EP3 - what handling upgrades to get done at the same time

[LBR-YT]

I've got my EP3 booked in at Motion Motorsport next month for some stuff to be installed;

- BC racing BR series coilovers 8/10kg
- Tegiwa roll centre adjusters
- Superpro full polybush kit (the cars 18 years old, 90k miles so I assume most, if not all the stock ones are fked)
- Steering rack service and delrin rack slider
- Tegiwa camber bolts & rear camber arms
- Fast road geo

It's my daily atm, doing a 50 miles round trip basically every day with a & b road bashing on weekends, it will be a track car eventually.

My question is, Is there anything else that would be a good idea to get done at the same time? Maybe something that if changed would require another alignment? £500 max, ideally less

Also, I've had a search but can't really find in depth reviews on them for the ep3 specifically. I purchased H&R lowering springs about a week ago, upon further research It doesn't seem like the best idea to use them with stock shocks. The front shocks have been replaced within the past 6-8k miles and are still clean, the rears look like the ones it came from the factory with. All the spring are rusty, some worse than others so bought the H&R's to replace. Are the BR series coilovers suitable to daily for the meantime? (6-8 months)

I'm getting new anti roll bars front and rear too, I'm doing them myself after all this is done. Any recommendations for something that will lean toward oversteer when I'm really pushing? Admittedly I haven't researched arb's at all, If there's plenty of info out there I will start.

 

[Chris.]

Personally I would avoid BC. Also the Polybush might be a bit harsh for road use. Do you have an LSD already? As it's one of the single best handling mods you can do.

 

[LBR-YT]

Personally I would avoid BC. Also the Polybush might be a bit harsh for road use. Do you have an LSD already? As it's one of the single best handling mods you can do.

Thanks for the reply,

What would you say is better than BC for the same price point then? I've been looking at Eibach B14's and KW V1's but can't really find too much on comparisons between the 3. Body roll is what I'm more focused on removing and I'm getting arb's for that. I don't want to make the car too much of a ballache to drive to and from work but I'm happy to sacrifice stock ride quality for confidence at speed. I'll be running semi slicks at track days so, at the same time, I don't want anything that'll make the car too soft. If you couldn't guess from these questions, this'll be my first time on track so I don't need anything too crazy just yet, but, the adjustability from the BC's is appealing to me... independent ride height adjustment and comp and rebound, even if it is with one dial. I'm asking for alot from £1k coilkovers I know haha.


LSD is next on the list after this lot, needs a clutch very soon, synchros too, so will get it all done at the same time. I noticed even on the drive back home after buying it how badly these cars need a diff, it 1 wheel peels on decent tyres coming off roundabouts lol

 

[Vitka]

If you are just starting trackdays, then perhaps you don't really need to upgrade your suspension this much at first. I track mine still on stock springs and dampers, EP3s have really good suspension out of the factory. Yes, it could be, and will be better, but if you are just trying out track driving, a set of good tyres and pads are all you need, and you are good to go. If you go coilovers and polibushes now, when you are still daily driving it, your fillings will fall out, as we say it in Hungary. If you go track stiff, it will be intolerable on the road.

Moving on, if it will be a track car, then with the coilovers and polibushes, the way to go is full slicks I think. I personally will not go this far, I will do the springs, stiffened dampers, stock bushings, and semi slicks route with the usual stuff, along with an LSD somewhere down the line. One more thought is, if your car becomes a track car, you can go a lot further with the alignment, meaning a bigger front toe, and up to almost 3 degrees of camber. It does wonders, as I've heard.

 

[Chris.]

Thanks for the reply,

What would you say is better than BC for the same price point then? I've been looking at Eibach B14's and KW V1's but can't really find too much on comparisons between the 3. Body roll is what I'm more focused on removing and I'm getting arb's for that. I don't want to make the car too much of a ballache to drive to and from work but I'm happy to sacrifice stock ride quality for confidence at speed. I'll be running semi slicks at track days so, at the same time, I don't want anything that'll make the car too soft. If you couldn't guess from these questions, this'll be my first time on track so I don't need anything too crazy just yet, but, the adjustability from the BC's is appealing to me... independent ride height adjustment and comp and rebound, even if it is with one dial. I'm asking for alot from £1k coilkovers I know haha.


