Honda civic ej9
Author
Discussion

Midshipracer

240 posts

208 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
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Dave200 said:
Speak to anyone in their 30s, and they will say that they look back on their early 20s 'modding' phase with regret as to how much of their money it swallowed, and how little they got back.

There's no reason why you would be any different - what looks to most like a waste of money now will become more apparent to you in a few years' time, so enjoy it while you have it.
I agree. I'm 33 now and I look at things like Fast and Furious 1 and cringe a little at some things. I was 21 at the time of release

How are you OP so we can better understand smile Not bashing your car just say the hassle is not worth it. When you have the funds in a couple of years sell and buy a SIR VIT or even EP3 will be even cheaper then

problemchild1976

1,376 posts

175 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
looks superb smile

i'm 36 and still modding and don't regret a bit of it.

what I regret is spending my early adult years wasting my money literally peeing my £ up the wall on beer (never even liked the taste)

its a hobby and hobbies have costs

enjoy it and keep it up or you will find yourself balding and sitting in a beemer hogging the fast lane (they do this because they are in a daze wondering where their lust for life went - haha!!)

JJ

VTECBOY

Original Poster:

352 posts

170 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
problemchild1976 said:
looks superb smile

i'm 36 and still modding and don't regret a bit of it.

what I regret is spending my early adult years wasting my money literally peeing my £ up the wall on beer (never even liked the taste)

its a hobby and hobbies have costs

enjoy it and keep it up or you will find yourself balding and sitting in a beemer hogging the fast lane (they do this because they are in a daze wondering where their lust for life went - haha!!)

JJ
Thanks, I suspect this is the way my life will go!

I'm 18 so got a few years untill I can afford something quicker smile

problemchild1976

1,376 posts

175 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
the civic IS nice......

this is always in our carpark and work and i love it...





some real attention to detail in this car!

JJ

Baryonyx

18,257 posts

185 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
VTECBOY said:
Yea this is the way the exhaust was sitting when it got put on, need to see if I can cut the brackets that hold it and move it up a bit!
I should think so, hit a pebble in the road and you could wreck it! Apart from that it's a really cool, good looking car. Enjoy it!

NadiR

1,071 posts

173 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
Loving the car OP, I as a fellow 18 year old, who's also a big Honda fan, can understand the point of modding this car. As some advice for the modding, why not pick up a D16 SOHC VTEC head from the breakers and swap it to your engine? Will take probably take you to 110-120bhp.

paulw123

4,629 posts

216 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
I have the same model in the same colour, I love it. Its just clicked over to 92k, gets thrashed to within an inch of its life every day, filled with all manner of rubbish and has only had 1 wiper blade and a CV joint in 3 years of ownership.
Was last washed about 2 and a half years ago, totally stock and still looks better than your chavved up example.

Oddboy86

194 posts

209 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
He lowered it a little bit with some wheels. Not to chavy at all. I done the same as the OP with my previous Civic a black EG. Done a few bits to it and swapped for a B16 (Yes this was declared). OK you could probably buy a vti for the same price, but this way you can mod the car a bit at a time and when insurance allows get a half decent power hike. Also you'll learn some basic skills along the way.

problemchild1976

1,376 posts

175 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
paulw123 said:
I have the same model in the same colour, I love it. Its just clicked over to 92k, gets thrashed to within an inch of its life every day, filled with all manner of rubbish and has only had 1 wiper blade and a CV joint in 3 years of ownership.
Was last washed about 2 and a half years ago, totally stock and still looks better than your chavved up example.
idiot!!

post up a pic then - lets see it smile

JJ

VTECBOY

Original Poster:

352 posts

170 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
problemchild1976 said:
paulw123 said:
I have the same model in the same colour, I love it. Its just clicked over to 92k, gets thrashed to within an inch of its life every day, filled with all manner of rubbish and has only had 1 wiper blade and a CV joint in 3 years of ownership.
Was last washed about 2 and a half years ago, totally stock and still looks better than your chavved up example.
idiot!!

post up a pic then - lets see it smile

JJ
Exactly jj!

I'm sorry I didn't realise that putting nicer wheels on and a better exhaust that will rust less quickly and looks/sounds better makes me a chav? I'm far from it.

VTECBOY

Original Poster:

352 posts

170 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
NadiR said:
Loving the car OP, I as a fellow 18 year old, who's also a big Honda fan, can understand the point of modding this car. As some advice for the modding, why not pick up a D16 SOHC VTEC head from the breakers and swap it to your engine? Will take probably take you to 110-120bhp.
What else will I need to add along with the head for this to happen?

VTECBOY

Original Poster:

352 posts

170 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
VTECBOY said:
NadiR said:
Loving the car OP, I as a fellow 18 year old, who's also a big Honda fan, can understand the point of modding this car. As some advice for the modding, why not pick up a D16 SOHC VTEC head from the breakers and swap it to your engine? Will take probably take you to 110-120bhp.
What else will I need to add along with the head for this to happen?
Also how hard will it be to get it from a scrapies? Better to get it from ebay?

