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Acura Integra GSR Customizing and Modifying
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You said you have the Neuspeed RACE springs right? Are you sure they 're not Sports springs? The problem is that Neuspeed race springs are about 475lb/in. in the front and that's the Koni Yellow's limit. Koni reds won't hanlde those springs for too long and your car won't handle as it should.
You can get Koni Yellows for $499 from www.shox.com and other online vendors. Don't get them from Tirerack. The Koni Yellow and red are a world of difference. The Koni reds are designed to work with the stock springs. Your race springs are at least 2.5 times stiffer than stock.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Questions:
Has anyone bought an Acura from an Acura dealership under their certified program? and if so what is your experience and thoughts and would you do it again? Should I have a mechanic look at the car even though they give it such a detailed inspection?
If bought from individual owner: What should I look for?
Just want a decent reliable car. Am tired of looking at the other new cars. From the other boards here I am hearing of all kinds of weird problems with other new cars. Figure I can afford Integra (a few yrs.old) for about the same price as buying another make new.
What does everyone think?
When it comes to the body, look for rust, dings, dents, scratches, etc. Check the wheels and make sure they're all the same kind and size. Look at the tires and make sure they're not bald or have any abnormal wear like having the tire be down to the threads on one side and have full tread on the other. With the brakes, run your finger over the rotors to make sure they are smooth and that there are no big mountains or valleys in the rotor. If there are, it's about time for new pads and/or rotors.
Inside of the car, check to make sure nothing is ripped, burned, broken, etc. Run the shifter through all of the gates to make sure it is smooth and that there is no binding of the shifter. Then, start the car and do it again and move the car in every gear (1-5 or prndl) and make sure the transmission is smooth and that it will actually go into gear. You don't want to have a car that will go into reverse, overdrive, 3rd gear, and not go into park or 1st gear. Check out all of the driver interfaces (steering wheel, pedals) and make sure they are free of excess amounts of slack. This will show that they have not been used excessively for racing, offroading, demolition derby, etc.
Take the car for a spin and make sure it will drive in a straight line without forcing it to do so. Listen for any rattling, squeaking, popping, etc. After all of these tests, make a decision for yourself. Hope that helps
Anyways will probably look into new Civic. Enough room inside for us just hubby and myself.
Accord was nice but had vibration in steering at idle (on 2 I test drove). Civic none at all.
Have a great Thanksgiving all..
If it's performance (acceleration/handling) and fun to drive factor, you 're looking for, the Integra blows the Civic away. The Integra is very reliable too and gets decent gas mileage (~27-30).
If you 're just looking for a reliable car that gets really good gas mileage and is basically a good commuter car, and don't care about performance as much, then the Civic is the car for you. It's also more roomy than the Integra except for the trunk. The rear hatch in the Integra is much larger, especially with the back seat down, than the small trunk of the Civic coupe or sedan. They 're two totally different cars. The Integra is higher revving, handles better, and has a more sporty feel to it with much more road feel. The Civic has a little "numb" steering feel (compared to the Integra, otherwise average steering) with not as much road feel and handling is average. Acceleration is not bad, but nothing like the GSR's. You can't go wrong with either car. Visit Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) for used car prices, dealer & private-sale. You should be able to get a '00 Integra GSR for the same price as a new '02-03 Civic EX, and an Integra LS/GS for less. Good luck.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
DC area. Post a note if anyone is interested. 77k. Mobil 1. prob. looking for ~8,500 obo.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Lodro: Good luck selling the car ^_^
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
a) 2000+ ITR or CTR intake cam ($300 + s&h) and a Skunk2 single runner intake manifold ($310 + s&h)
b) Skunk2 Stage 1 cams (~$750 shipped)
c) dc sports 4-1 header ($340 + s&h) and a hi-flow cat(~$150 shipped)
d) comptech mig welded 4-2-1 ($405 + s&h) and a hi-flow cat
e) forget about power because it's nothing without control and get some new tires z-rated 205/45 or 40/16 ($350 mounted, balanced, blah blah)
I have finished my suspension, so there's basically nothing left to do since the car is balanced as it is.
