Drivers perspective....RSX-S vs GTS 6spd

[cammyfive]

Hi....I'm fairly new here, so if I've placed this in the wrong forum, please feel free to move it. That being said, this isn't a tired old which is faster....I want some suggestions for my purchase of one of these two in about two weeks. Here are some things I'd like comments on for both cars.

1) Handling. Alot of the Acura guys complain since they lost their double wishbone suspension up front, but the design looks similar to the GTS, how do the two compare in handling on the road and on the autocross course?

2) Power. Coming from a VTEC Prelude, I dont have any reservations about winding my car out for the most performance. The power to weight ratio looks pretty similar on both. I haven't driven either yet, but from what I've read here it seems that 2002 seems to be the bastard year for the GTS since the rev limiter was lowered and that obviously reduces performance. I also understand that alot of you guys are swapping in '00 or '01 ECUs. If that is easy and uncomplicated, I have no problem doing that. All that being said, how do the two compare in raw power?

3) Aftermarket support. I really like the idea of TRD being a dealer installed option base. Acura is somewhat similar with Comptech. How would the aftermarket compare for the two?

4) Long distance travel. I do alot of highway travel/road tripping. Which car is more comfortable for long cruises with alot (relatively) of luggage?

5) Value/Price. When optioned the same, the two cars are within $200.00 of each other by the time the dealer discounts them. If you had to do it all over again, and both were the exact same cost, which would you pick and why?

[PaCelicaGTS]

to answer a bit of yourt questions.

1. Handling: I'm more than satisfied with my celica, i was satisfied with it stock but I cant leave well enough alone so I made it better.

2. Power: I love the power from the GTS engine, i dont mind winding it out. to me the RSX has a slightly more flat power stroke (meaning you cant feel the VTEC kick as hard least i cant anyway)

3. Support: the main thing the GTS doesnt have is a plethora of Forced Induction. but its on its way. everything else is there and mostly plentiful

4. Travel: I've driven my car to Georgia twice, and to quite a few other places and have had no problems with the ride quality or comfort.

5. If I had to pick, I would probably pick the celica, Its lighter, i like the styling better. the RSX is screaming to be lowered badly but a stock celica isnt bad with height. and performance wise i would choose the celica again

[redlineGTS]

1. the celica handles better, but you can get a acura option for about 5000 to improve your handling and you get some appearance mods. btw it will be available in 2003.
2 yes the 2002 has a rev limiter but the 2003 will not.
3 its been three years and not much is out for the celica, the rsx was out a couple months and greedy throws out a turbo for it.... i believe the rsx will have more amounts of aftermarket support.
4the rsx is more refined. but personally i dont mind driving my celica long distance.
5 i would buy the rsx. my 2 cents

[cammyfive]

Thanks for the prompt replies. I'm not interested in that overpriced Acura handling package for over $3K. I'll just do Comptech or another company if I get that car. The reason I'm pondering this so hard is that I'm gonna buy the car outright so its gonna take pretty much all my savings to do it, but at least I'll own it and not the bank. As for performance mods, I'll end up doing the typical i/h/e and afc on either one. No forced induction for me, so thats not an issue. I'll do some suspension work, but that will be a new realm for me as its something I've never tinkered with before.

[CelicaDetective]

I would buy an RSX Type-R vs. the Celica GTS (both 6 speed). As for Type-S RSX vs. Celica GTS:

1. Handling: Celica handles SLIGHTLY better than the 2002 Acura RSX Type-S. If you want better handling for either car, suspension kits are available through both TRD and Acura. I would wait for the Type-R in the situation of handling.

2. Power: The RSX Type S and Celica GTS are very close, but the RSX Type S pulls more off the line, but the Celica catches up and they stay even (drivers race). The Type-R RSX should have 20 or so more horsepower, so it would then beat the Celica GTS without a problem.

3. Aftermarket support. There is and will be far more support for the RSX. TRD has done little to nothing for the Celica in the USA. All that is available is an air filter (same as K&N pretty much, just one time use), suspension kit and/or lowering springs, and a rear strut brace that will not allow you to use all of your rear storage space.

4. Long distance travel. Probably the same in comfort. The only thing that will probably make these cars different is depending on what type of exhaust/muffler you put on it. It could mean the difference in a long trip.

5. Value/Price. I would go with the Celica GTS 6 speed. The looks, inside and out - and the overall "feel" of the car and the spectacular view out the front windshield is a rewarding drivers experience. Only the Type-R version would be a better buy, but will end up costing more money upfront, plus it's exclusive, so good luck getting a Type-R at around invoice price.

My best advice to you is to test drive each car. And if you want an automatic transmission, test drive the auto first, then test drive the 6-speed and you'll want the 6-speed - they are very different cars, and the 6-speeds are very rewarding.

Mike

[PaCelicaGTS]

my apologies celicadetective but there is a hell of alot of aftermarket support for the celica. TRD is not the only choice. personally I wouldnt get the sportivo kit b/c it barely lowers the car. A good conglomeration of many brands is what makes a car unique, and better. only staying with TRD will severely limit your options.

