My little rant about/praise for the EP

[jimmyjames]

If this is in the wrong section, please move it for me; sorry.

So here I am, bought my EP last January. Drove it for 5 months and then ran into my cousin's boyfriend who owns an RSX-S. He was asking me what mods I have done. I had never done it to a car and probably wouldn't have done anything...until he asked. He told me about clubrsx; showed me somethings like injen CAI, Borla/magnaflow exhausts, and hondata; and off I went.

From club RSX, I went went to k-series.com then here. Since that time, I have put in an Injen CAI, Magnaflow exhaust, DC Header, and a ground wire kit. Soon I will have new wheels, hondata (maybe K-pro) and then prolly a JRSC (race version when it's out). This will be it for a while.

Now here's the rant:
There is so much shit talked about the EP and everyone saying how they are doing so many mods for whatever. I laugh when I read how someone has a couple thousand dollars and asks WTB?, I only NEED 250 - 300whp. Why oh why do you NEED it? I admit that ever since I got into import tuning stuff, I have been hooked. The biggest thing I want more HP for is to shut down people on the street who think they are "it." Neons and eclipses to be exact(with NBCS; neon, bass, chrome and stickers). I don't go to the track, I don't have a quarter mile time, and I don't have any dyno numbers.

All I have is a fucking kick ass car that I love to drive. Every time I put something into my car (every 4 months or so) it gets a little better. I don't NEED more horsepower, the commercials on tv nowadays have made it imperative that more HP is better. I disagree (to some extent) Hemis are also not the only engine to make HP although they may use the most gas. Anyway, I think sometimes that people who mod their cars have lost sight of loving their car so that all they end up with is a 250whp piece of metal with a lot of bass, a rickety suspension from a botched job, and an engine that will break in a year from abuse.

I am also not 17. I have credit card bills, mortgage, and of course student loans (masters = $$$) I can't drop thousands on my car. I do get jealous of people with a swap or a nice turbo setup. I wish I had it; but then I remember that I have a nice house, a nice job, an awesome car (with its measly 160HP)that has so much room I can move 1/4 of my shit in one trip and 3 degrees in architecture; So I am happy. Go run mid 13s in the 1/4 while I go back to my house practice music in my studio, use one of my 3 computer systems, watch one of my 500 movies on my 32" tv making a grip at my job all the while driving the same car you do (albeit a tiny bit slower). So is all the money you spend on mods worth it? I am not one to say yes or no. I just think that people should really figure out why they are sinking thousands into a handful of numbers.

Don't misread what I am saying about modding; it is great and it is fun. However, people should be doing it for the love of their car with all the care that goes into that idea. Sometimes people should stop and enjoy their ride while the transmission is still in one piece and they haven't hit the revlimiter a million times. More HP des not = more fun. Stereo equipment really isn't a mod unless you redo the interior to fit it. A kill story is not a kill story unless you were smoked by a few lengths at least or you did that to someone else.

When I reach 100,000 miles or so, I plan on putting a K20A2 in; I will have a new car just about the time I start thinking my car is old. I plan on having this EP for a while. I plan on keeping it clean inside and out until the day it goes away. And finally, I plan on loving my car with or without horsepower.

Please be gentle and don't quote too much of what I say and then tear it apart, my fragile emotional state can't take it. ;)
Ok, now I feel like Jerry Mcguire, anyway, that's my toosense :confused:

[k20hatch]

Dude i feel you!!! But wow is there nothing else to talk about on this site? From srt4's to people putting the eps down. But ya i love my ep...always will! :D

[epproject]

Good rant.

[Mickey]

That what I thought too. I purchased my car November 2003. Since then
I have already spent some money for the Mods. Just last month My wife
gave me the go signal to spend atleast 4-5 grand(got some extra money)
I thought of putting a Turbo or Set of Nice Volk wheels and I just realized...What for???? Maybe in a year or two I will change my car.(I change car atleast every 3 years).Besides, I will be missing the thrill in putting things in your car one at a time. Im afraid that If I put everything I want sooner, I might get bored with my car. That is just my opinion. BTW- I decided to buy a Rolex watch with the money and Im very happy now.:D

[ADAMnQuickCIVIC]

Nice, but aren't you the same guy that posted on Honda-tech that you want to buy my K20A2 swap? LOL

[beechstreet]

Originally posted by jimmyjames
When I reach 100,000 miles or so, I plan on putting a K20A2 in
^Ditto! Gotta use up that extended warranty for all its worth.

