Back in a Honda, EP3 Civic Type R
Discussion
Butter Face said:
Still looks super clean mate!
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the Miesters, I may go for coilovers this year..
Cheers mate, good to see some progress on yours, I bet it goes really well now.I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the Miesters, I may go for coilovers this year..
I should be down your way at the end of July, if I'm in this your welcome to sit passenger to get a feel for them. I'm a little sceptical on the spring rates given stock are supposed to be around 5kg f 7kg r give or take but Jerrick at Meister and Steve at Grinspeed have assured me they are spot on so we will see how they fare.
Butter Face said:
Looks great mate, how does that Mugen exhaust sound? Let me know if you are down this way at all!
It's quite subdued to be honest, probably a touch louder than the stock system when pottering around and then gets more vocal in vtec, I'm not keen on anything anti social so it's perfect for me.I will be down towards the end of the month, not sure if I will be in the civic yet as my Wife hates it, I will drop you a message when I'm down.
It was the big day yesterday, Meister dampers, clockwise motion baffled sump, full set up and Mot. It was rather a long day but the results were well worth it and Grinspeed were excellent, I know it's been said on many previous occasions and it's becoming a cliche but they worked tirelessly throughout the heat were incredibly thorough, never seen mechanics clean so often, fantastic service. 👍
I knew I was in safe hands when they took one look at the car and said "it's too low", it's rubbed occasionally since I've had it and the shocks were past their best, so we agreed to raise it 10-15mm, it was also running far too much camber on the front so this was addressed during the set up.
I've been one of the biggest sceptics of using adjustable coilovers on a road/occasionally track car but first impressions are positive, it's set at about the half way point in terms of adjustment and it certainly feels a touch stiffer but the damping is far superior so the ride quality is actually better than the eibach springs on stock shocks. Turn in as improved despite running less camber and it's added some feel through the steering which is a massive benefit in the EP3, it's early days but I'm massively impressed.
The baffled sump went in without issue, Steve did notice some paint from the rocker cover in the sump on removal so something to keep an eye on but at least it wasn't in the pick up feed.
I will report back on the Meisters in a few weeks when I've lived with them for a bit.
Some photo's.
I knew I was in safe hands when they took one look at the car and said "it's too low", it's rubbed occasionally since I've had it and the shocks were past their best, so we agreed to raise it 10-15mm, it was also running far too much camber on the front so this was addressed during the set up.
I've been one of the biggest sceptics of using adjustable coilovers on a road/occasionally track car but first impressions are positive, it's set at about the half way point in terms of adjustment and it certainly feels a touch stiffer but the damping is far superior so the ride quality is actually better than the eibach springs on stock shocks. Turn in as improved despite running less camber and it's added some feel through the steering which is a massive benefit in the EP3, it's early days but I'm massively impressed.
The baffled sump went in without issue, Steve did notice some paint from the rocker cover in the sump on removal so something to keep an eye on but at least it wasn't in the pick up feed.
I will report back on the Meisters in a few weeks when I've lived with them for a bit.
Some photo's.
I took the ep3 along to Mimms Honda Day at Rockingham on Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed it, some fantastic builds and something for everyone.
Some photographs.
My car's hiding amongst them, full album's here.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5fEFdn
Some photographs.
My car's hiding amongst them, full album's here.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5fEFdn
Edited by MRobbins1987 on Wednesday 26th July 14:06
Edited by MRobbins1987 on Wednesday 26th July 14:07
Some of them really were stunning, my favourite was the K20 throttle bodied ek9, really impressive. Not too sure on the story behind the dc2, late registration maybe?
Mine was filthy after the long run down the motorway in the rain, I had my two boy's with me so no chance to run a sponge over it when I got there, I might give it a good clean next time.
I'm heading down to Cornwall tomorrow Butterface but I will be in the wife's mini, let me know if your free at any point I would love a look around your car, cheers.
Mine was filthy after the long run down the motorway in the rain, I had my two boy's with me so no chance to run a sponge over it when I got there, I might give it a good clean next time.
