Ell's Artic Blue DC5 - Honda Integra Type R
Discussion
After two years building an EK, a brief stint with an EP3, i had the oppurtinity to buy a DC5....
Long story short, i seen a post on a local facebook group of a guy buying a new car with a photo of his new 350Z and a DC5 in the background, i dropped him a message and turned out he was going to be selling the DC5 and he had not got round to sorting a for sale ad, i asked if i could pop round to see it that afternoon as it was only a few miles away (there is a piston heads sticker on the car, so if your on here, hello and thanks!)... a deal was done there and then and a week later i picked it up. It was basically stock other than a long arm intake (more on that later) and a custom made OEM replacment exhaust. 120K on the clocks but has the certificate of when it was converted to MPH which removes 25K, so milage just under 100K. The previous owner was the first owner from import, he had it 11 years, it came with stacks of history, the original import documents, the auction sheet (grade 4B).
The car had no MOT and had sat for a little while, judging by the history and how the car drove i was hopeful it would go straight through an MOT, so i sold my EP3, picked the teg up on a saturday morning and headed straight for its MOT, which it flew through and passed with no advisories, had a quick look under it on the ramp too and happy to report no major rust!
Quick photo's i was sent from the previous owner before going to have a look
After it's MOT i took it for a quick wash as it had been sat for awhile and was filthly
Only issue i was having with it was EML, the owner advised me he had the o2 sensor replaced and there was a receipt for this, but DC5's precat O2 sensors run on wideband and these are not cheap, the receipt was for £70 so i was convinced the secondry O2 sensor had been replaced. I ordered a new sensor from Torque GT and replaced it which cured the EML. While i was at it, i gave it a full service, new oil/filter, plugs, cabin filters and gave the car a general check over.
As a side note, i recently bought a 3D printer, this was the perfect chance to try something with it... i designed a 3D printed oil filter removal tool, printed it in about 6 hours and gave it a go...
While changing the oil i also noticed a slight leak from the bottom of the rad, the bottom clamp had rusted away and there was no force being applied around the hose anymore... i decided to swap this for a spare silicone hose with new clamps i had spare from my old EP3.
So after using the car a few weeks, i loved it... everything i didnt like about my EP3 was sorted on the DC5, no dropping out of vtec between gears, LSD, nicer interior, hydralic steering, it really is a great complete package.
The one thing i was in a hurry to change though was the intake, it had an AEM Long arm, this sits the filter behind the duct in the bumper which is great in the dry... however at the beginning of winter in the UK, not so great. I had a tegiwa intake on my EP3 and loved the noise, i knew these were a little harder to find for a DC5 and didnt want to pay the price new, eventually a good deal popped up and i bought one with a pre cut scuttle too, i also managed to sell my AEM to recoup a little of the money, got it fitted the day it arrived with a nice new silicone intake hose too.
What a noise! I had the same one on my EP3, but my EP3 also had a loud exhaust, so having no exhaust noise and all intake noise with the DC5, the cross over into VTEC sounds so much better, it reminds me of my B series engines in my EK.
Next on the list, well you can see the state of the engine bay and the wheels, this needed sorted!
I've always loved Regamasters, if you know about JDM wheels, then you know how timeless these are, i dont think ive ever seen a car that they dont look great on... i found a set up for sale with the bonus of having AD08R's fitted, these were about 70 mile away in the Yorkshire Dales so a deal was done and i went to pick them up on a miserable sunday, shame the roads were greasy and wet as they would of been fun.
Stoppped for a photo on the way back catching the sunset, best photo ive taken of the car so far, not bad for an iphone!
And a photo of the new wheels, theyre in great condition, not a mark on them and even came with centre caps which ive not seen before on another pair.
Whilst there i picked up a spare K20 rocker cover so i can refurb and paint it, made a start on this over the christmas, its ready for primer now but i havnt had a chance to paint it yet, hopefully this weekend! I bought some wrinkle blue paint for it, hopefully it goes well.
Now thats pretty much up to date for car updates, but ive been doing some stockpiling of parts ready for the summer! My plans with the teg is to keep it comfy as its my only car, but i also want it to be capable on track days. I had bought some Miester R coilovers for my EP3 but never got round to fitting them, i then found out that they will fit a DC5 with EP3 track rod ends, so ive kept them and refurb'ed them ready for better weather. I also got PBS pads front and rear as a christmas gift, along with a couple of Javelin vouchers. Just after christmas, i picked up some braided lines too. So the plans are, around Feb/March time as the weather gets better to fit all of the parts i've got and a couple more things i want to get too.
Coilovers, pbs pads, braided lines with fresh fluid, rear camber arms, and stick the Regamasters on, then get all the suspension set up, maybe a baffled sump and were good to go!
I'll leave this for now and update when i have some time, i have a post about fitting rear light seals, but thats boring and i wanted to get a thread started
Long story short, i seen a post on a local facebook group of a guy buying a new car with a photo of his new 350Z and a DC5 in the background, i dropped him a message and turned out he was going to be selling the DC5 and he had not got round to sorting a for sale ad, i asked if i could pop round to see it that afternoon as it was only a few miles away (there is a piston heads sticker on the car, so if your on here, hello and thanks!)... a deal was done there and then and a week later i picked it up. It was basically stock other than a long arm intake (more on that later) and a custom made OEM replacment exhaust. 120K on the clocks but has the certificate of when it was converted to MPH which removes 25K, so milage just under 100K. The previous owner was the first owner from import, he had it 11 years, it came with stacks of history, the original import documents, the auction sheet (grade 4B).
