Project Civic FK2 Type R

[robsav]

evening PHers!

Never had an ‘expensive’ project, so here we go.

Been a few years since I had a fun car.
At my age I should probably be in something more sophisticated but the Northern Irish lad in me grew up on back road hot hatches and watching rally cars so I seem to struggle to get away from them...I love cars you can chuck over a backroad as opposed to straight line speed.

I moved from London to Sheffield about 3 weeks before lockdown and the first thing I did was pick up this FK2 as I finally had some great driving on my doorstep.

I’ve had a few Imprezas, Peugeot GTIs, Renaultaport Meganes/Clio’s, Spec B Legacies, that sort of thing but the FK2, for me, is one of the best hot hatches I’ve driven.
It’s rough in R mode but, Jesus, it’s fun. It really feels to me (despite the forced induction) like the modern day equivalent of old Peugeot gtis and earlier Honda Type Rs, it wants to have the st driven out of it and isn’t concerned about comfort, the way a hot hatch should be for me. It looks ridiculous but that’s part of the appeal for me. Anyone could spec a golf to pretty much look like an R, similar with A class AMG or 1 series BMW, the Civic knows it’s a daft outsider and I love that.

Not got many pics so far, picked it up standard at about 17K miles.
So far it’s had full Milltek non-resonated cat back, Milltek downpipe/sports cat, Airtec intercooler, EBC 2 piece discs and PBS pads, HEL braided lines, tyres.
In next few weeks it’s getting mapped/Hondata, new wheels/semi slicks (going down to 18” for track), fully polybushed, uprated rear ARB, coil overs/adjustable top mounts, Bride seats (the 17yr old me Max Power ambition ??) and a full geo setup.

Unfortunately bumped into a taxi a few weeks back, a TINY bump but it creased my bumper slightly, cracked his number plate...getting that sorted as well so should soon be looking tip top and ready for track.
New family wagon pending at the end of the summer it will get stripped and caged and fixed seats then look at building the engine.

Not looking for huge power, it’s a project focussed on 400/420ish and reliability with good handling and braking, not big numbers.

Edited by robsav on Sunday 14th June 18:16

Edited by robsav on Sunday 14th June 18:25

Edited by robsav on Sunday 14th June 18:35

[RM10]

Lovely car! Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. I see you're looking for 400/420 (crazy numbers when you think about it) - what does it have currently?

[robsav]

RM10 said:

Lovely car! Looking forward to seeing how it progresses. I see you're looking for 400/420 (crazy numbers when you think about it) - what does it have currently?

they’re about 300/310 (officially 306) as standard mate.
more than enough for FWD (too much in reality, especially on the stock continental tyres as it was spinning in 3rd on slightly damp roads)...I put Michelin PS4S on after a week and it transformed it.

genuinely, having had a lot of ‘back road burners’ it’s the most fun I’ve had, such a capable car. There’s a great video from Japan with an FK2 and an R35 GTR over the hills...obviously you never know how legitimate it is but it shows you how capable they are. I’ll try and find the link.

[Piginapoke]

Seems a shame to cage and strip such a nice car.

[CrippsCorner]

Yeah I'd associate tracking a CTR to be an EP3... but hey if you can afford it why not!

Love the plate

I was looking at these and FK8 to see if they could take on any family duties in their spare time. Then I found out they're both 4 seats frustrating.

[chrismc1977]

Just a pity all these modern hatches have grown so much in size & weight IMO. That’s why they all need so much power as standard.

Trouble is extra power (+ weight) needs much better brakes. Used on track seriously it’ll always be the stoppers that give up first I’d wager.

Totally different kettle of fish to a 205 GTi, Clio or old school Honda R that only had ~1000kgs to pull up & nothing like the terminal speeds a modern hyper hatch pulls....

[robsav]

chrismc1977 said:

Just a pity all these modern hatches have grown so much in size & weight IMO. That’s why they all need so much power as standard.

Trouble is extra power (+ weight) needs much better brakes. Used on track seriously it’ll always be the stoppers that give up first I’d wager.

Totally different kettle of fish to a 205 GTi, Clio or old school Honda R that only had ~1000kgs to pull up & nothing like the terminal speeds a modern hyper hatch pulls....

yea, agree, but I’ve basically only ever driven ‘hot hatches’ and for me it’s one of the best. It’s a bit stupid, pretty unrefined and on the right road it’s so so quick. It’ll get hammered in a straight line by something like a Golf R from a standing start but once it’s going, and got bends to contend with, it is a FANTASTIC drive.

[robsav]

Piginapoke said:

Seems a shame to cage and strip such a nice car.

