CL7 Accord Euro R (Very pic heavy)

[Mark-t]

Kewy said:

FD2 would be nice! although I’ve read a lot about stock suspension being very firm, apparently a Bilstien/Eibach upgrade can cure that though.

You may be referring to Koni adjustable rear dampers? They make a big difference, I'm not sure they'll make the car as comfortable as you relate the CL7 as though. You can see my rear dampers here:

[Kewy]

Mark-t said:

You may be referring to Koni adjustable rear dampers?

Ah yeh that might be it I thought I'd read somewhere that someone had fitted the B12 kit and its had improved the ride but I may be wrong.

[ECG1000]

Real nice. Always loved a fast Honda.

Yours is a couple of red Honda badges away from being perfect.
By that I mean swapping the chrome one on the grill for red - same on the boot lid.

Similar:

[Kewy]

ECG1000 said:

Real nice. Always loved a fast Honda.

Yours is a couple of red Honda badges away from being perfect.
By that I mean swapping the chrome one on the grill for red - same on the boot lid.

Red badges are on the long list of to-buys, they're just so expensive for genuine Honda ones and I don't want any of that ebay crap. Got to be the correct shade of red and all that

[Kewy]

Exhaust time!

I'll try and keep this one a bit shorter as I'm aware they've been a bit long. I'm also couped up in bed with vertigo so probably have a limited time slot before the room starts to spin again!

So I was enjoying the sound of the intake, but it was missing that sporty tone and the back end was missing something. For those that haven't seen, this is the view from the back with the OEM exhaust system:



Understated to say the least. I think I read somewhere that the laws in Japan mean the exhaust tips are not aloud to protrude beyond the bumper (or something). But these sat a good inch or two back from the bumper, sounded of practically nothing (especically now all you could hear was intake), and no matter how much I tried to polish them up, were never shiny – it needed changing.

The obvious options when you look at systems for a CL7 Euro R are Skunk 2 (very loud), Toda (very expensive), J's (very rare) and Fujitsubo (very quiet). I knew I didn't want the Skunk, and toyed with the idea of the Toda, but ultimately ended up going for the Fujitsubo Legalis R system. I'm not one for obnoxiously loud exhausts, however I was a little concerned that the Fuji would be too quiet – some reviews compared them to stock and this wouldn't be ideal. Nether-the-less I had been chatting with Josh at TGT and he'd been extremely patient with me changing my mind a million times, the price on the Fujitsubo system was very good so I put my order in.

Here's the exciting day it turned up:



And here's what it looks like fitted:





Car was really starting to take shape and it's amazing what difference those big shiny pipes make from the rear view.



So how does it perform? Well I've never actually had this car on a dyno so in terms of power from the intake and exhaust I have no idea, as we all know its not easy getting big gains from N/A so I doubt its huge. Initially the exhaust was very quiet, much sportier tone than stock but still quiet in comparison to most systems you find on Hondas. Over time its really opened up a bit and albeit still a modest system, I'm really happy with it. Its a deep note with no raspy-ness, and get some lovely subtle pops on the overrun. I have a few videos to post at some point (what's the best way to do that??) which will give an idea of the sound. Think I read someone describe the Fujitsubo as a 'gentleman's system' once, and that's a good way of putting it I guess, it certainly isn't ASBO.

Ironically my intake is still incredibly loud, especially in the cabin, and it would be interesting to change this at some point so I can hear what the exhaust sounds like on its own, but I'm in no rush to do that.

We're now up to May 2017, not a huge amount happened in terms of mods over the summer of 2017, but heres a few photos from June and July to finish this post off (I did manage to warp several sets of brake discs over the summer of last year so in the next post we'll look at brakes):




More good friends met through the local car scene:




And the Accord's first show! Simply Jap at Beaulieu in July 2017:

[Robshaw92]

I think you've made a good choice regarding the exhaust. This is more of a 'mature' sports car. Nearly spat out my lunch when I got to the last picture though! I thought you had fitted silly air ride! Closer look made me realise its just the long grass

Keep going with the thread, Gives me a bit of lunchtime reading

[Striple]

Exhaust sounds good on your Instagram clip. Like you say, sporty but not too obnoxious. To answer your previous question, I'm waiting for a cl7! This thread isn't helping...

[TheAngryDog]

Lovely car OP. I do like an Accord, and yours looks very good. The exhaust definitely makes the rear end look much better.

[David-mthtml]

Lovely car mate, a set of white 18/19inch wheels, red Honda badges and lose the wind deflectors would complete it for me 😍

[Kewy]

Robshaw92 said:

I think you've made a good choice regarding the exhaust. This is more of a 'mature' sports car. Nearly spat out my lunch when I got to the last picture though! I thought you had fitted silly air ride! Closer look made me realise its just the long grass

Keep going with the thread, Gives me a bit of lunchtime reading

Haha noooooo, won't find air ride here will keep it up for as long as people want to read about it, or I run out of content haha.

Striple said:

Exhaust sounds good on your Instagram clip. Like you say, sporty but not too obnoxious. To answer your previous question, I'm waiting for a cl7! This thread isn't helping...