The car had no MOT and had sat for a little while, judging by the history and how the car drove i was hopeful it would go straight through an MOT, so i sold my EP3, picked the teg up on a saturday morning and headed straight for its MOT, which it flew through and passed with no advisories, had a quick look under it on the ramp too and happy to report no major rust!
Quick photo's i was sent from the previous owner before going to have a look
After it's MOT i took it for a quick wash as it had been sat for awhile and was filthly
Only issue i was having with it was EML, the owner advised me he had the o2 sensor replaced and there was a receipt for this, but DC5's precat O2 sensors run on wideband and these are not cheap, the receipt was for £70 so i was convinced the secondry O2 sensor had been replaced. I ordered a new sensor from Torque GT and replaced it which cured the EML. While i was at it, i gave it a full service, new oil/filter, plugs, cabin filters and gave the car a general check over.
As a side note, i recently bought a 3D printer, this was the perfect chance to try something with it... i designed a 3D printed oil filter removal tool, printed it in about 6 hours and gave it a go...
While changing the oil i also noticed a slight leak from the bottom of the rad, the bottom clamp had rusted away and there was no force being applied around the hose anymore... i decided to swap this for a spare silicone hose with new clamps i had spare from my old EP3.
So after using the car a few weeks, i loved it... everything i didnt like about my EP3 was sorted on the DC5, no dropping out of vtec between gears, LSD, nicer interior, hydralic steering, it really is a great complete package.
The one thing i was in a hurry to change though was the intake, it had an AEM Long arm, this sits the filter behind the duct in the bumper which is great in the dry... however at the beginning of winter in the UK, not so great. I had a tegiwa intake on my EP3 and loved the noise, i knew these were a little harder to find for a DC5 and didnt want to pay the price new, eventually a good deal popped up and i bought one with a pre cut scuttle too, i also managed to sell my AEM to recoup a little of the money, got it fitted the day it arrived with a nice new silicone intake hose too.
What a noise! I had the same one on my EP3, but my EP3 also had a loud exhaust, so having no exhaust noise and all intake noise with the DC5, the cross over into VTEC sounds so much better, it reminds me of my B series engines in my EK.
Next on the list, well you can see the state of the engine bay and the wheels, this needed sorted!
I've always loved Regamasters, if you know about JDM wheels, then you know how timeless these are, i dont think ive ever seen a car that they dont look great on... i found a set up for sale with the bonus of having AD08R's fitted, these were about 70 mile away in the Yorkshire Dales so a deal was done and i went to pick them up on a miserable sunday, shame the roads were greasy and wet as they would of been fun.
Stoppped for a photo on the way back catching the sunset, best photo ive taken of the car so far, not bad for an iphone!
And a photo of the new wheels, theyre in great condition, not a mark on them and even came with centre caps which ive not seen before on another pair.
Whilst there i picked up a spare K20 rocker cover so i can refurb and paint it, made a start on this over the christmas, its ready for primer now but i havnt had a chance to paint it yet, hopefully this weekend! I bought some wrinkle blue paint for it, hopefully it goes well.
Now thats pretty much up to date for car updates, but ive been doing some stockpiling of parts ready for the summer! My plans with the teg is to keep it comfy as its my only car, but i also want it to be capable on track days. I had bought some Miester R coilovers for my EP3 but never got round to fitting them, i then found out that they will fit a DC5 with EP3 track rod ends, so ive kept them and refurb'ed them ready for better weather. I also got PBS pads front and rear as a christmas gift, along with a couple of Javelin vouchers. Just after christmas, i picked up some braided lines too. So the plans are, around Feb/March time as the weather gets better to fit all of the parts i've got and a couple more things i want to get too.
Coilovers, pbs pads, braided lines with fresh fluid, rear camber arms, and stick the Regamasters on, then get all the suspension set up, maybe a baffled sump and were good to go!
I'll leave this for now and update when i have some time, i have a post about fitting rear light seals, but thats boring and i wanted to get a thread started
Thank you for the replies!
5er said:
Your wheels, I think, might be Regamaster Marquis Promada with Evo stickers applied, hence the centre caps (which the MPs came with). I can't quite remember the Desmond ins and outs cos I haven't been into wheels in years.
Thanks for the info, if im being honest I never knew there was a difference! Having a quick search on google shows the "Evo" seem to be a lighter weight version and the "Marquis Promada" seem to be more of a show piece having centre caps.... Now im not sure if mine have just had the centre caps added or how to tell, theyre stampted correctly for Regamasters but im not sure which version, doesnt seem to be a lot of info on the internet on these either, think ill do some digging!Yeah I think blue seems to be quite a rare colour, mine also has blue recaros, door trims, carpets and floor mats, I'll stick a photo up once ive cleaned the inside properly! Drivers side has a little rip and the common bolster wear, passenger side is pretty good though.
After having the car a few days I noticed a little leak into the boot, which normally means the rear light seals need doing which is very common on these. So I bought two new gaskets (well I bought one at first, didn't noticed they were sold individually and had to wait 2 weeks for one to come in!).
I was a little nervous about this, the car had been undersealed but I wasn't sure if behind the bumper had been done or if i was going to find rust...Eventually had time to go and fit them, so pulled the bumper off to find that it hadn't been undersealed but there was only a little amount of surface rust.
