>>> NEW ATR&HONDA BLOG AT: ATRRR.COM <<<

17th April 2006 - Finally some sign of spring. Car runs fine now after the 6 year service (valve adjustment, new air filter, fuel filter, rear brake pads). It still needs a good coat of wax. There was also a lot of water in the trunk around the spare tire so I need to take a closer look at it. Still, after 1.5 years of ownership I am still very impressed with this car. The looks (especially the bright red colour when clean) still turns heads everywhere. It's pure irony to park next to a same model year Toyota Avensis and seeing the big Toyota/Honda difference ; )

2nd March 2006 - No updates for some time. It's winter and I'm waiting for it to end. My ATR has been in minimal use because of all the salt and cold. I reached 50 000 km some days ago. I had to replace the battery with a new one but it's fine now. This month will be busy: yearly inspection and 72 month service (new spark plugs etc.). I might also take the car to a professional to have it waxed well and have the engine cleaned.

30th October 2005 - I installed front mud flaps to help protect the paint on the doors. It's something I should have done when I first got the car.

Traffic is full of crazy (drunk) people. I was able to avoid an accident when an old silver Galant was driving towards me on my lane. I had to swerve right outside the road. This caused some damage to the front right rim but it could have been a lot worse. The asshole got away and I didn't see the license plate.

2nd October 2005 - Another visit to a race track. 90 kilometres of pure fun. The new tires grip well and the LSD really helped in some thight corners. I have some in-car video footage I might upload here later.

3rd September 2005 - I took my ATR for a longer trip: around 3 000 km of travelling with fuel consumption at around 8,2 l/100 km. Sadly I couldn't avoid driving on some gravel roads which caused new rock chips behind the front wheels. I really should get the front mud flaps. It's very hard to keep good care of the paint without a garage: heavy rain removes most of the wax quickly. The engine works fine but there's still a rattle when turning it on or off. If you can help me with it please email info (@) my-hondas.net.

24th July 2005 - The car is now ok: new auto tensioner and cambelt were installed. There are still some rattles coming from the engine at low revs but other than that it runs great and after 4 weeks without my ATR I feel like I lost 4 weeks of my life! I also changed the stock casette/radio to a cd/radio (see the gallery)

15th July 2005 - More delays: first the dealer calls they haven't received the new auto tensioner from Belgium and the time for service is cancelled. Now they have the part but the next time they can fix my car is on Friday 22nd July! So my ATR will be out of use for almost a month! In the meantime I'm driving an '02 HR-V 1.6 ES VTEC which is actually a very nice car...

10th July 2005 - I miss VTEC ! The car will be fixed (new timing belt + tensioner) on July 13th. I have added new pics to the gallery.

28th June 2005 - New rubber! I replaced the old RE010s with RE050s. They grip a lot better. I also had my first problem: the cambelt tensioner is broken so I need a timing belt + auto tensioner replacement. It is a common fault with H22 engines. I made a video of the noise the engine makes when the cambelt is loose. I will not be driving the car until the parts have been replaced - no need to take a risk!!!

6th June 2005 - The more I drive it the more I like it. I've now had 10 000 kilometres of pure enjoyment. What a great car! I may not be able to keep up with turbo Saabs on straight line acceleration but this car is all about handling and the close-to perfect way the chassis, suspension and steering are tuned.

25th May 2005 - First track day is over. The car handled very well but the tires have lost a lot of grip over the years. I'm planning to replace them with Bridgestone Potenza RE050s later this year.

13th April 2005 - I tested the Sticky Pod for the first time. It holds the camera well but definetly needs a second knuckle to be as versatile as they claim. Download the video clip here. (wmv format, 10 Mb)

5th April 2005 - Got the Sticky Pod. I'll use it when I make my first ATR video.

19th March 2005 - I bought the Workshop manual CD for the 99+ UK Accord. It also covers the ATR.

2nd March 2005 - I found a great video clip from my harddrive. It shows a track test from a German TV programme "motorvision". Download it here. (choose save as... otherwise your computer may start streaming it which is slow!)

23rd February 2005 - Welcome to the new website.

   Gallery 

ATR Gallery now open

   Specs 

Chassis:

CH1 Accord Type R

Engine:

H22A7 4 cylinder DOHC VTEC
Bore x Stroke (mm) 87 x 90.7
Compression ratio 11
212 hp @ 7200 rpm
2157 cm3, 96 hp per litre
215 Nm (159 lb/ft) @ 6700 rpm
Redline (rpm) 7500

Gearbox

Brakes

Brake system ABS
Front: ventilated disc (300 mm)
Rear: disc (260 mm)

Wheels

Tires: Bridgestone RE010
215/45 R 17 W
Rims: Alloy 7.0J x 17 ET+55

Chassis

Front suspension double bunk wishbones, coil springs
Rear suspension double bunk wishbones, coil springs

Dimensions / Capacities

*) unsure about this, I also see "1344 kg"

Performance

(According to manufacturer)
Max. speed: 228 km/h
0 to 100 km/h: 7.2 s
400 m: 15.2 s

Consumption

90 km/h: 7.8 liters/100 km
120 km/h: 9.6 liters/100 km
City: 12.9 liters/100 km

Equipment

Xenon (HID) headlights, Recaro seats, Momo steering wheel etc.

Welcome to my new website www.my-hondas.net ! This is the place to find latest information about my Honda Accord Type R and other Honda cars later on.

I have previously owned a 1990 Accord 2.0 EX and a 1993 Accord 2.2 EXi.

I bough my ATR in November 2004 from a Honda dealer in Germany. It had one previous owner who only drove 32 000 km with it and kept very good care of it! The car is like new and I intend to keep it that way.

   Background info 

Here's some background info about the Accord Type R. As we all know, the 6th generation Accord (1998-2002) came in three different body styles: Americans, Europeans and Japanese got their own versions designed for the local needs. The European version was designed in Germany and built in Britain.

Honda decided to bless Europe with a very special version of the Accord: a true Type R version. The specs and magazine reviews can speak for themselves: it was one of the best handling and most fun-to-drive 4 door cars of its time (1999-2002) and possibly the best FWD 4-door you can buy. The ATR was never sold outside Europe, not even in Japan. When the Japanese noticed they had produced such a fantastic car, they decided to make their own version. They called it "Euro R" (Chassis code CL1).

When the new body style came out in 2003, the Type R version was dropped but the Euro R was continued - only in Japan (CL7). You must ask Honda about why the ATR was discontinued but it is obvious Europeans didn't value the car high enough and only some thousands were sold. Luckily there are us who know the "gems" in the Honda lineup.

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