So if you've seen my Insta then you know where this thread is going! No spoilers Ah its a painful wait but so worth it in the end, when is yours due? What colour? Want some rear quarter decals?

TheAngryDog said:

Lovely car OP. I do like an Accord, and yours looks very good. The exhaust definitely makes the rear end look much better.

Thanks Dog

David-mthtml said:

Lovely car mate, a set of white 18/19inch wheels, red Honda badges and lose the wind deflectors would complete it for me ??

I've been meaning to order red H badges for about a year and just haven't got round to it yet, I have the tabs up in my browser but just keep putting it off, its like £70 in total for OEM ones! Strangely the back is more expensive that the front, yet smaller.

As for wheels, you'll have to keep reading this thread

[BricktopST205]

Have a Fujitsubo system on my GT4 and is a hell of a lot better than the Blitz NUR Spec that I tryed. Mine was actually bigger than the blitz at 3" but sounded better and a lot better on a drive without looking like a bell end!

How does the engine feel with a car of this size? Never checked the kerb weight of a CL7 but must be close to 1500kg?

Edited by BricktopST205 on Sunday 20th May 11:04

[Kewy]

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last week. I've been in Ölüdeniz with the family free from the internet for a change which was bliss.

Here's a couple of photos from the trip.



I wouldn't have been getting very far round here…



Even spotted an old Accord








Anyway, back to where we left off with the CL7 in July 2017. I'm actually going to start this off with a few loads of photos from a trip up to the Brecon Beacons back in August 2017. I was really happy with where the car was going and me and the o/h got a good hotel deal staying Cwmbran just south of the Beacons. Ended up clocking up around 800 miles in 3 days driving round the hills.

I'd recently found a video by DriveTribe where Henry Catchpole takes an R8 Spyder to the Alps in a film called 'One Last Pass'. If you've not seen it, the link is here and its a great watch. This had really made me want to do the trip down to the Alps and I'd started planning it (it's actually happening May next year and I'm still planning!). The Beacons trip was kind of a warm up trip to see how the car performed and get used to it on the closest thing I have to mountain passes within a few hours of my hometown.

When we arrived at the hotel the room wasn't ready, so I said we could take a drive into the Beacons for some lunch and then head back later. I whipped out Google Maps and looked for the closest road that looked like it could be fun. The one that jumped out at me immediately was the B4560 and it was only half hour from where were.



I set the sat nav going and after a 30 min scenic drive the road started to come alive a bit and twist and carve up the valley (I was smug with myself, good choice). If you've driven that road then you'll know theres a cracking right hand turn on a verge followed by a left hand that opens up at the peak with a viewing spot, I was driving spiritedly to say the least and missed the entrance to the viewing spot but noticed a blue Lamborghini Huracan parked up (reeforcing my smugness with my choice of road ). I hesitated and ended up driving for 5-10 mins and then changed my mind and turned round to go back, it looked like a good spot to stop.

When I got there I found the blue Huracan as well as a new BMW M4 Comp Pack. This trip was starting off on a good foot! Couldn't help myself but get some photos.





I was looking at the photo's I'd taken and the driver of the Huracan jumped out, I looked up to give him a nod and thought to myself… I know that guy??

It was only flipping Henry Catchpole!



He was filming for Car Fection in both the Lambo and the BMW. It was tipping it down but had a brief chat and jumped back in our cars, what a friendly chap. If you're interested in the videos he was filming you can find them here (Huracan) and here.

Heres a few more photos from the trip:






(Met up with a friend of mine who lives in Cardiff who owned this DC5 with only had 34,000 miles on the clock!)





Car was filthy, fun was had by all and successful trip to the hills if I don't say so myself. I've already rambled on loads so I'll try to keep this short, but the car performed fantastically and I'd managed to bag myself another set of warped brake discs. This was when I started looking for a solution to the crappy stock calipers, BBK wasn't really an option as the funds didn't allow at the time but I discovered that a UK CH1 Accord caliper would bolt straight on, this is a two-piston as opposed to the single piston on the stock brakes so would hopefully distribute the pressure, it also benefits from a 28mm thick disc as opposed to the 25mm from stock so this should also help prevent the warping. And most importantly, if you look hard enough you can pick them up pretty cheap.

After a while looking and a few let downs from breakers, I managed to purchase this set for about £150 if I remember rightly.



Here's before and after fitting:



I also fitted some M Tech C-Hook discs and chucked some new Brembo pads on that I had lying around. Better discs and pads would help even more with stopping but the CH1 calipers performed better instantly and gave a much firmer pedal feel. I'm also yet to warp another set of discs and its nearly a year on so fingers crossed it solved my issue

Next post… Headlight restoration and wheels

[Kewy]

BricktopST205 said:

Have a Fujitsubo system on my GT4 and is a hell of a lot better than the Blitz NUR Spec that I tryed. Mine was actually bigger than the blitz at 3" but sounded better and a lot better on a drive without looking like a bell end!

How does the engine feel with a car of this size? Never checked the kerb weight of a CL7 but must be close to 1500kg?