[CelicaDetective]

He said he liked the idea of TRD. So I explained that TRD is crap. You all must speak japanese here, why don't you understand me?

[cammyfive]

I like the idea of TRD because it can be dealer installed and warrantied (I think). The only thing I was looking for from TRD was the exhaust system, and maybe lowering springs and shocks. As for as intake I know that AEM is a good brand (had it on my Prelude). I'm not looking into making the car a speed record breaker, just giving it more power and a more 'pleasant' sound.

[00 LSM GTS]

i do a lot of long distance weekend too.. the celica has a lil more road noise than i'd like, but it has great mpg.. on average i get about 36mpg.. on low a/c... 40 w/o.

[DGS]

Yeah, I was in the same position a few months ago. I had a 97 Prelude, and it was time to upgrade. I love the Celica, but actually ended up getting a Jetta GLS 1.8T instead. Although I love my Jetta, there is a certain something that is missing, which is why I'm going to check out the 2003's when they are out in a few months. The rev limiter goes back to 8400, it's supposed to get a bit of a cosmetic makeover, and HID's are being offered as an option.

First off, I want to say that the new compact double wishbone is in the rear of the RSX, not the front. The front uses strut type setup. Also, in a word, it sucks. I have test driven the Type S, and I was not impressed in the least. That new suspension is horrible over and type of depression in the road, it upsets the entire chassis of the car, which is even more un-nerving when you hit a bump in in the road like taking a sharp corner. If you go with the Type S, be prepared to buy new wheels/tires, lowering springs/coilovers, a body kit to help with the vanilla looks, and a replacement subwoofer for the Bose, that is not audible at any volume.

With the Celica you are going to get a car that handles much better stock, looks better, has a killer stock stereo, and is more fun to drive. The Celica uses full double wishbone in the rear, unlike the cheepo route Acura went with the suspension setup in the RSX. With the rev limiter going back up in the 2003 model, there will be very little off the line acceration advantage for the RSX as well.

Now, there were only 4 reasons I did not purchase the Celica, and got the Jetta instead. They were:

1) Interior noise. Pretty bad, worse actually then either my old Prelude or the RSX, which isn't too quiet either. You can get dynomat to help out there. I know for some people this isn't an issue, but the lack of insulation was starting to get to me after my 1/2 test drive, I couldn't imagine what a 4 or 5 hour trip would be like.

2) Interior space. When they say it's a "cockpit" like fit, they aren't kidding. I'm average size, 5'9", 150lbs, and man it still felt cramped to me. Keep in mind, I thought the interior ergonomics where great, and the leather seats are real comfortable, but head room, leg room, and shoulder room are at a minimum. Again, the thought of doing any kind of long distance driving in that cramped cockpit, didn't seem very appealing. Great for a spin around the track of to and from work, but not sure about more than that. Also, you can forget about fitting ANYTHING in the rear seats. I thought the Prelude had a useless rear, the Celica has it beat in spades.

3. Rearward visibility. Really, really bad. Again, most coupes have this problem, it seemed pronounced in the Celica. I had to back the car out for my test drive, and that was an adventure.

4. The rev limiter. I didn't like the fact it was cut back so many hundreds of rpms on a car that is already a little horsepower and torque deficient. You need every little bit of juice you can get. Thankfully this has been fixed for 2003.

So, even with all of that, I miss my Prelude, and much like yourself, really enjoy high revving 4 cylinders. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the test drive with the Celica, because with all of that problems mentioned above, it was still a total blast of a car. That is why I'm going for a test drive as soon as the 2003's hit the showrooms, and might be getting rid of my brand new Jetta, which is an assine financial move to say the least.

You need to test drive both cars to make up your own mind, but after test driving the Celica, I didn't think about the RSX ever again. Good luck.

[Death_Adder]

Originally posted by CelicaDetective
You all must speak japanese here, why don't you understand me?

I think you're the one that speaks Japanese, he said he will be buying in about 2 weeks. I don't see the Type-R coming out within the next two weeks, so that's not an option. Also, he may not be able to afford it, but we really don't know because we don't even know how much it's going to cost yet. For all we know, it might cost close to 30k.

1) I can't really say because I haven't driven both, but from everything I've read, the Celica nudges out the RSX-S in handling. Given the RSX-S's heavier weight, it will always be playing catch-up in either stock or modded form.

2) Again, I haven't driven both so I can't say, but from what I've seen, they're about dead-even. Since you're buying in 2 weeks, that means you'll be stuck with a 2002 rev-limiter. There has been some recent attempts to get Toyota to rectify the problem but whether they'll actually do anything remains to be seen. You'll have to use your better judgement on that one. AFAIK, you can't swap out your ECU for a '00 or a '01.

3) If all you want to do is a few mild mods, there's plenty to choose from.

4) Long distance travel isn't a problem. I've driven the car from Atlanta to Tampa and back (a little over 500 miles one way) and found it quite comfortable.

