Honda Civic EG Track Car (someday )
Discussion
Hey everyone!
I’m having another go at chasing the dream — building a proper track car. Last time I got pretty close: built a Civic EF for local classic racing champ, even managed a few races before life decided otherwise. Had to sell it and put the whole thing on hold for a while.
Fast forward three years, and here we go again. I’ve got myself a Honda Civic EG3 with a mighty 1.5 single-point injection engine (legendary d15b2). Had it for almost half a year now and, to be honest, haven’t really touched it yet. But now I’ve got a decent-sized garage — technically an ex-cowshed
Plan is to strip it right down to a bare shell and weld in a cage. Budget’s tight, so it’ll be a slow burner, bit by bit, but I’ve learned a few things from my last build. I’ll drop some photos here as things start happening — both of the Civic and the garage slowly turning into a proper workshop.
I’m also filming the whole thing for my small YouTube channel, so if you fancy giving it a look and a subscribe — cheers, that’d mean a lot!
And my YouTube
I’m having another go at chasing the dream — building a proper track car. Last time I got pretty close: built a Civic EF for local classic racing champ, even managed a few races before life decided otherwise. Had to sell it and put the whole thing on hold for a while.
Fast forward three years, and here we go again. I’ve got myself a Honda Civic EG3 with a mighty 1.5 single-point injection engine (legendary d15b2). Had it for almost half a year now and, to be honest, haven’t really touched it yet. But now I’ve got a decent-sized garage — technically an ex-cowshed
Plan is to strip it right down to a bare shell and weld in a cage. Budget’s tight, so it’ll be a slow burner, bit by bit, but I’ve learned a few things from my last build. I’ll drop some photos here as things start happening — both of the Civic and the garage slowly turning into a proper workshop.
I’m also filming the whole thing for my small YouTube channel, so if you fancy giving it a look and a subscribe — cheers, that’d mean a lot!
And my YouTube
To build something good, you first have to tear something almost completely apart ? 
Yeah, I really believe that a proper track car build should start with stripping everything down and checking almost every single part.
My experience with the Civic EF only confirmed that this is the right approach.
Luckily, there were no surprises. The shell is in excellent condition honestly, I've never seen a Civic this clean
Next step: making the chassis stiffer?
And of course, I made a few upgrades in the garage. My wife is happy now that the sim and all the Hot Wheels aren t taking up space at home anymore
And, as usual, here s a short video.
Yeah, I really believe that a proper track car build should start with stripping everything down and checking almost every single part.
My experience with the Civic EF only confirmed that this is the right approach.
Luckily, there were no surprises. The shell is in excellent condition honestly, I've never seen a Civic this clean
Next step: making the chassis stiffer?
And of course, I made a few upgrades in the garage. My wife is happy now that the sim and all the Hot Wheels aren t taking up space at home anymore
And, as usual, here s a short video.
My topic is not very popular here 
But I just finished the hardest stage of the build — installing the AST roll cage.
The Bolt-In V2 cage is enough for time attack, and it might even be good enough for a small touring car championship at Oschersleben, which is the closest track to me.
The weight is 52 kg, by the way.
Because of the cold weather and lack of time, it took almost two months to finish.
But I just finished the hardest stage of the build — installing the AST roll cage.
The Bolt-In V2 cage is enough for time attack, and it might even be good enough for a small touring car championship at Oschersleben, which is the closest track to me.
The weight is 52 kg, by the way.
Because of the cold weather and lack of time, it took almost two months to finish.
Oh! Thanks for the support, guys!
It looks like I forgot to mention what happened before the roll cage was installed.
On my previous Civic, I deleted the factory heater unit and used a small heat exchanger with a blower from AliExpress, distributing the air through small ducts. This time, I decided to go even further and not use anything like that at all.
I found out that some guys in the US use electric heating wires, and there are even complete kits available — but unfortunately, nothing like that is sold in Europe. Luckily, I managed to find a vintage kit from the ’70s–’80s on local eBay. It was originally meant to be installed on rear windows if the car didn’t come with a factory defroster.