I want some more power just so that I can still beat people in a drag race, but then, being able to kick some [non-permissible content removed] on the auto-x course is fun as well, but I'm spending more time sliding than turning because my current tires are like bricks (treadwear rating of 450, spead rating of H). So I don't know what to do. I guess I would lean more towards the new tires, but then there's the possibility of getting a lot more power to lay the smack-down on the ricers at school.
Any comments/opinions would be appreciated ^_^
1. when first starting the car in the morning i get a whining like sound that queits down after about 10 seconds but can still hear slightly asthe rev of the engine increases...thinking maybe a pulley bearing on its way out...
2. i get a few squeaks and rattles from the rear and passenger side of car..one sounds like maybe the hatch but ive tried the electrical tape trick on hatch hook and still hear the sound...the other rattles sound more like the suspension bushings or upper shock tower bushing...but im not sure if its that or just loose interior fittings..i.e. the plastics along hatch area and back seat...its really annoying when the car rides so fairly smooth and i hear the rattles when my stereo isnt up...any help in these areas is more than appreciated...i intend on putting work into in the near future but money isnt in my reach at the time to do so...
complete new suspension, very quiet exhaust (not into the screaming loud pipes) aem cai a must, just to name a few mods...well thanks again fellas for any tips tricks advice etc u may give to me...teg your it..=0)
Right now I 'm just looking at putting in an LSD. With labor that's $1200-1300.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
The whining may be coming from the alternator and you 're right, it's usually a bearing. What work or maintenance did the previous owner do? Did you get a list of things he 's done so far to the car? If not (you should have), check or replace some belts. Did he replaced the timing belt? He should 've done it by now. If not replace it immediately or you might get a lot of valve damage when it goes.
When you get some decent tires (and maybe a rear sway bar) next spring come and auto-x with us at Giants Stadium (Meadowlands), NJ. It should be a 20-25 min. drive from where you live. I race with 3 clubs there: NASA, Porsche (PCA), and Mclub.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I obviously need to get rid of the stock michelins (which really blow goats in the snow), but as far as engine mods go: would it be a safe bet to put in a header and exhaust system, or should i save up a large chunk of change and have a bolt on turbo installed? To my knowledge you cannot use headers and exhaust mods for a turbo. So my options are either exhaust mods, or a turbo. Is that correct? opinions are greatly welcome. me=newbie
BTW- got my teg from a dealership. Acura certified, with 35k for a little under 14grand. i liked the deal. beats the old beater buick, anyway.
With bolt ons, like intake/header/exhaust, you'll be much safer, but the power gains won't be nearly as great, especially on an LS engine. And, yes, please lose those Michelin tires. They not only suck in the snow, but also in the dry and rain, too!
thanks
fluid?
We are not mechanics.. but my advise to you is to put your head under the hood and really try to determine where the whining sound is coming from. You can also rev the motor from under the hood. Pull the metal throttle 'knob' to rev it and listen carefully. I only do tune-ups and small stuff to my car, not repairs. The last alternator I replaced was 15yrs ago. It's really tough to troubleshoot via e-mail because we 're not there to hear your car, see it or drive it.
You should go to the web site where we got most of our knowledge from and go when we need help: www.honda-tech.com
Register and get a user account so you can post messages. This site is very technical and can get very addictive. It will also cost you money because you 'll be inclined to buy the same mods that others have. Let us know how it goes. Good luck. Oh, SE is not the same as GSR. GSR has 170hp from the factory and have a VTEC motor. LS/GS/SE have 140hp.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Glad you fixed the whining sound. My GSR whistles at certain RPMs too, but that's the Cold Air Intake
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
My '96 Integra LS had a problem with the accessory belt tensioner (mounted on the front of the engine block). The bolt that it's attached to the block with was actually fractured, causing the pulley/tensioner to make a quiet, then loud whistling/ringing/screeching noise. The bolt had to be replaced.
As someone who has run many, many hard miles on two Integras, I would find it difficult to belive that a cam bearing has failed without some other catastrophic engine damage having occurred. Heck, even when the '96 LS needed a top-end rebuild, the cam bearings were fine.
I know I 'll be getting some nice presents. I still have 2 Award banquets to go to :-)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
I 'm probably going to miss one banquet too because my wife had other plans for that weekend.
I 'm surprised I 'm not going through withdrawals that much like the last 3yrs. Every year the winters are getting easier for me. This year I did over 30 race events. That's 28-29 weekends (a couple of times I went Sat&Sun back to back)! I think it's because I raced so much this year that I don't really miss it right now. Plus I try not to think about it. That helps too.
