2002 Supercharged EP3 Civic Type R
Discussion
The course of true love never runs smooth.... I fitted a voltmeter a few months back, swapped in place of the cigarette lighter.
Normally looks like this...
But the other day after a bit of a drive it started looking like this...
Now I'm not the kinda guy to just take the word of a £5 Chinese made bit of plastic so I went and got checked out.
Checked it at the alternator, and yup, looks like that's buggered. Another job on the list, and a pain in the ass because the alternator sits right below the inlet manifold etc so it a nightmare on my car as I've now got a big ass Rotrex sat directly above it
It'll have to be sorted though, probably the original alternator so 130k ain't bad I suppose!
Normally looks like this...
But the other day after a bit of a drive it started looking like this...
Now I'm not the kinda guy to just take the word of a £5 Chinese made bit of plastic so I went and got checked out.
Checked it at the alternator, and yup, looks like that's buggered. Another job on the list, and a pain in the ass because the alternator sits right below the inlet manifold etc so it a nightmare on my car as I've now got a big ass Rotrex sat directly above it
It'll have to be sorted though, probably the original alternator so 130k ain't bad I suppose!
Edited by Butter Face on Monday 26th June 15:46
Edited by Butter Face on Monday 26th June 15:47
Well photobucket has completely f
ked this up 
I'll change all the links soon.
Alarm guy is coming to fit a new Toad Ai606 alarm on Tuesday so I'm alarmed again!
Hopefully have the alternator off this week (seems to be behaving itself though) and I've also ordered some Hardrace bits too.
Front and rear uprated ARB drop links
Front bottom ball joints
Inverted Track rod ends
Rear lower arms.
I've got Hardrace camber arms and been happy with them so thought I'd do a few upgrades on parts that are probably still the originals.
The main part is the inverted track rod ends to correct the angle of the steering arms which go way off when the car is lowered.
ked this up I'll change all the links soon.
Alarm guy is coming to fit a new Toad Ai606 alarm on Tuesday so I'm alarmed again!
Hopefully have the alternator off this week (seems to be behaving itself though) and I've also ordered some Hardrace bits too.
Front and rear uprated ARB drop links
Front bottom ball joints
Inverted Track rod ends
Rear lower arms.
I've got Hardrace camber arms and been happy with them so thought I'd do a few upgrades on parts that are probably still the originals.
The main part is the inverted track rod ends to correct the angle of the steering arms which go way off when the car is lowered.
Finally had the alarm done today, bliss knowing that the car is secure again and no more 3am wake ups!
Guy who fitted it was brilliant, it was pounding down with rain and he cracked on regardless, explained everything, discussed locations of the led and sounder etc.
He got drenched, poor bugger!
Guy who fitted it was brilliant, it was pounding down with rain and he cracked on regardless, explained everything, discussed locations of the led and sounder etc.
He got drenched, poor bugger!
I've been toying with fitting an engine torque dampner for a while but didn't want to buy one of the cheap ones that some make, so I kept an eye on eBay and eventually found one of these...
For £30. Awesome.
Ok it's used but it's in pretty decent condition and I had the brackets painted to tidy it up a bit followed by a few hours swearing and fitting it on.
Has it made any difference? Dunno
Does it look cool? I think so, and for £30 I'm happy as it keeps my enthusiasm going until I get the Hardrace bits though!
For £30. Awesome.
Ok it's used but it's in pretty decent condition and I had the brackets painted to tidy it up a bit followed by a few hours swearing and fitting it on.
Has it made any difference? Dunno
Does it look cool? I think so, and for £30 I'm happy as it keeps my enthusiasm going until I get the Hardrace bits though!
Butter Face said:
I've been toying with fitting an engine torque dampner for a while but didn't want to buy one of the cheap ones that some make, so I kept an eye on eBay and eventually found one of these...
For £30. Awesome.
Ok it's used but it's in pretty decent condition and I had the brackets painted to tidy it up a bit followed by a few hours swearing and fitting it on.
Has it made any difference? Dunno
Does it look cool? I think so, and for £30 I'm happy as it keeps my enthusiasm going until I get the Hardrace bits though!
You can't argue with that for 30 quid, the Hardrace stuff looks quality. For £30. Awesome.
Ok it's used but it's in pretty decent condition and I had the brackets painted to tidy it up a bit followed by a few hours swearing and fitting it on.
Has it made any difference? Dunno
Does it look cool? I think so, and for £30 I'm happy as it keeps my enthusiasm going until I get the Hardrace bits though!
Haven't found the time to fit the Hardrace parts yet, which actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I was having a browse of eBay last night and came across a set of Bilstein (I think B8) shocks with Eibach pro springs. I put in a cheeky offer and they'll be here tomorrow. Awesome!
