The Bargain Audi's replacement... Civic Type R with mods
Discussion
A few of you may have seen my recent bargain V6 Audi thread, as it turns out this has been one of the shortest periods I've had a car. It was lovely to drive, surprisingly quick etc etc but the nicer weather is approaching and the car just isn't really... me. Something more fun to drive was required.
With that car put up for sale a few weeks ago, the search began for a replacement. After much deliberation and searching with a fairly modest budget of 6k, a hot hatch was the most useful candidate. Having not ticked the fast ford or 5 cylinder box before, a Mk2 Focus ST was destined to become mine. It turns out searching through cars that were either overbudget, rotten or both becomes really tedious, really quickly. I went to view one last weekend that did turn out to be pretty clean, ticked most of the right boxes and with the Audi sold and no car at all, buying it did make sense. But it just didn't do it for me....
After tje disappointment of viewing the Focus on Sunday, my wife's car was booked in for a remap on the Monday, where I idly mentioned that I was car shopping at the moment and it was bought to my attention was told this cae could be for sale...
It's a 2007 FN2 Civic Type R, on 75k miles has some nice parts on it was a bonus in form of 17 inch Buddyclub P1 wheels with Yokohama AD08 tyres, Yellowspeed coilovers and big brake kit, carbon bonnet, catback exhaust (I think it's one from Tegiwa but not sure), remapped on ecutek software plus the extra bonus of an LSD from a JDM Type R.
I'd had a good look round it while I was waiting and could tell it seemed a good car, just a bit mucky, I had been half wondering if the owner was interested in selling. A test drive peaked my interest even further and it was offered at a price that did surprise me. I went away to think about it... I'm not sure I made it halfway home before I stopped and sent a message with a counter offer to see if a deal could be done. The deposit was sent as soon as I pulled into out drive.
It needs a good clean up and the wheels refurbing plus a few other small bits of tidying but the shell is solid and mechanically it's pretty much perfect. I'm just dying to attack with all my cleaning stuff now, give it a good claying, polish, wax etc.
It's the direct opposite to the Audi but it should be good fun to drive, it certainly felt better than my old red FN2 anyway, and very much appeals to my inner yob. All for a relatively bargain price of £5250. And no insurance increase over the Audi with all mods declared. I'll add more details to the cars history once I pick it up.
Tuesday can't come fast enough...
With that car put up for sale a few weeks ago, the search began for a replacement. After much deliberation and searching with a fairly modest budget of 6k, a hot hatch was the most useful candidate. Having not ticked the fast ford or 5 cylinder box before, a Mk2 Focus ST was destined to become mine. It turns out searching through cars that were either overbudget, rotten or both becomes really tedious, really quickly. I went to view one last weekend that did turn out to be pretty clean, ticked most of the right boxes and with the Audi sold and no car at all, buying it did make sense. But it just didn't do it for me....
After tje disappointment of viewing the Focus on Sunday, my wife's car was booked in for a remap on the Monday, where I idly mentioned that I was car shopping at the moment and it was bought to my attention was told this cae could be for sale...
It's a 2007 FN2 Civic Type R, on 75k miles has some nice parts on it was a bonus in form of 17 inch Buddyclub P1 wheels with Yokohama AD08 tyres, Yellowspeed coilovers and big brake kit, carbon bonnet, catback exhaust (I think it's one from Tegiwa but not sure), remapped on ecutek software plus the extra bonus of an LSD from a JDM Type R.
I'd had a good look round it while I was waiting and could tell it seemed a good car, just a bit mucky, I had been half wondering if the owner was interested in selling. A test drive peaked my interest even further and it was offered at a price that did surprise me. I went away to think about it... I'm not sure I made it halfway home before I stopped and sent a message with a counter offer to see if a deal could be done. The deposit was sent as soon as I pulled into out drive.
It needs a good clean up and the wheels refurbing plus a few other small bits of tidying but the shell is solid and mechanically it's pretty much perfect. I'm just dying to attack with all my cleaning stuff now, give it a good claying, polish, wax etc.
It's the direct opposite to the Audi but it should be good fun to drive, it certainly felt better than my old red FN2 anyway, and very much appeals to my inner yob. All for a relatively bargain price of £5250. And no insurance increase over the Audi with all mods declared. I'll add more details to the cars history once I pick it up.
