I am curious for opinions on the ep3 civic si. Am kinda looking for a daily driver whenever i dont need my old, gas snorting chevy truck. Been stealing the wife's Fit cuz she only needs to commute 2 miles to work. I work construction, and my tools fit in the fit well, so im sure the ep3 can handle it also??? Just wanting some info from owners who have had an ep3. Pro's, cons, performance, ease of modding performance, etc??

 

bump, anyone???

 

From what I gather, they are terribly slow for an Si, low red line when compared to other performance Honda's, and crappy gas mileage. However, they do look sexy as hell when done right.

 

I think they are pretty sweet lookin, they look really good on smaller rims too. Don't know about moddin.

 

I agree with every single point made. +1 Rep!

 

yes, but being a k20 powerplant, apparently tuned down, am i right in saying there is lots of room for improvement? Quick search showed me guys gettin there hands on type r internals that made BIG improvements

 

I'm sure there's a lot of room for improvement, the EP3 Type-R is one bad ass car. The K20 in the EP3 Si is the same from the base RSX IIRC. But it's still a K20 nonetheless I'm sure you can really get some performance out of it, however stock it's a dog. Just to note: I have no driven an EP3 Si before so I base the "speed" soley on opinions I've read from other forums by people who have. But the numbers kinda speak for themselves anyways, 160hp and the redline is sub 7000 I think. But if speed isn't an issue to you then you can have one hella sexy DD with a slight drop, tint and wheels. I've wanted to trade the Fit in for one a few times but the mpg from the K20 is pretty low.

 

The EP3 is easy as hell to mod... Stock whp is around 138 and with a knock-off CAI, DC race header, and custom midpipe (with stock axelback) myself and many others are netting around the 165whp mark.

Swaps are also very easy, and the JR supercharger was putting down around 230whp (high boost) last time I checked

I had mine for 190,000km and loved it the entire time!!

 

cool, thanks.

 

its WAY higher than my 11mpg from my truck. I just thought the Ep3 would be a good choice for me cuz it still has decent room in the back for toting around tools, but mod the engine some, take the tools out, and have a fast hatch. Some people always want to be able to say that they have the fastest car on the road. I could care less about being the fastest, but if given a chance, be able to beat something decent...cobalt ss, current si, blah blah. Keep in mind, FAST to me is anything under 16 seconds. :rolleyes:
my car list
1. chevy astro van '89
2. chevy cavalier z-24 '92
3. pontiac grand am '93
4. honda passport '99
5. chevy silverado '96 (current)
6. honda element '04
7. honda element '06
8. honda fit '07 (current)
Pretty darn slow:rolleyes:

 

Actually, I am planning on selling or trading in my '02 EP3 when my 2009 Fit arrives.
The EP is not the quickest or best handling Civic I've owned, but it's not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The engine makes power from 2k rpm to redline where most people spend their time driving (as opposed to the 4.5k to redline power the '06+ Si), and the car shifts beautifully as the shifter is a short reach from the steering wheel. On regular unleaded (as opposed to the higher revving Si models requiring premium), it returns anywhere from 27-31mpg. One issue is the gearing of the car as the car revs slightly above 4krpm in 5th gear at 80+mph.
Concerning mods, my car doesn't have any but there are multiple exhausts, intakes, suspension parts, aerodynamic parts, JDM pieces, carbon body pieces, etc. Headers were previously available, but I'm unsure whether they are available currently. JHPusa.com, FizzAutosports, OptAuto, ShowStoppersUSA, and some others carry parts for the car. EPhatch.com is a good resource for EPs. Also, I believe Hasport can provide ECU tuning where with intake, header, and exhaust the EP3 can make another 15 to 25 hp.
Honestly, I don't enjoy the car as much as I enjoyed my previous car ('93 Civic DX coupe), but it probably has more to do with the differences between the cars (the '93 was simpler without power steering, power accessories, but had the great double wishbone front and rear suspension, adequate power, and got 35mpg (city) and 45-50mpg (highway)).
The EP has been a great car, but as my wife and I are thinking about starting a family a Fit would be considerably easier to get a child and their accessories out of on a daily basis.

 

Just got myself an 03 Vivid Blue EP3 SI because of a total loss on my 08 Fit two weeks ago. So far I like the power compare to the Fit. MPG is not its best but it holds its own compare to the new SI without the premium gas burning a hole in your pocket. Although, I have to say, when I had my Fit with some mild performance handling upgrades, it handle impressibly better than an SI. I'm still doing some preventive maintenance on the SI before upgrading the whole suspension and wheels. I've studied the design of the Fit and comparison to the SI, they're similarly close in body lines and design. You can say the EP3 SI is the older cousin of the Fit. A 300+ lbs heavier cousin. That's the only handling disadvantage the SI has which also doesn't help with the understeer. I have to hold the throttle a bit from a turn before straighting out then mashing the gas to drive it effectively. That's my .25 cents or should I say .50 cents!

