life with a EP3

[STP03BlueSI]

First can't believe I still have it. And on this site..

So what life changing stuff has happened to you and your ep3. Can be good, bad, and ugly.

Currently have 104xxx on stock motor with basic bolt ons. Oh and stock clutch.

Life issues. 2 engagements with 1 turning to marrage then down the shitter, 3 other relationships(with the current one going really well.), 6 different home locations, 5 different jobs, keyed 4 times, bullet hit once, broken in to twice, and I still love this car everyday I get in to it.

Seen many fla members come and go, and to think...I am actually still the only one with the ep3.

[STP03BlueSI]

oh. And my ac compressor has been dead since 2008...I hate fl heat.

[J Mo]

simply put, the day i got my EP was the day when my life has changed for the better for a couple reasons

this is the first car that i ever bought with my own money without any help whatsoever financially -- just a cosigner to get my loan, which is also a life lesson for me with how to get a loan, and how to buy and sell a car on my own

this is my first stick shift that ive driven in traffic, learning on it since day one and is now a double clutcher when downshifting (saving my synchros :)

ironically, this is also the car which i had to learn how to get out of a near bumper to bumper (less than 8 inches of space between either bumper) parallel parking job -- on a hill

i re-learned how to save (and appreciate) my money, learning how to it feels like to pay for just about everything for the car (insurance is a big hit on the wallet, me being barely 20 getting the car)

getting this car forced me to learn alot more about cars, so much in fact that i want to be an automotive engineer now -- or with my Computer Science degree in the making, program ECU's :mbiggrin:

i learned to appreciate manual transmission on this car, despite the difficulties faced in the beginning, for it forces me to pay real attention to the road and learn to love and respect the car, rather than just stomping on it all day


... lots more little things that i shared with the car, but since i just got it last year, nothing too life changing yet

[Payback424]

well... sounds like your love lifeturned out ok...

where do i even start... like the other member this too was my first car. this too was my first loan on my own no co-signer though.i have been through a whole lot in the last 5 years from having 3 somes, married women,lovers, and girlfriends all in the back seat my back seat has seen more women thatn a obgyn lol not only that i won my first race ever in it...i learned how to appreciate a car and what its worth to you other than just a way of transportation. on the bad side i got my first ticket on it my first DUI and was even inpounded for the first time too.. man i love my EP3 lol couldnt have picked a better car.. all this happend on my first vivid blue pearl ep i just bought me a SSM EP and am just hooking it up as i had a babygirl 8 months ago so had to slow down on the ourchasing or mods so in due time but till then..VVVRRRRRMMMM

[ep3k20]

as far as the ep goes it really truly has been a great car. within the first year of owning it i transplanted the a3 with a jdm k20a and got a sweeeet deal on the motor tranny combo. than of course n/a power was never enough so i bought a jrsc-r for it and swapped cams out and a few (cough) lots of parts later got the numbers i feel is good for a dependable and very capable street car. only huge issue i have had thus far is the clutch spring girddle exploded destroying the flywheel and clutch leaving my ass broke down on the side of the road but than again shifting into second at 9500k rpms usually does not go over well with a old clutch lol. as for life i have been engaged while i owned the ep and married my love of my life and had a beautiful baby boy evan 4 months ago and still use my ep to haul hin around when not driving my company truck. i must say i have owned a lot of cars and all have been mustangs (and a jeep) and hands down i love my ep more than any other car i have owned or still own. i do love driving my cobra dont get me wrong but hitting 9 grand on my ep hearing the sc whine and still getting 27 mpg just nakes me laugh and that little blak car just puts a smile on my face. i get more looks in that than any other car. i will most likly always keep my ep and who knows maybe hand it down to my son if he wants it. lord knows he is not getting my mustangs lol!

