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DC5 restoration - track project
- Thread starter Chris.
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AMEN.
Plus it's amusing being in perfect lateral Gs comfort whilst your passengers are ruthlessly flung around the cabin. **** them they're getting stock comfy seat.
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:lol:
If I start going down the road of symmetry and perfection, I should probably get a front end respray done to remove the yellow tint from the bumper. But the £700 + for seats, rails and then god knows how much for the paint equals a lot of track days and fuel.
Yeah exactly, I'm not paying a small fortune for the occasional passenger to get to sit in a Pole Position.
If I see one come up second hand for decent money then I may be tempted, as let's not forget they can be moved between cars.
dessimpson
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Can be moved between cars? You can't even get it in the one you bought it for 
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Can be moved between cars? You can't even get it in the one you bought it for
Not sure what your point is, the car is in Fleet and the seat is in Gloucester? Also the rail doesn't arrive till Friday.
dessimpson
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Ah. So you've got a rail then.
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Yes, TGM are getting one for me after I tried getting one from about 6 different traders and they all gave me ridiculous wait times. To be honest, I was told the seat wouldn't arrive till mid April anyway so I'm surprised it's here so early.
...it looks great in my living room.
...it looks great in my living room.
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Gaming seat.
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That's what you told me to do with my Bride's when I was stripping my EP3 you *******! :lol:
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This is true. I'll get my coat and the noose.
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I was just thinking that, how small does the front look compared to it
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I think I'm going to have a fit...
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Well, where to start. The car has been at TGM for the past fortnight or so to have the gearbox removed and have a plated diff put in along with a shorter final drive plus a replacement OEM clutch.
First of all, the diff. I went for the Kaaz Super Q which has WPC coating. It has some advantages over the regular diff, some of which are quieter and smoother operation, longer lasting and no bed in procedures. It costs a bit more but I felt it was worth it. I've only ever driven one car with a plated diff which was a stripped out K swap DC2, I remember the noise being quite savage. I've also heard the TGM race cars moving about and you can definitely tell it's not a normal diff! Part of me wanted that (probably for scene points at tracks), so when I picked it up from Tom's I was a little disappointed that it sounds almost OEM! But now upon reflection that's probably a good thing in the long run. The diff really has transformed the car, even more so than the difference between a DC5 and an EP3 with no diff. It's absolutely savage, it's turned the car into a complete and utter weapon. I was driving around today trying to induce understeer but it was impossible, the car will go in whatever direction you are pointing the wheels, which is actually a downside at times because you really have to watch what you're doing. The steering does not return to centre as easily as before so it's quite easy to get on the power after a corner yet you're pointing at a kerb, bush or small child. I really can't wait to try it out on track, I think it's going to be a lot of fun! In terms of normal driving, you really do know it's there especially when cornering at low speed. The best way I can describe it is when you kangaroo in first, well, if there's any throttle applied and you're parking or whatever, the car kangaroos a little bit. Not so much that it makes it a pain, but it's definitely noticeable. You can also hear the inside wheel aggressively gripping into the tarmac.
I also had the Spoon 5.3 final drive fitted, this basically lowers the overall gearing of the car which means it accelerates faster. I've seen figures of an equivalent 20% power increase, so if my car is running at 235 on the Owen Developments dyno then I've gained an extra 47 horsepower which means it's like having just over 280 bhp under the bonnet. Can I notice it? Well, what I can notice is the increased revs at motorway speeds, 80 mph is now the wrong side of 4500 rpm which makes motorway to be more irritating. Sitting at an indicated 70 and I get 4k rpm which is a good comprimise. At first I couldn't tell you if the car felt faster, but with the nice weather today I've been driving around and yes, it's much quicker! I'm rattling through the gears much faster, in combination with the diff it really does cover quckly ground now - not that it was slow before!
I also had the rear arches rolled, I'm going to be running 225 tyres at the rear and I've read that with lowered cars that they tyres can rub, so rather get it done for piece of mind.
I had a chat with Tom about the car and he told me that the inside of the gearbox is the cleanest he has ever seen at TGM, which is testament to the previous owner and how often he serviced it. There were no other gremlins apart from a broken drop link which has been replaced.
As I picked the car up the EML came on, so Tom grabbed the code reader and it's showing as the primary O2 sensor. The one which was replaced last year which cost me £160 odd! I was pretty sure that it was a Honda original however I've ordered one from Hendy and it is the wrong side of £200! I'm hoping it's here before Spa, sadly TGM don't hold any in stock. Also annoyingly I don't have the rail yet for the Pole Position so that will have to wait.
I also had a sun strip fitted, I'm not quite sure on it however it is nice inside the car, especially with the sun being out today! It also makes the cockpit view much more aggressive.
I've also replaced the Gruppe M scuttle with an OEM one, but Des lost a clip so I'll have to find one from somewhere. There is a rattle at over 8k rpm so I need to look into that.