 

if ur gonna go ep3 then defffff get a Kpro...i have a friend with one and its waaayyy better then stock. IMO its not a real SI until the kpro is in.. revised fuel maps and redline make it worth getting

 

a lot of people harp on this si.

some of the points are valid, others not so much.

slow? the only civic to best its 0-60 times is the new usdm si.

the previous gen si was still a seven second car, and there are plenty of ep3 si's that run that.

it has a very european suspension, meaning it has good ride/handling balance, but the helm itself is dull, even in the edm type r version.

you will be able to get performance out of it no problem though. but you wont be able to fit nearly as much stuff in it as the fit, but still more than your typical sedan.

and the stock seats are awesome.

mileage wise it is a kinda thirsty, given its size. my 3000 lb vw rabbit with a five cylinder that was .5 litres bigger got the same gas mileage. the ep3 weighs 2700lbs.

 

ep3's suck ass. I had a 05 and I was so mad with it (really bad mpg, hardly any power for a k20, a 99 si could beat it, just sucked). I only had it for 6 months then traded it in for the fit.

 

Having owned a 99 Si, 02 Si (EP3) and now a Fit, I think I might be able to help you out.

The 99 Si was hands down my favorite from a strictly performance standpoint, but the interior in the EP3 looked and functioned much better. I used it to move on several occasions and it could hold a lot of stuff with the rear seats down. Now it wasn't as spacious as the Fit, but that wasn't the reason I bought the EP3.

It only had 2 doors, so rear seat access for passengers was not the best. One of the reasons I traded it on an 05 xB (Since the Fit was not here yet!) I have three daughters who I occasionally have to haul around.

The drivers seat was hands down the best out of all three especially the Fit. I did not have the problem of adjusting the seat so that I could reach the steering wheel and not be cramped like I do in the Fit. (I'm 6'.0" with long legs and average length arms) It was also much more comfortable for long trips. As a matter of fact it was the interior that made me trade the 99 Si in for the 02. (A decision I regret to this day, but you can't look back.)

Now my final advice would be to get a Fit, drop a B16A into it and some front seats out of an EP3! Hey I can dream a little, right?

 

I agree. I've had a 00 SI, an 06 S2K and now an 02 EP3.

The EP3 is very underrated. The only thing that sucks about it is the lack of traditional "VTEC". Other than that it is a very good car.

Seats are great. It is quick and has as much off the line TQ as an early model S2K. The interior is a very big step up from the 00 SI. It handles well.
I can get up to 31.5 MPG on mostly HWY and about 28 MIXED. LRN 2 DRV if you want good gas mileage. Oh and it takes regular gas.

Plus they are very inexpensive for what you get. You can get them in most of the country for under 9K. Although you may find it hard to find one stock.

IF you want to mod there are tons of mods, but like most N/A Hondas you won't get much with just bolt ons. Superchargers and turbos are common. I'd love to do a swap K20A2 with a 6 spd and that'd make the car perfect, but its really not important to me.

Note: in SoCal I've been checking autotrader and there have been fewer and fewer EPs for sale, people have been buying them, which may raise the price a bit.

 

$9K? Damn I wish, I've been pricing them out recently here in CT and I haven't seen less than about $15k for one with decent miles.

 

Expect to pay between $10k-$14k for a low mileage one around here in the bay area. I got lucky to find a one owner one with a little of over 100k miles for $7.7k. Negotiated like a mother from $8.7k. I did two weeks work of homework and research to get my EP3. I was impressed that the one I got was quicker than three EP3s I looked at. One was an 04, one was an 02 and one was an 03. Maybe just wasn't well broken in or something. I'm keeping stock for a bit, maybe a lowering springs and an intake upgrade in the near future. We'll see. I'd recommend EP3 to anybody although not the most popular generation of Civics, it does hold a uniqueness amongst many 4 cylinder cars for its conservative power, great handling, great gas mileage and aerodynamic design.

 

I suggest checking out ephatch.com and checking out threads for pros and cons. My husband had an ep3 and we recently traded it in for an STi. We still miss the EP3 and if we needed a 3rd car im sure we would've kept it too. He used to get 30-32mpg on it which isnt bad especially compared to an automatic fit (which i have) its gets pretty much the same gas mileage.