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Cosmic grey EP3 from Slovenia

time to blow the dust off my thread :).

got myself a proper exhaust






BUT if you think it was a bolt on job, you'd be wrong..
I've known about the cat flange issue and sorted the holes with an angle grinder so I could bolt the exhaust to the cat.
But as soon as I've alighned the pipe to the cat i noticed that the cat flange barely even covers the pipe, so there was a high chance that I would have an exhaust leak. Nevertheless I started bolting the exhaust on to see how it sits. And as i've tightened the bolts the whole midsection was touching the floor of the car :x . So we took the cat off and cut it right behind the flange, mounted it back on, bolted the exhaust on and pulled a bit on the exhaust to bend the flange so the pipe would have more clearance. Everything back down again and welded the cat with the repositioned flange and welded some material on the sides of the flange and grinded it flat so it would seal better. Everthing back up again and it looked alright with just some clearence between the exhaust and the floor of the car.
Went for a quick drive and noticed an exhaust leak between the header and the cat and also the now hot exhaust was touching the floor with the second flange, but it was ok when cold. But we ran out of time for that day.
So the next day I went to a local exhaust shop to get it fixed.
We ended up cutting the second flanges off and welding the pipe directly to get more ground and floor clearance. And by closer inspection noticed that the exhaust is a couple of cm too far back and when it got hot and therefore longer it touched the lower control arm, burning the protective plastic a bit. And I didn't like it sticking so far out anyways. Also the manifold to cat leak got fixed with a new gasket.





It's still quite low, but it somehow clears speedbumps even with four people inside.
Please, don't be disgusted about my massacre with the cat converter, it will get replaced with a proper header in no time.

Also, I've replaced the auto tensioner with an SKF one. The old one was not moving smoothly.

Will upload some better photos when the weather clears :)
 
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hello again, i've sorted a couple more things on the car and also got around to make a short video today of the sound.

First of all, my front speakers died. They were not oem when i bought the car, and anytime i washed it or it rained heavily my stereo didn't work because they came in contact with water and it short-circuited. In the end they permenently short circuted so my stereo didnt work at all until i disconnected them.
Had enough with it and bought new speakers and proper adaptors for the car. The old speakers were bolted directly in the metal so I also cleaned the surface rust from the holes and painted with some base paint so it wouldn't rust.






Result. I didnt even have to cut or modify the door panel at all.

And a short video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGk0GtQvyIM
 
Nice, I did the same job this weekend :)

Despite keeping the car overall in mint condition, the previous owner was a complete noob. He "installed" the crossovers of the front speakers in just laying them behind the speakers, now they
are just a pile of rust. Replaced them with a 2-way system from Focal, also got some OEM tweeter mounts which look very tidy.

I also put some sound deadening behind and around the speakers, self adhesive and a 5 minute job.
 
hello again.

upgraded the car once more, found a second hand aem CAI. It's in very good condition so i had to buy it.





The only shame is that the previous owner of the cai for some reason cut the breather pipe, so I had to improvise and re-use the stock breather pipe. I guess the previous owner did the same, but god knows why didnt he just remove the stock breather pipe and attach the aem pipe directly to the valve cover.
But ok, it's just temporary. Im planing to add a catch can setup in the near future. Does anybody have any experience with the mishimoto one? I'm looking to get the 3 port one, to also route the line from the pcv valve to it and then back to the intake pipe, so i'll have a closed system.
Any thoughts are welcome!
 
some nice upgrades

Hello again, the car is in the garage for the winter months... so time for some upgrades :)

I sold the aem cai and got a fc forme cold air scoop. For now I'm sticking with the oem hondata moded airbox, probably I'll get the aftermarket airbox in the future.





Decided to properly flush the system and treated her with fresh coolant.



Changed the tired steering wheel emblem with a j's racing one. Fits perfect and looks as new.



For a christmas present to myself, I ordered new meister r zeta crd+ coilovers.



And just a photo from the last time I drove it in 2016



Next on the list is a rear camber kit and new tires. I'm thinking to get 215/45-17. Do you have any suggestions on dry biased tires? I'm looking at michelin psc2, toyo r1r, kumho ku36 maybe the new potenzas re003.
 
Nicely updated thread dude, good to see someone investing time and effort into the car!

I haven't got personal experience with any of those tyres but i've heard the T1R's are pretty decent in the dry but awful in the wet. I've a fair amount of experience with the Advan AD08R's, can't fault them in the dry but aren't confidence inspiring in the wet, but since you're looking for dry bias tyres that shouldn't be a problem.

Also have a mate who's got a Megapower R on his ep3 and has had nothing but problems with the fitment of it like you, shame really as it sounds so good.
 
Very nice pictures, the last one looks like you are not too far away from the Austrian border?

Is there a reason you decided to remove the AEM intake?
 
