The 3rd Wife: Cosmic Grey EP3 Civic Type R - Project OEM
Discussion
Daston said:
Got to say OP that was a good read, nice to see someone care so much about their car. Really makes me wish I started taking such good notes when I service the MG lol.
I will certainly be taking things on board from this when I eventually get a mazda
Thanks pal I will certainly be taking things on board from this when I eventually get a mazda
Few more updates this weekend. Tired tonight! Worked on the Civic for a good few hours then the Rallye too. I bought a used headlight two weeks ago for the Honda, as my drivers one was misted up really badly and it let the car down. Fitting it turned out to be an arse, as the bumper has to come off to access the bolts that hold it in place. I couldn't figure out how the bumper came off at first, as I was expecting some bolts on the wing as per my Saxo/106 bumpers. Ended up having to watch a youtube video halfway through to realise that there a few bolts around the base and the the whole thing just pulls off! It's kind of clipped into plastic brackets. Only had to prise the left side off then I was able to undo the bolts holding the light on/in. Eventually got it fitted up, but it was looking a bit tired and haggard, so I ended up using my rotary polisher to go over both lights using all three grades of polish. They look brand new now it's awesome. Really refreshed the front of the car so i'm pleased! I will get some better daylight photo's tomorrow, but here are some of the work in progress (albeit not many as I was quite in the zone when doing the work)!
Light out:
Bit of a snakes wedding behind the light - I was quite surprised how many lamps there are inside the light itself!
Old haggard light removed (halleluiah!)
New (second hand) light:
Masked off halfway through polishing:
And the other one, got polish everywhere though - schoolboy error but nevermind!
C'est complete - looking good!
Lewis
Thanks guys.
Not many updates to speak of lately, just been driving it. Bought a new 'H' badge for the back as the old one was a bit tatty.
Pics of this below:
Old one:
New one:
Removing the old one (took a while to clean the old glue off):
This:
Then this:
Old and new next to each other (looked worse in real life!):
New one fitted and looking good:
That's all for now. Will probably need new discs soon and trying to resist 'upgrading' so we will see.
Lewis
Not many updates to speak of lately, just been driving it. Bought a new 'H' badge for the back as the old one was a bit tatty.
Pics of this below:
Old one:
New one:
Removing the old one (took a while to clean the old glue off):
This:
Then this:
Old and new next to each other (looked worse in real life!):
New one fitted and looking good:
That's all for now. Will probably need new discs soon and trying to resist 'upgrading' so we will see.
Lewis
Excellent topic OP, just read all the way through it. I had an 05 one exactly like yours, same colour, everything. Without a doubt the best car I've ever owned and I'm so sorry I sold it after 6 years of ownership. I bought an S2000 instead as it was a car I'd always wanted but it just didn't live up to how I'd imagined it would be.
Top work,
Top work,
Podie said:
What did you use to remove the glue?
I peeled off the current sticky pad very carefully (i.e. uber slowly), then used my thumb and some elbow grease to rub the remaining off!hora said:
Bloody hell OP- top work 
Thank you dude! TheHighlander said:
Brilliant thread.
My mate had a Type R the same with K-pro ect and it was rapid.
Always loved them.
Yea I have dabbled with the idea of a remap but she's on 108k now so wouldn't want to stress the engine unnecessarily. I'm sure it's good for the extra power but it's also about 500 or so.My mate had a Type R the same with K-pro ect and it was rapid.
Always loved them.
Nezquick said:
Excellent topic OP, just read all the way through it. I had an 05 one exactly like yours, same colour, everything. Without a doubt the best car I've ever owned and I'm so sorry I sold it after 6 years of ownership. I bought an S2000 instead as it was a car I'd always wanted but it just didn't live up to how I'd imagined it would be.