[priest6479]

PREACH ON BROTHER PREACH ON!!!!

I just ignore the lil assholes and their lil riced out cars, not sure about you guys, but here in Jersey i'll see Ferrari's or Lotus or even a Lamborghini and they dont want to race you, they just do the speed limit. With a smile on their face, a bimbo in the passenger seat.

Leave em alone, guys want to race, I don't even indulge them, let them think they are badass's, who cares? I know it's hard to say no, I love shutting down some lil prick in his geo metro but sometimes you gotta be the bigger man.

[bloodzombie]

Originally posted by priest6479

here in Jersey i'll see Ferrari's or Lotus or even a Lamborghini and they dont want to race you, they just do the speed limit. With a smile on their face, a bimbo in the passenger seat.



That's because people who really have it don't feel the need to prove anything.

[mini-driver]

i hear ya, some things are more important and everything costs money. i'm 33 now and my house gets all my money next is my mini after that is my honda-powered mini project and last on the list, the ep3. it's a great car and to me it isn't anything more than that! it's bone stock and the more i see these wankers out there.....the more i want to keep it bone stock! there's nothing better than sitting at red light with some guy wanting to race....you give him the "OK" and when the light turns green......i love to just sit there and watch him feel like a real man... it's funnier that way. possibly when the ZC powered mini weighing in at 1300 Lbs gets asked.....i mightjust hand him his shirt shorts shoes, but who knows.

architecture eh i did the same thing and feel your pain about the $$$

[BlairSpeed]

You said alot of things that I feel but never took the time to write out. :)

I love my car!

[graham]

Yep when it comes down to it the only person you have to please is yourself ... forget what other people think. I get more kicks ripping down the side of a mountain on my bike ... or climbing up one :) ... than I will ever get in my car.

I only think it's worth getting into serious mods if you get your kicks from racing at the track ... but that's probably just me.

Still ... I do like taking my little EP to the track ... only doing mods that will help me hold the turns :)

Cheers and enjoy ...

Graham

[the JigGa mAn]

after my accident i wanted to sell my ep...but then the more i thought about it i couldnt do it...i simply loved the thing too damn much...and i plan to NEVER sell my ep...if i want a new car i will make the money for the downpayment but i will never sell my ep..its my first love...i do plan on modding it...but not the be "the fastest ep"..i will mod it,but ill mod it till i am happy with the way it performes...not to make it a rocket

[siver-SI]

All my others cars after a year of having them I was planing on what I wanted to trade it in for in around a year or so. Well I have had my EP for a year and when I am at a dealership yea I look, but I am trying to figure out now how will I buy new again because I do not want to sell or trade my EP I just want a second car a few years down the road for a fun car but not for as much moding as my SI.

BTW when I bought my SI I thought the most I would do would be a high flow intake filter, headunit, and speakers. Well I have done that and a lot more. Just got my CAI in today and have to intall that now. :D

[RMC22]

Good words.
I spend spare money because I haven't anything better to do with it. I am young, single, and free of bills, so why not have fun while I can?

[Dres97]

I love my car not only do i love my car i love honda. This car is great and i never thought i could grow to like it as much as i have. Moding the car is just a hobby that i like. It give me something to do on sunday. If im not washing it or cleaning it im putting something on or takins something off.

Good post though

[priest6479]

Bloodzombie, that was my point exactly, don't have anything to prove.

[!@#$%]

Originally posted by RMC22
Good words.
I spend spare money because I haven't anything better to do with it. I am young, single, and free of bills, so why not have fun while I can?

Money is the only thing that is really 'good for nothing'.

You can either spend it or save it, but it all boils down to value.

