Enzo's Daily 2005 Facelift Civic EP3 Type R Premier Edition - Cosmic Grey

mike.h · Mar 21, 2018

New foams on the lights?

EnzoUK · Mar 21, 2018

mike.h said:
New foams on the lights?

Sadly no, would you see that as a notable issue? the new lights didn't have them so I transferred the old foam sheets from the rear light to the new one. I'd picked up a new set of rear lights from a breaker on eBay, got a set in almost 'as new' condition as you can see for £50 which is a steal when you look at the listings... you can easily pay £50 for a single light cluster at the moment, never mind getting two!

mike.h · Mar 21, 2018

Not a huge issue, they can wear/compress over time sufficient to let water into the boot area though so if you were going to pull the lights off it would have been a good/easy time to change them.

The problem with water in that particular location is you might not notice it unless you check the spare wheel well on occasion, then you can end up with rust, etc. etc.

EnzoUK · Mar 22, 2018

mike.h said:
Not a huge issue, they can wear/compress over time sufficient to let water into the boot area though so if you were going to pull the lights off it would have been a good/easy time to change them.

The problem with water in that particular location is you might not notice it unless you check the spare wheel well on occasion, then you can end up with rust, etc. etc.

Ahh I see where you're coming from, removing the lights literally took me 10 minutes with a decent socket set... jobs are a thousand times easier with good tools

. I've had no issue with leakage or water / rust there yet where the space saver is so I assume the old one is still holding up (been in that area quite often recently as when I jack the car up my locking wheel nut is stored there, and I use the space saver wheel to put under the sills when the cars jacked up as a bit of a 'failsafe'), but cheers for the info though as it's definitely something to take into account as the older these cars get the little things like seals start to go etc.

Couple more pics of the front also as I haven't posted many:

and a quick breakdown of the current expenditure of the car and what I've done to it:

Krzys · Mar 22, 2018

Kudos to you, I couldn't sit and look at what I've spent as I'd just cry :lol:

SK-R · Mar 22, 2018

Krzys said:
Kudos to you, I couldn't sit and look at what I've spent as I'd just cry :lol:

Same here, It's why I never make a spreadsheet when buying things for it, I will regret it very much lol

EnzoUK · Mar 24, 2018

Krzys said:
Kudos to you, I couldn't sit and look at what I've spent as I'd just cry :lol:

SK-R said:
Same here, It's why I never make a spreadsheet when buying things for it, I will regret it very much lol

It's just something I like to keep track of regardless, it's a hobby for me at the end of the day and I enjoy it. Some people go the pub every Friday / Saturday and go out to the town, I'd rather just spend my time working on my car and the money on car parts / mods! I learn a lot doing it and it's skills you can apply to other areas of your life.

Looking at my build sheet though, there's still a good 2 grand to throw at this car to get it where I want, and probably more after!... I really fancy the Fast Road Setup next, just hard justifying £300 for the parts and then another £300 to get the actual job done.

mike.h · Mar 24, 2018

I may be missing something, but the FRSU shouldn't cost anywhere near that, around £160 for the parts (bolts and arms). You should be able to get them very close to where they were with the non-adjustable ones by winding out the arm to match the same length as the non-adjustable one, then however much your trusted alignment centre charges for a 4wheel alignment. Sure, maybe you want to spend a bit more on some replacement bolts for the mounting points of the arms (and a pair of regular bolts to replace the second one on the front).

Or were you planning to go the whole hog, new bushings, top-mounts, etc.?

EnzoUK · Mar 24, 2018

mike.h said:
I may be missing something, but the FRSU shouldn't cost anywhere near that, around £160 for the parts (bolts and arms). You should be able to get them very close to where they were with the non-adjustable ones by winding out the arm to match the same length as the non-adjustable one, then however much your trusted alignment centre charges for a 4wheel alignment. Sure, maybe you want to spend a bit more on some replacement bolts for the mounting points of the arms (and a pair of regular bolts to replace the second one on the front).

Or were you planning to go the whole hog, new bushings, top-mounts, etc.?