Yep, I get that mate, but for the first time in my life I’m lucky enough to be a position where I can do something I’ve wanted to do for about 20yrs. Keeping all original stuff in storage so it can be returned to standard.
The stripping and caging really depends on how the next while goes in terms of work etc, certainly not rushing into it. To me it feels very much like a track car built to use on the road and I liked the idea of making it what I thought it should be, even better on track and still legal daily.

[robsav]

CrippsCorner said:

Yeah I'd associate tracking a CTR to be an EP3... but hey if you can afford it why not!

Love the plate

I was looking at these and FK8 to see if they could take on any family duties in their spare time. Then I found out they're both 4 seats frustrating.

yep, very annoying trait, especially when there is enough room for three in the back.

[chrismc1977]

robsav said:

yea, agree, but I’ve basically only ever driven ‘hot hatches’ and for me it’s one of the best. It’s a bit stupid, pretty unrefined and on the right road it’s so so quick. It’ll get hammered in a straight line by something like a Golf R from a standing start but once it’s going, and got bends to contend with, it is a FANTASTIC drive.

New stuff is very competent for sure- no ignoring the extra weight in the twisties mind you

[robsav]

chrismc1977 said:

New stuff is very competent for sure- no ignoring the extra weight in the twisties mind you

absolutely Chris, can’t deny that. It certainly has a tendency to try and get the better of you if you try and be too smart!

[R12many]

Love the look of these but feel that at 49 I would look a right knob driving one! Don't particularly want to go down the Golf R/GTI route but that's what I'll probably end up doing.

[robsav]

R12many said:

Love the look of these but feel that at 49 I would look a right knob driving one! Don't particularly want to go down the Golf R/GTI route but that's what I'll probably end up doing.

They’re great cars the Golf R.
Even this modified to 100hp more will struggle to keep up against a standard R on an outright speed stretch from standing start...in the bends though there’s no competition imo, these Civics handle like no FWD or AWD hot hatch I’ve had before

[robsav]

R12many said:

Love the look of these but feel that at 49 I would look a right knob driving one! Don't particularly want to go down the Golf R/GTI route but that's what I'll probably end up doing.

naaaah, never too old.
Even the most sensible car lover creams themselves over the likes of the Cosworth spoilers, I think it’s just become a thing that you have to be sensible and anything with a spoiler that doesn’t cost £200K is a ‘Halfords drive through’.

It’s a stupid car, it should look a bit daft imo...as in original post, a Golf R, M 1/2 series, AMG A Class (not to say the Civic is comparable to them) looks not much different to a top spec 1.4 of the same model. I like that the Civic stands out and people think you’re a wker for driving it haha.

And, most importantly, it has the function to match the form.

[5mileofdeath]

Lovely car OP..

I have this Milano one..



Had it a year now and absolutely love it..

Interested to see what you do with yours

[robsav]

5mileofdeath said:

Lovely car OP..

I have this Milano one..



Had it a year now and absolutely love it..

Interested to see what you do with yours

love Milano red mate...in fact I don’t think there’s a bad colour in these! Fantastic cars aren’t they. I thought I’d struggle to find something more fun (FWD) than an R26.R but this took it to another level for me.

Will keep it the post updated with pics and everything that gets done once I find the battery and charger for my proper camera haha.

[Semiskimmed]

These are great money at the minute

I'm looking at replacing my FN2 and integra db8 with one of these

I've heard great things about them

You're in my neck of the woods. I'll have to keep an eye out for you!

If you see a slight rough looking Bakc fn2 with horrible grey wheels it's me!

[5mileofdeath]

robsav said:

5mileofdeath said:

Lovely car OP..

I have this Milano one..



Had it a year now and absolutely love it..

Interested to see what you do with yours

love Milano red mate...in fact I don’t think there’s a bad colour in these! Fantastic cars aren’t they. I thought I’d struggle to find something more fun (FWD) than an R26.R but this took it to another level for me.

Will keep it the post updated with pics and everything that gets done once I find the battery and charger for my proper camera haha.

They do look good in every colour to be fair..

It’s one of those cars that once you own it you will find it hard to find anything similar to replace it with..

Tbh it seems prices are holding well too, maybe the first Type R not to plummet in price, obviously due to the low amount of them built.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Ex FK2 owner and R26.R owner as well

Mine was the same colour as yours, I still miss it-was a terrific car over 3 and a half years

[robsav]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

Ex FK2 owner and R26.R owner as well

Mine was the same colour as yours, I still miss it-was a terrific car over 3 and a half years

when I bought it I only planned to keep it six months or so and (hopefully!) not lose any money as they seem to be holding their value fairly well given limited production time/numbers...as soon as I realised how good it was I thought ‘no, fk that, it’s a keeper’ haha.

I know it’s not a toy in the traditional sense, isn’t RWD, isn’t lightweight etc, but Christ they’re good to drive. That’s why I got to making it a project and a car that I plan to keep for years to come.