Discussion
sam.rog said:
First fix done.
Replaced the two shut off devices in the wing mirrors.
Both had failed causing the mirrors not to fold when the button is pressed.
A pain because the car is parked on the street and the wing mirrors are direct line from passing cars.
The offending items.
I remember a guy who used to help with replacements on the CivInfo forum. Replaced the two shut off devices in the wing mirrors.
Both had failed causing the mirrors not to fold when the button is pressed.
A pain because the car is parked on the street and the wing mirrors are direct line from passing cars.
The offending items.
Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
roadie said:
I remember a guy who used to help with replacements on the CivInfo forum.
Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
I wouldn’t want one to do many motorway miles in. 70mph is 3.5k rpm. It’s quite tiring especially with the custom exhaust thats on this. Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
Got to love a CW one of these! Not long since got rid of my 09 facelift FN2. I really enjoyed it and only got rid because it had no service history pretty much, so needed alot spending on it (mostly for peace of mind) and I couldn't justify it. I also wanted something bit more comfy, automatic and a bigger engine. I do miss how raw and good to drive it was, I must say. The BMW that has replaced it is already delving into my wallet more than I'd hoped! I've never been a huge Honda fan but I do get them now after owning one. Really good cars and, despite the patchy history, felt solid and didn't let me down.
Had a quiet morning as my gf took my son to a birthday party.
The gear stick gaiter has been replaced at some point. The pleather ones from the factory peel and look tatty. Mines been replaced by a previous owner to alcantara and red stitching. It looks the part as it matches the seats.
The gaiter has bugged me since purchasing the car. It is too long so bunches up and pushes the material too close to the gear knob and interfered with shifting gears, just felt annoying every time I changed gear.
Found a Honda accord cl7 6 speed knob on ebay. All the honda knobs are interchangeable. I think it’s an improvement visually and with it being slightly taller it puts it in a better position for me. It’s small but noticeable. Finally weight slightly more than the fn2 knob which combined with some future mods to the shifter will make it perfect.
Old
New
The headlights were cloudy and had a weird roughness to them. Almost like they had melted. I think it could have been clearcoat overspray. Being xenons they are rare to find second hand. A brand new pair is actually a semi reasonable £500 from cox honda which includes the balast and lamp.
Being tight I used my 3m headlight restoration kit to give them a once over. I had very good results with my old subaru legacy using this kit. The more time you spend sanding and making a thorough job of it the better the results at the end.
Unfortunately I forgot a before but heres a during.
Comparison
Finished.
Happy with the results and now means £500 to put towards the suspension refresh. Already got the oem sasch shocks for the rear. Waiting for the fronts to arrive.
Next months pay has already been allocated to new eibach pro springs, bilstein top mounts, bilstein anti friction strut support and finally skf anti roll bar links.
That should be the front and rear strut assembly all renewed. Then booking it in for a fast road alignment at grinspeed and replace any bushes that are required.
Next weekend will be fitting the clutch bypass hose, gearbox ident springs and selector springs with a clutch fluid change to finish it off. Gearbox fluid change will be sometime in summer when I do the engine oil.
I have a injen cai waiting to be fitted. Performance mods are secondary to handling and gearbox so will be slow progress or when a bargain turns up.
I got the injen for half of rrp. Looking for a piper manifold and sport cat wink wink.
The gear stick gaiter has been replaced at some point. The pleather ones from the factory peel and look tatty. Mines been replaced by a previous owner to alcantara and red stitching. It looks the part as it matches the seats.
The gaiter has bugged me since purchasing the car. It is too long so bunches up and pushes the material too close to the gear knob and interfered with shifting gears, just felt annoying every time I changed gear.
Found a Honda accord cl7 6 speed knob on ebay. All the honda knobs are interchangeable. I think it’s an improvement visually and with it being slightly taller it puts it in a better position for me. It’s small but noticeable. Finally weight slightly more than the fn2 knob which combined with some future mods to the shifter will make it perfect.
Old
New
The headlights were cloudy and had a weird roughness to them. Almost like they had melted. I think it could have been clearcoat overspray. Being xenons they are rare to find second hand. A brand new pair is actually a semi reasonable £500 from cox honda which includes the balast and lamp.
Being tight I used my 3m headlight restoration kit to give them a once over. I had very good results with my old subaru legacy using this kit. The more time you spend sanding and making a thorough job of it the better the results at the end.
Unfortunately I forgot a before but heres a during.
Comparison
Finished.
