2001 Honda Integra Type R 1.8 petrol
Summary:
*homer style* mmmmm Integra
Faults:
I'm not particularly nice to cars when it comes to driving them sensibly, even more so if it sounds as good as the Integra. You could say that I am addicted to the noise it makes when it gets to 6100 revs. I put my foot down and the engine re-aligns itself, and then I shoot off into the distance. Well recently I broke it, the VTEC doesn't engage fully anymore, so at the moment I'm just stuck with the power of the 1.8, I just don't hear the lovely whine of the engine. The other thing with these cars is you have to make sure you check the oil every week to two weeks if you drive it hard. The lack of oil is probably the cause of the problem on mine, I went a whole month without having to do anything to it, I topped it up, sort of expected to go another month, but checked it after 3 weeks and found it nearly empty. It's certainly not the car's fault, I'm just not nice to it. I suspect that this would be a fairly expensive repair as in £1000 to £2000 but the dealer has informed me that it will go under warranty, so no problems there. If not then I will be making use of my extended AA warranty.
The manufacturer believes that you should get about 32mpg, well I am only getting 18mpg, not a big deal, I get my monies worth. I tend to cruise along at 5500 revs and then put my foot down just so that I hear the car take off. Then slow down after catching up with the next car in front, cruise at 5500 again, before putting my foot down again at the next available opportunity. Speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, grgrgrrrr nice engine noise.
I have a water stain on the drivers seat which I haven't been able to get rid of, maybe the previous owner wet himself from the shear exhilaration of driving this car.
Have gone through one set of front tyre's since I got it, although I am quite surprised they lasted as long as they did. Also the tyre's should cost about £95 each, not cheap. But then you pay for what you get.
I drove it once in snow with a new set of Bridgestone Potenza's, it didn't handle too well, I had to drive everywhere in 3-5th gears because it wouldn't stop wheel spinning, I would have to pull away in 3rd or 4th, even when only touching the accelerator. People say that it doesn't handle very well in the wet, well true it doesn't, but it really isn't that bad, I have felt the back end slide out slightly, but that's easily corrected. I am considering getting a wider set of wheels in the near future, this will help stop a lot of the wheel spinning and it will handle even better, oh BTW it wheel spins in 3rd gear.
These cars are rare in black, I nearly bought a white one a few years ago, but then decided it would be best to get a mortgage on a house instead (I was 21 at the time). I had been looking on and off for the past year or so, and haven't come across any 2000/2001 black Integra type R's, so I started looking at alternative cars, but I was never happy with them. I started hunting properly for a black Integra, 6 months ago, I came across one with a week and snapped it up the following day. I have been having fun since, the wife never sees me because I'm always out in my car, does that count as a con? because it could quite easily be a pro :)
General Comments:
Everytime I know I have to go on a journey whether its long or short, I always say to myself "drive sensibly". I then step out the front door, and take one look at the sparkling shiny black monster sitting in my driveway in front of me. A HUGE grin appears on my face (once my neighbor said to me "you look like you have won a million pounds, or got some good sex", I just wiped the saliva away a climbed into the nice gorgeous comfy recaro bucket seat. I then proceed to drive as I'm really in an F1 car going around a race track. I do give it a few minutes for the engine to warm up, but once that's done, my foot is welded to the accellerator, I can't help it, it just sounds so cooool.
The car will do 0-60 in 6.9 seconds, I would pull up at a set of traffic lights and not have to worry about what was next to me. Thrashing the hell out of the car I have managed to stay in front of an S4 in the wet, going down a dual carriage way. He must have been wheel spinning too much and/or not being a very good driver because they will do 0-60 a lot quicker than the Integra, he didn't look too happy when I looked across and laughed. That's the amusing part, "hey £30,000 car meet my £12,000 car". I always find that amusing and the acceleration shocks the hell out of them.
I have read a few articles on this car, and many of them moan about the noise the engine makes, but for me it's a reason to have lots of points on my license. As it stands I have been EXTREMELY lucky on quite a few occasions, I'm still point less, god knows how!
Coming up behind people the Integra looks really aggressive, it looks even better if you have the lights on, although I have had someone comment on how cool my celica looked, er yea OK, may look similar, but I'm afraid NO.
I have had people comment on the noise my car makes when going passed them, apparently it sounds like an F1 car because of the high revving. This has just caused me to time it so that when I take over people they hear the VTec fully engage. I adore this car and I crave the attention that goes with having the car, I could talk and talk about this car (as I have). Its absolutely AMAZING, I have had it for 6 months now, I am certainly going to keep it for 4-5 years god forbid I don't kill myself in it. I think if money was no object there are only a few cars I would chose over this, although to be quite honest, I am so in love with this car I would probably just keep it and get a supercharger and a Bomex body kit fitted.
I'm gonna stop babbling now, I hope this has been of some use to you.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 29th April, 2003
30th Apr 2003, 11:39
Looks like you have fun in your integra!
It is oil pressure that activates the cam swap at 6000 rpm, so low oil will cause the symptoms your cite. My Integra doesn't use oil at all, but checking regularly is very sensible as you say.
The ITR handles well enough if the wet, but it doesn't grip worth a damn in my experience. It relies heavily on hot tyre grip, and the RE010 tyres just don't warm up enough in the rain.
If you change the wheels you will screw the handling, I guarantee it. Honda deliberately put 15 inchers, with the tame profile on it to perfectly complement the suspension and steering. All the folks I know who have upgraded their wheels are disappointed so beware.
Take care and enjoy your Integra!