But this is where the problem started... I went to unbolt the brackets that hold the lights to the car, the whole bracket was rotten, tapping it with anything was breaking bits off so i decided to leave them for now, a quick search and a post on the Integra group got me the part numbers for the brackets from Honda, expecting to have my eyes out they came back with a reasonble £50 for both, but they had a 3 week wait, so I ordered them and they should be due at the start of next week.
Now i just have to work out how I'm going to get the rusty bolts out of the car, might be a cut/drill and tap job which I dont really want to do, but they're rusted to the point no socket will go on, or if i hammer one on it looks like they'll snap.
After having the car a few days I noticed a little leak into the boot, which normally means the rear light seals need doing which is very common on these. So I bought two new gaskets (well I bought one at first, didn't noticed they were sold individually and had to wait 2 weeks for one to come in!).
I was a little nervous about this, the car had been undersealed but I wasn't sure if behind the bumper had been done or if i was going to find rust...Eventually had time to go and fit them, so pulled the bumper off to find that it hadn't been undersealed but there was only a little amount of surface rust.
But this is where the problem started... I went to unbolt the brackets that hold the lights to the car, the whole bracket was rotten, tapping it with anything was breaking bits off so i decided to leave them for now, a quick search and a post on the Integra group got me the part numbers for the brackets from Honda, expecting to have my eyes out they came back with a reasonble £50 for both, but they had a 3 week wait, so I ordered them and they should be due at the start of next week.
Now i just have to work out how I'm going to get the rusty bolts out of the car, might be a cut/drill and tap job which I dont really want to do, but they're rusted to the point no socket will go on, or if i hammer one on it looks like they'll snap.
Had the weekend working on the car to get a few jobs done. My friends recently started his own detailing company and has just got the keys to his unit, so we decided that he would give the car a good wash inside and out, and polish up my headlights, while he was on with that, I could get my rear light brackets and the surface rust sorted and grab a few photos for him too.
Quick snow foam and a wash down to get it clean before pulling it in the unit.
Then whipped the bumper off and got to it, the plan was to remove the lights and brackets, wire wheel and sand down all the surface rust, treat it with a rust converter then underseal it.
It wasn't long before a grinder came out, those brackets were not budging. A nice old rotten parts vs OEM Honda photo....
Once off I cleaned up all the surface rust and treated the areas
After that had cured after a coat or two, then I undersealed the area and left that with a heater on for 24 hours, called it a day there as we started off pretty late in the day. Came back on Sunday to finish the job, bolted the new brackets to the lights, and used the new OEM Honda light gaskets. Looks a whole lot better now.
After getting this done, I also wanted to deal with a little rust on the inner arch lips, I knew about this when I bought the car, I've seen these a lot worse too so wanted to catch it while I could, I know this isnt the ideal solution but without spending loads on paint I'm happy with the result. I carefully sanded the outer edge, treated with rust treatment, then used some touch up paint and clear coat, it looks better in person than it does on the photo but the main thing is i know its been treated and protected for now, I also wire wheeled the back side of the metal and treated that then used underseal there and touched up a few little spots. Ideally in the summer when I have time I'd like to redo both full inner arches with underseal.
Before -
After -
So as I was doing all this, my friend set about polishing my headlights, cleaning up the interior and waxing the car. We then test fitted the Regamaster's too and grabbed some photos, so happy with how this looks and cant wait to get them and my coilovers on.
That's all for now, hopefully get the rocker cover painted this weekend!
Quick snow foam and a wash down to get it clean before pulling it in the unit.
Then whipped the bumper off and got to it, the plan was to remove the lights and brackets, wire wheel and sand down all the surface rust, treat it with a rust converter then underseal it.
It wasn't long before a grinder came out, those brackets were not budging. A nice old rotten parts vs OEM Honda photo....
Once off I cleaned up all the surface rust and treated the areas
After that had cured after a coat or two, then I undersealed the area and left that with a heater on for 24 hours, called it a day there as we started off pretty late in the day. Came back on Sunday to finish the job, bolted the new brackets to the lights, and used the new OEM Honda light gaskets. Looks a whole lot better now.
After getting this done, I also wanted to deal with a little rust on the inner arch lips, I knew about this when I bought the car, I've seen these a lot worse too so wanted to catch it while I could, I know this isnt the ideal solution but without spending loads on paint I'm happy with the result. I carefully sanded the outer edge, treated with rust treatment, then used some touch up paint and clear coat, it looks better in person than it does on the photo but the main thing is i know its been treated and protected for now, I also wire wheeled the back side of the metal and treated that then used underseal there and touched up a few little spots. Ideally in the summer when I have time I'd like to redo both full inner arches with underseal.
Before -
After -
So as I was doing all this, my friend set about polishing my headlights, cleaning up the interior and waxing the car. We then test fitted the Regamaster's too and grabbed some photos, so happy with how this looks and cant wait to get them and my coilovers on.
That's all for now, hopefully get the rocker cover painted this weekend!
Quags said:
Lovely car, great to see you saving it and bringing back the luster
Cheers! Glad all that kinda stuff is done for now, looking forward to getting some new bits on the car!With that in mind, I bought some shifter bushings from a group buy via the DC5 forum, these turned up today so hopefully get these fitted this week or weekend, I wouldnt say the OEM shift is bad but after seeing others post about how worn or perished their bushings were, I thought I'd have a go!
