CL7 Accord Euro R (Very pic heavy)
Discussion
Kewy said:
Yeh I'm constantly hearing stories of aftermarket shafts that fail or don't cure the problem. Do you remember what brand shaft you used?
Do those three years and 60k miles include a fair bit of hard driving? Mine does get pushed a bit at times.
Haha where is this village, I'll make a note NOT to visit there!
Most of that 60k is probably hard driving Do those three years and 60k miles include a fair bit of hard driving? Mine does get pushed a bit at times.
Haha where is this village, I'll make a note NOT to visit there!
Sorry! No idea what brand it was but was most likely what ever they stock at somewhere like ECP. Due to the mileage (260k), my CL9 is worth about f
k all so generally gets mid-range parts rather than OEM these daysKnockin is near Oswestry in Shropshire, I'd been for a bit of fun in mid-Wales around the mountain roads in Bala so it had some abuse before it started knocking.
This is such a nice car Mate!!!
I owned one of these beauties when I was in Palmerston North, New Zealand and drove it around the country. It was a blue one with Mugen titanium exhaust and wings on it, a bit lowered. The performance was simply beautiful for such a family saloon. I didn't own many cars before, a 2000 BMW E46, a MX5 NA, a 96 civic EK and the CL7!
It has such a sleeper look and no one would even notice its existence (even for car guys sometimes!) If you don't rev it, it can go like a normal accord. But it can give you enough power to pass 90% of the cars on highway!
Sadly I had to leave the country and sold it, and the last time I saw the car was in Hong Kong, it was 10 in the evening and the car was in black, but I spotted it right away when I was just crossing the road!
I have to say that White and Red CL7s are the most beautiful ones! (Although I'd love to try batteship grey if I get to own a CL7 again!)
I owned one of these beauties when I was in Palmerston North, New Zealand and drove it around the country. It was a blue one with Mugen titanium exhaust and wings on it, a bit lowered. The performance was simply beautiful for such a family saloon. I didn't own many cars before, a 2000 BMW E46, a MX5 NA, a 96 civic EK and the CL7!
It has such a sleeper look and no one would even notice its existence (even for car guys sometimes!) If you don't rev it, it can go like a normal accord. But it can give you enough power to pass 90% of the cars on highway!
Sadly I had to leave the country and sold it, and the last time I saw the car was in Hong Kong, it was 10 in the evening and the car was in black, but I spotted it right away when I was just crossing the road!
I have to say that White and Red CL7s are the most beautiful ones! (Although I'd love to try batteship grey if I get to own a CL7 again!)
leox822 said:
This is such a nice car Mate!!!
I owned one of these beauties when I was in Palmerston North, New Zealand and drove it around the country. It was a blue one with Mugen titanium exhaust and wings on it, a bit lowered. The performance was simply beautiful for such a family saloon. I didn't own many cars before, a 2000 BMW E46, a MX5 NA, a 96 civic EK and the CL7!
It has such a sleeper look and no one would even notice its existence (even for car guys sometimes!) If you don't rev it, it can go like a normal accord. But it can give you enough power to pass 90% of the cars on highway!
Sadly I had to leave the country and sold it, and the last time I saw the car was in Hong Kong, it was 10 in the evening and the car was in black, but I spotted it right away when I was just crossing the road!
I have to say that White and Red CL7s are the most beautiful ones! (Although I'd love to try batteship grey if I get to own a CL7 again!)
Thanks bro!I owned one of these beauties when I was in Palmerston North, New Zealand and drove it around the country. It was a blue one with Mugen titanium exhaust and wings on it, a bit lowered. The performance was simply beautiful for such a family saloon. I didn't own many cars before, a 2000 BMW E46, a MX5 NA, a 96 civic EK and the CL7!
It has such a sleeper look and no one would even notice its existence (even for car guys sometimes!) If you don't rev it, it can go like a normal accord. But it can give you enough power to pass 90% of the cars on highway!
Sadly I had to leave the country and sold it, and the last time I saw the car was in Hong Kong, it was 10 in the evening and the car was in black, but I spotted it right away when I was just crossing the road!