[stockblack'03]

I'm with ya Brutha! I really like this car and to me the VTEC vs.iVTEC debate is meaningless. Again, for me, I really enjoy the smooth wide powerband of the K20A3. I am just starting to mod, so I imagine I will love it even more once I free up the air flow ( adding CAI and Cat back soon ). As for racing - I'll play around here and there, but I have way too many responsibilities ( House, wife, kids, job ) to risk wrecking my shit on some dude trying to prove that his __________ ( fill in the blank ) is better than my EP3.

I smile every time I get in my car and I always look forward to driving it again. And I have had it for almost 8 mos. now, which for me is well beyond the period of "new car-itis", which tells me if I love it now, I'll still love it 4 years from now. I'm keeping this rig!

Thanks for the opportunity to rant about your rant!

SB03

[phantasia]

straight up.

who the fuck cares if some neon is "faster" from stoplight to stoplight. you will lose them within seconds on a twisty country road. the ep3 is not a turbo porsche, but it is what it is, and what you make of that is entirely up to you. ive lost cars with twice the power on twisty country roads (vettes, bmw's, etc.) as well as killed cars much more powerful on the streets with my ep3. with a 0-60 time of 7.35 according to my passport g-timer, theres not a lot of cars out there going to beat you, especially if youre a good driver. 9 times out of ten the guy next to you is gonna be spinning rubber when that light turns green, and youre gonna pull and keep pulling until he is 3 car lenghths behind, still laying tire. the ep will really surprise you, and i totally dig your vibe. so what if its not some fuckin ferrari. unless you have a professional sports driver in a very high powered auto, youre gonna get lost by an si. the same is true with mazda miatas. currently, non turbo 140 hp, if you know the miata and its limits and what its capable of, i dont care who or what youre driving against, you are gonna win. theres more to life than raw horsepower. ive ditched new corvettes in my dads 1990 miata on country roads, by miles. just like i have done the same with much more powerful cars (mustangs/tuned up trans ams/audi's, etc.) in the ep.

learn to drive the ep. even on stock tires you will out perform most everything out there if you know what youre doing.

[SI-lent]

I know Im a spoiled little brat but me and my dad have a wierd relationship. He bought me this car when I was 15 last year and I only had a permit. That must have shown he loved me to death. I feel some of you guys about the street racing stuff and how much you guys love the ep. I WILL NEVER EVER SELL THIS CAR. We have been through to much.

[jimmyjames]

Wow,
I never thought people would actually care what I say.
I must say though, I really am glad I am a member of this forum cuz everyone seems really cool. I have reached a new plateau.

I'll give each one of you a little mess as a personal thank you for responding within the first 36 hours.

k20hatch: So much to talk about, so much time, so little motivation. I love your pic with the NO2 bottle. Why do people write it N2O? It is NO2 isn't it?

epproject: Thanks, props to my neighbors north of the border.

Mickey: I always enjoy mods one at a time. Once though it may be cool to have 150hp one day and the next have 250hp. You sure it is a Rolex and not a Bolex? It wasn't bought off the street was it?

ADAMnQuickCIVIC: Sorry, I am not registered on honda-tech although I check it out all the time. Despite that, up until last week when I wrote that, I was getting the itch real bad to drop a K20A in. I was even on the phone with zerolift in cincinnatti getting a price qoute. I can be a hypocrite sometimes. My friend is in t River, I also spent a summer in Wildwood. Why do people have rocks for front yards there?

teambeechstreet: Yes, extended warranty. I kind of hope something breaks just so I can take advantage of it. Great boobies, are they your's?

priest6479: I love seeing geo metros; especially with large exhausts scraping the pavement and a big "type R" or "powered by VTEC" sticker on 'em.

bloodzombie: I agree; about having it and about Bush and JC

mini-driver: I always wondered how fast you could make a mini since they are putting out the same power but weigh like a third of the Si. The Italian Job did wonders for their marketing; I want one of those too after watching it.