Edited by BricktopST205 on Sunday 20th May 11:04

This was one of my main worries before I bought the car. I'd mostly experienced the K20 in my mates DC5 and wasn't sure how it would perform in the heavier saloon. Wet weight is around 1350kg stock.

But the truth is, it doesn't feel like you're driving a saloon, and thats what I love about this car so much. The different RBC inlet manifold helps give the car a bit more torque low down in the revs (as does the Fujitsubo system), and once you're up in vtec there's no stopping it. Been on many drives alongside the DC5 and its never really struggled to keep up!

[Striple]

Car is looking good. Like the current level of mods, not too mad. Mine turned up last week, loving it! What have you done to your stereo?

[rossub]

Mean looking black one that looks to have been traded in to Torque GT...

https://torque-gt.co.uk/car/honda-accord-euro-r-4/

[joshleb]

Looking good, not heard of these before!

The only niggle I find when looking at it is that it needs a something on the bootlid, a spoiler or a lip or something.

Is the spoiler on the black one posted above OEM?

[Kewy]

Striple said:

Car is looking good. Like the current level of mods, not too mad. Mine turned up last week, loving it! What have you done to your stereo?

Nice! You got photos of yours?
Mine still has the JDM head unit in it. I put up with Radio 2 as my only station for about 6 months when I first owned the car, then eventually fitted a Connects 2 bluetooth and aux module which is plug and play straight into the bottom of the head unit (where the multi-disc CD changer would plug in).

[Kewy]

joshleb said:

Looking good, not heard of these before!

The only niggle I find when looking at it is that it needs a something on the bootlid, a spoiler or a lip or something.

Is the spoiler on the black one posted above OEM?

Yeah the black one has the OEM spoiler that can also be found on lots of Type S models (commonly found in the UK), the other alternative is the bigger Mugen spoiler that sits a lot higher.

I've umm'd and ahhh'd about fitting some sort of wing or duck tail lip or something but I can't decide, quite like the cleaner look at the same time.

[Kewy]

Not sure if there's still people listening but I'm going to keep rambling…

Where I left it in the last post was about November 2017 and to be honest, not much happened through winter. I daily the car but other than commuting in the bad weather and the odd local meet not a huge amount car-wise. I'll kick this post off with a few photos.

One particular occasion that springs to mind as a good memory with the car. Ironically I'd been really ill with the flu and then that cold it leaves you with. I'd had a few nights with very little sleep, you know the nights when you're just drifting off to sleep and then that tickle in the back of your throat followed by a coughing fit, then repeat. I'd left bed at about 1am and retreated to the sofa as not to disturb the better half any more than I already had.

A few hours trying to sleep on the sofa but to no avail and I'd given in and resorted to binging on YouTube. It got to about 5am (still dark at that time of year) and I was fed up, wide awake again and feeling very sorry for myself. I had to get out this house.

Wrapped up warm, grabbed the car keys and walked out the door. A minute or two of probably pissing off the neighbours while the car warmed up (soz Dave and Claire ), music on and the city my oyster. Was the odd van or taxi on the road but mostly deserted. Drove round the city at first as it was so peaceful at that time of day, then headed up over Portsdown Hill and hit up a few of the country lanes in the downs north of Portsmouth. Don't think I coughed once in the whole 3 hours I was out driving!

I finished the morning off with a brew and the sunrise over the city from the top of Portsdown Hill, the sky was breathtaking – not something I could describe but here's a couple of photos that I took to remind me of that impromptu drive after a week housebound:




Trip up to TGM for the annual service and MOT:


Another shot up the hill, this time with a few guys I'd met through Hampshire Honda:


This is a photo in front of a My Dog Sigh's (local artist) piece in Portsmouth, its in a car park to a Tesco Express so took me ages to get this shot with enough space:


And the mandatory snow-day photo!


Anyway enough photos for now, next job on the list was to get the headlights sorted out as they'd gone incredibly cloudy over the year and a bit that I'd owned it, they'd also formed some strange surface corrosion on the outside of the lens and it was really spoiling the look of the car (I'm a sucker for fresh headlights). Not sure how well the photos show up how they looked, but here's a couple of before photos:




A local guy who I'd met through the Honda scene, specifically Mission Motorsport sorted these out for me (after several failed attemps of trying to do it myself). Shout out to Andy for this because you did a cracking job. Guys got a lovely S2K and numerous other Honda's, check him out in Instagram if you're into it – @sham2k

Here's the finished product:




Really happy with the results if you can't tell, clear headlights really do keep a car looking new and looked after. I just need to find something to coat them with now to hopefully keep the results. I think I've previously been recommended Collinite 845? haven't got round to buying any yet though.

Going to end this post here, but might just continue writing the next post as it should only be short and will bring this thread up to date. I'm doing some work on the car at the weekend and would quite like to share that on here. I've saved the best until last though…

Edited by Kewy on Monday 11th June 21:19

[Butter Face]

Still reading!

Headlights looksm good, need to do mine!

Are you still making the stickers? I will probably need some for my EP3 Sideskirts as I don’t think Honda make them anymore.