So I'm going to be getting a Lancer most definately... but now I'm in a predicament of what to get. I'll definately get a 02 or an 03.

After browsing the forums I'm still not cleared up on what to get, an OZ or ES?

I won't be able to do any mods too soon after buying it, so my initial thoughts were to get the OZ so it looks nice for awhile and do some mods afterwards. But then I saw some negatives about the OZ.

I'd like to put a body kit on it and some engine mods. But I'm not going to be into racing or anything. So I'm more into show.

If I get an OZ, am I more limited on what I can do it? If so, what?

Let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance.

 

Hi! I voted for OZ myself, as this is what I got. I haven't really modified it yet though..

If you want to buy a body kit then you're probably going to waste money on the OZ.

The OZ does have a couple differences here and there on the suspension mostly, but companies like RRM will show which springs will fit which model, etc.

If you get the OZ, or any (US) Lancer with the Cruise Control, you have to be careful when you get a front struts bar as some of them will touch the Cruise Control unit.. (There are some struts bar that will clear it, just be sure when you order).

I seem to remember the interior being different, the cluster and possibly some trim.. Mine has a cluster that looks a lot like the Evo cluster (white gauges and stuff) and has simili brushed-aluminum trim.

Another (bigger?) difference is the wheels bolts pattern.. the ES has 4x100mm pattern while the OZ and LS have 4x114.3mm .. Just check if your favourite wheels are available in both..

I think it all comes down to what you know you will be replacing, and what you won't.. (and the price difference between the two..). I got a 03 myself and got a good price on it, at the end of last summer, as the 04 were about to come in..

Just my 2 cents
Let us know what you end up getting!

fluke

 

What negatives have you heard about an OZ vs. an ES? The OZ has better guages, ground effects and paint to mention only a few improvements. (It has color matched door handles and mirrors vs. black for the ES. Also alloy wheels vs crap steel wheels and hubcaps.

The only argument is that depending on how many mods you will do you may end up replacing all the components that make it an OZ and therefore wasted the additional money...

 

If you plan on getting a body kit and rims, the OZ isn't worth it. All you would have left is the guages and rear sway bar which cost you at least $1000 over what you could have gotten an ES for. If you want something that looks nice right away, then go ahead and get the OZ. That's my opinion. I got an OZ because I won't be changing the kit, I like the guages, and I use 2 sets of rims.

 

I dig the OZ because all the reasons above and it's just a real nice car not downing the es but lets face it. The no side skirts, no spoiler, and gauges are wack. Plus since the OZ comes with a body kit to begin with you can focus on other areas of the car to spiff up first rather than worrying about a body kit right away. Cause in my opinion there is only one real good body kit out there the 2nd Evo VII conversion.

 

Moving to FAQ's Forum.

 

I like the ES for the fact that if you get baseline and start adding things, the further away from everyone elses it gets. So what if it has hubs, you could always buy new, better rims with the money you saved from buying the OZ. And rear sway with perches is around $75. Right there you've saved at least $2k (comapred to last time I checked OZ prices). If you pick the right colors, then the paint isn't an issue. I chose black and it's black all over and I LOVE my car more than my mom's V6 galant.

About body kits, I've had my car for almost 13 months now and the only thing I've done is bought new rims. I dont' see the reason of having two side-skirts anyway. If you're going to get a body-kit, dont' get the OZ.

Speaking of rims, the OZ has fewer rims with it's offset (4X114.3) vs the ES's (4X110) since Civics use the same offset as the ES.

That's my tidbit, hope it helps.

 

Well I've been looking around locally, and I don't see a huge price difference between the ES and OZ. It's very small, like hundreds in most cases.

So I'll most likely go with the OZ so I don't have to worry about doing stuff right away to it. I'll let you guys know what I end up doing.

Thanks for all your help guys... any more comments would be appreciated .

 

get es!

i did and im happy, the oz is a waste of money for a bunch of logos, sway bar and a evo tach and suspension. Thats thousands more for msrp over and es. When you can get all that for thousands less than the oz. Basically your getting an oz for its suspension and cluster. Cuz you'll most likely debadge, upgrade ya rims to 16s or 17s.

If i got an oz, id swap the oz spoiler for an evo7, change the tires and rims, debadge my car and get tiens. So basically id payed thousands for an oz, and ive changed everything about it cept for the cluster. You can get a oz cluster for an es for less than 200, save ya money and get and es.

P.S. i have an es, and my door handles are silver like my car, not black.

 

If I'm not mistaken the OZ has nicer paint too. All the OZ's have the pearl paint jobs I think. Also, the interior is more than just the guages..don't the ES's have tan or gray interiors? Ugly in my opinion...Floor mats, door sills, trim around the shift console... Especially if you're gonna buy used the OZ is worth it...

 

Getting an OZ is good cuz the door handles and the side mirrors have the same color as the car color. Unlike ES the side mirrors are usually black and most of the door handles are black also. Plus, if you're getting a stick shift, it would be hard to find one on ES trim. Also, ES trim shifter panel does not have the circular ring like an Evo shifter panel or OZ (see the illustration). OZ comes with black interior and ES comes with gray interior. But it's your choice. I'm saying this cuz my cousin has ES trim and he really feels bad about it when modifying it cuz of his cluster, interior color, no cupholders (rear), no sway bars, 4x100 bolt size (OZ wheel won't fit), etc.... But oh well, he has ES and OZ..lol. It doesn't matter if is an OZ or ES, it just depends on how you modify it.

This is what his car look like now after I modified the interior (click the link).

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/562124/3

 

To hell with with the OZ or ES, get a RalliArt. trust me, once you are behind the wheel and press the gas you'll be hooked.

 

^^^ if you wanna get grimey, to hell with the ralli-art, for same price you can get an srt-4!

 

Get srt-4 instead.lol. It's fast and light weight. The look isn t that bad.

 

I'd go with the ES. If you have any long term plans of changing the rims or installing a bodykit (which im pretty sure you will since you want it to be for show) then its kinda a waste of money to pay extra for the 15 inch rims and bodykit the OZ comes with.

As far as interior goes the gauges are slightly different, but im my opinion I like the ES ones more because everyone has the circle gauges now. And there are companys that make the white gauges for the ES (OZ im not sure if they made any yet) if you like that look. Different seats and different tim, but once again if your doing it for show you're most likely going to change that all anyway.

Suspension wise the major difference between the ES and the OZ is the ES does not have a rear sway bar which creates understeer. This however can be easily fixed by getting one from Roadrace Motorsports for like $250. The OZ has a rear sway bar but its been rated as sub-standard and still allows some understeer.

My honest suggestion is get the ES and then take the extra 3 grand you would have spent on the OZ, and immediately buy a rear sway bar. This way you save some money, the money you saved can go towards modifying your car, and with the RRM sway bar your ES will have better control than the standard OZ. The only main differences then will be purely on looks.