The installation didn’t go well, unfortunately, and that kit ended up in the trash. But I managed to find another one — we’ll see how that works out.
By doing that, I saved almost 8 kg. Then I removed a few more brackets from the cabin and found another kilo. =
While I was still waiting for the roll cage, I used the time to try fitting an electric power steering column from a Prius. I want to keep a manual steering rack — it’s lighter, there are no hoses or fluid, and fewer things that can fail.
The Prius EPS column is plug-and-play with some Honda steering racks, but not with the manual EG rack. Fortunately, the U-joints on the original shaft and the Prius shaft have the same spline sizes, so I combined half from one and half from the other.
Here I was just mocking up how it might fit. The proper mounting was done later.
The only downside of the manual EG rack is that it’s not quick — around 4.5 turns lock-to-lock. So I’m planning to order shorter internals from Quaife to bring it down to about 3.25 turns. That should make it much more comfortable and responsive.
It looks like I forgot to mention what happened before the roll cage was installed.
On my previous Civic, I deleted the factory heater unit and used a small heat exchanger with a blower from AliExpress, distributing the air through small ducts. This time, I decided to go even further and not use anything like that at all.
I found out that some guys in the US use electric heating wires, and there are even complete kits available — but unfortunately, nothing like that is sold in Europe. Luckily, I managed to find a vintage kit from the ’70s–’80s on local eBay. It was originally meant to be installed on rear windows if the car didn’t come with a factory defroster.
The installation didn’t go well, unfortunately, and that kit ended up in the trash. But I managed to find another one — we’ll see how that works out.
By doing that, I saved almost 8 kg. Then I removed a few more brackets from the cabin and found another kilo. =
While I was still waiting for the roll cage, I used the time to try fitting an electric power steering column from a Prius. I want to keep a manual steering rack — it’s lighter, there are no hoses or fluid, and fewer things that can fail.
The Prius EPS column is plug-and-play with some Honda steering racks, but not with the manual EG rack. Fortunately, the U-joints on the original shaft and the Prius shaft have the same spline sizes, so I combined half from one and half from the other.
Here I was just mocking up how it might fit. The proper mounting was done later.
The only downside of the manual EG rack is that it’s not quick — around 4.5 turns lock-to-lock. So I’m planning to order shorter internals from Quaife to bring it down to about 3.25 turns. That should make it much more comfortable and responsive.
Wow! Looks like a lot of progress has been made since the last time I checked in with the thread. The shell looks incredibly clean; I may have missed it but how on earth did you get such a clean base car? Being JDM, I presume that these are prone for turning into cornflakes over time...
Edited by HighSidedMedia on Tuesday 17th February 20:02
HighSidedMedia said:
Wow! Looks like a lot of progress has been made since the last time I checked in with the thread. The shell looks incredibly clean; I may have missed it but how on earth did you get such a clean base car? Being JDM, I presume that these are prone for turning into cornflakes over time...
I’m honestly very surprised by the condition of the car myself.Edited by HighSidedMedia on Tuesday 17th February 20:02
It was repainted white by the previous owner — originally it was grey metallic. I’ve seen photos of the car before the repaint, and it was already in amazing condition. I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been in any accidents and maybe it hasn’t even seen winters.
I’ve seen a lot of Civics in my life, and this one is by far the cleanest. I am very, very lucky.
What a superb story / build; bookmarked!