Happy with the results and now means £500 to put towards the suspension refresh. Already got the oem sasch shocks for the rear. Waiting for the fronts to arrive.
Next months pay has already been allocated to new eibach pro springs, bilstein top mounts, bilstein anti friction strut support and finally skf anti roll bar links.
That should be the front and rear strut assembly all renewed. Then booking it in for a fast road alignment at grinspeed and replace any bushes that are required.
Next weekend will be fitting the clutch bypass hose, gearbox ident springs and selector springs with a clutch fluid change to finish it off. Gearbox fluid change will be sometime in summer when I do the engine oil.
I have a injen cai waiting to be fitted. Performance mods are secondary to handling and gearbox so will be slow progress or when a bargain turns up.
I got the injen for half of rrp. Looking for a piper manifold and sport cat wink wink.
sam.rog said:
roadie said:
I remember a guy who used to help with replacements on the CivInfo forum.
Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
I wouldn’t want one to do many motorway miles in. 70mph is 3.5k rpm. It’s quite tiring especially with the custom exhaust thats on this. Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
Out of curiosity how much is the road tax on these now? As when I had mine I think it was around the £280 mark (I think)
sam.rog said:
Had a quiet morning as my gf took my son to a birthday party.
The gear stick gaiter has been replaced at some point. The pleather ones from the factory peel and look tatty. Mines been replaced by a previous owner to alcantara and red stitching. It looks the part as it matches the seats.
The gaiter has bugged me since purchasing the car. It is too long so bunches up and pushes the material too close to the gear knob and interfered with shifting gears, just felt annoying every time I changed gear.
Found a Honda accord cl7 6 speed knob on ebay. All the honda knobs are interchangeable. I think it’s an improvement visually and with it being slightly taller it puts it in a better position for me. It’s small but noticeable. Finally weight slightly more than the fn2 knob which combined with some future mods to the shifter will make it perfect.
Old
New
The headlights were cloudy and had a weird roughness to them. Almost like they had melted. I think it could have been clearcoat overspray. Being xenons they are rare to find second hand. A brand new pair is actually a semi reasonable £500 from cox honda which includes the balast and lamp.
Being tight I used my 3m headlight restoration kit to give them a once over. I had very good results with my old subaru legacy using this kit. The more time you spend sanding and making a thorough job of it the better the results at the end.
Unfortunately I forgot a before but heres a during.
Comparison
Finished.
Happy with the results and now means £500 to put towards the suspension refresh. Already got the oem sasch shocks for the rear. Waiting for the fronts to arrive.
Next months pay has already been allocated to new eibach pro springs, bilstein top mounts, bilstein anti friction strut support and finally skf anti roll bar links.
That should be the front and rear strut assembly all renewed. Then booking it in for a fast road alignment at grinspeed and replace any bushes that are required.
Next weekend will be fitting the clutch bypass hose, gearbox ident springs and selector springs with a clutch fluid change to finish it off. Gearbox fluid change will be sometime in summer when I do the engine oil.
I have a injen cai waiting to be fitted. Performance mods are secondary to handling and gearbox so will be slow progress or when a bargain turns up.
I got the injen for half of rrp. Looking for a piper manifold and sport cat wink wink.
Some good work there; the gear knob looks much better!The gear stick gaiter has been replaced at some point. The pleather ones from the factory peel and look tatty. Mines been replaced by a previous owner to alcantara and red stitching. It looks the part as it matches the seats.
The gaiter has bugged me since purchasing the car. It is too long so bunches up and pushes the material too close to the gear knob and interfered with shifting gears, just felt annoying every time I changed gear.
Found a Honda accord cl7 6 speed knob on ebay. All the honda knobs are interchangeable. I think it’s an improvement visually and with it being slightly taller it puts it in a better position for me. It’s small but noticeable. Finally weight slightly more than the fn2 knob which combined with some future mods to the shifter will make it perfect.
Old
New
The headlights were cloudy and had a weird roughness to them. Almost like they had melted. I think it could have been clearcoat overspray. Being xenons they are rare to find second hand. A brand new pair is actually a semi reasonable £500 from cox honda which includes the balast and lamp.
Being tight I used my 3m headlight restoration kit to give them a once over. I had very good results with my old subaru legacy using this kit. The more time you spend sanding and making a thorough job of it the better the results at the end.
Unfortunately I forgot a before but heres a during.
Comparison
Finished.
Happy with the results and now means £500 to put towards the suspension refresh. Already got the oem sasch shocks for the rear. Waiting for the fronts to arrive.
