Civic Type R EP3 - JDM

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Thanks - unfortunately this is the daily driver, so it'll be a challenge to keep it looking good. The summer fun machine is lurking under the cover in the garage in some of the pics above

The headlights are deffo HIDs - I assume they are the same set up as the DC5, as they have the same flicker when you turn them on.

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Thanks - yeah seems ok to me. The Mrs says she can still smell smoke a little, but I cant. It was really bad though - think it was cigars. I have a picture in my head of this Japanese dude sitting smoking those thin cigars while watching the telly

I'm happy with it for now and we'll see if it comes back over time

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The importer hoovered it out, so will have claimed any goodies These things are already expensive in Japan. Same price as the DC5s, which is surprising.

Got the wheel refurb booked in for next Thursday - looking forward to that and having some great tyres on it

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Thanks guys

More updates soon hopefully:

Centre cap stickers received - hopefully do them over the weekend
New tyres received, so all set for Thursday wheel refurb
1 wiper arm ordered - passenger side discontinued by Honda
2 roof gutter strips ordered - keeping quiet on the cost of those
Grill fasteners ordered - half of them have gone missing en route from Japan
MTF 3 geearbox oil ordered and brake fluid purchased

Re the number plates - I just think it'll look like a re-sprayed UK car with UK style plates

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C70R said:

(What stops it looking like a resprayed UK car with wrong-sized plates, anyway? )

Fair point

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MyVTECGoesBwaaah said:

I did look up the cost of those for mine, as they are a bit stained, along with the door window rubber strips. I didn't bother in the end!

I'm not surprised!

I was going to get the rubber strips for the doors, but it was a step too far cost wise at another £45 each. Going to try rubbing them down to the metal, priming and painting.

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Time for a wheel update

First up the centre caps:

As they were....

IMG_6126a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

A rub down, £3.48 of new stickers and a bit of clear lacquer. Not perfect, but nice enough and beats £80 for 4 bits of plastic from Honda!!

IMG_6127a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

The finished article - wheels refurbed, centre caps on and new tyres

IMG_6135a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

IMG_6133a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

IMG_6132a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

IMG_6131a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

Loving these tyres - even in the cold weather, the difference to the old crap is amazing..

IMG_6134a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

I also decided to de-badge the "civic" for a cleaner rear end

IMG_6130a by Ross Davidson, on Flickr

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They're a little whiter than I'd like, but it's the closest match that the wheel specialist have. They should become a bit less bright in time though and they're better than the standard Gloss White finish.

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No, it's all splashes of the under seal thankfully

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Ha - never even crossed my mind! I may have to sort that now you've mentioned it!

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Digitalize said:

If the bolt holes line up with the valve then the locking wheel nut should be in line too

You have OCD don't you

No locking wheel nuts to worry about - nobody from the city is going to drive out here to nick some old Civic wheels

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eBay - quality is fine. Only problem I had was the lacquer lifting the stickers a bit, but that's because I put too much lacquer on in one go and it seeped underneath.

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No need for any shooting down I like them and they just mark it out a little more as an import model. Although the white paint does a pretty good job of that!

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lfc5times18 said:

These pictures look great and I have enjoyed reading what you have done to the car

I have owned a UK spec EP3 and also a JDM , in my opinion it just feels like a totally different car and looks awesome in white.

Unfortunately I had to sell it as I was going backpacking and I needed the money for the trip

When I got back I got an Impreza STI with the prodrive kit which was miles faster but still was not as good as the JDM in my eyes.

Where did you get your insurance for this? I have rung a few places and it is around the thousand pound mark, which is a lot dearer than the UK model. I am 35 with 9 years no claims with no accidents or tickets so it does seem a crazy amount that is twice the price of the Impreza.

My type R had issues with the exhaust and the brakes which ended up costing a lot of money but looking back now it was worth it and I'm seriously thinking of getting another one

I am a bit worried that its a few years on which will mean there will not be as many with as low mileage or possibly not in as good condition, as most now will be 14 to 15 years old. Someone once said that low mileage is not always a good thing as cars are meant to be driven and not sat in a garage... I'm not sure how true that is

Have you had any issues with it and would you say it is a better car than the Integra as I'm not sure whether to get one of those or go back to a Civic JDM

I still have this and its done 6k miles since I got it now. Only 2 issues I've had is creaking from the steering and leaking from the top corners of the windscreen. The local Honda specialist found nothing wrong with the steering, so I've just left it as its just a noise and I'm having the screen taken out and re-sealed next week to solve that.

It just works all the time - hence why I've not done any updates since December. If you don't modify something with a K20 engine, there's nothing much else to speak about

I'm 39 and my insurance is £220. I just ticked the import box on compare the market for it and stuck the value down as £7k.

I wouldn't say it's a better car than the Integra, as they are so alike performance wise. I just find it easier to live with, so prefer it for that reason.

There are unlikely to be any fresh imports coming in until the exchange rate improves again. The £ has fallen 30% against the Yen since I bought mine, which makes them really expensive for what they are.

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Yeah that's exactly it - just for the first few mph and not all the time. Seems to be worse when it's been wet weather for some reason.

I just find it such a brilliantly easy car to drive and chuck about through the corners. The gearbox is just an absolute dream I also have a 93 Impreza that I've had forever and changing gear in that is like stirring soup.

Good luck and hope you find one that ticks all the boxes for you!

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Just a bit!

I traded it in to Torque GT early 2017 and a young guy local to them bought it.

Last I heard it went over to France when he sold it.