I have to say that White and Red CL7s are the most beautiful ones! (Although I'd love to try batteship grey if I get to own a CL7 again!)
Wow I bet NZ has some nice roads to enjoy! Sounds like you had a nice selection of cars before hand to be fair.
Would love to see a red CL7 in the flesh, seen photos but not even sure there is a red one in the UK yet. Someone prove me wrong!
Striple said:
Hope you don't mind me asking but what's the ride like on the eibach's? Is it a lot stiffer than standard. Also did you fit camber arms to the rear? I'm thinking I need to reduce the arch gap on mine but don't really want to spend mega bucks on coilovers...
Yeh its fine mate, to be honest I didn't notice any different at first. But there are some particularly bad surfaced roads near my house, and after a few days I realised that they felt a bit harsher than previously. You wouldn't really notice on average surfaced roads though.No I've not fitted camber arms as of yet. Probably will at some stage but I've had a fast road geo setup done and all feels good so far.
Quick post, not a huge amount to add as I've not driven the car much in the last couple of weeks. I managed to pick up a set of second hand drive shafts for about 5% of the price it would cost me for a new set, and it's booked in tomorrow to get them fitted. At best it will cure the issue (at least for a while), at worst, it will change the symptoms, suggesting that I'm looking in the right place and at that point I'll look at getting a brand new set. There is of course the scenario that the symptoms don't change at all and therefore its nothing to do with the shafts – at least then I've only wasted £80 and not £1600.
Watch this space!
In other news, I ordered some Hardrace lower control arms with new bushes – the bushes were something that were noticably perished and could be contributing to the wobble. These are a couple of weeks on back order so the shafts will get done first, these will follow.
And finally, I needed to cheer myself up after the footy last night, so I finally ordered the Progress rear anti-roll bar! Pretty excited about this one. It's supposedly the best handling mod you can do to these Accords. Replaces the 15/16mm RARB with a 22mm one with poly bushes. Should help with understeer and getting the back end to turn in.
The Progress is coming from the states so again will be a couple of weeks I'd imagine. That's all from me for now, will update either tomorrow night or Saturday with either good news or not so good news!
Watch this space!
In other news, I ordered some Hardrace lower control arms with new bushes – the bushes were something that were noticably perished and could be contributing to the wobble. These are a couple of weeks on back order so the shafts will get done first, these will follow.
And finally, I needed to cheer myself up after the footy last night, so I finally ordered the Progress rear anti-roll bar! Pretty excited about this one. It's supposedly the best handling mod you can do to these Accords. Replaces the 15/16mm RARB with a 22mm one with poly bushes. Should help with understeer and getting the back end to turn in.
The Progress is coming from the states so again will be a couple of weeks I'd imagine. That's all from me for now, will update either tomorrow night or Saturday with either good news or not so good news!
Striple said:
All sorted?
Not yet mate, I've been refraining from doing an update until its all done. But long story short, driveshafts have been swapped out, and I currently have one new LCA and one old one that is stuck on due to a seized bolt. Whilst changing the LCA I noticed that both lower ball joints are split, so I've got a set of them arriving today or tomorrow and also some new drop links.Booked into a local garage to sort the seized bolt and change the lower ball joints on Friday – will do an update once that's all fitted
I have also fitted the Progress RARB – best bang for buck mod I've done to this car hands down!
Lovely car Kewy, I have a strong urge for one of these soon to replace my aging CH1! I love the CH1 dearly, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the lack of refinement, (particularly a lack of a 6th gear) are starting to wear thin after 6 years. To me, the CL7 fixes all the problems I have with the CH1, with added bonus that it is possibly one of the best looking Honda R models ever released!
Interesting that you’ve got both the DC5 and CL7 there, do you notice much difference in the steering between the two with one being EPS and the other being HPS? It’s the one thing that bothers me about the CL7 as the steering in the CH1 is just wonderful and the reports on the S2000 are not good!
Interesting that you’ve got both the DC5 and CL7 there, do you notice much difference in the steering between the two with one being EPS and the other being HPS? It’s the one thing that bothers me about the CL7 as the steering in the CH1 is just wonderful and the reports on the S2000 are not good!