Next months pay has already been allocated to new eibach pro springs, bilstein top mounts, bilstein anti friction strut support and finally skf anti roll bar links.
That should be the front and rear strut assembly all renewed. Then booking it in for a fast road alignment at grinspeed and replace any bushes that are required.
Next weekend will be fitting the clutch bypass hose, gearbox ident springs and selector springs with a clutch fluid change to finish it off. Gearbox fluid change will be sometime in summer when I do the engine oil.
I have a injen cai waiting to be fitted. Performance mods are secondary to handling and gearbox so will be slow progress or when a bargain turns up.
I got the injen for half of rrp. Looking for a piper manifold and sport cat wink wink.
Ste & Don will soon have it fettled and set up for you; they did superb with my BMW F31 touring with it's full suspension overhaul; they've set it up superbly
A small update but no pictures unfortunately as it was getting dark on the friday, saturday was a washout with rain and sunday was a rush to get it done before a 120 mile drive back to manchester.
Replaced the rear dampers with sasch oem on the friday. Started at 4pm and just about made it till the light had gone.
Had a good poke and tap of the rear beam. Still rings when tapped with a hammer. No dead spots. At least its still structurally sound. This will be wire brushed then protected with a corrosion inhibitor. Should give me a couple more years out of it.
I was going to do the clutch damper by pass on Saturday and then bleed the system as the old fluid was a horrible brown colour at resembling algae more than dot 4 brake fluid.
Saturday was miserable weather all day. I did start and jacked the car up as it’s meant to be easier to get to the bleed nipple. After an hour of getting soaked and realising that the full undertray needs to come off I gave in.
One hot shower later I decided to take it for a drive. A nice loop from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Betws y coed, Bethesda then back. Anyone familiar with those roads will know they are brilliant to drive and magnificent scenery.
Anyone with a fn2 civic thats got 70k+ miles on the dampers get them changed. The ride is still unflinchingly firm but its now controlled and not crashy. A major improvement. Cant wait for my eibach springs and front dampers to arrive now. If the back was transformed like this then paired with all new springs and a refresh of the front it will be phenomenal.
Sunday morning was spent with the clutch fluid again. This time it was only foggy. Figured out I had ample room if i took the plastic shroud off the front and removed the bar that the bonnet latch attaches to. 8 easily accessible 10mm bolts and it lifts out of the way enough to have a clear shot at the slave cylinder and bleed nipple. Two electrical connections were also unplugged to gain further access.
Then the repetitive open, down, close, up to flush fluid through. In the end I think I flushed about 500ml of ate 200 through. Did I say it was properly damper.
Reassembled the front and took it for a quick drive down the lane. All working as it should. Clutch now feels better. Seems to have a more positive engagement. The delay valve still needs to go but at least it’s better than it was.
Off back to Manchester, decided to check tyre pressure before seting off. 27,27,28 and 34. No good. Set the fronts to 34 and rear to 32. Now took the scenic route through Bethesda, Betws and through Llanrwst joining the a55 in Llandudno.
Still raining the road was poor and really wet, but wow. What a transformation to the car.
The LSD is a must for any fwd car imo. The adjustability mid corner is brilliant. Could really get the rear to come round lifting off the throttle mid corner then power down and the LSD just takes you round.
It’s a long time since I had that much fun driving a car and all within the speed limit. No doubt I would have been faster everywhere in the tesla but it wouldn’t have been fun.
Only negative of the day was the exhaust, Its just antisocial, it’s detracting from the car as I’m constantly conscious of the level of noise when wanting to have fun driving.
Replaced the rear dampers with sasch oem on the friday. Started at 4pm and just about made it till the light had gone.
Had a good poke and tap of the rear beam. Still rings when tapped with a hammer. No dead spots. At least its still structurally sound. This will be wire brushed then protected with a corrosion inhibitor. Should give me a couple more years out of it.
I was going to do the clutch damper by pass on Saturday and then bleed the system as the old fluid was a horrible brown colour at resembling algae more than dot 4 brake fluid.
Saturday was miserable weather all day. I did start and jacked the car up as it’s meant to be easier to get to the bleed nipple. After an hour of getting soaked and realising that the full undertray needs to come off I gave in.
One hot shower later I decided to take it for a drive. A nice loop from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Betws y coed, Bethesda then back. Anyone familiar with those roads will know they are brilliant to drive and magnificent scenery.