I also fitted the black Rota's today with wider AD08R tyres ready for Spa and the 'Ring, I'm not sure whether to take bronze ones with Federal RS-R with me or not as an emergency spare in case I shred the AD08R's or get a puncture etc. Still deciding on that one!
While the wheels were off I inspected the brakes, all look good and plenty of pad life so no need to order any spares.
Here's how the engine bay is looking now, won't win any show and shine competitions however it's functional. You can also see the bracket that has been made up for the Mugen intake hose:
With the weather being nice I decided to take some snaps. With the car being 16 years old it's a bit tatty in places, I'll slowly get around to replacing things like the plastic around the wing mirror and the surrounds of the windows.
I think it's come along nicely since the OP, well, I should hope so with the money I've piled into it! But I'm currently a very happy man, the car is just insane to drive.
First of all, the diff. I went for the Kaaz Super Q which has WPC coating. It has some advantages over the regular diff, some of which are quieter and smoother operation, longer lasting and no bed in procedures. It costs a bit more but I felt it was worth it. I've only ever driven one car with a plated diff which was a stripped out K swap DC2, I remember the noise being quite savage. I've also heard the TGM race cars moving about and you can definitely tell it's not a normal diff! Part of me wanted that (probably for scene points at tracks), so when I picked it up from Tom's I was a little disappointed that it sounds almost OEM! But now upon reflection that's probably a good thing in the long run. The diff really has transformed the car, even more so than the difference between a DC5 and an EP3 with no diff. It's absolutely savage, it's turned the car into a complete and utter weapon. I was driving around today trying to induce understeer but it was impossible, the car will go in whatever direction you are pointing the wheels, which is actually a downside at times because you really have to watch what you're doing. The steering does not return to centre as easily as before so it's quite easy to get on the power after a corner yet you're pointing at a kerb, bush or small child. I really can't wait to try it out on track, I think it's going to be a lot of fun! In terms of normal driving, you really do know it's there especially when cornering at low speed. The best way I can describe it is when you kangaroo in first, well, if there's any throttle applied and you're parking or whatever, the car kangaroos a little bit. Not so much that it makes it a pain, but it's definitely noticeable. You can also hear the inside wheel aggressively gripping into the tarmac.
I also had the Spoon 5.3 final drive fitted, this basically lowers the overall gearing of the car which means it accelerates faster. I've seen figures of an equivalent 20% power increase, so if my car is running at 235 on the Owen Developments dyno then I've gained an extra 47 horsepower which means it's like having just over 280 bhp under the bonnet. Can I notice it? Well, what I can notice is the increased revs at motorway speeds, 80 mph is now the wrong side of 4500 rpm which makes motorway to be more irritating. Sitting at an indicated 70 and I get 4k rpm which is a good comprimise. At first I couldn't tell you if the car felt faster, but with the nice weather today I've been driving around and yes, it's much quicker! I'm rattling through the gears much faster, in combination with the diff it really does cover quckly ground now - not that it was slow before!
I also had the rear arches rolled, I'm going to be running 225 tyres at the rear and I've read that with lowered cars that they tyres can rub, so rather get it done for piece of mind.
I had a chat with Tom about the car and he told me that the inside of the gearbox is the cleanest he has ever seen at TGM, which is testament to the previous owner and how often he serviced it. There were no other gremlins apart from a broken drop link which has been replaced.
As I picked the car up the EML came on, so Tom grabbed the code reader and it's showing as the primary O2 sensor. The one which was replaced last year which cost me £160 odd! I was pretty sure that it was a Honda original however I've ordered one from Hendy and it is the wrong side of £200! I'm hoping it's here before Spa, sadly TGM don't hold any in stock. Also annoyingly I don't have the rail yet for the Pole Position so that will have to wait.
I also had a sun strip fitted, I'm not quite sure on it however it is nice inside the car, especially with the sun being out today! It also makes the cockpit view much more aggressive.
I've also replaced the Gruppe M scuttle with an OEM one, but Des lost a clip so I'll have to find one from somewhere. There is a rattle at over 8k rpm so I need to look into that.
I also fitted the black Rota's today with wider AD08R tyres ready for Spa and the 'Ring, I'm not sure whether to take bronze ones with Federal RS-R with me or not as an emergency spare in case I shred the AD08R's or get a puncture etc. Still deciding on that one!
While the wheels were off I inspected the brakes, all look good and plenty of pad life so no need to order any spares.
Here's how the engine bay is looking now, won't win any show and shine competitions however it's functional. You can also see the bracket that has been made up for the Mugen intake hose:
With the weather being nice I decided to take some snaps. With the car being 16 years old it's a bit tatty in places, I'll slowly get around to replacing things like the plastic around the wing mirror and the surrounds of the windows.
I think it's come along nicely since the OP, well, I should hope so with the money I've piled into it! But I'm currently a very happy man, the car is just insane to drive.