Kozy said:
Lovely car Kewy, I have a strong urge for one of these soon to replace my aging CH1! I love the CH1 dearly, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth now and the lack of refinement, (particularly a lack of a 6th gear) are starting to wear thin after 6 years. To me, the CL7 fixes all the problems I have with the CH1, with added bonus that it is possibly one of the best looking Honda R models ever released!
Interesting that you’ve got both the DC5 and CL7 there, do you notice much difference in the steering between the two with one being EPS and the other being HPS? It’s the one thing that bothers me about the CL7 as the steering in the CH1 is just wonderful and the reports on the S2000 are not good!
Hello mate, and thanks!Interesting that you’ve got both the DC5 and CL7 there, do you notice much difference in the steering between the two with one being EPS and the other being HPS? It’s the one thing that bothers me about the CL7 as the steering in the CH1 is just wonderful and the reports on the S2000 are not good!
Yes the CH1's are fantastic cars but getting to that age eh. Being UK spec they've also had to put up with many more years of our salty roads
The DC5 was my mates car which has sadly been sold on now. I drove it a fair few times but not enough to really get to know the steering and make a good comparison. What I can tell you is that it was nearly impossible to get it to understeer haha, where as the Accord can be quite understeery in stock form if you're careful.
Personally I find that there is a lot of feedback from the Accord steering despite it being EPS. Can certainly feel what the wheels are doing and where the limits are.
I see you're based on the IOW mate? If you're ever over on the mainland then let me know and you can see the CL7 in person if it helps make your decision on whether to get one or not
P.S. I've been meaning to update this thread for the past few weeks, will make sure to try do it over the weeekend!
Kewy said:
I see you're based on the IOW mate? If you're ever over on the mainland then let me know and you can see the CL7 in person if it helps make your decision on whether to get one or not
I'd love that, haven't actually seen one in person. I'm actually over this evening seeing my brother in Hedge End, but won't be getting there until about 9pm. I'll definitely take you up on that offer at some point though. Interesting to note that you're a graphic designer... me too.
Kozy said:
I'd love that, haven't actually seen one in person. I'm actually over this evening seeing my brother in Hedge End, but won't be getting there until about 9pm. I'll definitely take you up on that offer at some point though.
Interesting to note that you're a graphic designer... me too.
Ah that's a shame, yeh let me know next time! Can add me on Instagram if it's easier @skewyInteresting to note that you're a graphic designer... me too.
Nice mate! Freelance or in-house / in-studio? I've worked with Mike from Pepper Creative in the past – only design agency I know over on the island!
Kewy said:
Nice mate! Freelance or in-house / in-studio? I've worked with Mike from Pepper Creative in the past – only design agency I know over on the island!
Well, not a graphic designer specifically, but related. I have my own studio doing something rather specific, link in my profile. 
Kozy said:
Well, not a graphic designer specifically, but related. I have my own studio doing something rather specific, link in my profile.
Yeh I had a peek after you mentioned it mate, looks wicked! We'll chat about this more in the future Best not hi-jack my own build thread too much haha. Give me a shout when you want to see the CL7!
Lovely car. Been great to read the updates. Been out of Honda ownership for a while and does make me think about getting another euro r cl7. Having had wj53 bny, a blue one a few years ago, mostly stock apart from atr caliper upgrade, mugen wind deflectors and AP2 S2000 exhaust tips on std exhaust. Fond memories.
Your car has got me thinking....
Your car has got me thinking....
uknowiama said:
Lovely car. Been great to read the updates. Been out of Honda ownership for a while and does make me think about getting another euro r cl7. Having had wj53 bny, a blue one a few years ago, mostly stock apart from atr caliper upgrade, mugen wind deflectors and AP2 S2000 exhaust tips on std exhaust. Fond memories.
Your car has got me thinking....
Nice mate. Yeh I've pondered over what car I would get if I had to or chose to change this and there's nothing (other than maybe an FD2) that tickles my fancy at the moment.Your car has got me thinking....