Anyone with a fn2 civic thats got 70k+ miles on the dampers get them changed. The ride is still unflinchingly firm but its now controlled and not crashy. A major improvement. Cant wait for my eibach springs and front dampers to arrive now. If the back was transformed like this then paired with all new springs and a refresh of the front it will be phenomenal.
Sunday morning was spent with the clutch fluid again. This time it was only foggy. Figured out I had ample room if i took the plastic shroud off the front and removed the bar that the bonnet latch attaches to. 8 easily accessible 10mm bolts and it lifts out of the way enough to have a clear shot at the slave cylinder and bleed nipple. Two electrical connections were also unplugged to gain further access.
Then the repetitive open, down, close, up to flush fluid through. In the end I think I flushed about 500ml of ate 200 through. Did I say it was properly damper.
Reassembled the front and took it for a quick drive down the lane. All working as it should. Clutch now feels better. Seems to have a more positive engagement. The delay valve still needs to go but at least it’s better than it was.
Off back to Manchester, decided to check tyre pressure before seting off. 27,27,28 and 34. No good. Set the fronts to 34 and rear to 32. Now took the scenic route through Bethesda, Betws and through Llanrwst joining the a55 in Llandudno.
Still raining the road was poor and really wet, but wow. What a transformation to the car.
The LSD is a must for any fwd car imo. The adjustability mid corner is brilliant. Could really get the rear to come round lifting off the throttle mid corner then power down and the LSD just takes you round.
It’s a long time since I had that much fun driving a car and all within the speed limit. No doubt I would have been faster everywhere in the tesla but it wouldn’t have been fun.
Only negative of the day was the exhaust, Its just antisocial, it’s detracting from the car as I’m constantly conscious of the level of noise when wanting to have fun driving.
sam.rog said:
A small update but no pictures unfortunately as it was getting dark on the friday, saturday was a washout with rain and sunday was a rush to get it done before a 120 mile drive back to manchester.
Replaced the rear dampers with sasch oem on the friday. Started at 4pm and just about made it till the light had gone.
Had a good poke and tap of the rear beam. Still rings when tapped with a hammer. No dead spots. At least its still structurally sound. This will be wire brushed then protected with a corrosion inhibitor. Should give me a couple more years out of it.
I was going to do the clutch damper by pass on Saturday and then bleed the system as the old fluid was a horrible brown colour at resembling algae more than dot 4 brake fluid.
Saturday was miserable weather all day. I did start and jacked the car up as it’s meant to be easier to get to the bleed nipple. After an hour of getting soaked and realising that the full undertray needs to come off I gave in.
One hot shower later I decided to take it for a drive. A nice loop from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Betws y coed, Bethesda then back. Anyone familiar with those roads will know they are brilliant to drive and magnificent scenery.
Anyone with a fn2 civic thats got 70k+ miles on the dampers get them changed. The ride is still unflinchingly firm but its now controlled and not crashy. A major improvement. Cant wait for my eibach springs and front dampers to arrive now. If the back was transformed like this then paired with all new springs and a refresh of the front it will be phenomenal.
Sunday morning was spent with the clutch fluid again. This time it was only foggy. Figured out I had ample room if i took the plastic shroud off the front and removed the bar that the bonnet latch attaches to. 8 easily accessible 10mm bolts and it lifts out of the way enough to have a clear shot at the slave cylinder and bleed nipple. Two electrical connections were also unplugged to gain further access.
Then the repetitive open, down, close, up to flush fluid through. In the end I think I flushed about 500ml of ate 200 through. Did I say it was properly damper.
Reassembled the front and took it for a quick drive down the lane. All working as it should. Clutch now feels better. Seems to have a more positive engagement. The delay valve still needs to go but at least it’s better than it was.
Off back to Manchester, decided to check tyre pressure before seting off. 27,27,28 and 34. No good. Set the fronts to 34 and rear to 32. Now took the scenic route through Bethesda, Betws and through Llanrwst joining the a55 in Llandudno.
Still raining the road was poor and really wet, but wow. What a transformation to the car.
The LSD is a must for any fwd car imo. The adjustability mid corner is brilliant. Could really get the rear to come round lifting off the throttle mid corner then power down and the LSD just takes you round.
It’s a long time since I had that much fun driving a car and all within the speed limit. No doubt I would have been faster everywhere in the tesla but it wouldn’t have been fun.
Only negative of the day was the exhaust, Its just antisocial, it’s detracting from the car as I’m constantly conscious of the level of noise when wanting to have fun driving.
Sounds like a busy but productive few days!Replaced the rear dampers with sasch oem on the friday. Started at 4pm and just about made it till the light had gone.
