I WANT A DC5! WHO HAS ONE?

[mr_jibajaba]

basically i want some information on what the DC5 is like as an every day car. obviously having the same engine as my current EP3 i know it's a little bit costly. but i just want to hear what they are like from people who have/had them.
p.s. selling my type r check it out.

[joesnow]

I'm also looking at a DC5. I had a DC2 a couple of years ago and it was sublime. I traded it in for an M3 Evo, and whilst the engine is flippin' awesome, it doesn't quite dance over the top of the tarmac as the Honda did.

Try www.itr-dc5.co.uk

[Revs_Addiction]

I've got one and love it. Let me know what you want to know

[Risotto]

I had one - rare, great fun, not to expensive to run, nothing went wrong. In short, try one!

Edited by Risotto on Friday 25th January 08:34

[Turbo5]

I have a facelift one they were made from sept 2004> slightly different lights and minor other modifications, I have had it over 2 years now and I can vouch they are very good. good residuals too.

[MrFlibbles]

Turbo5 said:

I have a facelift one they were made from sept 2004> slightly different lights and minor other modifications, I have had it over 2 years now and I can vouch they are very good. good residuals too.

That looks awesome!

I've always had a yearning for a 'teg, but kind of skipped that stage and went straight for the s2k.

Do you think I'd feel a little short changed if i went on to a DC5?

[Turbo5]

On the 27th February I driving my Bro-inlaws brand new S2000GT to Malta (he is emigrating there) so I will tell you the differences !

[Mark-t]

I have one too. I also came from the civic. Basically costs are exactly the same with the exception of buying one and of course insurance being gp20. Try A-plan - extra £200 iirc. I was 23yo at the time. Much younger than that and you may struggle tbh. Tesco said I had to be over 25!!

[ferrisbueller]

Turbo5 said:

I have a facelift one they were made from sept 2004> slightly different lights and minor other modifications, I have had it over 2 years now and I can vouch they are very good. good residuals too.

That looks ace. I'm going to get one at some point. Personal preference would be blue - I've got a thing for blue cars. You're right about residuals too, disappointingly

What's the story with servicing/parts etc?

[pbirkett]

MrFlibbles said:

I've always had a yearning for a 'teg, but kind of skipped that stage and went straight for the s2k.

Do you think I'd feel a little short changed if i went on to a DC5?

Depends whether you like to drive very good FWD cars or not...

Havoc on here had / has both an S2000 and a DC2 (not a 5 i know), and i think, overall he slightly prefers the teg. I'm sure he'll be along to correct me if i'm wrong.

Not really comparing like with like though. One (dc5) is a loud, fast, practical FWD road racer, the other (s2k) is a roadster, RWD. Faced with the decision between dc5 and s2000 i'd choose the s2000. As I currently own a DC2 however (meant to be more fun than the dc5), I was considering an s2k but decided that the extra purchase price and some of its drawbacks meant that I didnt feel it would be an upgrade overall, especially given how much extra money i'd have had to put towards it... however with the dc5 being the same price, the decision comes purely down to whether you need practicality or not. If you dont then the answer should be obvious.

[dp9901]

ive got a facelift version too









main prob is trying to keep it clean!!!

[havoc]

pbirkett said:

Depends whether you like to drive very good FWD cars or not...

Havoc on here had / has both an S2000 and a DC2 (not a 5 i know), and i think, overall he slightly prefers the teg. I'm sure he'll be along to correct me if i'm wrong.

Nope, spot-on. But it's a difficult one - on paper the S2000 is the better car, and up to 8/10ths it IS the better car. But the DC2 'teg feels...so alive on a good road, so up-for-it. All the time! It'd have to be an NSX that replaces it on my drive...


S2000 vs DC5...search on s2ki and the DC5 forum for direct comparisons, but I didn't like the DC5 I test-drove as much as the DC2...hence why I'm on DC2 #2:-
- steering less informative (S2000 has the same problem)
- suspension much stiffer (too much so for B-roads) (S2000 not quite the same problem, but needs a couple of tweaks to resolve...but then you can replace the DC5 suspension to solve that issue.
- limits TOO high (S2000 same issue) for UK roads...think Focus ST levels of grip. But partially solvable by geometry tweaks...