Tuesday can't come fast enough...
Edited by DanielSan on Saturday 16th March 18:30
BEAMS 162 said:
Ha,this was about when I went up to TPW have my Accord Euro-R remapped a couple of weeks ago. Ex Paul Wests car, I knew it was for sale.Guarantee one thing,the engine in that car will be set up perfectly.The map on my Accord is epic so i would say thats a good buy.It wont have been tickled around the shops,but it'll have been done properly.Should be a good buy!
He is God tier level at mapping, he'd done a couple of friends cars in the past and his name popped up when I'd asked about getting my Mrs Civic Tourer daily remapped so there was only one choice, the tourer feels like a different car now.Edited by BEAMS 162 on Sunday 17th March 21:55
The map he's put on it feels really strong especially given it's lack of other mods. It's got a bit of a back story anyway, it uses to be a TTS demo car, so it was fully forged with a Rotrex supercharger. The previous owner was having big issues with the setup and just wanted out so Paul bought it off him and they've put a standard 45k mile or so engine back in it.
Was your Euro R the K24 one I swear on their insta?
Edited by DanielSan on Monday 18th March 11:23
simon_harris said:
you lasted about as long with your 3.2 as I did with mine, as you say it is a capable car just...lacking.
Good luck with the Type R should be a little more involving if nothing else!
(I looked at a later model and the build quality wasn't the best)
I always knew it was never going to be a long term car, I got it at a mates rate with the aim to make a bit of a profit after winter so it's done that job. I'd have another one if a sensible daily was needed but I'd go for the 3.0 diesel and have a toy along with it. The big loss on the BRZ was just rendered that part of the plan temporarily unaffordable for now. Good luck with the Type R should be a little more involving if nothing else!
(I looked at a later model and the build quality wasn't the best)
Honda build quality is a bit of a weird one, the mechanical bits will more often than not go forever, the bits that you actually touch not quite so much...
keo said:
You don’t mess about mate! Sure you had a silver ep3 when I first met you years ago going a jap meet derby way. Looking back now that convey along the a50 was absolutely terrifying!
It's depressing how long ago that is now... that said this purchase does have a hint of dejá vu about it... 
BEAMS 162 said:
Hi mate,no the K24 isnt mine,this is my one:
Totally improved the response ,especially low down and a big improvement mid range with crossover at 4.5K, now running @250bhp.
Yeah did a great job,love it.
Ooh I rather like that. I did come across a high mileage Euro R while searching a week or so ago but it was still on at 6.5k or so. Cheap for a Euro R but in my head it was a lot for a 160k Accord lolTotally improved the response ,especially low down and a big improvement mid range with crossover at 4.5K, now running @250bhp.
Yeah did a great job,love it.
Collection day today!
Picked the car up this morning and after seeing a friend I took the opportunity to take the long route home from Crewe to Stoke via some of the peak district. I can confirm this car feels massively different to my old red one. The coilovers are still firm but it rides bumps no differently to the standard car, they may even be slightly better, the brake kit feels like it'll stand the thing on it's nose! The ecu map brings the vtec in a bit lower than standard and the single exit exhaust while being a bit loud isn't boomy and sounds much more like a K20 powered Honda should do. Combine all that with the LSD and I think I'm going to enjoy this car a lot...
First job on the list though is an AC leak test/regas. There's no gas at all in the system so it'll be worth checking to see if there's anywhere obvious it's leaking from before adding more to it. Other than that I'm just going to tody up a few bits like repaint the calipers/rocker cover and update the headunit to something with carplay/android auto. Tomorrow though is a proper clean/clay/polish etc...
Picked the car up this morning and after seeing a friend I took the opportunity to take the long route home from Crewe to Stoke via some of the peak district. I can confirm this car feels massively different to my old red one. The coilovers are still firm but it rides bumps no differently to the standard car, they may even be slightly better, the brake kit feels like it'll stand the thing on it's nose! The ecu map brings the vtec in a bit lower than standard and the single exit exhaust while being a bit loud isn't boomy and sounds much more like a K20 powered Honda should do. Combine all that with the LSD and I think I'm going to enjoy this car a lot...