Eibach Camber bolts on eBay are around £22, Eibach Springs are £153, and the Adjustable Camber arms are another, £100 - 150.. call it £300 then £300 for the job to get it all set up and done. Torque GT offer parts and the job done all in at £630: https://torque-gt.co.uk/fast-road-setup-package/ but i'd likely go to TDi North as it's just up the road from me, and i'd get a new AUX belt fitted, valve clearence done and new rear drop links while it was in also, as I plan to do the gearbox fluid change myself in a couple of weeks.

I like your approach to it though, definitely something to bear in mind for me prior. Have you had the job done yourself? (The FRSU)

mike.h · Mar 24, 2018

EnzoUK said:
Eibach Camber bolts on eBay are around £22, Eibach Springs are £153, and the Adjustable Camber arms are another, £100 - 150.. call it £300 then £300 for the job to get it all set up and done. Torque GT offer parts and the job done all in at £630: https://torque-gt.co.uk/fast-road-setup-package/ but i'd likely go to TDi North as it's just up the road from me, and i'd get a new AUX belt fitted, valve clearence done and new rear drop links while it was in also, as I plan to do the gearbox fluid change myself in a couple of weeks.

I like your approach to it though, definitely something to bear in mind for me prior. Have you had the job done yourself? (The FRSU)

Ah, springs, I hadn't considered those

Fair enough.

I haven't done it yet, too many things over the last few months destroying my bank balance including the wife getting stuck briefly in NZ due to a Chinese law change meaning she wasn't permitted to board her flight back here and we had to buy a new ticket via a different route (and the airline din't let us know about this issue even when they had the details to know it would be a problem); apparently you now need 3mo on your passport just to go through a Chinese airport, even if you never leave airside. Thanks China! Then there's the 6-monthly student loan payments (paid this week), the purchase of a piano, annual service & insurance, etc. etc. It's never-ending as an adult

I'm hoping to do the same as you though, Eibach bolts and springs, Hardrace arms.

EDIT: I also, sadly, have a stupidly long list of things I'd like to do but I'm likely to do the boring ones first. Now that SK-R has made me feel like I'm half-arsing it I'm definitely gonna have to deal with various rusty parts (esp. that crap behind the front and rear bumpers), underseal, arches, etc. The things I'd really like to do are springs and FRSU, and a gearbox rebuild (new bearings and synchros, LSD - Quaife or Wavetrac for preference, but the JDM one pulled from a 2010+ FN2 would no doubt be fine and a hell of a lot cheaper)

SK-R · Mar 26, 2018

EnzoUK said:
It's just something I like to keep track of regardless, it's a hobby for me at the end of the day and I enjoy it. Some people go the pub every Friday / Saturday and go out to the town, I'd rather just spend my time working on my car and the money on car parts / mods! I learn a lot doing it and it's skills you can apply to other areas of your life.

Looking at my build sheet though, there's still a good 2 grand to throw at this car to get it where I want, and probably more after!... I really fancy the Fast Road Setup next, just hard justifying £300 for the parts and then another £300 to get the actual job done.

Oh I'm the same mate, I think you misunderstood me. I love spending money on the car and doing as much preventative maintenance as possible, but if I sat down and added it all up, I would question my car purchase and wish I had gone for a better model/cleaner example or something entirely different. It's why I don't write it all down and just buy things as I go along, that way it keeps me happy and keeps the car looking better with every day gone

mike.h said:
Now that SK-R has made me feel like I'm half-arsing it I'm definitely gonna have to deal with various rusty parts (esp. that crap behind the front and rear bumpers), underseal, arches, etc. The things I'd really like to do are springs and FRSU, and a gearbox rebuild (new bearings and synchros, LSD - Quaife or Wavetrac for preference, but the JDM one pulled from a 2010+ FN2 would no doubt be fine and a hell of a lot cheaper)

That's right! :lol:

It's the 11th day today since I purchased the car. Still hasn't left the garage... (well it did for a wash technically). I have a deadline though so will be out to play soon, got 50+ pictures to sort through and make a reasonable update to my thread tomorrow as well. Wish I had more free time...