Not a lot of progress unfortunately, but I picked up a bargain custom made 2.5” cat back, made by CAS engineering. Hopefully this gives me a little bit of performance and some noise I’ve been missing
Waiting for some fresh gaskets to get that on, I’ve also received all my delrin shifter bushes so should get those on this weekend. When payday comes at the end of this month I’ll be ordering EP3 track rod ends (for my ep3 fitment coilovers) and some rear camber arms, then it’s time to get everything together.
Waiting for some fresh gaskets to get that on, I’ve also received all my delrin shifter bushes so should get those on this weekend. When payday comes at the end of this month I’ll be ordering EP3 track rod ends (for my ep3 fitment coilovers) and some rear camber arms, then it’s time to get everything together.
Thank you for all the comments!
It was imported in 2006 and has done around 80k miles on UK roads. To be fair, the underside of the car has barely any rust at all, it was undersealed when it was imported and it looks like they've done a good job as its still going strong, it just looks like they hadn't taken any parts off to do behind the rear bumper. I'm hoping when the weather is better I can spend a weekend under it with a whire wheel to take it all back to bare metal and give it a fresh coat of underseal, but for now I'm happy with where its at knowing that it is protected and theres no major rust on the car. Mechnical maintenance its been really well looked after, there are stacks of receipts and full service history, I think it has just been neglected for the last year the previous owner had it as it had only done a few 100 miles and spent a lot of its time on his drive.
I will be putting my cat-back on this weekend and fitting the new shifter bushings from the group buy on the Integra forum. I've also taken the day off work for the 11th of March at Teeside Autodrome to give it abit of a shakedown before hopefully booking Croft in April. Im on holiday next week but as soon as im back its all go to get the car ready for Teeside, I cant wait to see how this drives with good suspension, stickier tyres and sorted brakes.
Kewy said:
Crikey those light brackets are awful, sorry if you mentioned, but how long has this been in the UK for? Looks like it's spent a while here with not much maintenance!
Yeah those brackets were a fun job! I'm glad its all done now and protected though.It was imported in 2006 and has done around 80k miles on UK roads. To be fair, the underside of the car has barely any rust at all, it was undersealed when it was imported and it looks like they've done a good job as its still going strong, it just looks like they hadn't taken any parts off to do behind the rear bumper. I'm hoping when the weather is better I can spend a weekend under it with a whire wheel to take it all back to bare metal and give it a fresh coat of underseal, but for now I'm happy with where its at knowing that it is protected and theres no major rust on the car. Mechnical maintenance its been really well looked after, there are stacks of receipts and full service history, I think it has just been neglected for the last year the previous owner had it as it had only done a few 100 miles and spent a lot of its time on his drive.
I will be putting my cat-back on this weekend and fitting the new shifter bushings from the group buy on the Integra forum. I've also taken the day off work for the 11th of March at Teeside Autodrome to give it abit of a shakedown before hopefully booking Croft in April. Im on holiday next week but as soon as im back its all go to get the car ready for Teeside, I cant wait to see how this drives with good suspension, stickier tyres and sorted brakes.
Edited by Ellb123 on Friday 15th February 16:26
Managed to get some time this morning to install my delrin shifter bushes, these replace the stock ones which quite a lot on the DC5 groups seem to have worn quite badly.
So, got to work pulling the gearknob and trim off, since I was installing the shifter arm bush too I just took everything off for easy access. I did the two cable end bushes first. These came out pretty easy which I was surprised at after reading a few comments about how much of a pain they were, they also looked in fairly good condition so I’m abit dubious to if I’ll see much difference.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/g27Qkwmv[/url]
And then the shifter arm bush too, bit trick to get the mechanism off but easy enough to change the bush once it was out.
The old bushings were in pretty good condition, comparing to some of the photos I’d seen on the groups of others basically falling apart, maybe I should of checked these before jumping in and buying but they were a good price on a group buy so I can’t complain.
I’ll be taking it for a drive later on so I’ll report back at how much of a difference I think this has made, from selecting gears it does feel a little tighter but there is still some play too.
So, got to work pulling the gearknob and trim off, since I was installing the shifter arm bush too I just took everything off for easy access. I did the two cable end bushes first. These came out pretty easy which I was surprised at after reading a few comments about how much of a pain they were, they also looked in fairly good condition so I’m abit dubious to if I’ll see much difference.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/g27Qkwmv[/url]And then the shifter arm bush too, bit trick to get the mechanism off but easy enough to change the bush once it was out.
The old bushings were in pretty good condition, comparing to some of the photos I’d seen on the groups of others basically falling apart, maybe I should of checked these before jumping in and buying but they were a good price on a group buy so I can’t complain.
I’ll be taking it for a drive later on so I’ll report back at how much of a difference I think this has made, from selecting gears it does feel a little tighter but there is still some play too.
Edited by Ellb123 on Sunday 17th February 12:09
Edited by Ellb123 on Sunday 17th February 12:16
IanUAE said:
We made a change to the steering rack bushes to remove play on our DC5 race car.
https://www.zrtmotorsport.com/steering-update/
It’s not play in the rack that these are trying to reduce, there is no real “play” in the shift, just more of a sloppy/not firm shift.https://www.zrtmotorsport.com/steering-update/
Took the teg out for a quick spin and the shifter bushings definitely have made a difference, there’s a noticeable difference in selecting gears and no play in the gearstick when in gear.