Butter Face

34,330 posts

186 months

Tuesday 21st May 2013
quotequote all
Bear Phils said:
emicen said:
£700 - engine, box, shafts, gear linkage, mounts, loom, ECU

"little extra power" - 160 vs 200, agreed if 25% constitutes a little. Lets not ignore how many smokey B16s there are kicking about now, finding a good one is not getting easier

"less of a kick" - people honestly give a st about this...?

Considering the state of some of the EJ and EK chassis kicking about, I'd always go for something I knew was good. I recently saw an EK so rusty you could fit your arm up to the elbow through the holes in the sills!
So it doesn't include the brakes then.

It's 20% extra and I'm not entirely on the costs but a crashed EP3 would be say, £2k? Different engine mounts I think are another £200. So, let's say another £1000 at least for that 40hp. Although, yes it will be easier to get more again out of a K20. But that's not far off another 2k (Hondata ecu + breather mods).

Some people seem to care. Although it's hardly a distaster.

There's still plenty of good cars about. Obviously I can't be certain but this looks a good car. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/h...
You can't K20 an EK for anywhere near a B16 swap

A B16 drops straight in, all mounts, all wiring, can be done in hours with some experience.

A K20 involves, mounts, loom, manifold/exhaust, ECU, driveshafts, PAS mods.

A K20 in an EK is also a devastating combination, with the correct setup and management you can 250bho N/A which you will never see from a B16 (although Buddyclub say you can, you'd have to have massive pockets)

Even if you had fabrication skills, wiring skills, can do all the electronic and mechanical work yourself and can buy a decent crashed EP, a B16 Swap will always be cheaper and give a great bang for the buck.




Anyone who wants more info or just help should join civiclife.net, great forum.

DanielSan

19,906 posts

193 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
Bear Phils said:
emicen said:
Riknos said:
They look nice but rather than waste your time and money in trying to source a b16 to drop into it - Just buy a b16 engined car in the first place.
B16 and required bits is ~£700. Can you get a rot free VTi for £700 more than an EJ?

[Hypothetically] I'd probably sooner B16 a known entity than sell the known entity to buy a VTi.

[Equally hypothetically] Having said that, I'd actually just K20 it and be done with it
Depending on the cost of the EJ, you could yes and you wouldn't have the same insurance problems. Also, does your £700 include the brake conversion? Also, K20 swaps look to be a hassle and expense for only a little extra power and less of a kick on the crossover.
Only a little less power? 30bhp more for no extra weight, more power lower done, and far more tunable. It's worth doing, and with all the k-swap parts available now it's no more difficult than a b series swap.

Bear Phils

891 posts

162 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
DanielSan said:
Only a little less power? 30bhp more for no extra weight, more power lower done, and far more tunable. It's worth doing, and with all the k-swap parts available now it's no more difficult than a b series swap.
Yes but look at the money it will take to get there. By the time you're done you could buy a good condition EP3 or an EK9 or an ITR with work done. And then you will look into better suspension, etc. For me, it's not worth it.

And there is more involved in a K20 swap, see Butterface's post above yours.

hondafreek

225 posts

196 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
Nice car smile

The K20 swap would cost way more than a B16/18 swap. They bolt in.

I modded an EG6 to within an inch of its life. Don't regret it.

Have a DC5 and an AP1 now smile Bioth modded by the way wink

VTECBOY

Original Poster:

352 posts

170 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
Is the b16 swap really as easy as it sounds?

Butter Face

34,330 posts

186 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
VTECBOY said:
Is the b16 swap really as easy as it sounds?
Yes as long as you get the full swap from a car the same year as yours. You need to make sure you get all the correct bits, wiring etc then it literally bolts straight in.

Studio117

4,250 posts

217 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
The main thing is converting/changing the brakes for uprated items. The rear hubs need to be changed to accept discs etc. I don't fancy 1.4 brakes with a b16.

Having helped a mate do a bmw 316>325 engine conversion, its almost plug and play if your handy with a spanner.

I expect the hondas to be similar.

Slow

6,973 posts

163 months

Wednesday 22nd May 2013
quotequote all
Studio117 said:
The main thing is converting/changing the brakes for uprated items. The rear hubs need to be changed to accept discs etc. I don't fancy 1.4 brakes with a b16.

Having helped a mate do a bmw 316>325 engine conversion, its almost plug and play if your handy with a spanner.

I expect the hondas to be similar.
My cherry has rear drums and tiny 1 pot front discs. 150ish bhp, doesnt slow down atall, quite worrying.

Thing with hondas is that everything has been done millions of times so there is guides, even kits I reckon.