I've been racking up some miles on it so here's a gratituous pic, because why not!
I've been racking up some miles on it so here's a gratituous pic, because why not!
Suspension has settled in nicely now. Just need to tweak the setup a bit as the front camber is a bit much and it's making the steering a bit 'interesting' when pressing on.
Overall I am blown away by the Bilsteins, they are a truly excellent shock absorber and coupled with the Eibach pro springs and alignment make it an amazing drive.
I do definitely need an LSD now though.
Overall I am blown away by the Bilsteins, they are a truly excellent shock absorber and coupled with the Eibach pro springs and alignment make it an amazing drive.
I do definitely need an LSD now though.
I’m not overly happy with the setup, the car seems to be suffering a lot from bump steer.
I emailed Hardrace who said that as the car is only lowered 15mm then the inverted track rod ends will accentuate the bump steer as they’re really designed for cars lowered around 2inches. Hmmmm
So I’ve bought a pair of standard track rod ends to try and see how it feels.
Apart from that the car is running really well. Still waiting for an appointment to get the map checked and tweaked.
I’m also considering getting the rear BBK to go with the front setup.....
I emailed Hardrace who said that as the car is only lowered 15mm then the inverted track rod ends will accentuate the bump steer as they’re really designed for cars lowered around 2inches. Hmmmm
So I’ve bought a pair of standard track rod ends to try and see how it feels.
Apart from that the car is running really well. Still waiting for an appointment to get the map checked and tweaked.
I’m also considering getting the rear BBK to go with the front setup.....
Finally decided to crack on and get the alternator sorted, as winter is approaching it seemed like the right thing to do. There has also been the need for a belt replacement and the bearing in one of the idlers has been whining, so 3 birds with one stone right? Easy? Right? No.
Alternator off, sent for refurbishment, recommended to have a new regulator which has now got the charging up to a constant 14v, which is great, but the battery light is now on. Hmmm. Well as it goes, the Honda system manages the output it is supposed to back the voltage off the 12v, hmmm. Well the new regulator has stopped that, despite being the correct regulator for the alternator. So the choice is now to either a) take the alternator off, get it looked again or b) live with it, take the battery light bulb out and get on.
Dead belt:
Dead idler:
New idler on:
New belt on:
Now this is where it got interesting the new belt is exactly the same length as the old belt. But it's not, or has more stretch in it. The tensioner is maxed out and hitting the stops..
So I got a new belt (which is OEM length as we started with one this length at the very beginning) and went to fit that.... Except...
But the replacement has now arrived and will be fitted tonight (hopefully)
Anyway, charging seems all good. So that's one thing to be kind of grateful for right?
Alternator off, sent for refurbishment, recommended to have a new regulator which has now got the charging up to a constant 14v, which is great, but the battery light is now on. Hmmm. Well as it goes, the Honda system manages the output it is supposed to back the voltage off the 12v, hmmm. Well the new regulator has stopped that, despite being the correct regulator for the alternator. So the choice is now to either a) take the alternator off, get it looked again or b) live with it, take the battery light bulb out and get on.
Dead belt:
Dead idler:
New idler on:
New belt on:
Now this is where it got interesting the new belt is exactly the same length as the old belt. But it's not, or has more stretch in it. The tensioner is maxed out and hitting the stops..
So I got a new belt (which is OEM length as we started with one this length at the very beginning) and went to fit that.... Except...
But the replacement has now arrived and will be fitted tonight (hopefully)
Anyway, charging seems all good. So that's one thing to be kind of grateful for right?
OEM what? Alternator? Have you seen how much they are? 
https://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_car_parts_se...
Whole alternator, £484, regulator not available.
As for the belt, I shouldn't be using OEM length as technically it won't fit what with having a supercharger on there, but it might, just might stretch over as a stop gap.
https://www.lingshondaparts.com/honda_car_parts_se...Whole alternator, £484, regulator not available.
As for the belt, I shouldn't be using OEM length as technically it won't fit what with having a supercharger on there, but it might, just might stretch over as a stop gap.
Rear brake kit has turned up, should look awesome when I find the time to actually get it on...
I’ve also enquired with a local company about wrapping the car, the paint is really starting to let it down but I think I fancy a different colour. I spotted this car on eBay a few months back and was really taken by the colour...
Hopefully sort the alternator this week also.
I’ve also enquired with a local company about wrapping the car, the paint is really starting to let it down but I think I fancy a different colour. I spotted this car on eBay a few months back and was really taken by the colour...
Hopefully sort the alternator this week also.
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