Took it for a quick wash too since the weathers good, I can’t wait for summer in this car.
Update time
Well at the weekend just gone had all of the bits ready to fit
I’m guessing the rear dampers and camber arms had never been off the car before, bit of a struggle to get them moving but they all came off eventually, all bolts were copper greased back up and new stuff put on, forgot to take a photo of the fronts but here’s one of the rears.
Had it booked in on Wednesday at JM imports for alignment, I went with -1.5 camber all round, little toe in at the rear and 0 toe up front, dropped the car off but got a message a few hours later, they had spotted the bushing in the front arm was split and hanging out, little annoyed at myself for missing this but used it as an excuse to upgrade. I had read good things about the super pro caster upgrade kit for DC5’s, these use an offset bush to increase castor, the main benefits are that turn in is improved and on lowered cars it helps with the tramlining effect, a quick call to Rival motorsport they had some in stock which I went to collect that night, JM managed to squeeze me back in the following day to install the bushes and finish the alignment.
Love how it looks now with it the rega’s on, sits perfectly and drives like a dream, I was expecting it to be harsh with the coilovers and polybushes but it’s very comfortable on the road even with the coilovers on the stiffest setting.
Had a little bit of spare time tonight so got the front and rear PBS pads in too
Exhaust is also on, massive difference in noise with this 2.5” cat back, great noise on the vtec crossover
Which now means I’m all ready for Teeside on Monday, hoping the car behaves itself and I can’t see to see what it’s like on track.
Well at the weekend just gone had all of the bits ready to fit
I’m guessing the rear dampers and camber arms had never been off the car before, bit of a struggle to get them moving but they all came off eventually, all bolts were copper greased back up and new stuff put on, forgot to take a photo of the fronts but here’s one of the rears.
Had it booked in on Wednesday at JM imports for alignment, I went with -1.5 camber all round, little toe in at the rear and 0 toe up front, dropped the car off but got a message a few hours later, they had spotted the bushing in the front arm was split and hanging out, little annoyed at myself for missing this but used it as an excuse to upgrade. I had read good things about the super pro caster upgrade kit for DC5’s, these use an offset bush to increase castor, the main benefits are that turn in is improved and on lowered cars it helps with the tramlining effect, a quick call to Rival motorsport they had some in stock which I went to collect that night, JM managed to squeeze me back in the following day to install the bushes and finish the alignment.
Love how it looks now with it the rega’s on, sits perfectly and drives like a dream, I was expecting it to be harsh with the coilovers and polybushes but it’s very comfortable on the road even with the coilovers on the stiffest setting.
Had a little bit of spare time tonight so got the front and rear PBS pads in too
Exhaust is also on, massive difference in noise with this 2.5” cat back, great noise on the vtec crossover
Which now means I’m all ready for Teeside on Monday, hoping the car behaves itself and I can’t see to see what it’s like on track.
MikeGoodwin said:
Looks great I've seen this on the Facebook group.
How's the tram lining now with those castermods???
There isnt a great deal of tram lining, the car does try to self centre a little bit quicker on bumps but I think thats down to the castor bushes, or atleast that's what I've read. Drives great on the road though, even with the coilovers on their stiffest settings it's still not bad too bad.How's the tram lining now with those castermods???
Trackday report -
This is the very first time I've taken a car on track and had 0 issues, the last two times I had been to Teeside in my EK resulted in me going home with a decent oil leak or something coming loose to the point I limped it home, where as the DC5 loved it!
Few warm up laps, dropped the pressure in the tyres and away we went, the track was very quiet, the quiestest I've ever seen it, for a good half an hour if not more, I was the only car out which was nice to get familiar with and build up some confidence. I'm very impressed with the car, its very well balanced, doesn't feel like it wants to under/over steer and handles very well, the brakes really impressed me too having used PBS pads in my EK and EP3, the difference using them with the Brembo's is massive, as is the LSD (first time using a car with LSD on track).
There was someone taking photos but unfortunately none have surfaced yet, so just a quick photo letting it cool off and one coming into the pit lane.
So future/summer plans are now at:
Croft on the 19th of April
Yorkshire Big Breakfast @ Specialist cars of Malton on the 21st of April
Japfest Silverstone on the 5th of May (booked a track slot too!)
Then hopefully my first Nurburgring in August (1st to the 5th) to do some touristy stuff, watch the VLN, Mimms Honda show and a few tourist laps!
As for plans for the car, theres nothing I actually want for it at the moment, I'm thinking of putting some money aside to save up for a K100 and mapping, but I just want to enjoy the car for now without any more power. I'll be giving it another oil change before Croft and a spanner check, but other than that I'm just looking forward to using it throughout the summer!
Kewy said:
Nice mate! Glad you had a good first experience on track with the DC5. A good mate of mine had a DC5 up until about a year ago, we took it to Brands Hatch for a track day and again it didn't miss a beat. 3 hour drive to the track, thrash it round all day and three hour drive home, no quarms.
Very good cars!
I'm hoping to get the Accord on track a bit more this year. Few things to sort out first though.
Anyway, hopefully see you/this beauty at Japfest!
Yeah I’m chuffed with how well it did, just dying to get it out on a proper track now rather than Teeside!Very good cars!