5) I drive a Celica, so I think you already know what I gonna say. They're pretty close in performance. Personally, I'd go for the one that "Looks Faster." :D

[t2000gts]

you CAN swap the ECU. you need the ECU and knock sensor from an '00-'01

[cammyfive]

I ended up driving an RSX-S today. I'm actually pretty let down. The engine was super sweet and sounded great, but the ride over so-so pavement was HORRIBLE! Its also way too tall. Kinda like an egg or something. I'm really looking forward to driving the Celica. I really like the way they look, so if they drive as well, the choice is clear.

About the ECU swap, whats the estimated costs for all those parts and how difficult would it be to do?

[Da Kine Guy]

Getting an '02 is wasting money IMO. If you want one now and can't wait for the '03 get a used '01. It'll be much cheaper and have all the high rev limit. Blah blah, used has problems, the car is one fricken year old with factory bumper to bumper warrenty still there, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Wrekt]

a heads up: I own a '01 GT-S. My sister owns an '02 RSX base.

1) handling - celica hands down. The celica is far more nimble and precise in stock trim and fully tuned celicas such as the Hotchkis are extremely formidable.

2) power - extremely comparable between the GT-S and the RSX-S. power to weight is just about the same...

3) aftermarket is definately here despite what disillusioned people say...even though it doesn't apply to you, only thing that is lacking is the FI route and that will be resolved extremely soon.

4) comfort - i'd probably give the slight edge to the RSX as it's geared more towards an upscale crowd but for the most part very similar. Celica feels a little more raw/race inspired.

5) value - celica. straight line performance is about the same, but you get the advantage in handling. RSX's are marked up moreso than Celicas from what i've seen.

[atehrani]

1) Handling. I can safely say that the Celica has better handling than the RSX. Suspension tuned Celica's have shown impressive numbers.

2) Power. Obviously the 2.0 liter of the RSX will produce more torque, however the RSX does weigh more, so that cancels itself out. Toyota did a good job with the power to weight ratio. Notice that the Celica's curb-weight is 2,500 (manual). That is impressive.

3) Aftermarket support. For go fast parts you have a lot to choose from. Intakes, headers, down pipe (soon), exhausts, lightened pulleys, lightened flywheel, clutches, Fuel Controllers (and hopefully standalone).

4) Long distance travel. I've done my fair share of distance drives with my car and I've found it to be very enjoyable, obviously it depends on the persons taste. True the Celica does have some road noise (which explains its light weight). But that can easily be corrected with a nice stereo and or exhaust.

5) Value/Price. From what I've seen the RSX usually goes for more, because its an Acura (considered luxury). The reasons why I choose the Celica, was its looks (inside and out) and that it is a Toyota.

Of course this opinion is probably biased, I highly recommend that you go and test drive both cars. Back to back and then make the choice yourself. Both of them are great vehicles, so you won't make a bad choice either way.

If you do go for the Celica, get the 2003, as it will offer more color options, a slightly different facia, HID, the correct rev-limiter and DBW (drive by wire) and possibly other options we may not know of.

[ringthree]

People seem to think that aftermarket is anemic for the Celica. It is not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but almost anything you want can be had if you look hard enough. Rod, pistons, valves, valve springs and retainers are other parts that people have neglecated to mention. The only thing that I would like to see that is not currently available are non-reground cam shafts. Re-grinds are available right now if you are a must have power now kinda guy, but I think I'm going to wait.

If FI is important to you then I tend to think that with 11.5 CR, custom is the only solution. I dont think that I would want any amount of boost on a engien like that without custom tuning or a decreased CR. Just my opinion, but you can also have FI today if you wanted to.

[afghan]

I love the Tein equiped RSX typeS with Volks, plus more, but I still wouldn't trade it for my Celica GT.

You drive them and you decide.

[Aris]

how can some people even think of comparing Honda or Accura products with Toyotas. Don't you see 2 articles posted lately (one myself) and the other on the Hawaii forum that Toyotas had the least problems reported by consumers. In Japan are #1 choice. They have the Best SUVs ever (in term of off-road performance) , and not to mention the poor crash tests that honda had a few years ago.

[WillyK]

Originally posted by Aris
how can some people even think of comparing Honda or Accura products with Toyotas. Don't you see 2 articles posted lately (one myself) and the other on the Hawaii forum that Toyotas had the least problems reported by consumers. In Japan are #1 choice. They have the Best SUVs ever (in term of off-road performance) , and not to mention the poor crash tests that honda had a few years ago.

That is one of the more blatantly idiotic things I've ever seen posted in this forum. Also, thanks for bringing up a thread that is nearly 1 year old.

[Littleguy]

Holy back from the dead batman!

[Karim]

since this thread is back I must ask, what did you pick?

Karim

[RevHappyGTS]

Originally posted by Karim
since this thread is back I must ask, what did you pick?

Karim

Well considering the poster only has 5 posts since then, I think he went with the RSX-S, or what my gf calls, "THE SUPER PASEO"
:gap:

[2001RED]

The RSX has more aftermarket support and it's cheaper. I have found on aveage, Celica aftermarket parts are at least 20% more expensive then their Acura/Honda counter part.

The Celica handles better.

The RSX is MUCH BETTER daily driver. The seats are more comfortable and ride is smoother.

Power, the RSX has a little more torque but I will say it is pretty much equal because you have to have the engine in high RPMs inorder to feel it.