Asian FWD Coupe Battle

Of the following Asian FWD Coupes, which would you rather have? Keep in mind to vote for the best overall car (power, handling, styling, reliability, etc.).

2001 Acura Integra Type R
2002 Acura RSX Type S
2001 Honda Prelude Type SH
2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6
2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS
2002 Toyota Celica GTS
Other

type R is hands down the best performer and one of the best looking cars on the list ( if your talkin about the JDM version ) it handles the best, has the highest 1/4 mile time, has a LSD, and a great hand built engine. the only reason why wouldn't own one is becasue it will get stolen right from your driveway in NYC

type R is hands down the best performer and one of the best looking cars on the list ( if your talkin about the JDM version ) it handles the best, has the highest 1/4 mile time, has a LSD, and a great hand built engine. the only reason why wouldn't own one is becasue it will get stolen right from your driveway in NYC

agreed... i'd rather own the Type R than any other car on that list. It's the best handling FWD car, and completely sport oriented

the type R is the fastest, but it still looks like normal integra...(not that thats a bad thing) but i would go with the toyota celica gt-s.

I love the Integra Type R, but I can't say no to my own car...I think the RSX has better styling... it has more displacement and more hp and torque...as for the lude its bland, a tiburons a hyundai, and I eat Celica GTS's all day....That leaves the eclipse, which I personally have never been driven in, so i cant comment

ITR all the way...no question

I voted Integra Type R, although I'd be perfectly happy with an RSX Type S or a Celica GT-S. The Tiburon, Prelude, and Eclipse are all too heavy to be considered sport coupes, IMO.

Just one small problem with your list of cars, the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS is an American car.

Its sold only in North America where it was designed and is manufactored, like every Eclipse before it.

True, the Eclipse is technically an American car. What I should have said is FWD coupes from Asian car manufacturers. And every car I have listed is an American model (Acura Integra instead of Honda Integra, Prelude SH instead of Prelude S, etc.)

Just one small problem with your list of cars, the 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS is an American car.

Its sold only in North America where it was designed and is manufactored, like every Eclipse before it.

Yep, and the first Eclipse built without Chrysler influence.

Hmm.....

Eclipse with Chrysler - 2.0L turbo four AWD maniacal sports coupe with rally and autocross wins and a reputation for durability and power amongst tuners.

Eclipse without Chrysler - V6 powered coupe with a reputation for breaking down and being girly.

Who'd have thunk it. It took American know-how to make a great Japanese coupe. :loser:

i would've sworn that the DSM AWD Turbo Chassis originated as a Mitsubishi Gallant VR-4 in the 80's. then later when it came to american they put a coupe body over it.

Yeah, the old Eclipse's AWD system and 2.0 turbo engine were both from Mitsubishi; they just pussied out with the 3rd gen.

Never said Chryco gave them the components (worked on enough of the buggers to know that you can't get the parts that easy or cheaply) but that the Pentastar boys gave Mitsubishi plenty of advice on what would make a car sell in the US market and what wouldn't.

They listened very closely on the 1st gen, less closely on the 2nd gen, and then flat out ignored Chrysler (who really wasn't giving two shits about Mitsubishi at that point anyways thanks to having big daddy Daimler's pocketbook to play with) for the 3rd gen.

yea i read somewhere that the engine, and drivetrain components were mitsubishi, while the body was designed by mitsubishi, and chrysler. it would make sense that the engine is mitsubishi, cause its design/block is similar to the engines found in the vr-4, and the evo.

Yep, it's none other than the 4G63, although detuned quite a bit.

I'd go with the Type R simply because the 2002 Celica GTS was very weak compared to the 2000-2001. It had a premature rev limiter, lowering it's ETA for the 1/4 to 15.4-15.5....

The 2000 Model Celica GTS actually beat out the 2001 type R in some tests and was rated as one of the fastest FWD cars of its time.

If the Integra Type R was so great, why'd they drop it when toyota put out the ZZ231?

I don't know... While I agree that the Integra is more sport oriented, the Celica has lighter weight and a closer geared transmission, so with the right aftermarket support I'm sure it'd bring more than just regular heat to the Integra Type R's doorstep.

closer gear ratio? not true.

all GT-S's gears are spread apart from 1-2. whenever you shift from 1st to 2nd it falls out of the vvt range. they did this becasue they needed 2nd to be tall enough to hit 60. this is becasue toyota feared that the typical magazine writer cannot do a 2-3 shift fast enough so it would hurt the 1/4 mile time.

i find that kinda gay if you ask me. you have to deal with the engine falling on its face everytime i do a 1-2 shift.

also the only thing the celica have over the type R is weight. and that is because its on a newer platform. it has no LSD either.

why did acura drop the type R? i have no clue. it was always a limited production car anyways so it wasn't offered every year. when the GT-S came out, the Type R swept it. then a year later. they stoped production, and a year after that the RSX-S took its place and still took the GT-S out.

Strange considering the GTS outhandles the Type S any day of the week, with any driver. The 2000 GTS also dropped right into lift because it was the only year before the latest 2004/5 models that had the 8300RPM redline, instead of the 7800RPM redline that the 2002+'s had.