Had a good poke and tap of the rear beam. Still rings when tapped with a hammer. No dead spots. At least its still structurally sound. This will be wire brushed then protected with a corrosion inhibitor. Should give me a couple more years out of it.
I was going to do the clutch damper by pass on Saturday and then bleed the system as the old fluid was a horrible brown colour at resembling algae more than dot 4 brake fluid.
Saturday was miserable weather all day. I did start and jacked the car up as it’s meant to be easier to get to the bleed nipple. After an hour of getting soaked and realising that the full undertray needs to come off I gave in.
One hot shower later I decided to take it for a drive. A nice loop from Caernarfon, Llanberis, Betws y coed, Bethesda then back. Anyone familiar with those roads will know they are brilliant to drive and magnificent scenery.
Anyone with a fn2 civic thats got 70k+ miles on the dampers get them changed. The ride is still unflinchingly firm but its now controlled and not crashy. A major improvement. Cant wait for my eibach springs and front dampers to arrive now. If the back was transformed like this then paired with all new springs and a refresh of the front it will be phenomenal.
Sunday morning was spent with the clutch fluid again. This time it was only foggy. Figured out I had ample room if i took the plastic shroud off the front and removed the bar that the bonnet latch attaches to. 8 easily accessible 10mm bolts and it lifts out of the way enough to have a clear shot at the slave cylinder and bleed nipple. Two electrical connections were also unplugged to gain further access.
Then the repetitive open, down, close, up to flush fluid through. In the end I think I flushed about 500ml of ate 200 through. Did I say it was properly damper.
Reassembled the front and took it for a quick drive down the lane. All working as it should. Clutch now feels better. Seems to have a more positive engagement. The delay valve still needs to go but at least it’s better than it was.
Off back to Manchester, decided to check tyre pressure before seting off. 27,27,28 and 34. No good. Set the fronts to 34 and rear to 32. Now took the scenic route through Bethesda, Betws and through Llanrwst joining the a55 in Llandudno.
Still raining the road was poor and really wet, but wow. What a transformation to the car.
The LSD is a must for any fwd car imo. The adjustability mid corner is brilliant. Could really get the rear to come round lifting off the throttle mid corner then power down and the LSD just takes you round.
It’s a long time since I had that much fun driving a car and all within the speed limit. No doubt I would have been faster everywhere in the tesla but it wouldn’t have been fun.
Only negative of the day was the exhaust, Its just antisocial, it’s detracting from the car as I’m constantly conscious of the level of noise when wanting to have fun driving.
What do you think you'll do re the exhaust?
Not sure if they make them for the CTR; but the Apexi WS II exhausts I had were the the best out of a lot of different exhausts I ran on various Jap import Honda's; subtle enough to be factory but open enough to be aftermarket; but without being in your face/obnoxious etc
d_a_n1979 said:
Sounds like a busy but productive few days!
What do you think you'll do re the exhaust?
Not sure if they make them for the CTR; but the Apexi WS II exhausts I had were the the best out of a lot of different exhausts I ran on various Jap import Honda's; subtle enough to be factory but open enough to be aftermarket; but without being in your face/obnoxious etc
Not too sure to be honest. The Fn2 was never a big seller in japan so it doesn’t have the same aftermarket support that other japanese cars have. They had the fd2 which was better in every way. What do you think you'll do re the exhaust?
Not sure if they make them for the CTR; but the Apexi WS II exhausts I had were the the best out of a lot of different exhausts I ran on various Jap import Honda's; subtle enough to be factory but open enough to be aftermarket; but without being in your face/obnoxious etc
My thinking at this moment is a piper manifold and 200cel cat with a tegiwa 70mm exhaust.
This combined with my yet to be fitted injen CAI should yield 20-25hp.
The tegiwa is meant to be track friendly so should pass noise regs.
I’ve never heard that setup so can’t be confident it will be quiet enough for me.
Other option is the invidia q300 but thats over a grand for a cat back.
snoopy25 said:
sam.rog said:
roadie said:
I remember a guy who used to help with replacements on the CivInfo forum.
Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
I wouldn’t want one to do many motorway miles in. 70mph is 3.5k rpm. It’s quite tiring especially with the custom exhaust thats on this. Love this car. I had the 1.8 as my first car and like the idea of running an FN2. I love the design inside and out. However, I know the FN2 has a short 6th gear and motorway/boring A road driving is not its strong suit.