I'm hoping to get the Accord on track a bit more this year. Few things to sort out first though.
Anyway, hopefully see you/this beauty at Japfest!
Not a lot of updates but I’ve eventually painted the rocker cover! Not too sure on the colour as I was expecting quite abit darker but I’m pleased with the finish, I’ll decide on it when it’s on the car.
I’ll be ordering a fresh gasket to go with this next week.
Also took it for a quick wash this weekend to get rid of the brake dust form Teeside and daily duties. Grabbed a quick photo round from the jet wash.
Well not much has changed, havnt had a chance to get the rocker cover changed over yet but dig out my ktuned stuff from my old EP3, should look much better when all fitted
Really pleased for my first go.
Took it round my mates detailing business for a quick wash, wish it was legal to keep the front plate off, looks so much better
Unfortunately the track day at Croft was fully booked before I could get it booked, so I’m looking at Croft or Cadwell for the coming months.
I’ve also now booked my first trip to the Nürburgring, I’ll be there 1st-5th of August, can’t wait for it.
Really pleased for my first go.
Took it round my mates detailing business for a quick wash, wish it was legal to keep the front plate off, looks so much better
Unfortunately the track day at Croft was fully booked before I could get it booked, so I’m looking at Croft or Cadwell for the coming months.
I’ve also now booked my first trip to the Nürburgring, I’ll be there 1st-5th of August, can’t wait for it.
Vocht said:
Subtle changes but really transform the overall look and stance. I think the rocker cover looks great too! A pair of Cusco door bars in matching blue would be a nice little mod.
Thank you, I don't want to go over the top with mods and ruin it on the road, I still use this daily for the 30 commute so door bars are out of the question for now.Harryst500 said:
Very nice example!
I’ve got one in pieces on my drive at the moment as the clutch release bearing shat itself a couple of months ago, used it as an excuse to fit a OS Giken Plated Diff, new gearbox bearings and an ultralight flywheel with OEM clutch, can’t wait to get it up and running again.
What are your views on the coilovers? Mine is sitting on spoon springs at the moment, thinking of swapping them out soon
I really rate the coilovers, they are Meister R Super Race coilovers which have a better spring rate for track use, but if I remember correctly they have more dampening adjustment (36 or 48 clicks iirc). So on a soft setting they're really good on the road, even up towards the stiffer end I still don't think they're too bad. If your fitting a good plated diff and really light flywheel, then I don't think coilovers will be your biggest pain on the road I’ve got one in pieces on my drive at the moment as the clutch release bearing shat itself a couple of months ago, used it as an excuse to fit a OS Giken Plated Diff, new gearbox bearings and an ultralight flywheel with OEM clutch, can’t wait to get it up and running again.
What are your views on the coilovers? Mine is sitting on spoon springs at the moment, thinking of swapping them out soon
Butter Face said:
I like the rocker cover, I also like the K-Tuned flush dipstick, I wanted one for my car, but when I saw the price I changed my mind 
Cheers! I'm too tight to buy the K-Tuned stuff brand new, I only have it on the car as my old EP3 came with them and I took them off the car before I sold it, worked out well trails said:
I have a sticker front plate brought from eBay on my S2000...only a tenner so it you don’t like it you can just bin it
I've since bought a "static plate", these press onto the bumper but can easily be removed and re-used, I wasn't sure at first but I've ran it awhile now and its been fine in all weather and I've had it on and off a few times, although its not 100% legal, I think it'll be safer than a sticker plate.Update time
Took the teg out for a blast up Hartside pass, had to stop for the typical photo
Noticed a squeak coming from the alternator area a few days ago too, I know how common it is for the aux tensioner to go on k20’s and reading on the dc5 forum about someone’s seizing at SPA and having to be recovered I thought I’d change that and the belt too, only photo I took but a genuine Honda replacement
Took a trip up to the big breakfast meet at Malton on Sunday too, my first time at this event and certainly won’t be my last, some very impressive metal there! Got slightly lost on the journey home but it made for a good photo!
Made good use of the bank holiday weekend and eventually got round to putting my rocker cover on too! Replaced the rocker cover gasket and spark plug seals, new washers and bolts too, I can’t make my mind up on it, maybe the colour is too light? Either way it looks a lot more presentable, gave the engine bay abit of a wash down before installing.
And that’s pretty much it for now, I’ve ordered two new front tyres as they’re pretty close to the limit now, just replacing the ad08r’s for new ones, get those fitted this weekend ready for Japfest next weekend and a little blast around Silverstone!
Took the teg out for a blast up Hartside pass, had to stop for the typical photo
Noticed a squeak coming from the alternator area a few days ago too, I know how common it is for the aux tensioner to go on k20’s and reading on the dc5 forum about someone’s seizing at SPA and having to be recovered I thought I’d change that and the belt too, only photo I took but a genuine Honda replacement
Took a trip up to the big breakfast meet at Malton on Sunday too, my first time at this event and certainly won’t be my last, some very impressive metal there! Got slightly lost on the journey home but it made for a good photo!
Made good use of the bank holiday weekend and eventually got round to putting my rocker cover on too! Replaced the rocker cover gasket and spark plug seals, new washers and bolts too, I can’t make my mind up on it, maybe the colour is too light? Either way it looks a lot more presentable, gave the engine bay abit of a wash down before installing.