First job on the list though is an AC leak test/regas. There's no gas at all in the system so it'll be worth checking to see if there's anywhere obvious it's leaking from before adding more to it. Other than that I'm just going to tody up a few bits like repaint the calipers/rocker cover and update the headunit to something with carplay/android auto. Tomorrow though is a proper clean/clay/polish etc...
I got the first task on the list for the car done today. Giving it a full on clean. I started off with some Autobrite Lemon Sherbert snow foam, it's a pleasing colour and smells fantastic. Plus it's pretty good at loosening the grime also..
Next steps were a coat of de-ironiser, in this case I had to go out this morning to get some as I'd ran out of my usual preference, fortunately Halords came to the rescue with some Autoglym Magma I expected there to be a fair amount of build up on the car, but not quite this much...
After that it was a coat of Autobrite's just the tonic tar and glue remover with a similar outcome in white rather than purple...
A couple of the lower parts of the car needed 2 or 2 attempts with this and some scrubbing at the particularly thick lumps of tar that were stuck to the car.
Once all that was done it was time to actually wash and rinse the car, followed up by a session with the clay bar and some Dodo Juice Born Slippy clay lube. This came from a fairly small patch of the roof. A bit of a job had broken out...
As you can imagine this was somewhat time consuming but the result was well worth it once I'd given the car a second wash and rinse to remove the dried clay lube left behind. I always give the car a final rinse after the using the jet wash with rain water from the water butt, there's always fewer watermarks after doing this than just rinsing with water from the hose. It was starting to look like we were getting somewhere now...
Next on the list, the headlights were looking a bit yellow and faded, it's a Japanese car after all...
It's nothing some Meguiars PlastX and a machine polisher can't fix...
I may also have got a tad sidetracked after this when I found a pair of led sidelights in the garage that had never even been opened, so they went in as a small upgrade. There will be a headlight bulb upgrade very soon to go with them
Back onto the actual job at hand, I gave the windows the Autobrite 3 stage treatment also with their glass cleaner, polish and sealant. Followed up by a coat of Autobrite's Cherry Glaze which is usable as a polish and glaze at the same time. Sadly it was starting to go damp so I haven't managed to apply a coat of wax on the car also. Another coat of polish and then the wax will go on next time it's cleaned. But for now, the finished article.
After cleaning today the 2 priority jobs now are the aircon regas and wheel refurb closely follosed by an something a bit more carplay/android auto for the stereo. I'll try and get them booked in for the wheels in the next few weeks, just in case any mechanical foibles appear.
Next steps were a coat of de-ironiser, in this case I had to go out this morning to get some as I'd ran out of my usual preference, fortunately Halords came to the rescue with some Autoglym Magma I expected there to be a fair amount of build up on the car, but not quite this much...
After that it was a coat of Autobrite's just the tonic tar and glue remover with a similar outcome in white rather than purple...
A couple of the lower parts of the car needed 2 or 2 attempts with this and some scrubbing at the particularly thick lumps of tar that were stuck to the car.
Once all that was done it was time to actually wash and rinse the car, followed up by a session with the clay bar and some Dodo Juice Born Slippy clay lube. This came from a fairly small patch of the roof. A bit of a job had broken out...
As you can imagine this was somewhat time consuming but the result was well worth it once I'd given the car a second wash and rinse to remove the dried clay lube left behind. I always give the car a final rinse after the using the jet wash with rain water from the water butt, there's always fewer watermarks after doing this than just rinsing with water from the hose. It was starting to look like we were getting somewhere now...
Next on the list, the headlights were looking a bit yellow and faded, it's a Japanese car after all...
It's nothing some Meguiars PlastX and a machine polisher can't fix...
I may also have got a tad sidetracked after this when I found a pair of led sidelights in the garage that had never even been opened, so they went in as a small upgrade. There will be a headlight bulb upgrade very soon to go with them
Back onto the actual job at hand, I gave the windows the Autobrite 3 stage treatment also with their glass cleaner, polish and sealant. Followed up by a coat of Autobrite's Cherry Glaze which is usable as a polish and glaze at the same time. Sadly it was starting to go damp so I haven't managed to apply a coat of wax on the car also. Another coat of polish and then the wax will go on next time it's cleaned. But for now, the finished article.