Out of curiosity how much is the road tax on these now? As when I had mine I think it was around the £280 mark (I think)
VED is £395.
sam.rog said:
d_a_n1979 said:
Sounds like a busy but productive few days!
What do you think you'll do re the exhaust?
Not sure if they make them for the CTR; but the Apexi WS II exhausts I had were the the best out of a lot of different exhausts I ran on various Jap import Honda's; subtle enough to be factory but open enough to be aftermarket; but without being in your face/obnoxious etc
Not too sure to be honest. The Fn2 was never a big seller in japan so it doesn’t have the same aftermarket support that other japanese cars have. They had the fd2 which was better in every way. What do you think you'll do re the exhaust?
Not sure if they make them for the CTR; but the Apexi WS II exhausts I had were the the best out of a lot of different exhausts I ran on various Jap import Honda's; subtle enough to be factory but open enough to be aftermarket; but without being in your face/obnoxious etc
My thinking at this moment is a piper manifold and 200cel cat with a tegiwa 70mm exhaust.
This combined with my yet to be fitted injen CAI should yield 20-25hp.
The tegiwa is meant to be track friendly so should pass noise regs.
I’ve never heard that setup so can’t be confident it will be quiet enough for me.
Other option is the invidia q300 but thats over a grand for a cat back.
Can only think a custom built exhaust might be the way to go; JP Exhausts in Congleton as a thought etc...
What a s
tter of a day.
Had the car up on axle stands last night and gave everything a liberal dosing of plus gas. Managed to loosen the strut bolts and drop links on passenger side. Driver side went well untill the lower strut bolt. It would not shift!
More plus gas and left it over night.
Replaced the rear springs first thing this morning. Easy job as I’ve recently replaced the dampers so nothing was rusted on.
Moved on to the front more plus gas on drivers side, left it to soak again whilst I replace the strut assembly for the passenger side. Passenger side done.
It was a good job as well as it was covered in oil. Suspect its no longer doing its job so this refresh should make a noticeable improvement.
Moved on to the driver side. Quick go with the 1/2inch impact. No bueno. Time for the breaker bar.
Because of its location I needed and extension on the breaker. Snap, managed to brake the extension (back to halfords it goes), used my nice bahco extension, Snap.
Right lets get it hot! Managed to get it glowing red. This should do… nope not budging.
I can smell a plastic burning smell and too right the cv boot is now melted. I was as careful as possible with the flame but the cv boot is very close to the stuck bolt.
One last go with the 1/2 impact. Woo it’s spinning… st the socket is spinning but the bolt isn’t. Managed to crack my 19mm impact socket and its now rounded of the immovable bolt.
Put it back together in a sulk. Now its knocking as the antirolbar drop links are loose and I can’t be arsed to lift it up again and tighten them as they were a bd to get loose.
Time to give the local garage some work.
tter of a day. Had the car up on axle stands last night and gave everything a liberal dosing of plus gas. Managed to loosen the strut bolts and drop links on passenger side. Driver side went well untill the lower strut bolt. It would not shift!
More plus gas and left it over night.
Replaced the rear springs first thing this morning. Easy job as I’ve recently replaced the dampers so nothing was rusted on.
Moved on to the front more plus gas on drivers side, left it to soak again whilst I replace the strut assembly for the passenger side. Passenger side done.
It was a good job as well as it was covered in oil. Suspect its no longer doing its job so this refresh should make a noticeable improvement.
Moved on to the driver side. Quick go with the 1/2inch impact. No bueno. Time for the breaker bar.
Because of its location I needed and extension on the breaker. Snap, managed to brake the extension (back to halfords it goes), used my nice bahco extension, Snap.
Right lets get it hot! Managed to get it glowing red. This should do… nope not budging.
I can smell a plastic burning smell and too right the cv boot is now melted. I was as careful as possible with the flame but the cv boot is very close to the stuck bolt.
One last go with the 1/2 impact. Woo it’s spinning… s
t the socket is spinning but the bolt isn’t. Managed to crack my 19mm impact socket and its now rounded of the immovable bolt. Put it back together in a sulk. Now its knocking as the antirolbar drop links are loose and I can’t be arsed to lift it up again and tighten them as they were a b
d to get loose. Time to give the local garage some work.
sam.rog said:
What a stter of a day.
Had the car up on axle stands last night and gave everything a liberal dosing of plus gas. Managed to loosen the strut bolts and drop links on passenger side. Driver side went well untill the lower strut bolt. It would not shift!
More plus gas and left it over night.