[affiq]

well....i've been driving my ep3 type r for just under 2 years now....and...many things have changed..

the 1st day i got it....it was the end of a very long wait...about 2 months...at that time....all i wanted was to live my ep3 as stock...well....that didnt happen...first...a hondata k-100 chip was installed...next came a set of tein shocks...hks open pod air filter...next...came a set of buddy club N+ cams...a buddy club header and a buddy club cat back....thats all for now...

and my life...a whole lot of ups and downs... after i got my car....my mom passed away....then..i got engaged...and i got married....bought a house of my own....and now.......my wife's pragnant right now.....

[Ep3 ked]

This car has destroyed my life....but I love it. Iv had my ep3 for a year now and all its been is a problem. I have only been able to drive it for 4 months out of the year that iv had it. I just wish that this thing would run.. car only has 67 hopefully I can figure out this problem in the coming weeks.

[RHDmeatwagon]

I'm pretty happy with everything about the ep.

my 99 coupe got rear ended bad so I kept the check sold all the parts and the car as a whole and made 9 grand off the car.
So I waited for a while to find a TW ep I wanted and found one in VA for around 12.5g took out a loan for the other 4g the day after I turned 18 and bought it :D
Definitely tought me to be patient. But I paid off the car before I started modding it. best idea evvaa. So I'm 19 1yr of college, beauty school, and working without a car payment on a close to 13,000 car. All by my damn self. (well actually I owe my dad 600 from my DA I rolled but thats another story. he'll live.

My Ep got me my job because I spent a lot of time at this detail supply place to clean her up so they offered me a job.

Then one day at a h-t meet I met someone with a ssm ep. He bought my powdered valve cover and then we started dating and its been a year since then and my ep has came a long way and so has his. Its pretty freaking awesome to be able to trade everything with your boyfriend or to know exactly what to get them.

So Im happy with everything. Had issues with both our eps but its the best thing to go outside and see two of th slim pickings of ep3s in he area sitting there :D

Did your ep get you into your relationship? probably not. haha

[njpnoy05]

^ that's a cute ass story, yo. lol

i got mine this past october. nothing has changed since; it's a daily and i'm currently looking for a job. my mom bought it for me as a high school graduation present under the condition that i pay for insurance. i wanted the ep ever since i learned how to drive stick in my brother's ef. i've learned even more in this car -- double clutching, heel-toe, etc. for as long as i'm in college, i'm going to just chill with the car and keep it how it is. once i get out, the car will get serious

[ImportCustomx]

i got my first ep3..in 2003. for the bad stuff that happened, i had a ton of fun and it was a great car. and i do miss it. the bad things that happened were a total of 6 accidents. i met my soon to be wife in my first ep3.

my curent ep3 is the car i drove across the country in, got engaged in, and when i got it back home..not even 24 hours of being home..i got rear ended. i had only had the car a total of 10 days. 10 of those days i was driving across america in it. on the 10.5 i got rearended. lol.

its easy to see all the bad in life, but try to find some good! its there!

[classiccelica]

Well my ep3 has been there through the good and bad for me and still makes me happy even though her age is showing a bit and repairs seem more prevalent. None the less I just can't imagine my life without her. I bought it in 2006 so she was already 3 years old and abused. I was a technician at a local honda dealer which I bought her at and have been repairing her ever since. But I had my girl friend with her whom turned into my fiancee then my wife 3 years ago. Now she is a transportation devise for my 10 day old daughter. Been through 5 moves with her and she has been my moving van for quite a bit of the junk we moved from place to place. She transported me to all of my CHP exams and will take me to academy once I get accepted. We have gone out of town together a bunch of times and alas, never ever has left me stranded, and for that I can't get rid of her as she has treated me very very well.

[PatrickJamesYu]

Nothing crazy with mine, but this was my first vehicle in my ownership.
Paid for the 03 SSM ep3 all my self with no help financially.
I even paid it all cash straight up, no loans.
Luckily I have ZERO monthly payments ont he car!
But insurance is screwing me :(
I'm 19 (bought it when I was 18)
And I had my license suspended from the ages 16 untill 18

One thing I want to mention is how much I like the ep3 community
Really different from the dc2 and eg community I do a lot of bumper and lip re-coating for.
Where as the few local ep's I run into always say sup, never those stupid hard stare-downs.