@Ricki1985: Thanks. Yeah, It's really not a direct fit part :D. I'm planing to get a new, slightly bigger flange for the stock cat, so it will cover the gasket better and be properly bolted. Now its holding right on the edges and I dont like the looks of it, just a leak waiting to happen.

@Nightrunner: Thanks mate. I forgot about the ad08R's, thanks for mentioning. I've heard a lot of good reviews about them.

@Miksey: Thats right. I'm roughly 30 km away from the border. I live near Maribor. I see you're from Austria :) Are you planing to go to any meets this year?
About the aem: Firstly It bothered me that it did not have a tuv certificate, so i could not get it (legally) noted as a modification for the car. Next was the chance of hydrolocking, heard some horror stories. I luckily never drove the car in the wet with that intake so I got away with it. And the final reason is that I wanted to go rbc, header, remap etc.. and the aem intake would not fit the rbc, because of the different position and angle of the throttle body. In the mean time I changed my priorities and decided it was a better idea to sort out the suspension first and leave the engine alone for now.
 
Maybe we're going to HondaFest17 in Hatzendorf, should be right around your corner ;) Quality meets are pretty rare here, unless you like 18 yr old guys hooning around and doing burnouts...

I see your concerns about the AEM, pretty much that what's going through my mind at the moment
 
Miksey said:
Maybe we're going to HondaFest17 in Hatzendorf, should be right around your corner ;) Quality meets are pretty rare here, unless you like 18 yr old guys hooning around and doing burnouts...

I see your concerns about the AEM, pretty much that what's going through my mind at the moment
Click to expand...

I'm planing to go to hondafest17, it's on 26. may right? I know hehe, and revving the poor d14 civic to the limiter all day long -.-
The aem should be fine with the hydroshield pre-filter, I just didn't want to risk it.

A little something to add to the pile of parts:


Didn't want to risk it with the aluminium magnetic drain bolts stripping threads, and I went with the spoon steel one. So that it can be torqued to oem spec without worrying about stripping or leaking oil.
 
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a few things happened since my last post.

First thing when I've pushed the car out of the garage from its winter sleep was to change the oil.


Next on the list were the meister r coilovers, rear hardrace camber kit and front sway bar bushnigs.
I also ordered a rear camber kit for a friend, he has a civic ek4. Took a picture for a size comparison, the ep3 ones are quite big :D



I didnt take any pictures of the coilover install, I forgot really :(

Also got some new rubber. Michelin pilot sport 4 in 215/45-17


Then the primary oxygen sensor went bad. Had a P0131 cel.
Went for the ntk, because when I've removed (with great difficulty) the one that came with the car it had ntk stamped on it. The new replacement sensor is identical as the oem one that was on the car, would be a bit foolish to spend two times the money just for the honda label on the bag.


Decided to change the airfilter for a oem one. The old one still looked decent, but I was unsure when was the last time it was changed, so just did it for a peace of mind I guess.


The gearbox fluid was changed. Was told by the previous owner it had been recently changed, but I had my doubts :). The old oil was not too bad when it went out, so I think he told the truth. But still, the transmission i.e. the gear changes feel better now. Maybe it's just a placebo effect :)


Im making a custom catch can/breather setup, so I had to get a small odyssey pc680 battery. Its really 6kg lighter than the standard battery. Will update on this as I'm still waiting for the catch can to be finished.


And a picture of the car as it sits in the moment.


any thoughts or questions are welcome :)
 
finally the catch can is finished and installed.




The rear antiroll bar was sand blasted and powdercoated in black along with the brackets. New endlinks were a must. Not to be confused, the middle bracket is just the battery tie down for my ej9 civic. The more rust that I get off my car(s) the better :)


more updates on the way
 
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The fake skunk2 gear knob was an eyesore from the day I bought the car. Replaced it with a genuine k-tuned "function form" knob.




A friend recommended me the chemical guys vrp super shine dressing, to restore colour and uv protect plastic and rubber trim. It's really nice. Also does a great job in the engine bay!



A before and after picture.
 
Since I've bought the car I've noticed some play in the steering, vauge feel and knocking when going over bumps.
Last year I've replaced the oem steering rack slider with a new oem one, but it made little difference. From then on I've replaced every part in the front suspension (all bushes, lower ball joints, tierod endlinks, new coilovers..) and the vauge feeling remained. So I did some research and decided to take the steering rack out and overhaul it.
This time around I've purchased the SHG motorworks slider.



Replaced the pinion gear lower bearing


Cleaned and prepared to put back together




Freshly plated bolts, heatshield and parts of the rack



New o-rings, lock washers and rack guide



The old guide was missing the teflon coating on the sides. A comparison new-old.



Just have to adjust the rack guide screw (waiting for a friend to laser cut me the tool for the big 43mm locknut) mount the tie rods and she's ready to go back in the car.

 
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