2004 Acura RSX Oppo Review

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa) 06/26/2015 at 11:08 • Filed to: None

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An incredibly enthusiastic friend of mine recently went from an anemic 305-powered one-owner 80s Pontiac Firebird automatic to a 2004 Acura RSX with a 5-speed. He lets me drive it sometimes. Current mods are poly engine mount inserts, a shift kit, shifter spring (?), and LED footwell lighting (of course). Planned mods are headers and a exhaust which he has sitting in his basement. Here are my impressions, using my ‘98 Civic and a ‘90 Mazda Miata that I drove a few days ago as a comparison.

Looks (7/10)

I’ve never seen the first few Fast and Furious movies, which I am told this car is in. Standing alone without any of the ricebro culture surrounding it the Acura isn’t a half-bad looking car. It has a case of Computer Mouse (heavily slanted overly-stubby hood, much like modern Civics) but is overall a pretty attractive modern coupe shape.

Engine (6/10)

The engine is a K20A3 naturally-aspirated 4-banger pumping out 155hp SAE and some amount of torque. The engine has iVTEC, though I never could really notice when it engages while rowing through the gears. Power delivery seems smooth and it pulls pretty damn hard anywhere above 2k RPM. 60 is hit in a reasonable amount of time to feel exciting, and the engine is all around adequate. Fuel economy is a fairly reasonable 25mpg combined.

Transmission (7/10)

Even with the shift kit the throws are kinda vague, not very notchy, and sorta long. The clutch is fantastic, though, and the car is very easy to drive smoothly. Heel-toeing is doable but honestly the brake pedal position is kinda shite for it.

Handling (7/10)

Turn in isn’t very sharp, but body roll is very controlled. Lateral Gs are mediocre due to rubbish tires, but it’s spritely enough to be loads of fun on curvy roads. Not much to say here, really. Better than the Civic, not as good as a Miata because FWD.

Audio (6/10)

The stereo is kinda crap, but the exhaust note is surprisingly pleasant for a two liter 4cyl. Not as raspy as I’d expect.

Overall (eh/10)

There’s just something missing here. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is some certain amount of charm missing from the RSX equation. Perhaps the Type S solves it with stupid amounts of power, but in a FWD configuration I doubt it does much more than making it a wheel-spinning FWD mess.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 11:13

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10/10 would much rather have the Firebird.

 V8 Rustler > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 11:18

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It seems that you finally drove a RWD car and experienced how great they are, because I remember telling you that you should change the Buick for something with a RWD platform and you got so mad.

Uug > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 11:40

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Type-S is mo betta

Type-R is even mo betta but Honda doesn’t like America

RightFootDown > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 11:42

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The non-S is a bit of a bore so I feel you there. But let me just toss this in here to give you a taste of a heavily modified Type-S. It’s an unbelievably fun car and we can’t wait to show the world more of this one next week!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RightFootDown 06/26/2015 at 11:52

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You have no idea how jealous I am of what you do. That car looks amazing.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Uug 06/26/2015 at 11:52

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Honda hates freedom.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To >  V8 Rustler 06/26/2015 at 11:53

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IIRC I got mad because it wasn’t “you should get a RWD car” it was a bunch of people saying “you should have got a panther instead of a buick because RWD”

Connqr > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 12:06

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I have always liked these, and this review was pretty much what I was expecting. Also, Canadians aren’t angry, they’re nice. I should know, I am one.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 13:18

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I wouldn’t say the Type S has ‘stupid’ amounts of power ... I had one for 8 years and while I liked it, it was never as awesome as I wished it was. Even with a supercharger.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire 06/26/2015 at 14:25

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I drive a car with 107hp.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/26/2015 at 18:09

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It was never satisfying and I don’t think I’m much of a power junkie — I’ve been fine with the various 4-cyl rentals I’ve driven and I found the Fiesta ST hilariously quick. Maybe it was the low torque? Gearing? Heavy flywheel?

And I think it’s more than numbers too. I find the S2000 with similar power/weight figures to be entertainingly fast, and a G37 to be too much for public roads.

RightFootDown > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 06/28/2015 at 17:35

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