Top work,
Cheers. I really like the S2000's and have considered one, however, not so sure it would be as fun or as chuckable as this. It's a good machine to drive. Top work,
Nezquick said:
They're not - I tried "chucking" my S2000 around and ended up in a ditch! That kind of put a dampener on the whole S2000 ownership experience for me. Totally my fault in thinking that I had far more skill than I clearly did! lol!
Ha ha...god that sounds scary! Perhaps i'll stick with this then as I don't want to end up like that! I take it you came out unscathed?Yes...not a scratch on me or the wife. Scary experience though. It just swapped ends at about 60mph in VTEC and spat me into the central barrier and then across two lanes of traffic. I luckily missed every other car around but took out a few small trees in the process. £9k of damage but not written off amazingly. Got rid soon after it was repaired, it never quite felt the same after that.
Sounds like you had a lucky escape then dude...
Ok, so I have done a few more bits of late. Was thinking of buying new seats as mine are a little worn in places, however, I decided not to bother as gave them a bit of a refurb by shaving the lose bits off and despite the wear they have come up excellently. Also bought a new 'H' badge for the front too. My old one wasn't too bad but it wasn't that new looking. Oh I cracked the old one taking it off it wasn't cracked before - doh!
Here are some pics of the work anyways:
Seats done:
New 'H' badge:
old one removed:
Old and new:
Cleaned:
Done:
That's all for now.
Ok, so I have done a few more bits of late. Was thinking of buying new seats as mine are a little worn in places, however, I decided not to bother as gave them a bit of a refurb by shaving the lose bits off and despite the wear they have come up excellently. Also bought a new 'H' badge for the front too. My old one wasn't too bad but it wasn't that new looking. Oh I cracked the old one taking it off it wasn't cracked before - doh!
Here are some pics of the work anyways:
Seats done:
New 'H' badge:
old one removed:
Old and new:
Cleaned:
Done:
That's all for now.
Yadizzle1 said:
Amazing work and attention to detail man! I was shocked when I skipped back a few pages and found that the car had 105,000 miles, thought it was more like 20k!
Thanks mate. She does come up well alright, I put a lot of time and effort into trying to keep her mint. There are a few small war wounds (dings all done prior to my ownership of course) which I would like to get removed at some point also, but it's inevitable with older cars.Next up I would like an Integra or an E46M3 (well over budget though!)
A few small updates to report. I had to replace the rear discs recently as they were worn, so went with some Pagid OEM spec discs from ECP. They come with the anti-rust coating which is nice, and the areas that aren’t in contact with the pad remain corrosion free.
I also need new front discs and pads, and despite wanting to keep the car 100% OEM, because I have made a few upgrades in other places (eg: the tyres) I thought why not extend this to the brakes. The idea is to uprate parts that enhance the driving experience without detracting from the overall OEM appearance of the car. I also do not want it to look any different or ‘feel’ different, i.e. crashy and horrible if it’s lowered. It’s already firm and responsive which I really like. Anyway I digress. So for the front brakes I am getting some Stoptech’s, which is a big brake kit with two piece discs. I am getting them off a good mate, otherwise would have stuck with OEM. I do find that with spirited driving the stock system feels a bit like it’s being pushed too hard, so hopefully these will do the job. I have experienced good brakes like this in the past and it’s really worth the money. The tyres were a huge improvement over stock too. The car is very capable as standard, and despite owning it now for well over a year, I still really enjoy it every time I use it (most days). It just feels excellent to drive. Engaging and fun. It’s hugely practical too, I took it to Scotland two weeks ago for a few days on a holiday break and it transported 4 people in comfort. I let the wife drive it and sat in the back for a few hours. Surprisingly large in the back and comfortable. All these things just me realise how great these motors are.
Along with the brakes, I also need to replace the front roll centre adjusters (or ball joints as most will know them) and the rear trailing arm bushes too, as there is some play. Will probably get some hardrace one’s which will be a slight step up from OEM but not too hardcore.
I haven’t got the front brakes yet but will stick up some photo’s once they arrive.
