Cts Info Required

[Bong Water]

Hi chaps,

I am a regular user of Honda forums and have owned many a VTEC Honda as I do enjoy high revving NA engines

There is a problem here though, there is not as much choice as there used to be, I am looking for something around 04/05 which gives me a choice of Civic Type-R, Accord Type-S and CTS

CTR I am sick to the back teeth of, they are everywhere and I dont really fancy one at all

ATS has a 2.4 engine and only revs to 7K so im on the fence with that

The CTS I have driven before as I used to sell Toyota's and it was a very nice car, good kit level and fun to drive, its the facelift with uprated suspension I am interested in and I never see them on the road which I also like

Couple of questions please, preferably from people who actually have a CTS

What kind of MPG are you getting around town? My driving is 95% town driving

Any common faults at all, I know the lift bolts were sorted on pre's, do they have oil pump problems?

Now that they are getting on a bit, any faults with the interior or electrics?

Is the gear box as notchy as they make out in the reviews, I honestly dont remember, I remember it having a fairly long throw

Is the handling on the post that much improved over the pre, I read its 20mm lower with improved shocks/springs and ARBs

Thanks people I look forward to your replies

[Bong Water]

12 reads and no replies, you all shy or something?

[Norfolk n Chance]

I ain't shy!

Welcome to the club!

What kind of MPG are you getting around town? My driving is 95% town driving i usually get around 30mpg... unless i'm having a Lift overdose then it's not worth looking at the mpg i get a good return of 40mpg on motorway driving too

Any common faults at all, I know the lift bolts were sorted on pre's, do they have oil pump problems? No common faults... but like with anything every car will be different... Lift bolts - dependant on the mileage of the car it may be worth changing them anyway... changed mine at 60k and they were showing signs of wear

Now that they are getting on a bit, any faults with the interior or electrics? No problems in mine

Is the gear box as notchy as they make out in the reviews, I honestly dont remember, I remember it having a fairly long throw Bit notchy when cold but other than that no major complaints

Is the handling on the post that much improved over the pre, I read its 20mm lower with improved shocks/springs and ARBs Dunno about the shocks but it is 15mm lower than the Pre F/L... handling wise i've not got any complaints more than capable of handling twisty country roads with no problems

[Bong Water]

Wow a person, thanks for the info man.

MPG sounds pretty damn awesome for around town, you sure thats right?

I see you have the internet famed Apexi intake, what do you think of it?

How do I get replies to disply as posts instead of links?

Thanks

[Norfolk n Chance]

Provided you drive sensibly yes... but Lift is so damn addictive!

I'm pleased with the A'PEXi... good gains... nice sound.... and the best filtration you can get ;)

Top right of the thread there should be an "Options" box... click that then choose standard display

[Mr_T_Sport]

I will try my best for you mate. I have owned both pre and facelift models and i can assure you the 20mm drop improved shocks /springs and the addition of a srut brace make the face lift a much better driving experience! Granted its still not as tight as a ctr but its much better than the pre facelift. As for mpg around town i would estimate around 28 mpg, i usually get between 22 and 28 and my mrs gets a constant 35 I know wikipedia and the like say that a common fault with the 2zz-ge engine is the oil pump but i have never had a problem with one on either car and as far as im aware no one else on here has. As for the interior the head units can be a little bit of a crap fit along the top, i think most have this problem, im quite a fussy person and it doesnt really bother me too much! I have had no problems with electrics, no tell a lie my cd player packed in but managed to buy one off of here so easily sorted.

The gearbox can be notchy especially in first, but again i dont find this a problem. From my experiences i would say the thing to look out for is the clutch, they are crap absolutley shocking. I bought my facelift at 25000 miles and it needed a new one. Lots of guys on here put uprated ones in. They can also be a bit thirsty with the oil so check it regular.

Hope this helps

[Bong Water]

Excellent thanks for the replies

You must like them if you bought another!

I'm still undecided on what to do but thats obviously because I need to drive one again along with a couple of other options but it ticks all the boxes so far

I read about the oil pump thing, I think its more due to miss shift, this can happen in any car especially high revving NA when driven in anger, its happened to a couple of Honda's on track before

[Mr_T_Sport]

Excellent thanks for the replies

You must like them if you bought another!