In fact, one of the only things noted about the 2000-2001 model was the fact that it was the best one for lift shifting. You take it to even 8200RPM and if you shifted perfectly, you were right above the lift mark.

Oh and btw, the RSX Type S came out in 2002, the same year that Toyota shafted the Celica GTS's power train.

Put a 2002 RSX Type S against a 2000 Celica GTS and you'll find that the results won't be the same.

In fact, in Sport Compact Car they even said that if the Celica GTS didn't have the "glitchy redline" it would've taken the RSX type S. Why? Because the 2000 Celica GTS was just as fast, straight line as the Integra Type R. It ran 14.8 in stock trim. .2 seconds faster than the stock Type S ran, and it was also about 450 pounds lighter with only a 20HP loss in power comparison.

Stock for stock, I'd put my money on a 2000-2001 GTS.

If you're a modder, then yeah, RSX S is the way and the truth, because for some strange reason, the aftermarket support for the GTS is about as common as Nick Carter fans.

Im a Nick Carter fan! Yay! :)

very interesting indeed. so you can compensate for the fall off powerband is to rev past redline.

and you know i never noticed that coincidence with the RSX type S. but its does make sense too.

Actually yeah... It really sucks but the GTS is a very strangely powered car.

It has a very spikey power band that requires you to land it in 6000 RPM when you shift, otherwise you drop power. The year the Type S came out, Toyota suddenly dropped the GTS' redline to 7800 RPM, making it virtually impossible to keep it in peak power when you shifted. The RSX Type S on the other hand gains peak power at what, 6000 RPM? Yeah the GTS needs a crazy driver to compensate the fall off of power, which is probably why they lowered the red line. A lot of 2ZZGE engines were being replaced from warranty.

I agree the Type R would be the best car on ur list, but they are hard to come by, at least here on the East Coast. A RSx-S is the next best thing, and they are easy to come by. just go to ur local carmax

True, the Eclipse is technically an American car. What I should have said is FWD coupes from Asian car manufacturers. And every car I have listed is an American model (Acura Integra instead of Honda Integra, Prelude SH instead of Prelude S, etc.)

the Prelude S is a totally different car from the SH, but im sure you meant Type S. and no prelude was ever made in america, thats part of the reason for the car getting dropped, it had a bad turnaround price from importing it. neways, for styling id pick the prelude, for the engine id pick the prelude, but just because of the weight, the ITR is my second pick. remember, you said overall not just performance and i think the lude has got the total package.

Yep, and the first Eclipse built without Chrysler influence.

Hmm.....

Eclipse with Chrysler - 2.0L turbo four AWD maniacal sports coupe with rally and autocross wins and a reputation for durability and power amongst tuners.

Eclipse without Chrysler - V6 powered coupe with a reputation for breaking down and being girly.

Who'd have thunk it. It took American know-how to make a great Japanese coupe. :loser:\

im not sure what you mean by breaking down, because the 3g eclipse is the most reliable of all the eclipses, and im pretty sure ive seen more girls driving the 2g than the 3g. Well thats here in Texas.

[QUOTE=Layla's Keeper]Yep, and the first Eclipse built without Chrysler influence.

Hmm.....

Eclipse with Chrysler - 2.0L turbo four AWD maniacal sports coupe with rally and autocross wins and a reputation for durability and power amongst tuners.

Eclipse without Chrysler - V6 powered coupe with a reputation for breaking down and being girly.[QUOTE]

IIRC, that engine was developed prior to the merger (so to speak) so if you ask me, chrysler piggy backed on a great engine built by mitsu and got pretty far riding their coat-tails. and yes the new eclipses suck, as do all other mitsus right now but that has nothing to do with chrysler not being involved.

If the Integra Type R was so great, why'd they drop it when toyota put out the ZZ231?



They didn't, Honda simply changed the name in the US market when the new model came out. Every where else in the world you can still buy a Type R Integra, and its faster then the previous one.

They didn't, Honda simply changed the name in the US market when the new model came out. Every where else in the world you can still buy a Type R Integra, and its faster then the previous one.
And IIRC, the RSX Type S is just a bespoilered JDM Type R with cushier suspension, a lower Compression ratio, comfier Recaro's and no Brembo's.

As for the comparison, only one of these cars was built with motorsport in mind, I think we all know which one it is (DC2 Integra Type R)

For fucks sake.

10-day limits on polls please.

i was wondering what type R u guys were talking about. must be the old one, different shape to the RSX??
haven't been in the cars yur talking about cause they are just ""US. but i'll base it on the following.
friend has the new Honda Integra type R (rsx shape) the recaro's are just fine. tough car and would be my pic even though it's slightly heavier than the old one, and torque steer sucks.
g/f has mitsi FTO v6 mivec, it's a nice car, i imagine thats what your 3g eclipse is like. flatmate has a lancer GSR with the 4g63, they are a tough engine and lighter than the 6, plus had more development so reliability should be right up there and easier for parts, i don't think the new eclipse could match the integra.if yur RSX is detuned then i'd have to go with the celica! it's a little behind the type R over here but only just, so if you dropped any power it'd have it!

best japanese FWD.... EK Civic Type R, ran faster than the integra at the same time and i don't think the new civic type r beats it. very light and very mean.