Really really need to do an update on this thread as its all moved on a bit further since the last one but it's just finding the time to sift through all the photos and receipts and work out whats happened since the last install!
Lovely car, my dad runs a standard 2.0 Accord Sport 2005, a very good car ruined by a very poor driving experience, all it needs is some coilovers to stop the roll, better steering and you’re onto a very fun capable car. Even with 150 bhp. I cannot imagine how good yours must be!
I drive a BMW now but all this talk has got me drooling over one of these bad boys, well anything with the K20, I still stand by my EP3 CTR as the best car I ever owned, I reaaaallly miss it!! If the roads in this country weren’t so crap, I’d sell my car and buy an FN2 Mugen and keep it forever!
The best part about reading readers car threads about Type R/Fast Honda’s is that there are never any updates regarding reliability, always stress free!
I drive a BMW now but all this talk has got me drooling over one of these bad boys, well anything with the K20, I still stand by my EP3 CTR as the best car I ever owned, I reaaaallly miss it!! If the roads in this country weren’t so crap, I’d sell my car and buy an FN2 Mugen and keep it forever!
The best part about reading readers car threads about Type R/Fast Honda’s is that there are never any updates regarding reliability, always stress free!
Finally found a nice relaxing Saturday afternoon where I can update this thread. In all honesty it's been a bit of a pain in the arse with this vibration/judder over the past 6 months, but we'll get into that…
I'll start with some photos (always got plenty of them
).
During the latter part of last year I went on a couple of Sunday morning run outs with the South Coast Pistonheads lot – great bunch of people and some lovely motors. I've since done a few meets with them and even a run down to Cheddar Valley one Sunday.
Heres a pano from the first meet up:
Headed up to Mimms Rockingham during July last year:
Backtracking a bit, but when the vibration/judder issue started and the car was inspected, it was noted that the LCA bushes were starting to perish, I looked at the price of oem ones but it worked out about the same price just to buy the Hardrace LCA's with bushes already in there, and they're blue so thats cool right?
I also changed the lower ball joints for Hardrace and front drop-links. Couldn't find a photo of the DLs but here are the LBJs.
Didn't stop the vibration, but made the front end feel a bit more solid and peace of mind that some of the 13 year old bushes had been renewed.
Again, I've mentioned the Progress in a previous post, but heres a couple of photos of the part and install.
To date this is hands down the best bang for buck modification I've done to this car. The stock RARB was ø15mm and the Progress RARB is ø22mm. I mentioned before that the Accord could be quite understeery at times (compared to the Integra), this has remedied that and given me so much more confidence in the bends. The car never really felt like big car, but the only way I could explain the effect of the Progress is that it feels half the size that it used to. Very happy with that one!
Its important to add that during this time I'd tried several things had a second hand pair of oem drive shafts fitted, which unusually made the judder disappear all but in mid range of 2nd gear, but then over the course of about 3 weeks it got worse and worse until it came back, at its worst in vtec (dodgy shafts maybe? What could I expect for £80). I then had a brand new aftermarket shaft fitted on the offside and new CV joint on the nearside after a further inspection from another garage – each time I spoke to anyone, from a garage they told me they'd never had a problem on any car wit aftermarket shafts, and I'd be crazy to spend Honda prices on new ones. This time the judder disappeared from high up the rev range but was very clearly there at about 2.5-3.5k rpm in second and third gear (albeit much more subtle than it had been prior).
I tried not to let the issue spoil the end of last year, and figured if I drive it enough then something will break and then I can fix it
Extremely soggy Simply Jap at Beaulieu:
Didn't stop people bringing their toys out though :P
I also did a weekend down in Cornwall and managed to clock up about 1100 miles in 4 days, first time down there and was blown away. Roads weren't as good as Wales but some of the coastline and scenery is just breathtaking. There are plenty more photos from Cornwall on my Instagram @skewy, but here's a couple of my favourites of the car.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/bnzppf7r.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/z2iHK9E8" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/z2iHK9E8.jpg)
Drive down to Cheddar one Sunday with the PH lot was good fun, especially sitting behind this Huracan.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/2gDw85YB.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/nLF8Txw8" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/nLF8Txw8.jpg)
Goodwood for the Japanese Sunday Breakfast Club that was rearranged for 2018 after they had to cancel 2017.