I'm still undecided on what to do but thats obviously because I need to drive one again along with a couple of other options but it ticks all the boxes so far

I read about the oil pump thing, I think its more due to miss shift, this can happen in any car especially high revving NA when driven in anger, its happened to a couple of Honda's on track before

Yeah i like them, bought my prefacelift as it was a good price and fell in love with the fact that every one got the surprise of there life when i floored it! Couldnt afford the facelift but wanted one as they look the part and handle better so went and got it on finance. my mrs wasnt a happy bunny! Slapped wrist for me :P She loves it tho. To be honest i probably had more fun in the pre facelift what with its understated looks and comedy handling. :D

[the punisher]

Gear lever throw is a bit far i just added TRD short shift to mine feels alot better. Stock one is a bit wooley trd firms up the shift and give you confidence of hitting the right gear.

Run the little bugger on a premium fuel and that will help MPG a hell of a lot...

My GF has the CTR and i prefer my CTS for many reasons

Joel

[Bong Water]

Gear lever throw is a bit far i just added TRD short shift to mine feels alot better. Stock one is a bit wooley trd firms up the shift and give you confidence of hitting the right gear.

Run the little bugger on a premium fuel and that will help MPG a hell of a lot...

My GF has the CTR and i prefer my CTS for many reasons

Joel

Is TRD OEM kit or is that TTE?

Short shift sounds good if it sorts out the long throw

You going to have to elaborate on the reasons mate? More comfy? climate control? Looks? Not as many people wearing stripey jumpers and base ball caps in the CTS compared to the CTR?

[Mr_T_Sport]

Gear lever throw is a bit far i just added TRD short shift to mine feels alot better. Stock one is a bit wooley trd firms up the shift and give you confidence of hitting the right gear.

Run the little bugger on a premium fuel and that will help MPG a hell of a lot...

My GF has the CTR and i prefer my CTS for many reasons

Joel

Is TRD OEM kit or is that TTE?

Short shift sounds good if it sorts out the long throw

You going to have to elaborate on the reasons mate? More comfy? climate control? Looks? Not as many people wearing stripey jumpers and base ball caps in the CTS compared to the CTR?

imo it is more comfy higher spec and better looking than the ctr and much rarer also has cheaper insurance group and better mpg, performance wise ctr just dicks the cts unless in the wet and the ctr does handle better but for me the cts was the obvious choice.

[MarcTS]

Is TRD OEM kit or is that TTE?

Short shift sounds good if it sorts out the long throw

TRD is the Japanese equivalent of TTE in Europe. However, the TRD short shifter is a much better piece of kit compared to the TTE one, and I would wholeheartedly suggest you go for the TRD shifter if you decide to go down that route.

I think most issues have already been addressed apart from the OE brake pads being pretty sloppy. Almost everyone on here replaces them with a different manufacturer's set and that tightens up the braking nicely.

[Mr_T_Sport]

Is TRD OEM kit or is that TTE?

Short shift sounds good if it sorts out the long throw

TRD is the Japanese equivalent of TTE in Europe. However, the TRD short shifter is a much better piece of kit compared to the TTE one, and I would wholeheartedly suggest you go for the TRD shifter if you decide to go down that route.

I think most issues have already been addressed apart from the OE brake pads being pretty sloppy. Almost everyone on here replaces them with a different manufacturer's set and that tightens up the braking nicely.

Can you put a pic up of what the short shifter looks like. Cheers mate!

[Bong Water]

This is all really good info I really appreciate it

I dont want to mod my next car to much but things like pads, shortshifter etc are all ok maybe even an intake. Just nothing too expensive like suspension etc

[MarcTS]

Can you put a pic up of what the short shifter looks like. Cheers mate!

You mean how it looks when installed?

[t-sport786]

Is TRD OEM kit or is that TTE?