DC5 vs S2000...depends what you're after. Both look great, have great engines and 'boxes, and feel very special. Oh, and are impeccably well built. Both are true drivers cars, but both slightly flawed versus the best opposition. So do you want a monster fwd car - practical, head-turning, very quick. 1/2 a step up from the EP3, but fundamentally very similar. Or do you want a proper rwd roadster with all the advantages of rwd, but where you HAVE to think about your inputs and you won't go playing in the wet without a lot of space?!?

[joesnow]

This is a pretty interesting read. I thought I'd elaborate a bit.

My Dc2 was a real giggle, so much fun on a demanding road and with obtainable limits. You could feel exactly how much each tyre was enjoying itself, and the diff made even the tightest apex closable. A good corner setup would get all 4 wheels drifting on long fast corners, and bringing the vtec cams into play pulled you quickly and cleanly out of the bend with a grin inducing touring-caresqe rasp. It was great on track as well, lap after lap of lift-off-oversteer-drift.

I replaced mine after 2 and a half years with an M3 Evo, and whilst it has massive grip and grunt (that engine!) I miss the slip and poise of the little Honda. There are arn't really many places where the rwd can come into play on the roads around where I live, and the rwd fun is in my mind the only major advantage, the usp if you like, over the Integra. Straight line stonk is a laugh, but I get my thrills on the lanes, under brakes and in corners. I was hoping to get some of this back with a Dc5, but if it's limits are as high as the M3, I'm better off keeping the M3 - It is a good car, and getting something like an Mx5/Elise/VX220 to obtain my ultimate driving thrills.

What do you think chaps?

As an aside, I sometimes get the chance to drive my Dad's summer commuter, a Honda Beat. Import only, super light two-seater soft top with a three cylinder 650cc engine developing 65bhp, mid-engined and tiny skinny tyres. This car has amazing steering feel and handling, but is too slow for all but switchback roads. Highly recommended though!

Edited by joesnow on Monday 28th January 14:02

[joesnow]

havoc said:

Both are true drivers cars, but both slightly flawed versus the best opposition.

What would you consider opposition to the Dc5?

Mini coop S?
Focus ST?

Is the DC5 is a better drive than these?

Edited by joesnow on Monday 28th January 15:33

[havoc]

joesnow said:

havoc said:

Both are true drivers cars, but both slightly flawed versus the best opposition.

What would you consider opposition to the Dc5?

Mini coop S?
Focus ST?

Is the DC5 is a better drive than these?

Possibly those two. Going back 6 years to it's launch, and around then:-

Focus RS, DC2, Celica T-Sport, Golf R32, Megane R26, p'raps even hot Mk2.5 Clios...plus cheaper rear-drive coupes (Z, RX8, poss even S2000...it's being considered here! 2nd-hand 330Ci?!?).

Is it better? Good question...
- Only passengered in ST...felt crushingly competent, more composed on bumps than the DC5, but as I suggested perhaps TOO quick for a B-road fun-car. You'd never get above 7/10ths without risking either a lost license or a VERY big off...
- Cooper-S (Mk1) handles like a go-kart and is very involving, but I wouldn't have one for 2 reasons:-
- ride - on run-flats it's appalling. DC5 is better.
- whine - the supercharger is omnipresent and irritating...I like my cars to sound good!

...as for my bunch...not driven the Focus RS, alas, nor the Megane...but I'd say it's of comparable appeal to the Z and the RX8...3 very different characters, all with a couple of niggles/imperfections but all cars I'd not turn down if offered.

I guess for it's age/market there's not much that's clearly 'better', but I just felt it was a bit of a missed opportunity given the all-round ability of the DC2...think 182 to 197 and you probably get the idea...

[deviant]

I'm after a DC5R to. Plan is to use it as a daily and use it for a trackday/sprint/hill climb once a month.

Are there any reliability issues?

Any major ongoing costs?

Any common failure points?

Oh and here is a daft question for you all...down here in Aus the highest speed limit on the roads I use is 100KMH which is about 60MPH. How many RPM is the engine doing in 6th gear at that speed?
Are they noisy or harsh cars? Its not something that bothers me to much, just interested to know.

[wrightyrs]

I've got a facelift DC5 on a 55 reg aswell and love it.

Does everything you want,surprisingly big inside(boot etc-fits 2 mountain bikes no problem)and is great fun.
Look good in all colours,black if you don't want to stand out as much as white/red but always got to be white as its a proper Honda!!!

Edited by wrightyrs on Thursday 7th February 09:06

Edited by wrightyrs on Thursday 7th February 09:07