Owner's Experience : JDM E-EK3 Civic VTi Multimatic

Vreeeeeeeeeeeeeee… No its not the sound of Unidentified Flying Objects circling the night skies beaming up unsuspecting lifestock and human test subjects, its something more than that. Enter Honda Technology at its best, the Honda Civic EK3 Vti Multimatic. Alien technology it is not, but launched at that time in 1996, it was the car that had hit the JDM Honda market with a difference. A short article about the EK3 (D15B) "Living in Big Brother's Shadow" has been published here in the "Short Articles" section in TOVA so I won't go into the technical data about the car, rather I will attempt to give you an owner's view and what's it like owning one...


The red 'R' after the VTi is added on and the spoiler is a Honda Access item.
For Malaysian readers, what would you do with RM65-70k and you wanted a Honda Civic EK model? You would either go for a local spec'ed Civic EJ (1590cc, 125bhp Automatic) with 3 or 4 years under the belt, or better yet, go for this... a JDM Honda Civic EK3 Vti 3door hatch (1493cc, 130ps Multimatic). That's exactly what I did. My first intentions for this car, being a petrol head, was to do an engine swap. An EK4/9 hybrid monster would really wet my taste buds. But I'll tell you why I haven't swapped the engine for a B series engine thus far throughout this article.

Multimatic? Sheeeesh where's the clutch pedal? Flat torque, Redline at 7,200rpm... and you'll never experience that jerky automatic gear transition. Just put the pedal to the metal and watch the car catapult like a bat out of hell towards the 180km/hour speed limiter. That's the EK3. And did I forget to add that it consumes about 14 to 16kms per liter for city cruising and 16 to 18kms per liter on the highways? Fuel consumption at its most efficient due to the double clutch belt driven non-slip gearbox, which was developed to overcome automatic transmission power losses and shift jerks encountered in the previous models Honda Civics without the current refined Grades Logic gearbox.

Driving the EK3 is a totally different experience. When I'm in need of more power, just flicking the switch to "S" mode pulls the revs up 1500rpms from whatever revs you were previously at. The belt tightens and immediate torque gets transferred to the pedal. So the slightest squeeze of the pedal will give more urgent acceleration up to 7,200rpm. This is where the fun starts. For Honda enthusiasts, YES there is a VTEC kick in and YES there is a change in engine note from 6000rpm to 7200rpm. This is where it gets unbelievable, revs have max out, but the speedometer keeps climbing. The MMT box works overtime here to find the exact ratio for the speed and the loud gearbox whining sounds might drown out all other sounds. But who cares? I'm just here for the engine and gearbox orchestra!


The 3-stage VTEC D15B is unusual in having a valve cover without the VTEC wording, replaced by a plain 'Honda' word
At lower revs and speed, this is where the EK3 D15B thrives over its bigger DOHC VTEC H or B series cousins. At a constant 100km/hour, revs are at 2000rpms while B-series engines stress out at 3,500 rpms. The EK3 is happy cruising at low engine revs in 12 valves without engaging its second stage. Lethargic at times because the car crawls along but with a more urgent throttle response, it sheds its Clark Kent image and becomes the Kryptonite hater when the green "Econo" light disappears from the gauge cluster bringing it into its second stage of life (read :16 valves). Third Stage is every Honda fan's pride. The wild VTEC cam profile takes over and gives it the maximum 130ps.

Closer to home, the EK3 does have its fallouts too. For example, the MMT box does slide backwards when you're on a steep slope (about 40 degree angle) because the box was not made solely to detect backwards roll and adds petrol to keep the car from sliding unlike normal automatics .. but nothing that can't be solved with a handbrake on the slope and revving the engine (just like a manual car) before releasing it. Also the car operates at a very cold temperature. It takes at least 10 minutes (from an overnight cold start) before the car becomes warm and ready to give you the 130ps. I hardly ever use the "E" mode because I'm always in the mood for some quick sprints, but the "E" mode really puts the engine into hibernation, setting the car into a relaxed mode where revs and speeds climb too slow for me.

How fast? Well, I've tested my example against a Nissan Sentra 1.8 DOHC automatic which is also spec'ed for 130ps. Both cars on standstill, both cars ready for the sprint. Before the VTEC kicks in at 6000rpm, the Sentra equaled the EK3's speed. At VTEC range and roughly about 120kms/hour the EK3 shot 2 cars length ahead of the Sentra. However, against a higher powered car, the Toyota Altis 1.8 DOHC VVTi which specs at 136ps, the EK3 could initially keep up but lost out by 1 cars' length by 140kms/hour. So in my conclusion, the EK3 is a firm contender even against cars with 300cc's more and an extra camshaft.


Good things come in small parcels just like all other Honda cars with VTEC's. My liking for the EK3 MMT box has prompted me to delay the engine swap, what more with petrol prices rising, having a higher spec'ed engine will only mean a bigger hole in the pocket ! Besides, you'll be a happy camper in the Kuala Lumpur traffic congestions…

Evan
November 2002
© Temple of VTEC Asia

Evan Samu is a regular TOVA reader and he drives a 1996 EK3 Civic VTi with Multimatic. Evan can be contacted via his email topfue1@yahoo.com.