looking for beat info

[rick]

hi,
i'm looking to get a new small car and i'm thinking of maybe getting a beat.
does anyone know any websites with info about beats on them? also is a beat a good car for daily use. i'm guessing with i being a honda it has a strong engine in it i'm just not too sure about the rest of the car.
thanks,
Rick
*edit*
can anyone give me a numberplate of a uk beat so i can get an insurance quote for one too? all the websites i've tryed dont seem to have honda beats on them.

[tinytim]

does anyone know any websites with info about beats on them?
You're on it :D

Flick through the pages on here and you'll find just about everything that is known.
You can pop over to Adrians site for tech specs and loads more http://fullspeed.to/honda-beat
And our man in Japan Ozsamurai has yet more and a link into the scene in Japan
http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/ozsamurai

Any specifics, post on here and anyone who can will get back to you. BUT
Don't expect an unbiased view on the Beat from anyone in here most of us have one, had one or like yourself want one.
If you're happy with a 2 seater then you'll be hard pushed to find one with such character. This forum acts as an all in support group and all credit to the members I've not found such a good all round mob on the internet.
All you need to do now is find a Beat:D

Daily runner, I've used mine all through the winter commuting 100 miles a day. She's off the road at the moment for a bit of a spruce up but that through my wish rather than necessity.

Welcome to the forum

[JGGIB]

depends if you need to carry anything in the boot :rolleyes: but you will have lots of fun you are looking between £150 + for insurance. where are you from I expect you might be near someone with a Beat.

[rick]

i've had a quick look round here and found a few useful bits and bobs.
treat me as a noob when it comes to the beat as all i know about it is that its a small honda convertable which was fun to drive on gran turismo 2 :rolleyes:
i have a feeling the insurance will be a little higer than £150+ seeing as i'm only 21 with 2 years ncb and a man 3 things insurance companies like to take advantage of.
it being a small car doesnt really bother me as i drive a corsa at the mo but i'm having alot of trouble with it so i'm thinking of getting rid soon.

can anyone confirm what i've found out so far
the beat is a mid engined rear wheel drive car isnt it?
it has disc brakes all round
it doesnt have a standard sized head unit (that could be a problem as i likes my mp3 cds altho if it uses standard wiring it should be too much of a problem there is a glove box isnt there?)
is it a turbo on na engine as iirc on gran turismo it was both :confused:

also could anyone tell me how easy they are to tune (just the basics induction, exhausts & suspention) is it a case of having to import all the parts from japan or can you get parts in the uk from other cars that fit. i'd rather not go down the universal route as i've found out from expericance universal usually means fits bugger all and most universal parts are crap.
*edit*
can anyone tell me the tech specs
0-60
bhp
top speed
etc.

[tinytim]

Mid engine rear wheel drive......yes
discs all round.....yes
Stereo head non standard......yes....but

It's a clarion unit with CD control ability. I know Clarion have gone all digital and the new CD changers need a new digital head but I'm pretty sure they will be a compatable CD changer that plays MP3.

Insurance....seems to be hit and bloody miss. Do a search on this site there have been a few discussions and contact details will be there.

Tuning, well where to start. Bodykits - take a look at impact styling. Be aware it's all shipped from Japan so deep pockets.

Exhausts. Go for it....you won't find a package in this country but custom made powerflow, bike cans, or get a stock replacement through Honda.

Suspension...Expensive but available

Engine...Gary has NOs, I'm just looking into electric superchargers, There's a turbo kit out there. so enough to keep you busy.

Parts from other cars....not much, brake pads yes, oil filter probably. Adam wedged a civic seat in somehow:D .

Universal fit gear doesn't fit the Beat (mind you it doesn't fit anything else either)

You will not be finding anything in the shops or custom car mags for the Beat. They may have stuff that fits but they wouldn't know a Beat if it zipped past a 10 000rpm.

[rick]

what do you do for servicing as i'm guessing the avrage mechanic hasnt seen many beats and i think i'm not far wrong when i say halfords probably dont carry spares.
does the stereo have a standard iso? block on the back as if it does it'll be an easy enough job to fit a new one. it'll just take some thinking to find somewhere to put it but having a hidden head unit isnt a bad thing.

[adrianp]

Hi Rick,

Welcome to the mad house...;)

Lets see if I can answer some of your questions...

Servicing:

To be honest, as long as you use a good garage, servicing the beat isn't too hard...

We normally end up buying the parts we need through SteveM in Kent and have the garage do the service using the parts we supply.

Most garages will be happy to do this especially with the Beat as it means thay haven't got to hunt around to get parts..

Stereo:

Nope, the stereo has it's own design plug on the back so it won't be just a case of plugging another stereo into the wiring...

There are special consoles avaliable in Japan that allow the use of a Din size radio in the beat but they aren't cheap and some of the metal framework from the centre console has to be trimmed /remived so it can fit properly.

Yes there is a glove box but don't think about putting much more than a pair of gloves in it...

I have got a modified one here where I was t going to put a pop out screen in my beat but after seeing how badly it looked coming out of the glovebox I scrapped the idea...:rolleyes:

Another idea is to loose the centre vents and fit the stereo there instead, not ideal but if done propelry then it doesn't look too bad at all...

0-60:

Well this depends on who you talk to and what you read...

I've seen figures ranging from 8.5 - 15 seconds but if you go for something in the middle (about 11 sec.) then it's not going to be that far out.

BHP:

That's an easy one.. The Beat has a whopping 64Bhp produced from just 656cc (just short of 100Bhp per litre)

Top Speed:

The beat is electronically limited to 140Kph (87Mph) in Japan but the limiter can be removed to allow quite a bit more (Gary's modified Beast does somewhere around 120Mph I think)

Turbo:

Nope it's not turbocharged although if you want to spend a lot of money then there is a turbo kit available in Japan...

http://www.halfway.co.jp/SPEC5%20beat.htm

As for tuning/modifying:

It all depends on how deep your pockets are and how much of an imagination you have got...

For performance issues, the easiest way is to import bits in from Japan as they have been playing with the Beat since it came out and with OzSamauri's help we have access to Yahoo Japan (Their version of e-bay...) for various bits.

Styling bits are more of a problem, yes they are available but remember they are big bits... Shipping over large parts isn't cheap but hopefully we have an answer to that now as I'm sure I read a post about large parts being able to be shipped over through someone who imports cars over here (Can't find the post at the moment)

Wow, this has become a long post...lol

I'll stop now but any other questions then just post them up and I'm sure someone will reply.

Ady.

[tinytim]

Hi, Just to clarify on the sterio plug, an adaptor is available to convert from the Beat harness to ISO fitting. I got mine through Steve but they are also available in Halfords.

I did a bit of fiberglass work on mine and have a DIN sterio mounted over the centre vents.

Unfortunately some of the less desirable members of society will think nothing of taking a knife to your roof if there is something worthwile nicking in your dashboard.:mad:

Mine is a plain looking head with everything else out of sight.

[rick]

thanks for all the info eveyone. i've only got a few questions left now.
i've seen some beats with hard tops do they fit over the soft top like with mx5's or is it one or the other with beats?
does anyone have pics of beats next to more common cars so i can get a better idea of its size?

[adrianp]

Hi Rick,

Yep, most hard tops fit over the soft top like the MX5 but there are some that need the soft top removing before fitting.

There aren't that many hard tops over here and importing one in would be fairly expensive as they aren't cheap to begin with...

As for size, here's a pic of my Beat parked in front of my other toy... (Mitsubishi FTO)

Ady.

[JGGIB]

cappacino and a beat