BlairSpeed: Like Bartles and James said (I think), "Thanks for your support."

graham: Someday soon I will not be overweight anymore and will be climbing again. Really I am not all the overweight at all; I just need to start going to the gym again since this fucking state has finally thawed out.

the JigGa mAn: I am with you 100%, I got so carried away with how the car was when I first got it, I rear-ended someone 2 months after I got it. Damage was minimal thanks to anti-lock brakes also no airbag just a new bumper and hood. However, since then I have vowed to drive without mistake and not let the excitement get out of hand. I just like to cruise and grin now because I know how the car is, I am not out to prove anything. Sleepin' the EP helps me remember that it is me that I am doing stuff to my car for, not others.

siver-SI: I feel you, I look at other cars and say yeah that would be cool but I still think that it won't be as fun as the car I have right now.

RMC22: Ahh, young, single, money, free time, no bills, prospects. Girls ruin everything don't they?! I need to find a girl here who drives an EP who will understand me.

Dres97: Definately the most fun I have had with a car, inside and out, underneath, under the hood, outside detailing...

!@#$%: I love having money and spending money, I hate not having money and making money(working). Answer = Lotto? All of a sudden value wouldn't matter anymore.

stockblack'03: I can't understand it myself. I have had the car 14 months and it just rolled 27000 miles. Last weekend, I washed, waxed and cleaned the car. I renewed the interior with some Meguires vinyl/rubber stuff cleaned off the red painted brake calipers; the fucking car is brand new again!! I also just put in Penzoil Synchromesh in the tranny. I am curious to see how it works, should make it even more brand new feeling...I will post in another thread later.

phantasia: Twisty country roads. Now that is something I live for. Some of the mountainous areas in eastern Ohio really are cool to drive. Do they have those in "please update" where you are from? There are no stoplights or speeds over 50.

It is just you and the road and it is fun. I live for that; driving places that make it fun to be in a car. I couldn't ask for more; 'cept lotto.

Thanks you guys. Later :D

[ATRIOT]

Originally posted by jimmyjames
Why do people write it N2O? It is NO2 isn't it?


2 Nitrogen Atoms 1 Oxygen Atom = N2 + O AKA N20. I have alot to say too but im tired and rantless. Mabey later (4am . :p )

[RMC22]

Originally posted by ATRIOT
2 Nitrogen Atoms 1 Oxygen Atom = N2 + O AKA N20. I have alot to say too but im tired and rantless. Mabey later (4am . :p )

But technically, oxygen is never found as a single atom.

[ATRIOT]

yes yes its usually found as diatomic O2 or O3, now go to sleep.:m:

[RMC22]

Originally posted by ATRIOT
yes yes its usually found as diatomic O2 or O3, now go to sleep.:m:

goodnight :*

[jimmyjames]

I stand corrected; thanks. AP chem in high school was worthless. I can't remember shit. Now I look like the asshole.

Beware of Dihydrogen Monoxide; it is a real killer ;)

[ATRIOT]

Actually you can get high by drinking massive amounts of water, Fucked up eh? It messes with the cellular sodium/potassium levels. You can even die from it (no not like drowning).

[Rad_Si]

SHUT UP!! I have blah, blah, blah. I have 3 computers, my degrees... Who f*&$ing cares?

[ATRIOT]

Originally posted by Rad_Si
SHUT UP!! I have blah, blah, blah. I have 3 computers, my degrees... Who f*&$ing cares?

Did i miss something :p

[jimmyjames]

I believe Rad_Si is talking about what i wrote i would say to someone who thought they were better than me because they had more mods on their car. I would say basically that I don't have many mods but there are things in my life that I am proud of having. Lack of car parts is not a fault in my opinion. I can identify with the view that I am simply bragging about certain material things in my life such as degrees and computers. However, I have been fortuate enough over the years to build a certain level of comfortability in my life with material possessions. I am 27 and i am only saying that modding your car is important if it is important to you. It is person specific. One must look past the lack of turbo on another's car when judging personality or anything. There isn't much time when at a stoplight but whatever.

"Why not? This is a material world and I am a material girl ...
or boy." A. Sandler