I'm heading down to Cornwall tomorrow Butterface but I will be in the wife's mini, let me know if your free at any point I would love a look around your car, cheers.
TheJimi said:
How are you finding the suspension & geo setup in terms of the EP3's crap self-centering steering?
It's far better than it was but mine wasn't half as bad as some report to start with. It's early day's with the Meister R suspension but I'm seriously impressed so far, it's certainly stiffer but the spring rates have gone up roughly 3kg on the front and 5kg on the rear over stock so that's to be expected but it's far better damped than it was before so it no longer crashes over bumps, it could get extremely bouncy at times and felt like the standard shocks were struggling to deal with the 40mm drop in ride height and slightly stiffer than stock oem eibach springs.I took it for a run over some local b roads the other night, the roads really show up a poor suspension set up and they performed superbly, turn in is far improved, it's better under braking, it no longer bottoms out, it doesn't get thrown off line at the slightest hint of a pothole and it feel's far more sorted chassis wise than it did before, it's alive beneath you.
They have transformed the car in short and improved the driving experience massively.
My EP3 is still performing fantastically as a daily driver, b road hooner. I'm yet to take it on track unfortunately a house move is likely to put this on the back burner until next year. The new house comes with a garage though which should make life easier for working on it when the time arises.
It's been to Wales twice this month and the Peak District at least three times, it's so capable on a b road now that the suspension is sorted. I think the only real weak area to be addressed is the brakes, it stops perfectly well for road use I'm just unsure of how they will stand up to some abuse on track.
Some more photographs.
It's been to Wales twice this month and the Peak District at least three times, it's so capable on a b road now that the suspension is sorted. I think the only real weak area to be addressed is the brakes, it stops perfectly well for road use I'm just unsure of how they will stand up to some abuse on track.
Some more photographs.
Glad to see it's still going well, do you have any future plans for it? i'm tempted to get a 5.1 FD or higher as maybe the final mod, currently refreshing the brakes with some Evora Dimpled and grooved discs and Project Mu pads, tempted to try a 182 cup at some point myself to see what all the fuss is about.
u04pww2 said:
Glad to see it's still going well, do you have any future plans for it? i'm tempted to get a 5.1 FD or higher as maybe the final mod, currently refreshing the brakes with some Evora Dimpled and grooved discs and Project Mu pads, tempted to try a 182 cup at some point myself to see what all the fuss is about.
The project mu pads are highly rated in the Honda circle I'm sure they will make a good difference. I spoke to Steve at Grinspeed about a different final drive while he was fitting the coilovers and baffled sump, he practically told me not to waste my money, given that he drives plenty with and without I'm not sure I will bother. The only weak area for me is the brakes, it's got the civic cup discs and ds2500 pads at the moment but I will probably look at some brembo four pots for the front.The Clio's are great, on a b road I think they come alive far lower up the speedo than the ep3 so they feel more fun more of the time, I wouldn't fancy another as my only car though, they are noisy and the clutch is heavy etc. I would definitely have another for a weekend toy though. In comparison the civic is easy to live with, all the controls are easy to operate, it feels far more modern than it's age and it's still got enough character to be fun. Over some welsh b roads at the weekend the ep3's were holding their own against the fk2's which is a testament to how capable they are, mine never felt outgunned at sensible speeds and I'd wager that I had the bigger grin in the process.
My EP3 is SORN at the moment. Getting it MOT'd and serviced then moving it along to someone else as i now have a company car....
Oh im going to cry when it gets driven off, i've had the thing almost 11 years
The photos make me miss it, looks great and ive not even started mine up for 4-5 months
Poor thing is just tucked up in a garage.... i know if i could i'd keep it for 20 years but that wont do the car any good!
Oh im going to cry when it gets driven off, i've had the thing almost 11 years
The photos make me miss it, looks great and ive not even started mine up for 4-5 months
Poor thing is just tucked up in a garage.... i know if i could i'd keep it for 20 years but that wont do the car any good!Edited by Martin_Hx on Tuesday 10th October 14:11
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