Originally Posted by
ChrisSX
Here's my opinion man, I've owned all three cars (DC2R, S15 and DC5R) in that order.
What you really have to look at is what you want in the car. My S15 had just a touch under 200rwkw, which I built from the ground up just after selling my DC2R to a mate. It was an absolute straight line weapon, got sideways easily and was a pretty fun car to drive. All was well and good, until I drove the DC2R I'd sold to my mate once again a few months later. It was then I realised that the S15 gearbox felt notchy and fragile and the interior was cheap (I had an 02 SpecR GT). The DC2R steering was just so precise, the gear shifts on the Honda (which was 2 year OLDER than the S15) just felt so smooth.... it's hard to describe, but the car was just SO much more fun to drive than my S15 with double the wheel kilowatts. Anyone who owns or has owned a DC2R I'm sure will agree with me here! My S15 had coilovers, swaybars, bracing, the works, so it's not like I neglected suspension tuning.
I had originally decided to sell the DC2R because I was sick of the lack of low down torque and having to hit vtec just to merge lanes in front of a commodore off the lights. As a daily driver (like all my cars have been) it was just starting to grate and I just felt like a change.
So I sold the S15 and picked up a mint 02 CW DC5R from NSW. The moment I jumped in the car, I knew I wanted it! The gear shifts felt even nicer than the DC2, it had plently of low range torque and you could really feel the research and development that was put into the car. Both the S15 and the DC5R being 2002 models, I didn't think they would be so many worlds apart, but the DC5R really did make the S15 feel like it had been thrown together from spare parts by Nissan.
At the end of the day, it will end up being your personal choice. Straight line power RWD or a fun and precise FWD. Before the DC2R I owned a 180sx and an R33 Series 2, so I'm definitely not one sided when it comes to Nissan and Honda.
As far as insurance goes, both cars were roughly the same, if I had gotten a jap-spec S15 it would have cost more. 2-door coupes will always be expensive though, so there's no real escaping it whether you're turbo or NA.
Things to look out for... the
-S15s almost always have a scratched up centre console and it's hard to find a clean example with so many 99 Jap spec models going around.
-Make sure all mods have been done properly and if the turbo has been replaced, make sure it isn't a KKR piece of junk and that the car has been tuned to the new turbo. If it is a bigger turbo and the car doesn't have an aftermarket tuned ECU, walk away.
-If it has a FMIC, is it cut through the battery tray neatly? Is the piping on the turbo side larger than the turbo inlet? This will cause laaaaaag.
-Make sure the gearbox doesn't crunch.. the S15 6-speed is a piece of crap.
For the DC5
-Make sure the oil's at the correct level to see if eats any.
-Make sure it doesn't blow white smoke on vtec.
-Check for general oil leaks, mine had a drive shaft seal leaking.
-If it has coilovers, have they been set up properly? Some people are stupid enough to not bother with a wheel alignment after.
I guess I could go on forever... I'm sure others on here will be able to tell you more about the issues with DC5Rs and DC2Rs. Or just give it a search, I'm pretty sure I've seen threads on the topic before. I hope what I've written about my own experience helps with the decision man.
