My EP3 build

[ep3]

Hi guys. I have owned my Civic Type R for about a year now so at the moment nothing has really been done to it.

This is when i first brought it. It is filthy in these pics as it didnt have its valet at this point





The only problems it has are stone chips which have gone a bit rusty on the bonnet and a crease in the o/s/r (drivers side rear) wing again with a spot of rust all of which i have just touched up for the time being
The bonnet

and the crease


The only other thing that was needed was front discs and pads which i replaced straight away with standard ones.
The month after i brought her i went out and brought a 2nd hand AEM CAI induction kit for about £130 i think it was and was close to brand new with just a few marks on the piping. Makes the engine bay look empty as it sits in the passenger wheel arch away from the heat the engine creates
Standard

AEM CAI fitted



Next up was give her a really good clean as the valeters didnt do the best of jobs. This is how she turned out





Next step was to get a exhaust system but this didnt go as planned lol. I brought a 2nd hand magnex cat back system with a unsilenced b pipe.


I went for the OEM look with the same tailpipe design but with a slash cut instead of straight cut. However i couldnt stand the noise it made as the car is used daily it was so loud so put the standard centre pipe back on and left the back box on the car.
Then i decided i wanted to decat it so brought a brand new scorpion decat pipe and fitted that.


Again this came off quite soon after as i couldnt put the engine light off. A new ECU and remap was req'd. Didnt want to go down the route of fooling the standard ECU. So now im left with a standard exhaust with aftermarket back box (back to square one really )

I think ive covered everything for now. Had 2 new tyres (Toyo T1R's) fitted to the front a month or so back as well.

Future plans:
-Rear tyres (this month)
-Adjustable Rear camber arms (hopefully this month)
-Four wheel alignment (hopefully this month)
-J's racing front strut bar
-New wheels
-Coilcovers
-Exhaust system with sports cat
-New rocker cover
-Maybe few more handling mods

and of course a bit of carbon fibre.

All comments welcome (good and bad)

[accord83]

Did you valet the underside as well, awesome! How much of a mission would it be to clean the induction kit filter without a ramp and what weather tight modifications to the arch shield (if any) are required to keep the crap from road spray out of it?

[jalesi2001]

Dave has a cover over the actual cone called a hydro lock or something like that, it allows air in but helps to protect the cone filter....Dave knows more so im sure he will give you a better answer when he comes on next!!

Looking good Dave, hopefully you can get the arms and tyres and alignment this month mate, then start saving for some extra goodies!!

Im looking forward to racing you to Mallory Park for the Civic5 meet in April!! You got no chance....

[ep3]

Did you valet the underside as well, awesome! How much of a mission would it be to clean the induction kit filter without a ramp and what weather tight modifications to the arch shield (if any) are required to keep the crap from road spray out of it?

No i didnt valet the underside im not that keen lol. It is just on a ramp so that i could check it over before buying it. the advantages of working for honda
No mods have been made to the wheel arch as the filter is protected by the wheel arch itself and the undertray but water etc can still get in obviously.
However like Ad (jalesi2001) says i do have a hydroshield for it which acts sort of like a coat but has millions of tiny little holes in it to only allow air in and a very minimal amount of water, dirt etc

Here is a link to a brief description of it http://www.injen.com/docs/products/listing.asp?pcc=rp it might explain it a bit better than me

[ep3]

Yea dont worry Ad i plan on saving for a few goodies soon. Already got my eyes on a few things
And as for Mallory you can eat my dust

[Dave]

And you two can eat Ruby's dust!!! Nah nah nee nah nah!! Ep's looking good Dave, bee good to see it at the meet (and yourself of course lol ) Liked your sport, but this will be soooo much better

[accord83]

Ah, Gortex for your cars lungs, I see. Cheers

[ep3]

Yep ill be at the meet. Hopefully i will have my wheel alignment sorted by then the tyre noise drives me up the wall. Will be good to see a few of the other members

[ep3]

Quick update. Managed to get my adjustable rear camber arms fitted today.



Big thanks to funky power for the service (very quick delivery) and also to Ad (jalesi2001) for giving me a hand fitting them.
They went on pretty easy with no problems.
Before:


After:


And new against old:


Once they were fitted it was straight down to get my rear tyres replaced with toyo t1r's and have the 4 wheel alignment done.


It is so nice to have a nice quiet car now without a rumbling noise constantly. I also get a free 4 wheel alignment check next weekend which i thought was quite good
So now i might be able to buy a few things i actually want

[civicturbo79]

Thats a nice mod does the car handle better now ? Rich.

[ep3]

Yea it does seem to handle a bit better. The turn in seems sharper however i only got them so that i could get the alignment bang on as the ep3's suffer with rear camber issues and i dont think honda fully cured it only made it better however i am debating for the sake of £20 to get some front camber bolts then take it for a fast road setup then it should handle like a dream

[jalesi2001]

For £20 i would definitely got for that mate, as long as a fast road set-up doesn't make it eat tyres again, as you need it as a daily runner dont you!! Glad its sorted anyway mate, and its a relief that we have finaly found a tyre place that know what they are on about and actually care about your car!!

All sorted for the April meet then mate!!

[Bri]

Very nice looking EP3, a stunner!

[ep3]

Cheers guys. Yea i will go for the fast road set up as long as it doesnt destroy the tyres again. ill ask the question on the type r forum they rave about it. Yea about time we found a place which knows what they are on about. taking it back there saturday for the free check and i think it pulls left only very slightly nothing to worry about really. Gave her a gd clean, polish and wax today as well. Will put a couple of pics up in a sec

[Dave]

We kinda struggle up here to find decent alignment places aswell. Looking forward to the pics!!

[ep3]

Well after hours on end getting her to a clean standard i was happy with this is how she turned out. I gave her a good wash, 1 coat of polish, 2 coats of wax, polished windows and a damn good clean on the inside. Hear are a few pics

[jalesi2001]

Bloody hell Dave? Polish AND Wax? Nice one, she looks stunning mate!!

[ep3]

Another quick update. This will be the last for a month or so as i have spent about £650 on her in 2 months
So 3rd time lucky ive got a cat back exhaust im happy with. Its custom made by powerflow and isnt too loud. Brought it for £150 off a good customer of ours. He had it made and everything for £250 then a week or 2 later took it back off as it was too loud for his kids so now i have it
No pics yet as it was probably the quickest exhaust me and ad have changed. Whoever is at the meet in a few weeks will see it then. Its gone back to a standard look with straight cut tailpipes

[jalesi2001]

I actually rekon it looks better mate, and it sounds awesome!! Nice one mate, glad you got one you are happy with!!

[ep3]

Very quick update. Ive been telling myself im going to get a new rocker cover as my red one is starting to flake off so i went out and brought one

This is what it looks like. The pics dont show its true colour its a yellow/green colour but am looking at getting it done spoon yellow now (ill make my mind up soon)



And Fitted


All opinions welcome it will probably be changed

[Dave]

Thats unusual! Never seen an EP3 with any other colour rocker than red before, so makes a nice change! You going the silver/yellow theme all over then ? could get the leads etc to match? Looking good dave!

[ep3]

Im going for a yellow/black theme in the engine bay so you can probably guess what colour the spark plug cover and manifold cover will be. There is a few extra bits to go in there including a new induction kit to fill the hole in the engine bay. The rocker cover will soon be taken off and resprayed in spoon yellow

[jalesi2001]

Looks lush in my opinion!! It'll look even better with the carbon bits....

[ep3]

it will look better when its done again

[civicturbo79]

Good work mate , make sure you get loads of pictures when you fit your new clutch and flywheel . Rich.