Short shift sounds good if it sorts out the long throw

TRD is the Japanese equivalent of TTE in Europe. However, the TRD short shifter is a much better piece of kit compared to the TTE one, and I would wholeheartedly suggest you go for the TRD shifter if you decide to go down that route.

I think most issues have already been addressed apart from the OE brake pads being pretty sloppy. Almost everyone on here replaces them with a different manufacturer's set and that tightens up the braking nicely.

The choice of short shifter will come down to u as a person because i own a TTE one and have used the TRD one but found the TTE one a lot shorter and it goes bang into gear the only downfall would be that its stiff....

[myromeo]

My pre facelift was a choice between this and a ctr and I'm glad I wet cts. Handles well enough for q road car and can keep up to the likes of focus st, Clio sport etc on track, at least I managed to.

Brakes are better than most seem to think, workthem hard and the perform well.

Mods wise, for a facelift the shortshifter seems popular and an intake is a must, sound wise alone it's worth every penny!

Good luck finding the right car and I'm sure whatever you go for you will have fun!

[Jock Fran]

MPG:

If you take it easy around town you should get 30mpg. I get average 35ish in mixed driving. Worst I've had was a tank of short town journeys that gave about 28mpg.

Common Faults:

Stereo can hang out of the dash, possible to fix with uprated bracket.

Noisy gearbox/clutch/something when slowing down with engine braking. As far as I know, not actually a problem, but can be worrying when you first hear it.

Clutch is quite easy to burn and apparently doesn't last long. Although you do get used to it and mine is on 42k with no signs of slipping.

Oil pump is only a problem if you over-rev the engine on a downchange.

Notchy gearbox:

It is pretty notchy but not that bad. You can take the edge off it a bit by adding a washer to the gear linkage - 10min job and less than a quid for the washer.

Facelift handling:

I have a pre-facelift with facelift springs fitted. Noticed a slight difference in handling but not massive. Facelift also adds strut braces but pretty sure the shocks are the same. The 15mm lowering makes it look a lot better.

[farhanali89]

Go for a facelift, a trd short shift as it easier to get in gear unless your driving the car hard where you need a really small throw go for the tte. Facelift comes with shiny racey style pedals so thats not a concern.

It will be a great compromise for comfort and all the little added features. You will love it.

[Bong Water]

Some really good info thanks everyone, oil pump thing is a bit of a concern but im used to high revving motors so hopefully it will be alright

Its a couple of months before I buy but ill be test driving a few cars in the mean time, all NA jap motors so ill let you all know what happens

Thanks again

[Norfolk n Chance]

I think you've missed the point.... we've decided you're getting a CTS

[Bong Water]

You probably wouldnt want me as a regular, I tend to get bored in work and have a nasty habbit of sitting on forums all day!

I have owned 8 Honda's now and I must admit I will be very sad to leave the Honda scene so I will definitley be trying the Accord Type-S and maybe try a CTR too but its doubtful I will settle for either

How old are you lads? Just want an idea for the average age of the CTS owner as CTR owners all seem to be very young

[ballist1x]

had my car for a year now. still enjoy driving it and thrashing the engine occasionally..

problems encountered;

squeeky clutch slave cylinder - £80

new clutch - £130

upgrades installed

Blitz LM panel filter - £30 prob not worth it

Ducting hose...£25...

TRD Oil filler cap £25 - looks great

Whiteline 23mm rear Anti Roll Bar £130 does a good job

Powerflex Motormount inserts - £30 from USA... great make the engine feel solid

to come

Injen CAI (14 whp gain!!) £150

Eibach pro -30mm springs £150

front strut brace £150

rear strut brace £100

outside posibilities

polished exhaust manifold

polished/dd intake manifold

PFC Apexi controller

averaging 34-36 mpg cross country (motorway/town driving)

oh im 26

[farhanali89]

There are no oil pump issues unless its down to driver error. I had a bad downshift once it didnt blow the engine it blew the clutch and flywheel. Which wasnt bad as i just replaced clutch and flywheel in the end. Normally any oil pump issues have been from bad downshifting from 6th to 4th in the celicas but not really in the corolla.

[farhanali89]

im 20 got my cts when i was 19