Integra dc2 build quality and reviews

[Mikeyas]

Im looking for some information about the build quality and interior layout, design, feel etc.. of the integra dc2 vti-R. At the moment i have a 95 eg with a b16a2 convertion. And im looking to hopefully upgrade to an integra. Any information about the interior feel, driving feel would be very useful. I dont need any engine performance stats as i have a good understanding of its potential.

Also could anyone help me by explaing soem of the changes through the years of the dc2 and possibly what sort of integra i should be hunting around for. (not type R ;) )

cheers

[T-onedc2]

I can help you there :D

'93-95 model (OBD1 ecu) vtir had drivers airbag only, "fat" 5 spoke wheels. I've driven a '94 & '95 and feel slightly less urgent in acceleration, IMO.

'96-97 (least common) had driver and passenger airbags, same interior (I think), multi-spoke design wheels, different colour range, OBD2 ECU change including deletion of inlet resonator on intake between airbox and throttle body (which no-one can seem to be able to explain to me). Definitely sharper response & slightly more urgent, again IMO.

'98 (Late '97) 0nwards had a facelift with restyled front & rear bumpers, headlights, tail lights (orange indicator now almost clear), new colours again, new upholstery pattern, cloth covered centre console, slight colour change to dash colour surrounding gauge cluster and A/C, new 6 spoke wheels, new muffler tip, new "VTi-R" decal on rear, and interior seat belt chimes etc are much quieter and bearable.

Suspension remained unchanged as far as I know. Is certainly comfortable and compliant over bumps with a hint of stiffness from shocks. Sway bars are too thin and there's too much body roll in hard cornering mostly noticable low to mid speed. High speed stability is surpisingly good on unsettling sweeping roads and easy to control. Back end can feel a bit vague at 7/10ths until you learn to trust it. Relatively light weight and chuckable, a few suspension mods create a weapon.

I've ridden in EG5's and in comparison you will be impressed at quality of interior fit and finish. Very easy to live with and practical if no one complains about headroom when sitting in back seat. Interior feel is cosy and more personal than civic for sure. Great ergonomics and all round vision for a coupe, still comfortable after 9hrs at the wheel.
Extra torque compared to B16A is heaven sent with very smooth delivery.

My brother bought a '97 model, 12 months later I got '99, and just recently mate got '97. Nuff said.
Hope this helps. :)

[StrawberryFace]

good Description!

[_FeRiO_]

great description and well said. only thing i can say is that the headroom in the backseats of the teg are a little limited compared to the EG, but apart from that, you will be impressed with the teg!

[Mikeyas]

sounds good so far. Thanks for the yearly model information.

anybody else got any useful information about the teg?

[jdmlvn]

why not type R..?

[Mikeyas]

price :thumbdwn:

[Spunkymonkey]

also 96 onwards came with immobiliser. my mate who drove a type R, said the VTIR was much more comfortable on long trips on freeways.....less noise.

[ONV73C]

I can help you there :D

'93-95 model vtir had drivers airbag only, "fat" 5 spoke wheels. I've driven a '94 & '95 and feel slightly less urgent in acceleration, IMO.

'96-97 (least common) had driver and passenger airbags, same interior (I think), multi-spoke design wheels, different colour range, ECU change including deletion of inlet resonator on intake between airbox and throttle body (which no-one can seem to be able to explain to me). Definitely sharper response & slightly more urgent, again IMO.

'98 (Late '97) 0nwards had a facelift with restyled front & rear bumpers, headlights, tail lights (orange indicator now almost clear), new colours again, new upholstery pattern, cloth covered centre console, slight colour change to dash colour surrounding gauge cluster and A/C, new 6 spoke wheels, new muffler tip, new "VTi-R" decal on rear, and interior seat belt chimes etc are much quieter and bearable.