My brother decided to keep his ITR a couple more years and is planning on installing Konis in the next month or 2 to be more competitive in DS. He thinks his stock shocks are not what they used to be and that the car doesn't handle as well as before. The only problem with the ITR Konis is that you can't adjust the rear ones unless you take them down again. Better get it right the first time, so I told him Dave Fauth had told me on H-T that he had his set at about 90%.
So now his decision makes it easier for me to get the LSD and other stuff for my car because I know I 'm keeping the GSR for a little while longer. Happy New Year to you and your family.
PS. I 'm probably not having withdrawals because my last race was Nov. 30th. Had it been September, I 'd probably be going out of my mind by now :=)
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
My local Honda dealer did my timing belt & water pump for $401 (that inlcuded tax!) on my '97 Civic 2.5yrs ago in the spring of '00. I can't see them charging more than $500-550 for the GSR, unless the water pump costs way more than the Civic's. Of course it depends on where you live too, but $900 is just thievery.
Look for a Honda/Acura specialist too. They should give you better pricing.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Crank the stereo and enjoy the ride. I like listening to my motor and the sound my Cold Air Intake makes when at wide open throttle and when hitting VTEC.
'06 Civic LX coupe
'11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
'13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
Another question. Have any of you had experience with Hankook tires? I'm looking into purchasing some (found a really good deal) and just wanted to know what you all thought about them. Thanks.
Also, I don't know a thing about the Hankook tires, except that in 2002 they offered some prize money for STS autocrossers who used their, tires, put their sticker on the car, and finished in one of the top spots at national tour events...
1. Is there a trunk release in this car?
2. My gas mileage is horrible, 82mpg on highway driving at 80mph while on cruise. I'm thinking maybe its the tires which need replacement soon.
3. I heard the radio needs a code when the battery disconnects....anyway to find out without paying the dealer?
4. Is 91 octane necessary or is 89 okay?
5. Which tires have low noise and good grip in wet and light snow?
6. Can I redline in 2nd and 3rd gear? Is that going to hurt the car in any way sooner or later? Everyone keeps telling me its okay to redline it and it will still hit 200k easy....hard to believe.
Thanks, any input appreciated.
2. if I got 82 mpg, I'd be realy happy. I get around 30 mpg on the freeway.
3. I would just go to the dealer with the serial number off of the back of the radio and get the code.
4. I only run 91 octane in my gsr. any lower than that will result in decreased performance and pinging.
5. I really don't know.
6. I redline 2nd and 3rd on freeway entrances all of the time, no big deal. It should last at least 150k miles.
Oh, I hit 100,000 miles yesterday ^_^ It was like new years... well, to me it was
So, I have some questions now. In the latter part of march, I'll be dropping the tranny again, just to figure out this wierd noise. It makes the noise and has the symptoms of a bad throwout bearing, but the noise goes away when I put in the clutch and comes back when I let the clutch out (in gear or not), which is opposite of what would happen with a bad throwout bearing. I'm guessing that the pressureplate is loose, my dad thinks the bearing on the input shaft is going, and my bro thinks my tranny is going to explode or fail catastrophically.
So, while it's out, I'm going to diagnose the problem and fix it. I hope that it'll be a cheap fix and then I'll be able to use the money I've saved on something like an lsd or tires or something else.
so, here's one question. What is a good lsd for the money? I've only heard of the oem type r, kaaz, quaife, and phantom slip, err, I mean grip. I would like it to be streetable and not break during an auto-x session. I like the quaife for the lifetime warranty, but I don't really like the price. The oem type r looks good, but new is almost the same price as the quaife, and I don't trust a used lsd. I haven't heard much about kaaz. And I've read that phantom grip sucks. What are your opinions? Also, where are good places to get an lsd?
Now, for my next question. What are some good dry performance tires for a fairly low price? I'm still looking at the hankooks due to the price I can get them at, azenis because of the rave reviews on honda-tech.com, and the kumho 712's. These tires will be in a 205 or 215/45/16 size, just to keep as close to stock diameter as possible. What would you recommend?
Finally, what would make more of a difference in handling? the new tires? or an lsd? Thanks ^_^