I had a JDM EG6 SiR-S in the mid to late 2000s, had it about a year and thoroughly enjoyed it; sold it, bought a Prelude BB8 Motegi; never loved that car but it was a good GT car, sold that and bought a fresh JDM EK9
This was my EG6; in Milano Red (read pink)
It was a hoot to drive; Tein coilovers, strut braces everywhere, AEM V2 CAI and serviced to within an inch of its life by my pal that has Grinspeed up here
I had a JDM EG6 SiR-S in the mid to late 2000s, had it about a year and thoroughly enjoyed it; sold it, bought a Prelude BB8 Motegi; never loved that car but it was a good GT car, sold that and bought a fresh JDM EK9
This was my EG6; in Milano Red (read pink)
It was a hoot to drive; Tein coilovers, strut braces everywhere, AEM V2 CAI and serviced to within an inch of its life by my pal that has Grinspeed up here
Always wanted an EG Civic when I just passed my test, but I remember the urban legends of 17 year olds at the time stating these were difficult to get insured because of the “high power to weight”.
My first proper non-learner car was an EK Civic so these are close to my heart. I’ll be following with interest and watch the vids when I get time.
Oh, and that’s an ace man-cave you’ve got going on!
My first proper non-learner car was an EK Civic so these are close to my heart. I’ll be following with interest and watch the vids when I get time.
Oh, and that’s an ace man-cave you’ve got going on!
HighSidedMedia said:
Certainly sounds like the right base car for the build. What are the plans for power of you don't mind me asking - I'd guess it's staying naturally aspirated?
Really interested with the build, always wanted to do something similar with a MK1 civic.
To join the Pocket Rocket Time Attack class, the engine has to remain NA and under 1750 cc. But I’m still not sure which engine to build...Really interested with the build, always wanted to do something similar with a MK1 civic.
My first Civic EG originally had a D13B2, which over time got parts from other D-series engines. In the end, it became a D15Z6 bottom (the D15Z6 has longer rods, so easier to rev high) with D16Y8 pistons and a D16Z6 head. The cam, intake, and exhaust were all stock. But with slightly ported head, careful parts matching and the engine made 158 hp.
My last Civic EF (the black one from the first post) was built for local classic touring races, and according to the regulations it had to run an engine that was originally offered in the chassis up to a certain year. It turned out the B16 wasn't allowed because of that, so I ended up building a D16A9 (also known as D16Z5, or ZC DOHC) — a 1.6 twin-cam engine without VTEC. It was also mostly stock, with a ported head and custom intake and exhaust manifolds, but it made 157 hp.
So I really like the old D-series engines because they’re bulletproof, still easy to find, and relatively cheap. A D-series with gearbox is also about 20–30 kg lighter than a B16 with gearbox, and D-series engines usually have more torque. The only downside I see is that I’d have to buy an aftermarket LSD and final drive, since there are no OEM options. That makes the gearbox one of the most expensive parts of the build. And yeah, it's possible to get 160 hp from D-series, but going beyond is getting expensive very quick
B-series gearboxes came from the factory with LSDs and shorter final drives, and it’s still possible to find them cheaper than a D-series gearbox plus aftermarket LSD and final drive. It’s a good balance between price and performance.
But B16 engines seem to be getting rarer every day. I’ve seen a few for sale, but some of them are already off-putting just from the photos — without even looking inside.
So I think about the engine choice every day, and every time I come to the conclusion that it should be a D16 DOHC. But the next day I start thinking again — and then the B16 wins
danb79 said:
What a superb story / build; bookmarked!
I had a JDM EG6 SiR-S in the mid to late 2000s, had it about a year and thoroughly enjoyed it; sold it, bought a Prelude BB8 Motegi; never loved that car but it was a good GT car, sold that and bought a fresh JDM EK9
This was my EG6; in Milano Red (read pink)
It was a hoot to drive; Tein coilovers, strut braces everywhere, AEM V2 CAI and serviced to within an inch of its life by my pal that has Grinspeed up here
Nice car I had a JDM EG6 SiR-S in the mid to late 2000s, had it about a year and thoroughly enjoyed it; sold it, bought a Prelude BB8 Motegi; never loved that car but it was a good GT car, sold that and bought a fresh JDM EK9
This was my EG6; in Milano Red (read pink)
It was a hoot to drive; Tein coilovers, strut braces everywhere, AEM V2 CAI and serviced to within an inch of its life by my pal that has Grinspeed up here
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