And that’s pretty much it for now, I’ve ordered two new front tyres as they’re pretty close to the limit now, just replacing the ad08r’s for new ones, get those fitted this weekend ready for Japfest next weekend and a little blast around Silverstone!
Japfest update:
Set off Saturday morning for the 250 mile drive, no dramas and made it to the hotel with just under half a tank left too! Not bad going.
Nipped over to the pub opposite the hotel and found I had gained a friend in the car park, I think these look mega in red and not often you see them!
Early start on Sunday morning and I was on the ITR DC5 stand with the guys from the forum, first time meeting these lot in person and nice to put a few names to faces, some seriously clean tegs on that stand!
I had a track time slot booked, to went and attended the shortest breifing I've ever had, then headed to get the car, drop the tyre pressures, check my oil and join the pit lane, ended up waiting in the pits about 20mins as one of the drift cars had dropped some coolant/oil on the track.
Sighting lap all was well, 2 laps later, onto the main straight, redline in 3rd, redline in 4th, into 5th, then onto the brakes and the car cut out completely. Clocks dropped off and no power at all, I coasted round the corner and stuck my hazards on, flicked the key and the car started again no problem at all, drove it into the pits as I wasnt sure what was wrong and didn't want to risk anything, all seemed well so just drove it back to my spot on the stand. Checked it over there, battery terminals tight, all grounds looked fine, couldnt see any suspect looking wiring, so im abit stumped! This weekend I'm going to take the grounds off and clean them up and have a more detailed look at the wiring, but its got me stumped! Any ideas welcome.....
Atleast in the few laps I did, someone managed to get two photos!
Overall though, really enjoyable day, Japfest is easily my favourite show of the year, plenty cars to see and plenty action throughout the day, car made it home no problem at all either.
Set off Saturday morning for the 250 mile drive, no dramas and made it to the hotel with just under half a tank left too! Not bad going.
Nipped over to the pub opposite the hotel and found I had gained a friend in the car park, I think these look mega in red and not often you see them!
Early start on Sunday morning and I was on the ITR DC5 stand with the guys from the forum, first time meeting these lot in person and nice to put a few names to faces, some seriously clean tegs on that stand!
I had a track time slot booked, to went and attended the shortest breifing I've ever had, then headed to get the car, drop the tyre pressures, check my oil and join the pit lane, ended up waiting in the pits about 20mins as one of the drift cars had dropped some coolant/oil on the track.
Sighting lap all was well, 2 laps later, onto the main straight, redline in 3rd, redline in 4th, into 5th, then onto the brakes and the car cut out completely. Clocks dropped off and no power at all, I coasted round the corner and stuck my hazards on, flicked the key and the car started again no problem at all, drove it into the pits as I wasnt sure what was wrong and didn't want to risk anything, all seemed well so just drove it back to my spot on the stand. Checked it over there, battery terminals tight, all grounds looked fine, couldnt see any suspect looking wiring, so im abit stumped! This weekend I'm going to take the grounds off and clean them up and have a more detailed look at the wiring, but its got me stumped! Any ideas welcome.....
Atleast in the few laps I did, someone managed to get two photos!
Overall though, really enjoyable day, Japfest is easily my favourite show of the year, plenty cars to see and plenty action throughout the day, car made it home no problem at all either.
Well its been awhile since I've updated....
So the car has been fine, last week I book a trackday at Croft for the 1st of July, and then the car decides it hates me...
ABS light came on and stayed on, day after my engine light flashed up too... I scanned this and it was the code for the expensive O2 sensor I replaced when I first bought the car, which annoyed me. I dropped Torque GT an email and they've replaced it so that was a worry over! Top service from those guys.
My cheap OBD scanner does not check ABS codes, so I thought I would have a quick look round the sensors, this is where things get worse... checking my front left there was a lot of oil on the hub/strut/bottom arm, all coming out of my coilover
So I emailed Meister R and because they are an old model, I would need to need to replace both front coilovers with their latest model coilover body to swap everything on to, this, coupled with them being pretty old all round and risking my topmounts falling apart or something along those lines when they all would have to be stripped down, I made another choice... On the road the coilovers are not too bad, but bumpy B roads the car doesn't feel very confidence inspriring and has a lot of bump steer, and this is my daily driver, so the plan is...
I've bought some Spoon progressive springs for my OEM suspension, I'm picking up some camber bolts from Rival Motorsport on the weekend and I'll be fitting these next week and getting it realigned. I chose Spoon springs as everything I have read on them they seem to give the best ride height (others seem to give DC5's reverse rake) while still being comfortable on the road but stiff enough for some track use.
I bought a bluetooth OBD adapter as apprently the Torque app will read my ABS code, I'm guessing though that the oil from my coilover has damaged the ABS sensor on that hub, but hopefully i'll be able to check that tonight.
So overall, the car is definately testing me, especially since booking a track day! Money is tight at the moment too so that factored into the compromise of ditching the coilovers, hopefully I wont regret it!
I'll keep this update with how I get on.
So the car has been fine, last week I book a trackday at Croft for the 1st of July, and then the car decides it hates me...
ABS light came on and stayed on, day after my engine light flashed up too... I scanned this and it was the code for the expensive O2 sensor I replaced when I first bought the car, which annoyed me. I dropped Torque GT an email and they've replaced it so that was a worry over! Top service from those guys.