After cleaning today the 2 priority jobs now are the aircon regas and wheel refurb closely follosed by an something a bit more carplay/android auto for the stereo. I'll try and get them booked in for the wheels in the next few weeks, just in case any mechanical foibles appear.
Martin_Hx said:
Cracking buy! Enjoy 
Dare i say its looks a little "sleeper" ish in that colour, not looking at the wheels/bonnet/brakes
? There cant be many silver FN2's kicking around, they all seem to be black or red
EP3 owner
It's definitely a less common colour on them, I've always quite liked silver on the FN shape, it just looks a bit neater/cleaner than the red or black. Dare i say its looks a little "sleeper" ish in that colour, not looking at the wheels/bonnet/brakes
? There cant be many silver FN2's kicking around, they all seem to be black or redEP3 owner
Speaking of cleaner, I managed to get a coat of Auto Finesse wax on it and finished the job with Meguiars tyre gel this afternoon before giving the wife's daily driver a good clean off also. Satisfied with my work for now.
Even managed to pull the wife's toy car out of the garage foe the first time in ages.
A small slightly unexpected update this one. I was doing some idle browsing this afternoon getting some ideas for a stereo upgrade. The aim was to find something with android auto/carplay for a reasonable amount of cash that wasn't just a random ebay Chinese knockoff. I was already aware that I'd need the Connects2 fascia and connector kit for the steering wheel controls and dash display so that was a given, and then I came across this headunit on bay.
It's a JVC560HD01, usually around £350-360, this unit is a factory refurbished item and has a 3 month warranty. On at £170 plus ebay were offering a 5% discount voucher on some items over £50 so I got this for £161... It has the wired android/carplay, all the usual stuff that entails. And for the price with a 3 month warranty it was worth a go. Combined with ordering the Connects2 kit also I've saved around £100 on the usual price. Hopefully it'll be here for the start of next week and I can get it in the car on my day off. Here's a display pic to get the idea
It's a JVC560HD01, usually around £350-360, this unit is a factory refurbished item and has a 3 month warranty. On at £170 plus ebay were offering a 5% discount voucher on some items over £50 so I got this for £161... It has the wired android/carplay, all the usual stuff that entails. And for the price with a 3 month warranty it was worth a go. Combined with ordering the Connects2 kit also I've saved around £100 on the usual price. Hopefully it'll be here for the start of next week and I can get it in the car on my day off. Here's a display pic to get the idea
Another pic heavy update this one. The headunit, dab aerial and Connects2 fitting kit have arrived in the last couple of days. I'd initially planned to pay a friend in beer for his assistance in doing the fitting part (by assistance I mean he does the work while I chat s
t and occasionally find the right but) but I had managed to get a couple of hours free this afternoon, and with nothing more than youtube to consult and a how hard can it be attitude I cracked on....
It's quite a faff to do a headunit swap in one of thse, the whole centre console has to come out to be able to access the required screws on the underside of the headunit
Work has begun and going well...
Oh crap what have I done!!
Do I really need all these bits for this to work properly?
Getting somewhere now, air vents fitted and hazard light switch fitted to the new fascia
It took more time than I'm willing to admit to get from there to here... especially after messing about with finding the right side pieces for the headuit cage, but we have life AND the oem dash display works!
Oh yeah, there's no socket for the DAB aerial, I may or may not have misread the description when I bought it. Nevermind, DAB doesn't work and I play everything through my phone anyway.
Getting to here was fairly quick, but I couldn't get this to line up properly for about 20 minutes, until I realised the end of it was caught on the drivers footrest... What a colossal flute I am.
Finished! It's in, it all works, it connects with my phone fine. I do need to come up with a more suitable location for the USB cable than ran up by the handbrake but that's for a day when I can be bothered to drill holes.
I haven't played with the settings yet but even just the headunit change has improved the sound of the oem speakers noticeably. So far so good, we'll see how my DIY skills stand up to the test of time.
t and occasionally find the right but) but I had managed to get a couple of hours free this afternoon, and with nothing more than youtube to consult and a how hard can it be attitude I cracked on....It's quite a faff to do a headunit swap in one of thse, the whole centre console has to come out to be able to access the required screws on the underside of the headunit
Work has begun and going well...