Replaced the rear springs first thing this morning. Easy job as I’ve recently replaced the dampers so nothing was rusted on.
Moved on to the front more plus gas on drivers side, left it to soak again whilst I replace the strut assembly for the passenger side. Passenger side done.
It was a good job as well as it was covered in oil. Suspect its no longer doing its job so this refresh should make a noticeable improvement.
Moved on to the driver side. Quick go with the 1/2inch impact. No bueno. Time for the breaker bar.
Because of its location I needed and extension on the breaker. Snap, managed to brake the extension (back to halfords it goes), used my nice bahco extension, Snap.
Right lets get it hot! Managed to get it glowing red. This should do… nope not budging.
I can smell a plastic burning smell and too right the cv boot is now melted. I was as careful as possible with the flame but the cv boot is very close to the stuck bolt.
One last go with the 1/2 impact. Woo it’s spinning… st the socket is spinning but the bolt isn’t. Managed to crack my 19mm impact socket and its now rounded of the immovable bolt.
Put it back together in a sulk. Now its knocking as the antirolbar drop links are loose and I can’t be arsed to lift it up again and tighten them as they were a bd to get loose.
Time to give the local garage some work.
My one was very much the same . Super tight and would not move without a load of heat and massive breaker bar and even then it was not easy .tter of a day. Had the car up on axle stands last night and gave everything a liberal dosing of plus gas. Managed to loosen the strut bolts and drop links on passenger side. Driver side went well untill the lower strut bolt. It would not shift!
More plus gas and left it over night.
Replaced the rear springs first thing this morning. Easy job as I’ve recently replaced the dampers so nothing was rusted on.
Moved on to the front more plus gas on drivers side, left it to soak again whilst I replace the strut assembly for the passenger side. Passenger side done.
It was a good job as well as it was covered in oil. Suspect its no longer doing its job so this refresh should make a noticeable improvement.
Moved on to the driver side. Quick go with the 1/2inch impact. No bueno. Time for the breaker bar.
Because of its location I needed and extension on the breaker. Snap, managed to brake the extension (back to halfords it goes), used my nice bahco extension, Snap.
Right lets get it hot! Managed to get it glowing red. This should do… nope not budging.
I can smell a plastic burning smell and too right the cv boot is now melted. I was as careful as possible with the flame but the cv boot is very close to the stuck bolt.
One last go with the 1/2 impact. Woo it’s spinning… s
t the socket is spinning but the bolt isn’t. Managed to crack my 19mm impact socket and its now rounded of the immovable bolt. Put it back together in a sulk. Now its knocking as the antirolbar drop links are loose and I can’t be arsed to lift it up again and tighten them as they were a b
d to get loose. Time to give the local garage some work.
Little update.
Now replaced all the shocks and springs with sachs dampers and eibach springs.
New cv boot and drop links were fitted.
What a transformation to the car. It hasn’t lowered it too much and can still navigate speed bumps etc. The car is now stiff but not unpleasantly so. It’s definitely taken the harshness out of it.
Very impressed. Can see why it’s recommended to ditch the honda springs and go eibach.
I’m having second thoughts on modifying the engine now as I think I want to keep it standard. An extra 20-30hp wont make a difference to me with how I use it or give me any more enjoyment. I like the fact you can rev it out without fear of losing your license. Going faster won’t make it any more fun on the road.
I’m going to properly look for an oem exhaust to replace my long life stainless one next month.
I’m thinking of fitting my injen cai and then taking it to tpw for a remap and call it done.
I do this want the hassle of mot time with a manifold and I can’t find a decent exhaust that is oem quiet and will give noticeable gains to performance.
I prefer induction noise over exhaust anyway and the k20 in vtec has a great noise through the injen intake.
The map will lower the vtec point and improve the mid range which is where I want it. With vtec at 5.5k you have to bounce it of the limiter when changing gear to keep it in vtec. Most of the time I don’t want to bounce of the limiter before changing. It ruins the flow when driving at 7/10ths. On track it might make more sense but on a british b road a lower crossover will be better for me.
Now replaced all the shocks and springs with sachs dampers and eibach springs.
New cv boot and drop links were fitted.
What a transformation to the car. It hasn’t lowered it too much and can still navigate speed bumps etc. The car is now stiff but not unpleasantly so. It’s definitely taken the harshness out of it.
Very impressed. Can see why it’s recommended to ditch the honda springs and go eibach.
