Owner Review: People asked me to convert it to a DC5R but I didn't want - My 2005 Honda Integra (DC5) Type S

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Basic information about my car

2005 Honda Integra (DC5) Type S

Reasons why I bought this car

The DC5 is my first car and she is still the only car to my name to date since I got her in Nov 2010. For the past 10 years, she is pretty much the definition of me. Everyone around me would know how much I love the car, even to non-car friends.

Back then, I personally do not have many criteria when it comes to performance or handling and whatnot. All I care about is that it must look good and have an automatic transmission (boo, I know) since I will be commuting between Cheras and Subang Jaya on a daily basis.

So, I went and looked around for an extensive list of what I consider as cool cars (with auto trans, lol). With the budget I have, I tested cool cars like the Mazda RX8 (SE3P), Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33), Toyota Caldina GT-Four (ST246), Mini Cooper S (R53), Toyota Mark X (X120), Volkswagen Golf GTi (Mk5), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7.5 GTA (CT9A) and a few others. However, nothing strikes a chord with me. The closest being the Z33 and GTA, I think.

I need a car that can last forever in my care and looks good for years to come. In my head, I kept thinking of a car I was mesmerized with a few years back. I remember back in secondary school, I attended a wedding at one of Putrajaya’s many wedding halls. I heard a loud exhaust note while in the basement parking with my family. And there it was. A pre-facelift, Championship White Honda Integra (DC5) Type R. It was love at first sight with the DC5.

But the Type R being a manual-only model, is something I’d hate to consider. I really don’t want to be in the Cheras/Subang Jaya traffic with a manual every day. I was then told by a friend of a DC5 variant with an automatic transmission (he actually misinformed me by saying that there is an automatic Type R variant. There isn’t.) Based on his misinformation, I found out about the Integra DC5 Type S. After some studying about this “elusive” variant, I went around the net, classifieds, magazines, and car dealerships to look if it is available here.

To my luck, there are a couple of parallel imported DC5 Type S from Japan being sold near me. I found myself falling for a particular facelifted (FL) 2005 Premium White Pearl JDM Integra DC5 Type S with everything in its stock form except for a set of silver DC5R wheels (painted white immediately), a Mugen Silencer muffler, a complete set of genuine but very pretentious red H and Type R emblems, and a DC5R wing (FL DC5S shares the same front and rear bumpers with the DC5R). Back in 2010, I dare say the Type S was rarer than the track-oriented Type R. Even today, an actual FL JDM Type S is not common due to the fact that most Type S we see here are from Singapore and that is actually an Integra GSR, a spec not actually available in Japan (more similarities with the PFL JDM Integra DC5 iS than the FL DC5 Type S).

The most interesting fact I would say is, my DC5S is actually the SLOWEST among all the cars I tested. In fact, she is the only sub-200bhp car on the list (the DC5S had a K20A3 motor capable of only 160bhp/190Nm at stock). But she is also the only one that made me say “This is the one”. It’s pretty funny, almost illogical even, but I’m pretty sure there are many motorheads who understand what I felt at that moment.

Car Selection Process

Model(s) that I have considered include:

• Mazda RX8 (SE3P)

• Nissan Fairlady Z (Z33)

• Toyota Caldina GT-Four (ST246)

• Mini Cooper S (R53)

• Toyota Mark X (X120)

• Volkswagen Golf GTi (Mk5)

• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7.5 GTA (CT9A)

Reasons why I chose this car:

• Timeless sleek coupe design.

• 5-speed torque converter automatic for my peace-of-traffic-jam moments.

• One of the most practical 2-door coupes around. The boot is huge! 2 ½ body golf bags can fit comfortably.

• Being a Honda, she is relatively easy to maintain with parts easily available.

• She’s a very eye-catching machine and quite a rare sight on our road.

• She (was) quite fuel-efficient.

