part of the fun and learning experience mate, yeah luckily a mate of mine works independently for about 12 race teams now and used to work on Formula and Touring cars so knows his stuff so I just tell him how I want things setup and to react and he leads the way as I assist and help. Corner weighting is amazing and the one thing many get wrong.

There are massive differences in what everyone calls a FRSU (Fast road setup) vs a proper track geo, a proper geo everything is perfected and the cars handling transformed to another level and this is where you'll more than likely enjoy any car more tbh.

My friend wont touch the Cup car yet, he said I need to see how it is out the box as the fully functioning aero is on another level and the cars original setup is rom the Cup R race car so odd's are it'll be far more than I can handle (for now at least), all booked in for the required parts to be fitted for me to be happy to use it on track, kill off the oem brakes and replace with some brand new high end race setup and done

Drop me a pm and I will share some DC5 links mate

 

[carl hammond]

Another thing worth noting is your build and height. The seats in these cars can be very snug if you need to lose a few pounds. I'm tall and had to fit spoon seat rails which if I remember correctly lower the seat about 50mm and were hard to find. I then had to fit a small steering wheel and boss kit to get that perfect seating position which makes the car illegal or insurance void I'm sure as the airbag had been removed. This was the only way I could be comfortable in the car.

Oem seats are nasty and uncomfy, a nice set of Recaro Pole Positions is life changing, however you loose the avail back seats that way :-(

I used to run a Drivers PP and an oem Passenger seat so I could still access the rear when needed, but had both mounted on Bride rails, the best n the market for the DC5 and are oem quality

 

[carl hammond]

Exactly this. I'm taking it from Highlands, Scotland to the Ring & SPA in October. Me and the wife find it comfortable enough on long journeys.

Along with the rust buckets, you get throwing cheap parts at the suspension etc and expecting better performance. I personally wouldn't daily the DC5, but that doesn't mean it's awful to drive on the road.

Sent from my SM-F926B using Tapatalk

Very compliant vs some cars out there tbh, it's like the FD2 though oem suspension is crashy as bother were designed for the Japanese market and their far superior roads lol, all depends on where you live also, here in Kent the roads are on another level of awful these past few years :-(

 

[LeeH]

Thanks for replying fellas.
So it’d just be a hobby car really, I do 4-5 trackdays a year and usually a weekend road trip somewhere, my daily is a van and we have a family car, the focus was the wife’s and the family car for best part of 7 years but now kids are older we needed a more door so I sold my r53 and started using the focus as I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. Spent a small fortune on it over the last year fitting a m factory diff, bc coilovers, getting them all set up and corner weighted, k sport big brake kit, plus more, running 300bhp and 366ftlb torque, I went for fast road as opposed to full track car simply because I didn’t want to take away the comfort.
In my head a 1200kg, 240/250bhp dc5 sounds like it’d be epic on track, I just not so sure about it now on long journeys like to the ring.

I went to the ring, no issues. Really enjoyed the drive there tbh.

 

[Unionrep]

Only the 12 teams
The fella I work for, his son in the btcc, I had the opportunity to go to testing at brands before this season started, was quality, one of his mechanics owns scc performance so I was chewing his ear off abit, he was probably relieved when I left.
Ah mate the roads in my area are shocking at the minute, my car sits there for 3-4 weeks sometimes and I’d love to tell the mrs to take it to work so it can get a run out but I just don’t trust her not to hit every possible pot hole that crosses her path!
As for size I’m 6,1” and about 92kg, the s2000 was snug but I think it would have been ok, I’d imagine the dc5 is a little roomier.
What dates are you at the ring Jordan? I’m there 6th-9th oct.
Thanks again everyone for your opinions

 

[VtecPaul]

If you were underwhelmed by the s2k you may end up being disappointed with a dc5. Get a drive out in one or two to decide before committing.

Mine is a second car, used only for fun and only does limited mileage. I love the noise, the sound, the look.. let’s be honest you see a focus almost every other car on the road, but you’ll never see a teg - think there’s only a few hundred on the UK roads.

Local roads are pretty naff, so ride can be nasty at times. But motorway, A roads and good B roads and it’s so much fun. And it’s fun at legal speeds too, unlike much faster cars that just reach the limit too quick.

My daily is a Scirocco R which is much more comfortable, which is why my second car is entirely different.
I do wish the seats were a little wider at the base though!

 

[Unionrep]

Hi vtec Paul, thanks for your input mate.
It’d be my weekend toy doing very little mileage, my daily’s a transit and the family cars a kuga. And totally agree that I need to drive one first. And you couldn’t be more right about how common the focus is and how rare the dc5’s are, I’ve never actually seen on in the flesh, but I love the look of them.
Does the vtec kick in earlier on the dc5 then it does on the s2000?

 

[VtecPaul]

Not sure, I think vtec on them both is in the same region - 6200rpm. This can be adjusted with a map tho I think - I’m no expert having left my car relatively standard in that department.

I did seriously consider an s2k before this, I still love them. But a little more common on the road and not as good looking IMO.

 

[carl hammond]

Not sure, I think vtec on them both is in the same region - 6200rpm. This can be adjusted with a map tho I think - I’m no expert having left my car relatively standard in that department.

I did seriously consider an s2k before this, I still love them. But a little more common on the road and not as good looking IMO.

Correct Vtec in an oem car is circa 6200-6500rpm, however with a Kpro, K100 and a remap this can be changed. I had the K100 and when it's being mapped the vtec auto adjusted to the most optimal point (this is normally around the 4500-4800mark), I believe with a Kpro you maybe able to manually adjust the start point like you could with a vtec controller, however the optimal and best place is 4500-5000rpm as then when you're driving normally you wont be in or on the start of the vtec crossover

 

[DE4NO]

VTEC comes in at 5800rpm and disengages at 5600rpm. As others have said it looks like 6000rpm on the gauge.