Suspension remained unchanged as far as I know. Is certainly comfortable and compliant over bumps with a hint of stiffness from shocks. Sway bars are too thin and there's too much body roll in hard cornering mostly noticable low to mid speed. High speed stability is surpisingly good on unsettling sweeping roads and easy to control. Back end can feel a bit vague at 7/10ths until you learn to trust it. Relatively light weight and chuckable, a few suspension mods create a weapon.

I've ridden in EG5's and you will be impressed at quality of interior fit and finish. Very easy to live with and practical if no one complains about headroom when sitting in back seat. Interior feel is cosy and more personal than civic for sure. Great ergonomics and all round vision for a coupe, still comfortable after 9hrs at the wheel.
Extra torque compared to B16A is heaven sent with very smooth delivery.

My brother bought a '97 model, 12 months later I got '99, and just recently mate got '97. Nuff said.
Hope this helps. :)

SHUT THE GATES!!!

Buddy, u should be a honda salesman! top right up!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[T-onedc2]

also 96 onwards came with immobiliser. my mate who drove a type R, said the VTIR was much more comfortable on long trips on freeways.....less noise.
Immobiliser that's right, damn I can't believe I left that out.
Gonna hang head in shame........ or maybe being too hard on myself :p

[tegstar83]

its a bit hard to trust the integra rear end *shudders in fear*

[ginganggooly]

the interior quality is pretty damn mediocre imo. all things considered, it's little -if any- better than an EG. The plastics are shit, they've gone all brittle with age and break easily. Headrests will break over time. Quite a few of the examples i've seen have had the ballbearings in the rails fall out, the seats then start making a shitload of noise and don't sit straight.
The upholstery on the door grips has a tendency to bubble up and look cheap.

In summary, you do not buy an integra for the interior ambience. :)

If you'd like a step up in terms of quality, go for an EK. That seems to be the point at which jap manufacturers started taking a leaf out of the euro manufacturers book in terms of interior quality.

[T-onedc2]

the interior quality is pretty damn mediocre imo. all things considered, it's little -if any- better than an EG. The plastics are shit, they've gone all brittle with age and break easily. Headrests will break over time. Quite a few of the examples i've seen have had the ballbearings in the rails fall out, the seats then start making a shitload of noise and don't sit straight.
The upholstery on the door grips has a tendency to bubble up and look cheap.

In summary, you do not buy an integra for the interior ambience. :)

If you'd like a step up in terms of quality, go for an EK. That seems to be the point at which jap manufacturers started taking a leaf out of the euro manufacturers book in terms of interior quality.

Don't forget the Integra unlike the EK Civic was first released in '93, so pre '96 models will certainly show these signs of wear and tear, but then again almost any other car that age will too. Factor in the previous owners habit of maintenance or lack there of, common sense says look around and get the best one you find that shows care has been taken to care for it.
Also there is very little in the way of plastic in DC2's, vinyl dash and door trim but plastic in all civics.

[ginganggooly]

Don't forget the Integra unlike the EK Civic was first released in '93, so pre '96 models will certainly show these signs of wear and tear, but then again almost any other car that age will too. Factor in the previous owners habit of maintenance or lack there of, common sense says look around and get the best one you find that shows care has been taken to care for it.
Also there is very little in the way of plastic in DC2's, vinyl dash and door trim but plastic in all civics.

There is plenty of plastic in there, the whole (very noisy) centre console is plastic, as are the vents and the other usual bits and pieces.

Maintenance has little, if anything, to do with the doors bubbling, the headrests breaking, seats rocking, and plastics breaking off. Age, yes, but even the newer dc2's are getting on in age now, and they won't be getting any younger.

The build quality of ek civics is much better than the integra in pretty much every aspect i can see. If you can afford it, take a step up from the EG rather than a step across. I think any wise person would do that, i certainly would have if i was starting out again.

FWIW, i have a '93 build dc2, and i actually find it to be holding together much better than my mates '96 model, despite the fact i wash it less, drive it harder and have covered almost 100k km more distance.