• VTEC kicked in yo! (Not really. Until roughly 5-6 years of ownership. =P)

User Experience

Since the purchase, my thoughts about the car are:

The car performs really well, within all my expectations in her stock form. When I got her, I was very firm in not doing any mods on her. I was just gonna leave her stock forever. Nonetheless, I was weak. And I still am. I met a DC5R owner at an R&R and we got into talking. He showed me his Kakimoto Regu 06&R exhaust system and it was beautiful. He told me he was looking to sell the set-off, and it was for a good price. And there it was. My very first mod. The AFR being haywire on my very sensitive auto trans baby got me thinking that I needed a tune. And why bother tuning when I only have a single mod on the car? So, the rest is history.

For the past 10 years I have been “perfecting” this very imperfect DC5S (always, ALWAYS overshadowed by the DC5R). It is not uncommon to get comments like “just convert it to an R” and there were even people asking me to sell my DC5S and top-up the differences to get a DC5R. But that’s the thing. I don’t want a DC5R.

Unlike the DC5R, I have a lot of work to do and learn about DC5S. Pretty much nobody is modding a DC5S without converting it to a Type R in Malaysia. In the past 10 years, I have tried at least 3 sets of exhaust systems, 5 sets of air intake systems, a bunch of other trial and error stuff. She went from white to yellow, and from stock to being fully kitted with INGS+1 parts (even the useless CF eyelids were made by INGS+1). My DC5S now makes around 100whp more than when I first got her, and I am very sure she is at least faster than your average lawnmowers.

One of the best things about the car is how practical she is. She can sit five adults uncomfortably (four is actually the magic number) and has an unbelievably spacious boot. With the rear seat folded flat, she is practically a Hilux (maybe an exaggeration)! A trip to IKEA or the nursery is nothing to be worried about. The rear seats are *somewhat* easy to get into and it even comes equipped with ISOFIX baby seat mounts! This means that while the car looks and sounds like something a single guy would drive, it is actually a perfect daddy’s car too! *hoping for my wife to read this and be convinced =P*

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Same as the reasons I bought the car above.

Cons

• Her FC is good at stock, but now she’s rather thirsty. Smiles per gallon, I guess…

• The NVH is not that good but she sounds amazing so who cares.

• The stock handling is good but not great. Investing in the handling is highly recommended and honestly doesn’t take much to make her great.

• Some parts can be too expensive but used parts from Japan are plentiful.

• The DC5 is infamous for water leaks in the rear headlights and also the rear boot. I have experienced both.

• Being a 15-year-old car, replacing the wear and tear parts can be costly. I have quite a list of parts to replace, repaint, repair to maintain this old girl. ;(

Ratings

• Total Score: 5 (I just love my car so much)

• Performance: 4 (old Hondas can only be faster….if you have the money)

• Price & Cost: Reasonable.

• Quality & Features: 4

• Space: 4 (seriously, she’s pretty spacious).

• Ride Comfort: 4 (for me) / 2 (for my occupants).

• Fuel Economy: 4 (when I got her) / 2 (now).

Summary

It is very unlikely for the Type S to be as ganas as the Type R. Even if you completely convert a Type S to a Type R, Honda did way more stuff than just the powertrain, brakes, and whatnot to make a Type R, truly a Type R.

Hence, I have learned that the best part about being into car modding is the journey. Don’t be blinded by the numbers on paper and never ever be ashamed of driving a slower car. Making a slow car a little bit faster can be pretty rewarding. And you get to enjoy the view too!

Interesting events that happened to my car

I love it when people are confused looking at an auto DC5 back then. I even had mechanics laughing at me when I said my car is an auto DC5 in my earlier days of ownership. Tyre shop workers are especially adamant about their knowledge of the DC5 and it is always priceless seeing them surprised at how can DC5 fit wheels meant for Evos (due to the smaller arms, DC5S can fit in more aggressive wheels compared to the DC5R).

I actually changed the gear console to a 5MT DC5S’s manual gear console as the original 5AT gear console is a dirt magnet and also because I like to have fun. Occasionally I will have the valet parkers asking me, “Bang, clutch kereta ni kat mana?”.

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