Oh crap what have I done!!
Do I really need all these bits for this to work properly?
Getting somewhere now, air vents fitted and hazard light switch fitted to the new fascia
It took more time than I'm willing to admit to get from there to here... especially after messing about with finding the right side pieces for the headuit cage, but we have life AND the oem dash display works!
Oh yeah, there's no socket for the DAB aerial, I may or may not have misread the description when I bought it. Nevermind, DAB doesn't work and I play everything through my phone anyway.
Getting to here was fairly quick, but I couldn't get this to line up properly for about 20 minutes, until I realised the end of it was caught on the drivers footrest... What a colossal flute I am.
Finished! It's in, it all works, it connects with my phone fine. I do need to come up with a more suitable location for the USB cable than ran up by the handbrake but that's for a day when I can be bothered to drill holes.
I haven't played with the settings yet but even just the headunit change has improved the sound of the oem speakers noticeably. So far so good, we'll see how my DIY skills stand up to the test of time.
DanielSan said:
Small update, headunit will be coming back out this afternoon, I may have forgotten to check the steering wheel buttons actually work, and they don't, I think I need to do the connection in the right order.
Balls.
Small update part 2. After approximately 9 attempts at connecting the Connects2 unit up in a variety of different ways and following a couple of different videos things are finally sorted and we now have steering wheel controls working as they should be! Balls.
I managed to go the slightly longer way home from work this afternoon also just to go and give the car a bit of a hoon. It's so much fun, the LSD makes such a big difference to how it drives put of tight corners and roundabouts, you have got to be paying attention when overtaking though, with the diff and the geo setup that's on the car it likes to pull you over the crown of the road a tad but it's handling is really sharp. Unlike the red FN which was a bit crap, this one I really like
Bit of an unplanned update this one, but sometimes shiny things appear for sale at the right price even when you shouldn't really spend the money on bits you don't need right now... Ad a result this has been posted out to me today...
It's a Hybrid Racing short shifter. Do I need it? No not really but I did want it enough to send a speculative message. I've heard nothing but good things about these, and if it can somehow improve the shift of a Honda gearbox it must be pretty bloody good. Even if the shift feels barely any different it will be nice to have the gear lever lifted up slightly. And they look kind of cool once they're in the car also.
I might even use my new found mechanical bravery to fit it myself, Hybrid claim It's around an hour to fit, so I'm going to predict it'll take me around 3 hours with some shouting and swearing.
It's a Hybrid Racing short shifter. Do I need it? No not really but I did want it enough to send a speculative message. I've heard nothing but good things about these, and if it can somehow improve the shift of a Honda gearbox it must be pretty bloody good. Even if the shift feels barely any different it will be nice to have the gear lever lifted up slightly. And they look kind of cool once they're in the car also.
I might even use my new found mechanical bravery to fit it myself, Hybrid claim It's around an hour to fit, so I'm going to predict it'll take me around 3 hours with some shouting and swearing.
sam.rog said:
Nice car!
Any specs on those wheels. They must be extremely rare. Ive been looking for some but they are all staggered fitment, too wide or a low et.
If you ever think of selling them give me a message please. They would look marvellous on my championship white fn2.
Beyind them being 17's I'm actually not sure to be finest with you. They're on a 225 tyre so I think they're an 8x17. I keep meaning to get the tape measure out then forget about it again. There's no spacer on them that I can see so at a rough guess they're around et35 offset. Any specs on those wheels. They must be extremely rare. Ive been looking for some but they are all staggered fitment, too wide or a low et.
If you ever think of selling them give me a message please. They would look marvellous on my championship white fn2.
The Rotrex Kid said:
DanielSan said:
Bit of an unplanned update this one, but sometimes shiny things appear for sale at the right price even when you shouldn't really spend the money on bits you don't need right now... Ad a result this has been posted out to me today...
It's a Hybrid Racing short shifter. Do I need it? No not really but I did want it enough to send a speculative message. I've heard nothing but good things about these, and if it can somehow improve the shift of a Honda gearbox it must be pretty bloody good. Even if the shift feels barely any different it will be nice to have the gear lever lifted up slightly. And they look kind of cool once they're in the car also.