Krzys · Mar 26, 2018

EnzoUK said:
It's just something I like to keep track of regardless, it's a hobby for me at the end of the day and I enjoy it. Some people go the pub every Friday / Saturday and go out to the town, I'd rather just spend my time working on my car and the money on car parts / mods! I learn a lot doing it and it's skills you can apply to other areas of your life.

It's the same for most here I would have thought

I'm certainly not one for going out and getting hammered every weekend or payday, sooner spend it on the car. I just don't enjoy reminding myself of how much I've spent :lol:

Made a list of stuff that I need and would like and winced at the cost! Haha!

EnzoUK · Mar 27, 2018

Honda Jazz Jet Washers

So I decided to pick up some OEM Honda Jazz jet washers to replace the standard one's which are boardline dangerous i've found when motorway driving as your screen just ends up full of smere because of the water distribution.

I done a little video on the before and after to show the difference better:

[video=youtube;TyRRlcYlN6U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyRRlcYlN6U[/video]

Simple and effective job done!

EnzoUK · Mar 27, 2018

I finally finished off the brake calipers too last night, so they've all been cleaned up and painted now.

Before:

After:

I also checked my brake pads as I'd replaced them back in October along with Brembo Drilled and groved discs, and oh my god.. my pads are 70% worn already!!... Only done about 3k miles since... madness... pretty sure this is because of the discs, and some hard driving...anyway, i'm gonna put on Ferodo DS2500 before it's European trip in May, to see how they perform vs the Brembo pads on there now.

EnzoUK · Mar 27, 2018

Clay Bar Clean + Supercar Show

Picked up some new car cleaning goodies Saturday from everyones favourite rip off car accessory merchant (haha....):

I come across a clay bar kit and i'd heard nothing but good things about them to bought it, got home, snowfoamed the car and gave it a good clean then decided to get to work with my new cleaning tool:

Getting started:

This was literally from brushing it against the boot lid a few times...

I hadn't even finished the car and the clay now looked like this.....:

This was probably the best cleaning tool i've used on a car ever and I can't rate it highly enough, it truely is a paintwork deep cleaner, previously the paint felt rough and after this treatment it now feels like glass and the shine is immense

I would recommend this to anyone who's never done it, it removes tar easier than tar remover itself.

I also attended Supercars of the North West 2018 in Southport near me on Saturday which was a great turnout. I ended up on the Modified North West stand near the back as that's the group I'm a part of. I also took part in a Civic Type R convoy down from warrington I wish I'd took some pics and videos of:

Back at base:

Nidge76 · Mar 28, 2018

That looks great, very shiny.

You certainly removed a lot of dirt with the clay.

I clay mine twice a year with a bar and also have a mitt for occasional use.

I love that glass finish it gives before putting on a nice wax.

I also just changed to the Jazz jets and it's so much better.

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Krzys · Mar 28, 2018

I need to hit mine with a clay bar. Just have to remember to keep folding it over after each panel try and keep it clean but I'm sure you know that already.

SK-R · Mar 28, 2018

Looks great buddy!

I need to get myself a clay bar as well. Although after the 2 stage polish I am not sure if it will pick up anything right now, but surely for the future.

Your pad wear is from your discs, grooved and drilled will do that

EnzoUK · Mar 28, 2018

Nidge76 said:
That looks great, very shiny.

You certainly removed a lot of dirt with the clay.

I clay mine twice a year with a bar and also have a mitt for occasional use.

I love that glass finish it gives before putting on a nice wax.

I also just changed to the Jazz jets and it's so much better.

Sent from my F3311 using Tapatalk

Car is from Scotland and 13 yrs old so I wasn't too suprised as I don't it's ever been done. It's gonna get clayed multiple times a year now though as I am still in awe at how good of a detailing method it is. I didn't have time to wax the car proper but I did use a detailing spray as the lubricant for the claybar. I'll try to get it waxed on the next big wash, just a timely process but worth it

.

The jazz washers are really night and day, couldn't recommend them enough as I'm sure you now know.

Krzys said:
I need to hit mine with a clay bar. Just have to remember to keep folding it over after each panel try and keep it clean but I'm sure you know that already.