My cheap OBD scanner does not check ABS codes, so I thought I would have a quick look round the sensors, this is where things get worse... checking my front left there was a lot of oil on the hub/strut/bottom arm, all coming out of my coilover
So I emailed Meister R and because they are an old model, I would need to need to replace both front coilovers with their latest model coilover body to swap everything on to, this, coupled with them being pretty old all round and risking my topmounts falling apart or something along those lines when they all would have to be stripped down, I made another choice... On the road the coilovers are not too bad, but bumpy B roads the car doesn't feel very confidence inspriring and has a lot of bump steer, and this is my daily driver, so the plan is...
I've bought some Spoon progressive springs for my OEM suspension, I'm picking up some camber bolts from Rival Motorsport on the weekend and I'll be fitting these next week and getting it realigned. I chose Spoon springs as everything I have read on them they seem to give the best ride height (others seem to give DC5's reverse rake) while still being comfortable on the road but stiff enough for some track use.
I bought a bluetooth OBD adapter as apprently the Torque app will read my ABS code, I'm guessing though that the oil from my coilover has damaged the ABS sensor on that hub, but hopefully i'll be able to check that tonight.
So overall, the car is definately testing me, especially since booking a track day! Money is tight at the moment too so that factored into the compromise of ditching the coilovers, hopefully I wont regret it!
I'll keep this update with how I get on.
Its been awhile....
New sensor from Torque GT cured the EML and has been fine since, again top service from them replacing it with no issues at all.
Got the coilovers off and the spoon springs on my OEM struts installed, bought some front camber bolts too and stuck those in at the same time, booked in and got the car aligned, all good there.
ABS light... what a pain! So the OBD adaptor I bought was android only , so after lending an andriod tablet, it still didn't read the code , back to the drawing board. After some searching around, I found an old link on a forum for Acura RSX's, it showed putting a paperclip/wire between two of the connectors within the OBD port and this would flash the ABS code, having ran out of ideas I gave this a go, and it worked! Rear right sensor was at fault, so its a good job I didn't just replace the front left with the leaking coilover.
So then I ran into another problem, where/how do I get a new sensor?! No where listed DC5 specifically, EP3 use two different sizes between facelift and prefacelift, I didn't know which one I needed, there was a couple second hand on eBay but for the same money as a new one. Abit of digging and asking around friends, I found out EP3 rears, both facelift and prefacelift are the same, and the same thats used on a DC5. Got one of those ordered from Japservice parts, then it arrived, so I went to fit this the day before Croft. I had been warned that these were a pain to get out in one piece, so took my time, bolt came out nice and easy, then I slowly pryed away at the edges, got a nice statisfying pop and thought that was it, job done... nope, snapped into the hub! A few hours with a stubby screwdriver, sandpaper and a hammer and we got there, new one in and turned the car on, problem solved!
So, Croft on Monday, my first proper track day. Overall it was a good day, car was faultless until the last session, which between a mix of staying out longer than I had before, and pushing a little harder / braking later... I started a cooldown lap, went for the brakes and they went to the floor! I pulled off the track and checked for leaks, turned out I just boiled the fluid. I realised then I've been abit of an idiot and used normal ATE fluid rather than their "Racing" stuff, I've since bought some Motul RBF600 to change this week, because I'm back on track this weekend at Japfest Donington!
Overall the car feels great again, looking forward to Japfest 2 at the weekend, then two weeks until my ring trip!
Couple photos from the track day:
New sensor from Torque GT cured the EML and has been fine since, again top service from them replacing it with no issues at all.
Got the coilovers off and the spoon springs on my OEM struts installed, bought some front camber bolts too and stuck those in at the same time, booked in and got the car aligned, all good there.
ABS light... what a pain! So the OBD adaptor I bought was android only , so after lending an andriod tablet, it still didn't read the code
, back to the drawing board. After some searching around, I found an old link on a forum for Acura RSX's, it showed putting a paperclip/wire between two of the connectors within the OBD port and this would flash the ABS code, having ran out of ideas I gave this a go, and it worked! Rear right sensor was at fault, so its a good job I didn't just replace the front left with the leaking coilover. So then I ran into another problem, where/how do I get a new sensor?! No where listed DC5 specifically, EP3 use two different sizes between facelift and prefacelift, I didn't know which one I needed, there was a couple second hand on eBay but for the same money as a new one. Abit of digging and asking around friends, I found out EP3 rears, both facelift and prefacelift are the same, and the same thats used on a DC5. Got one of those ordered from Japservice parts, then it arrived, so I went to fit this the day before Croft. I had been warned that these were a pain to get out in one piece, so took my time, bolt came out nice and easy, then I slowly pryed away at the edges, got a nice statisfying pop and thought that was it, job done... nope, snapped into the hub! A few hours with a stubby screwdriver, sandpaper and a hammer and we got there, new one in and turned the car on, problem solved!
So, Croft on Monday, my first proper track day. Overall it was a good day, car was faultless until the last session, which between a mix of staying out longer than I had before, and pushing a little harder / braking later... I started a cooldown lap, went for the brakes and they went to the floor! I pulled off the track and checked for leaks, turned out I just boiled the fluid. I realised then I've been abit of an idiot and used normal ATE fluid rather than their "Racing" stuff, I've since bought some Motul RBF600 to change this week, because I'm back on track this weekend at Japfest Donington!
Overall the car feels great again, looking forward to Japfest 2 at the weekend, then two weeks until my ring trip!
Couple photos from the track day:
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