I might even use my new found mechanical bravery to fit it myself, Hybrid claim It's around an hour to fit, so I'm going to predict it'll take me around 3 hours with some shouting and swearing.
Good buy. I fitted one to my EP3 a few years back (would recommend the HR gearknob to match!) and it really is a superb bit of kit.It's a Hybrid Racing short shifter. Do I need it? No not really but I did want it enough to send a speculative message. I've heard nothing but good things about these, and if it can somehow improve the shift of a Honda gearbox it must be pretty bloody good. Even if the shift feels barely any different it will be nice to have the gear lever lifted up slightly. And they look kind of cool once they're in the car also.
I might even use my new found mechanical bravery to fit it myself, Hybrid claim It's around an hour to fit, so I'm going to predict it'll take me around 3 hours with some shouting and swearing.
Kaveney]anielSan said:
I like it when parcels arrive sometimes. Just need to find a free afternoon and some bravery to fit it now. How hard can it be..?
You will find out
TBH is not that bad job but be careful with the twist lock shifter cables as if they snap you are in trouble .
Also you will need to trim the plastic surround as the shifter will foul on the plastic .
The trimming part I'm fine with, the shifter cable part now has me worried :lol:You will find out
TBH is not that bad job but be careful with the twist lock shifter cables as if they snap you are in trouble .
Also you will need to trim the plastic surround as the shifter will foul on the plastic .
The Rotrex Kid said:
It’s not ‘hard’ just very fiddly. Once you’ve got the old one out it all kinda makes sense.
It's a job for next Saturday I think, going to take it down to a mates garage and do it there, if I cock it up or something breaks it's a lot easier to leave it there than get the car there otherwise. Plus it means the finishing touch to the shifter can arrive before it all goes in. Yup, so much for patience, I've ordered the knob to give with it today. It seemed rude not to finish the look off properly so black it is. 
I did some more DIY yesterday, with some assistance when I was about to make a small problem worse... The Hybrd shifter is in! I was going to take some pics of the fitting process but you've seen the car with it's centre console out once so here's just the finished article.
I did have one tiny mishap along the way, because I am at times an massive flute, I managed to trip over the front lower/dash centre console part as I'd left it on the floor outside the car managing to snap a chunk off the drivers side panel so I'll be on the hunt for a replacement one of those at some point when I get round to it. It's right by the seat so not an obvious eyesore at least but bloody annoying none the less.
More importantly the shifter is a huge improvement over the standard FN item. Way more precise, a shorter throw and it just feels so much nicer. Certainly a worthwhile mod if anyone has been considering it.
Mod wise that's it for a while now, I've got an AC radiator arriving on Monday as I found the current one to have a large part of the current one on the car hanging out of the rear side so that's the next DIY attempt. Then it'll be a regas and some nice cool air coming out of the vents again.
The next biggish job for now is a wheel refurb along with the cam cover and brake calipers also being repainted
I did have one tiny mishap along the way, because I am at times an massive flute, I managed to trip over the front lower/dash centre console part as I'd left it on the floor outside the car managing to snap a chunk off the drivers side panel so I'll be on the hunt for a replacement one of those at some point when I get round to it. It's right by the seat so not an obvious eyesore at least but bloody annoying none the less.
More importantly the shifter is a huge improvement over the standard FN item. Way more precise, a shorter throw and it just feels so much nicer. Certainly a worthwhile mod if anyone has been considering it.
Mod wise that's it for a while now, I've got an AC radiator arriving on Monday as I found the current one to have a large part of the current one on the car hanging out of the rear side so that's the next DIY attempt. Then it'll be a regas and some nice cool air coming out of the vents again.
The next biggish job for now is a wheel refurb along with the cam cover and brake calipers also being repainted
Kaveney said:
I can advise and recommend the solid shifter bush , HR gear selector springs and HR detent springs to go with the HR shifter .
I've got them on my list, I'm being good for a couple of months now once the paint bits are done. Some wallet recovery is needed especially as there's house jobs also on the list and they just aren't as fun to spend the cash on. Edited by DanielSan on Sunday 14th April 20:12
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