I’m having second thoughts on modifying the engine now as I think I want to keep it standard. An extra 20-30hp wont make a difference to me with how I use it or give me any more enjoyment. I like the fact you can rev it out without fear of losing your license. Going faster won’t make it any more fun on the road.
I’m going to properly look for an oem exhaust to replace my long life stainless one next month.
I’m thinking of fitting my injen cai and then taking it to tpw for a remap and call it done.
I do this want the hassle of mot time with a manifold and I can’t find a decent exhaust that is oem quiet and will give noticeable gains to performance.
I prefer induction noise over exhaust anyway and the k20 in vtec has a great noise through the injen intake.
The map will lower the vtec point and improve the mid range which is where I want it. With vtec at 5.5k you have to bounce it of the limiter when changing gear to keep it in vtec. Most of the time I don’t want to bounce of the limiter before changing. It ruins the flow when driving at 7/10ths. On track it might make more sense but on a british b road a lower crossover will be better for me.
Edited by sam.rog on Sunday 5th May 18:39
Edited by sam.rog on Sunday 5th May 18:48
Nice car. I have the same sort of outlook to you when it comes to improving the car without 'ruining ' it. I've got a 2005 Accord Euro-R,and though its brilliant,I did want to make the most of what it has to offer.So I had a chat with Paul at TPW and took it to him in March this year.Engine wise the car has a Legalis R exhaust system,and a longarm Injen CAI. The Accord benefits from having an RBC intake manifold from the factory so once Paul got into it,we ended up with 250 BHP and crossover at 4.5k. But it was mainly about improving how the car drives,the throttle response is even better now,very perky from pulling away and midrange is really strong right through to full power in each gear. That 1k lower crossover doesnt sound much but it is so much better,you're not wringing the cars neck to get that 'pull'.
So yeah it hasn't lost its 'VTEC' - ness at all ,and its still a lovely drive at normal speeds.
Definitely recommend taking your car there,it's not always about numbers like you say,he'll find some extra horses no doubt but it'll definitely improve the driveability.He's very good at what he does.He's away til may 20th and race season is in full swing so book early!
Also agree on the handling of the JDM cars,Accord has the 6 speed with LSD,it does have a longer wheelbase obviously and is heavier than the FN2,but it does have double wishbone rear suspension and my car also benefits from Tein Flex Z coilovers,and Hardrace control arms upper and lower at the front,with associated balljoints,and the rear is done with Hardrace as well.It handles the bends amazingly and the LSD is brilliant.I know the naysayers will deride the coilover option as being too harsh,but its all about how its set up and the spring rating.The Teins are fine and it was no problem doing the trip to Cheshire to Kent and back for me,I'm over 50 now (yikes) and I have a history of back issues.It's pretty firm obviously!But not crashy or annoying in any way. The previous owner had it set up at Grinspeed and it was spot on,but the car was far too low for me so I raised it 12mm and had it re-setup by a trusted source down my way.
My car on the day:
Well happy. Its off to Prescott Hillclimb on the 19th May,cant wait!
Look forward to see how your car progresses,don't see many of these,much like the Accord.But yeah definitely recommend Paul West's work for sure.
So yeah it hasn't lost its 'VTEC' - ness at all ,and its still a lovely drive at normal speeds.
Definitely recommend taking your car there,it's not always about numbers like you say,he'll find some extra horses no doubt but it'll definitely improve the driveability.He's very good at what he does.He's away til may 20th and race season is in full swing so book early!
Also agree on the handling of the JDM cars,Accord has the 6 speed with LSD,it does have a longer wheelbase obviously and is heavier than the FN2,but it does have double wishbone rear suspension and my car also benefits from Tein Flex Z coilovers,and Hardrace control arms upper and lower at the front,with associated balljoints,and the rear is done with Hardrace as well.It handles the bends amazingly and the LSD is brilliant.I know the naysayers will deride the coilover option as being too harsh,but its all about how its set up and the spring rating.The Teins are fine and it was no problem doing the trip to Cheshire to Kent and back for me,I'm over 50 now (yikes) and I have a history of back issues.It's pretty firm obviously!But not crashy or annoying in any way. The previous owner had it set up at Grinspeed and it was spot on,but the car was far too low for me so I raised it 12mm and had it re-setup by a trusted source down my way.
My car on the day:
Well happy. Its off to Prescott Hillclimb on the 19th May,cant wait!
Look forward to see how your car progresses,don't see many of these,much like the Accord.But yeah definitely recommend Paul West's work for sure.
Edited by BEAMS 162 on Wednesday 8th May 19:40
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