Finally, another thing that’s been bugging me slightly was the ever-so-slightly sloppy gear change. After some research it transpired that this is due to wear on the plastic ball mechanism within the gearstick. It’s to be expected that this wears out, especially considering the car has over 100k on it, and I’m sure not all of the previous owners cherished it as much as I do!! So, I bought a brand new replacement mechanism from Honda. I had put this on the back burner for a while due to the high cost of replacing it, however, I thought I would address all the niggles and get the car 100% as I want it. I plan to keep it for a long while yet you see. I had thoughts of selling it to buy a Subaru, however, there were 2 issues with that. 1) The wife hates them, 2) they are expensive to run. The Honda ticks all the boxes really, and can deliver excellent performance and motoring enjoyment without burning a huge hole in your wallet, so with that in mind I decided to keep it and just ‘finish It off’ as it were.
Here are some pics of the gear mech. Will update thread with brakes photos and other bits once they arrive.
Cheers.
Lewis
I also need new front discs and pads, and despite wanting to keep the car 100% OEM, because I have made a few upgrades in other places (eg: the tyres) I thought why not extend this to the brakes. The idea is to uprate parts that enhance the driving experience without detracting from the overall OEM appearance of the car. I also do not want it to look any different or ‘feel’ different, i.e. crashy and horrible if it’s lowered. It’s already firm and responsive which I really like. Anyway I digress. So for the front brakes I am getting some Stoptech’s, which is a big brake kit with two piece discs. I am getting them off a good mate, otherwise would have stuck with OEM. I do find that with spirited driving the stock system feels a bit like it’s being pushed too hard, so hopefully these will do the job. I have experienced good brakes like this in the past and it’s really worth the money. The tyres were a huge improvement over stock too. The car is very capable as standard, and despite owning it now for well over a year, I still really enjoy it every time I use it (most days). It just feels excellent to drive. Engaging and fun. It’s hugely practical too, I took it to Scotland two weeks ago for a few days on a holiday break and it transported 4 people in comfort. I let the wife drive it and sat in the back for a few hours. Surprisingly large in the back and comfortable. All these things just me realise how great these motors are.
Along with the brakes, I also need to replace the front roll centre adjusters (or ball joints as most will know them) and the rear trailing arm bushes too, as there is some play. Will probably get some hardrace one’s which will be a slight step up from OEM but not too hardcore.
I haven’t got the front brakes yet but will stick up some photo’s once they arrive.
Finally, another thing that’s been bugging me slightly was the ever-so-slightly sloppy gear change. After some research it transpired that this is due to wear on the plastic ball mechanism within the gearstick. It’s to be expected that this wears out, especially considering the car has over 100k on it, and I’m sure not all of the previous owners cherished it as much as I do!! So, I bought a brand new replacement mechanism from Honda. I had put this on the back burner for a while due to the high cost of replacing it, however, I thought I would address all the niggles and get the car 100% as I want it. I plan to keep it for a long while yet you see. I had thoughts of selling it to buy a Subaru, however, there were 2 issues with that. 1) The wife hates them, 2) they are expensive to run. The Honda ticks all the boxes really, and can deliver excellent performance and motoring enjoyment without burning a huge hole in your wallet, so with that in mind I decided to keep it and just ‘finish It off’ as it were.
Here are some pics of the gear mech. Will update thread with brakes photos and other bits once they arrive.
Cheers.
Lewis
Butter Face said:
Great updates mate!
Have you thought of doing anything with the steering wheel? I've just ordered a replacement (recovered OEM) for mine in black alcantara with red stitching.
I'll upload a pic when it comes (next week hopefully) if you'd like?
That sounds nice dude. Yes I have, but I just bought a newer OEM version for mine. I am trying to keep it standard as possible looks wise (for now).Have you thought of doing anything with the steering wheel? I've just ordered a replacement (recovered OEM) for mine in black alcantara with red stitching.
I'll upload a pic when it comes (next week hopefully) if you'd like?