(Photo by Autogram Photography)
(Photos by Dead Set Photography)
Ironically after all the shows were done, I finally got round to giving the Euro R its red nose that all the other K20 family seem to get as standard!
Removal of the old one was nice and easy using the dental floss technique, looked so sad without its nose.
But much better with the red one
This was at the beginning of November and I'd pretty much given up on trying to keep the white wheels white for any longer than a day, as you can see. I decided to get the oem wheels out the shed ready for winter, to be honest I'd forgotten how bad the corrosion was on them and couldn't bring myself to fit them like they were. A refurb and two new Goodyears for the front made me feel a bit better about putting them back on.
I also made some red 'H's' for the centre caps as they came with black originally – if anyone is in need of any red H decals, or any decals for that matter then drop me a PM! (Shameless plug).
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/SoAEaVTc.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/3wJee2tS" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/3wJee2tS.jpg)
Fitted!
The most interesting part of putting the oem wheels back on was how much better the ride felt! I didn't notice much difference when I put the 18's on, but coming back to the stock 17s has made me realise how much nicer they feel to drive. In fact I'm questioning whether I'll ever change the wheels again. The stock wheels are supposed to run 215s, but I'm running 225s for the extra comfort, I may try some 225s on the FD2 wheels in the summer and see what its like, alternatively I might sell them and spend the money elsewhere (header maybe? :P).
With 2018 out the way and the old wheels back on the judder started to play on my mind again. It hadn't got noticebly worse but it was there and really dampened the enjoyment for me, so a couple of weeks ago I decided to book it back in to continue investigating. First things first, a new aftermarket shaft on the nearside (because 'that's the only one that hadn't been changed') – no difference. Both inner CV's removed from both new aftermarket shafts, inspected, regreased – no difference. The whole suspension, all gearbox and engine mounts gone over with a fine comb, 2 days spent trying different things to alter or reduce the vibration and no luck. Garage scratching their heads.
This left me with two options, either get the gearbox out and opened up and see if it's diff related or something going on in there, OR buy a set of OEM Honda driveshafts like a number of other Accord owners advised me to do in the beginning.
I was initially leaning towards, and getting advised towards getting the box out because every mechanic I spoke to said that they had never had an issue with aftermarket shafts and that I would be insane to pay Honda prices for a set of driveshafts. But nothing else is pointing towards a gearbox issue at this stage, the oil is coming out spotless and theres no issues selecting gears. After a long chat with another Accord owner who had very similar issues I have decided to order a set of Honda driveshafts, and my wallet is £1k lighter. They'll be arriving in about a week and I hope I've made the right decision… soon we'll find out.
(I'm not even going to apologise for the long post this time as I don't seem to learn.)
I'll start with some photos (always got plenty of them
).During the latter part of last year I went on a couple of Sunday morning run outs with the South Coast Pistonheads lot – great bunch of people and some lovely motors. I've since done a few meets with them and even a run down to Cheddar Valley one Sunday.
Heres a pano from the first meet up:
Headed up to Mimms Rockingham during July last year:
Backtracking a bit, but when the vibration/judder issue started and the car was inspected, it was noted that the LCA bushes were starting to perish, I looked at the price of oem ones but it worked out about the same price just to buy the Hardrace LCA's with bushes already in there, and they're blue so thats cool right?
I also changed the lower ball joints for Hardrace and front drop-links. Couldn't find a photo of the DLs but here are the LBJs.
Didn't stop the vibration, but made the front end feel a bit more solid and peace of mind that some of the 13 year old bushes had been renewed.
Again, I've mentioned the Progress in a previous post, but heres a couple of photos of the part and install.
To date this is hands down the best bang for buck modification I've done to this car. The stock RARB was ø15mm and the Progress RARB is ø22mm. I mentioned before that the Accord could be quite understeery at times (compared to the Integra), this has remedied that and given me so much more confidence in the bends. The car never really felt like big car, but the only way I could explain the effect of the Progress is that it feels half the size that it used to. Very happy with that one!