This is the first car I've gotten pulled over in :D
No tickets yet

Nothing on this car has failed me yet
Other than those stock tires..
Those sucked

[ttttrigg3r]

I'm pretty happy with everything about the ep.

my 99 coupe got rear ended bad so I kept the check sold all the parts and the car as a whole and made 9 grand off the car.
So I waited for a while to find a TW ep I wanted and found one in VA for around 12.5g took out a loan for the other 4g the day after I turned 18 and bought it :D
Definitely tought me to be patient. But I paid off the car before I started modding it. best idea evvaa. So I'm 19 1yr of college, beauty school, and working without a car payment on a close to 13,000 car. All by my damn self. (well actually I owe my dad 600 from my DA I rolled but thats another story. he'll live.

My Ep got me my job because I spent a lot of time at this detail supply place to clean her up so they offered me a job.

Then one day at a h-t meet I met someone with a ssm ep. He bought my powdered valve cover and then we started dating and its been a year since then and my ep has came a long way and so has his. Its pretty freaking awesome to be able to trade everything with your boyfriend or to know exactly what to get them.

So Im happy with everything. Had issues with both our eps but its the best thing to go outside and see two of th slim pickings of ep3s in he area sitting there :D

Did your ep get you into your relationship? probably not. haha

that's an amazing story. you're lucky.

[ep3colin]

at the age of 16 i bought a 2000 civic si, 62k original miles, mint, slammed it, i/h/e, and loved every minute of it. it got totaled out on february fourth of this year by a drunk driver =[ i wanted to go older, like and eg hatch or atleast an ek hatch with a 96-98 front, but once i got my insurance check i was pleasantly surprised so when i was shopping i was looking at a rsx but ran over an ep with 72k, so i look at the rsx and it had a bad clutch obviously the women who owned it had no clue what that was so i politely walked away, went to look at the ep3 with a bad state of mind, hopped in for a test drive, and to my surprise, the owner had all records of all maintenance, it drove like new! the way it handled, how tame it seamed until you let the bit more torque of the k20a3 out (remember i am used to a b16) so i bought it and with 110 dollars left even after taxes. im a broke 18 year old guy who spends money on unnecessary things in life so mods arent coming quick. ill admit it was hard when i first got it, i just wanted my old car, but now im learning to love the ep3, day by day i get more attached. granted i definitely beat the crap out of the ep, but i always do it with love. ill never get rid of it, i can see it now just a couple years down the road swapping a new k series in just to keep her running =] sooner or later people will start modding these like the eg and ek's, but for now i like how no one on here half asses stuff "just so it looks cool and lowered", and honestly i was expecting low 20 mpgs but im getting high 28's and 29's mostly city with bad driving habits. i love my ep3.

[EPSU3]

Prior to the EP I had a a 96 accord and a 98 Prelude. I used to get a new car every 2 years, but I've had the EP since 2006. Currently at 94k miles bought it at 56k. She got me through college and the hundred mile a day commutes during student teaching. Moved 5 times with the EP and been in almost every state in the east coast. I was lucky to be able to buy the car out right when I was looking at an EM1 but my grandfather gave me $4,000 and insisted I buy the EP3 instead. Best decision he ever talked me into. He would later back into and smash a fender but we just say that's the part of the car he owns. The EP is my first stick and first car that I modded on my own. In recent weeks I prepared to sell it and move on to something different but found myself just doing some more updates. Installed new door panels today. I plan on keeping the car until it hits the ten year old mark and move on from there.

[RHDmeatwagon]

that's an amazing story. you're lucky.

thankks :D I love it. maybe one day once both our cars are where we want them you'll see the same story in honda tuning :D haha
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs246.snc1/9318_1138864239505_1464360140_30399686_6710943_n.j pg

pic from way back when I was a monster truck