Ok, so I got home tonight and set about fitting the new gearshifter assembly in the dark with the help of the interior light and a headtorch. I will start by saying do not start this job on a week night. It will seriously test your patience, you will scrape and slice your hands on the metal dash brackets/various other sharps under there. You will swear a lot and wonder how in gods name anyone can undo the cables from the plastic gear mech! :bad-words: However, I got it done in about an hour. Most of it's easy, it is just getting the cables out from the gear mech that proved to be a major ball buster.
I found a good guide online here, without which I would not have had a clue how some of the bits came out - props to whoever did this. It's for a buddyclub shifter, but the same fitting process applies to this:
http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthread.php?63927-...
You will need:
(a) Big long f-off flathead screwdriver
(b) 13mm socket and ext bar
(c) Small 8mm ratcheting (or normal) spanner. I have a little snap on one that's proved it's worth loads already. Buy one.
(d) Small philips head screwdriver to undo the dash brackets
All the details of removal are explained in the link above, but I will reiterate that the cables come out of the base of the gear shifter by twisting the plastic retaining clips anti clockwise. It's very difficult to do this even with a screwdriver as they tend to spring back as they're under permanent tension. Lets just say I dropped a few 'C bombs' whilst doing it
You need to take these out, undo the four retaining bolts, undo a few little retaining metal brackets, lift out the whole bit where the radio sits, then lift out the gear assembly. I had no-one to hold the radio/aircon part of the dash so had to scrabble about with the other hand for a piece of card/plastic packaging from the new one to rest the whole lot on so as not to damage the dash, then take out the old shifter assembly and slot in the new one and shuffle the cables about all with one hand, then re-fit the fascia with the radio and aircon set up. It is a bit of a f-on, but not too bad if you think logically and go carefully. All the wires are still connected you see. It's not as bad as it sounds, i would just recommend you have a few micro fibers to hand to protect various bits of the dash while you remove the fascias. Also a rag to wipe the grease off your hands as the cables are greasy and slippy. Makes it even more annoying when you have shredded paws, which are then slipping off everything you are trying to hold! Here are a few (not great) photo's. As you can see I left the gator and gear surround plugged in and hanging down resting on an airbag from the packaging of the new GS (gearshifter). I have a shift light which is wired in there so it's an arse to unplug the connector. Most of you will be able to simply unplug the cigarette socket and remove this part entirely:
Then undo this part of the retaining bracket (there is one 8mm bolt on each side) - see small spanner in action!
You also remove the two small screws from the longer metal bracket seen in the photo below - you can see the hole above my hand where i'd already removed one. The part of the dash above simply pulls forward and outward to allow you to remove this metal bracket. It's also kind of pushed into the plastic with a retaining clip which you squeeze together to pull it out. Just be careful not to snap anything.
I would say the worst part is removing the cables but i've already mentioned that above. The rest is straightforward it just requires patience.
Now onto the results. Is it worth doing - in short yes. The gearchange is way better and actually shorter too for some reason! I will say though that Honda dropped a b
k using plastic in a moving part that sees so much action. If someone were to design a slick rose jointed set up like you can get for the VW's it would be amazing. This design is pretty poo. It works ok, but is noway near as tight as the rose jointed set up on my Rallye. There is too much tolerance and sloppiness in the plastic parts. That's not to say I am not pleased with the results - I am. Just saying that there is a market here to design something really good. Dunno what the BC on is like, but it looks to be made of plastic too so I figured i'd save thirty pounds or so and just replace it with the OEM set up, which was 'only' 150 opposed to 180/190 for the BC contraption. Overall I am pleased and the gearchange is a lot slicker than it was. It has also got rid of the sloppy side motion that I had previously on the old linkages. A lot of ball ache but I will enjoy driving her more now.
PS: I don't have a chopped off thumb, it just looks odd in that photo above due to the angle!
Edited by Track_Cit on Monday 10th November 21:19
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