Yeah, it was that dirty I ran out of folds on the clay! Just didn't wanna crack open the next claybar... save it for next time. It was a classic case of "ooo i'll just have a quick go on this new claybar...." 2hrs later i'd done most of the car haha.

SK-R said:
Looks great buddy!

I need to get myself a clay bar as well. Although after the 2 stage polish I am not sure if it will pick up anything right now, but surely for the future.

Your pad wear is from your discs, grooved and drilled will do that

Still worth a go pal, i'd polished some panels manually on some of my recent posts but the clay bar still made a silly good different. I know you've done a machine polish also in your thread but i'd still recommend giving the clay bar a go also, I think you'll be surprised

I expected pad wear because of it... but not like this! Are the aesthetics of the discs worth it? I'm unsure at this point after so few miles...

EnzoUK · Mar 28, 2018

SK-R said:
Oh I'm the same mate, I think you misunderstood me. I love spending money on the car and doing as much preventative maintenance as possible, but if I sat down and added it all up, I would question my car purchase and wish I had gone for a better model/cleaner example or something entirely different. It's why I don't write it all down and just buy things as I go along, that way it keeps me happy and keeps the car looking better with every day gone

That's right! :lol:

It's the 11th day today since I purchased the car. Still hasn't left the garage... (well it did for a wash technically). I have a deadline though so will be out to play soon, got 50+ pictures to sort through and make a reasonable update to my thread tomorrow as well. Wish I had more free time...

Preventive maintenance is something I really enjoy at the moment, i'm really not one for waiting for things to go wrong then address them also, as there's no worse feeling than car problems

Yeah sure you could go and get a newer car and all that but you'd have less emotional attachment to it, feel less proud of the work you've put in and learnt less! I think we all on here enjoy a good long term project to work on, it's what keeps things interesting and its progressive and satisfying. At the end of the day nothing beats a good old solid Type R in many aspects of a drive experience

Krzys said:
It's the same for most here I would have thought

I'm certainly not one for going out and getting hammered every weekend or payday, sooner spend it on the car. I just don't enjoy reminding myself of how much I've spent :lol:

Made a list of stuff that I need and would like and winced at the cost! Haha!

Haha fair enough, i'm a finance junk and like to track thing so that's where I get it from. It is what it is at the end of the day and it's all good fun. We're just all involved in an expensive hobby

mike.h said:
Ah, springs, I hadn't considered those Fair enough.

I haven't done it yet, too many things over the last few months destroying my bank balance including the wife getting stuck briefly in NZ due to a Chinese law change meaning she wasn't permitted to board her flight back here and we had to buy a new ticket via a different route (and the airline din't let us know about this issue even when they had the details to know it would be a problem); apparently you now need 3mo on your passport just to go through a Chinese airport, even if you never leave airside. Thanks China! Then there's the 6-monthly student loan payments (paid this week), the purchase of a piano, annual service & insurance, etc. etc. It's never-ending as an adult I'm hoping to do the same as you though, Eibach bolts and springs, Hardrace arms.

EDIT: I also, sadly, have a stupidly long list of things I'd like to do but I'm likely to do the boring ones first. Now that SK-R has made me feel like I'm half-arsing it I'm definitely gonna have to deal with various rusty parts (esp. that crap behind the front and rear bumpers), underseal, arches, etc. The things I'd really like to do are springs and FRSU, and a gearbox rebuild (new bearings and synchros, LSD - Quaife or Wavetrac for preference, but the JDM one pulled from a 2010+ FN2 would no doubt be fine and a hell of a lot cheaper)

Yeah we all go through those things in life in terms of finances. That sounds crazy though... who were you flying with?? I have heard of times as long as 6 months left on your passport or some places won't let you fly believe it or not!

How much do you think the gearbox rebuild would be all in, and what makes you think it needs it? Mine slack atm with lots of play in the gearstick but i've heard that's normal for the mileage from other owners, I know a short shifter would reduce that slightly but i'm not too concerned with getting that at the moment, an LSD would be lovely for sure but I think it's got to be FRSU next to help make the most of the current power output.