LSD is next on the list after this lot, needs a clutch very soon, synchros too, so will get it all done at the same time. I noticed even on the drive back home after buying it how badly these cars need a diff, it 1 wheel peels on decent tyres coming off roundabouts lol

What is your budget for suspension?

If you are running semi slicks, you need a sump baffle.

 

[LBR-YT]

If you are just starting trackdays, then perhaps you don't really need to upgrade your suspension this much at first. I track mine still on stock springs and dampers, EP3s have really good suspension out of the factory. Yes, it could be, and will be better, but if you are just trying out track driving, a set of good tyres and pads are all you need, and you are good to go. If you go coilovers and polibushes now, when you are still daily driving it, your fillings will fall out, as we say it in Hungary. If you go track stiff, it will be intolerable on the road.

Moving on, if it will be a track car, then with the coilovers and polibushes, the way to go is full slicks I think. I personally will not go this far, I will do the springs, stiffened dampers, stock bushings, and semi slicks route with the usual stuff, along with an LSD somewhere down the line. One more thought is, if your car becomes a track car, you can go a lot further with the alignment, meaning a bigger front toe, and up to almost 3 degrees of camber. It does wonders, as I've heard.

I agree, upgrading suspension in this way before even my first track day isn't at all neccessary. However my stock springs are quite badly corroded and need replacing, along with my two rear shocks. Replacing them with stock parts will cost around £400 which seems like a waste to me considering I always planned on getting coilovers anyway. It's the same story with the bushings, The car is on 90k miles and the bushings have never been changed, I can replace them with oem bushes or polybush for a little extra money. I 100% plan on using full slicks further down the line, but I imagine I'll need a big brake kit for that. I've got godspeed discs with ferodo ds2500 pads, braided lines atm and I've had them glowing red just from A roads on Pirelli P zero neros (came on the car)

What is your budget for suspension?

If you are running semi slicks, you need a sump baffle.

£900-1200max really, I could stretch a little further for something that would significantly improve road manners for daily but this isn't a *major* concern although it is a consideration. I'm thinking a clockwise motion drop in one but I'll probably call just ask motion motorsport what works for them when I take my car there in a few weeks time.

 

[Chris.]

I'd go for Meister R. https://www.meisterr.co.uk/products/meisterr-clubrace-coilovers-for-honda-civic-ep-01-05/

 

[TuneR]

I agree, upgrading suspension in this way before even my first track day isn't at all neccessary. However my stock springs are quite badly corroded and need replacing, along with my two rear shocks. Replacing them with stock parts will cost around £400 which seems like a waste to me considering I always planned on getting coilovers anyway. It's the same story with the bushings, The car is on 90k miles and the bushings have never been changed, I can replace them with oem bushes or polybush for a little extra money. I 100% plan on using full slicks further down the line, but I imagine I'll need a big brake kit for that. I've got godspeed discs with ferodo ds2500 pads, braided lines atm and I've had them glowing red just from A roads on Pirelli P zero neros (came on the car)

I'd agree with Chris that the LSD would be the first mod but if you have issues that your shocks have failed (knocking & MOT fail) then no point having a car thats not roadworthy. I enjoyed the stock setup on mine, so i'd assume Koni do a shock upgrade with something like Spoon springs i.e. small shock upgrade and a small drop progressive spring. Also ignore semi-slicks until you learn how to track the car, experience+knowledge brings quicker lap-times than tyres. As mentioned already you'd have to install a sump baffle to prevent oil starvation on long, high speed corners.

A final observation, if you're cooking your brakes on the road you're either driving like a looney or you're on the brakes too long. Track braking is fast, hard and then off the pedal unless trailing it a little to help rotate the car. When i started i was the same, riding the pedal too long.