[T-onedc2]

Just remember that opinions are just that, opinions. Not fact.

Mine come from my own '99 and brother & mates '97s, and are shared by many other owners here, another guy I know has an EG which when I sat in it for the first time I thought man this vti is supposed to be top of the range but the interior to me was tacky and rattly, styling aside. Never been in an EK so can't comment, but have seen interior and personally don't like it one bit.
In the end is always comes down to personal preference, for the money I spent purchasing my car I had a number of other options to consider but I made my decicion based on overall package and I'm very happy with it.

[Mikeyas]

i have been for many rides in ek's n eg's im uptodate with their interior construction. The teg interior was just a rough guide, i will be buying the car on a change of looks/style and a similar power band to my b16a2 eg.

[Mikeyas]

How different is the torque of the b18c compared to the b16a? In regards to general driving and the occational spirited drive?

[hong_ung]

i h8 it

[Mikeyas]

huh? you hate what ? the extra torque....... :confused:

[T-onedc2]

The extra capacity should be quite noticable as the transition onto vtec is very smooth, whereas I've heard that the B16A has a very noticably transition onto vtec probably because there's much less torque earlier.
IMO, anyone who complains about lack of torque in vtec engines is not comparing apples with apples. B18C has a very linear torque curve and makes surprising speed as it goes, I think you'd have trouble finding a closer rival than the VVTL-i celica engine, and even that is too peaky. :thumbsup:

[Mikeyas]

yes the power "hit" of vtec in the b16a is very noticable. Im just wondering how does the extra torque in the teg feel compared to that of the b16a? city driving...

[T-onedc2]

yes the power "hit" of vtec in the b16a is very noticable. Im just wondering how does the extra torque in the teg feel compared to that of the b16a? city driving...
In my opinion it would be a huge difference, I think you'd love it. Just so easy to get moving in any gear and very smooth. Basically vtec transition can be felt slightly but sometimes very noticably. It's very easy in city driving and you don't need vtec to get moving. I'd recommend taking a test drive of the best one you can find (with 98ron fuel in tank) and you'll know what I mean.:)

[Ironfist]

i sat in a em1 vtir? (the civic coupe) and i find that the interior is worse/plastic compared to a 94 teg vtir interior and so does the owner of the civic.

[T-onedc2]

i sat in a em1 vtir? (the civic coupe) and i find that the interior is worse/plastic compared to a 94 teg vtir interior and so does the owner of the civic.
Yeah that's right, EM1 was built in US and lower build quality is well known.:)

[Mikeyas]

i coudlnt ever see the cost justification of the em1 vtir. So much casshhh..
Why didnt honda advertise these better im sure many people would rather drive one of these compared to every 3rd car being a lancer... heh off topic :thumbdwn:

[T-onedc2]

i coudlnt ever see the cost justification of the em1 vtir. So much casshhh..
Why didnt honda advertise these better im sure many people would rather drive one of these compared to every 3rd car being a lancer... heh off topic :thumbdwn:
I would guess that they never planned it to be a volume seller but more aimed at a niche market and couldn't justify a very costly advertising campaign for lesser returns. Maybe...........

[Mikeyas]

valid point :P but i still think its hondas loss not to have made a bigger impact with what looks to be a very alround pleasing car.

[T-onedc2]

Yeah for sure I agree, but the fact a Lancer could be had for less than $20,000 and the Coupe close to $30,000 would've played a big part, but we all know you get what you pay for. Really the Coupe was a little expensive to buy new but second hand is a good buy and they hold their resale value well too. :)

[Mikeyas]

yeah i agree with the pricing. but im sure if they made the em1 a high volume seller with decent advertising campain they could of dropped the price to account for boosted sales making more people buy and further dropping the price to make everyone happy!!! :D

[T-onedc2]

That would've been great but then it's not surprising now that Integra and S2000 will be axed. Someone had a change of heart somewhere along the way. *gonna go to my corner and cry* :p