Its important to add that during this time I'd tried several things had a second hand pair of oem drive shafts fitted, which unusually made the judder disappear all but in mid range of 2nd gear, but then over the course of about 3 weeks it got worse and worse until it came back, at its worst in vtec (dodgy shafts maybe? What could I expect for £80). I then had a brand new aftermarket shaft fitted on the offside and new CV joint on the nearside after a further inspection from another garage – each time I spoke to anyone, from a garage they told me they'd never had a problem on any car wit aftermarket shafts, and I'd be crazy to spend Honda prices on new ones. This time the judder disappeared from high up the rev range but was very clearly there at about 2.5-3.5k rpm in second and third gear (albeit much more subtle than it had been prior).
I tried not to let the issue spoil the end of last year, and figured if I drive it enough then something will break and then I can fix it
Extremely soggy Simply Jap at Beaulieu:
Didn't stop people bringing their toys out though :P
I also did a weekend down in Cornwall and managed to clock up about 1100 miles in 4 days, first time down there and was blown away. Roads weren't as good as Wales but some of the coastline and scenery is just breathtaking. There are plenty more photos from Cornwall on my Instagram @skewy, but here's a couple of my favourites of the car.
Drive down to Cheddar one Sunday with the PH lot was good fun, especially sitting behind this Huracan.
Goodwood for the Japanese Sunday Breakfast Club that was rearranged for 2018 after they had to cancel 2017.
(Photo by Autogram Photography)
(Photos by Dead Set Photography)
Ironically after all the shows were done, I finally got round to giving the Euro R its red nose that all the other K20 family seem to get as standard!
Removal of the old one was nice and easy using the dental floss technique, looked so sad without its nose.
But much better with the red one
This was at the beginning of November and I'd pretty much given up on trying to keep the white wheels white for any longer than a day, as you can see. I decided to get the oem wheels out the shed ready for winter, to be honest I'd forgotten how bad the corrosion was on them and couldn't bring myself to fit them like they were. A refurb and two new Goodyears for the front made me feel a bit better about putting them back on.
I also made some red 'H's' for the centre caps as they came with black originally – if anyone is in need of any red H decals, or any decals for that matter then drop me a PM! (Shameless plug).
Fitted!
The most interesting part of putting the oem wheels back on was how much better the ride felt! I didn't notice much difference when I put the 18's on, but coming back to the stock 17s has made me realise how much nicer they feel to drive. In fact I'm questioning whether I'll ever change the wheels again. The stock wheels are supposed to run 215s, but I'm running 225s for the extra comfort, I may try some 225s on the FD2 wheels in the summer and see what its like, alternatively I might sell them and spend the money elsewhere (header maybe? :P).
With 2018 out the way and the old wheels back on the judder started to play on my mind again. It hadn't got noticebly worse but it was there and really dampened the enjoyment for me, so a couple of weeks ago I decided to book it back in to continue investigating. First things first, a new aftermarket shaft on the nearside (because 'that's the only one that hadn't been changed') – no difference. Both inner CV's removed from both new aftermarket shafts, inspected, regreased – no difference. The whole suspension, all gearbox and engine mounts gone over with a fine comb, 2 days spent trying different things to alter or reduce the vibration and no luck. Garage scratching their heads.
This left me with two options, either get the gearbox out and opened up and see if it's diff related or something going on in there, OR buy a set of OEM Honda driveshafts like a number of other Accord owners advised me to do in the beginning.
I was initially leaning towards, and getting advised towards getting the box out because every mechanic I spoke to said that they had never had an issue with aftermarket shafts and that I would be insane to pay Honda prices for a set of driveshafts. But nothing else is pointing towards a gearbox issue at this stage, the oil is coming out spotless and theres no issues selecting gears. After a long chat with another Accord owner who had very similar issues I have decided to order a set of Honda driveshafts, and my wallet is £1k lighter. They'll be arriving in about a week and I hope I've made the right decision… soon we'll find out.
(I'm not even going to apologise for the long post this time as I don't seem to learn.)
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