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JamesT's Facelift DC5 - Kakimoto exhaust & Bilstein coilovers fitted

It's been a while since I did an update, so here's a little one.


Since the last update I've -


- Refurbed the Brembos. Wasn't a perfect job but they now look a lot better.
- Fitted the freshly refurbed wheels with new tyres.
- Fitted the new OEM Honda wheel nuts, this freshens it up a lot.


Before-





After -





Quick picture after a clean -


 
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Looking good; the wheels/breaks look as good as new IMO!

Can I ask what your process was for refurbishing the calipers? Is it just a case of sand/paint/wap on a brembo sticker?
 
I started off by picking off the bits of lacquer where ever I could. I then started using wet&dry on them, but I wasn't getting on it with it. The paint is really thin and it was rubbing through to the metal in some places.

I had much better results with different grades of wire wool. Got all the lacquer off and the callipers looked a matte pink. Didn't need new stickers. Then gave it a few coats of high temp clear lacquer. Was pretty simple really, took half an hour per side.
 
Looks great James, very clean DC5

When will you be getting her mapped?
Got your old wheels on mine now didn't need bigger spacers in the end which saved me a few quid

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So I thought it about about time for another little update.


Today I popped down to Surrey Rolling Road to see my good friend Romain. He had a Hondata K100 waiting for me.


I only have an Injen short ram intake fitted. Everything else is stock. The result was pretty damn good considering the lack of mods.





And here's the comparison, completely stock run was 204bhp.





Apart from that, I've fitted DS2500's front and rear, fitted Hel braided lines and also changed fluid to RBF600. I've also fitted an oil temp & pressure gauge to keep an eye on things.


I have a new Corbeau Clubsport seat to go in, but having issues with seat rails at the moment. Initially wanted a Buddy Club rail but was told they were out of stock. So next best thing was an "M2" seat rail. Guess what? Didn't fit. Slow turnaround from SPD in sending a replacement, too. Not impressed.


However, a trackday at Hullavington is booked for 17th April
smile.png
 
About time for another update!

So, I did a trackday - This corner was at about 90mph, rear nearside wheel off the ground but was definitely too much body roll from the OEM suspension.

10733808_10152654091882693_570432355323017779_o.jpg


So recently I bought a K-Tuned shifter arm, and a Tegiwa short shift kit. The DC5 already has a decent gearbox feel, but the excess in-gear movement always bothered me.


I put this video together to show what bits go where, and what improvement it has made - the gear changes now are really nice; solid and precise. You'll never get rid of all of the in gear movement, but this upgrade was a massive improvement & well worth the money.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhJYrj6QZS0



So as I'm taking a trip to TGM to diagnose the weird knocking I have from the suspension, I thought it would be rude to not get a geometry setup done at the same time.


So, standard setup -





OEM arm removed -





OEM arm -





Comparison with the Hardrace arm -





And fitted -





Naturally the camber is now going to be out, but I did try and measure the length of the arms to get it as close to OEM as possible. Will take it easy till TGM can set it up for me.


Front camber bolts will be ordered and fitted before then as well.


My visit to TGM was good - Tom is reasonably confident that he's found my knocking noise from the front suspension. Front lower arm bushes are torn, therefore there's now enough movement in the arm to actually hit the subframe on bumps. Unfortunately Tom didn't have any replacements in stock, so I asked him to order some hardrace bushes in, may as well do the front and rear bushes on the front lower arms if they are coming off!


These are the jobbies -


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After a little chat with Tom about handling, he advised not to do the geometry setup before the trackday, as I'll only need it done again once the bushes are fitted. I asked him about coilovers and told him what I wanted from the car. I've now ordered some Bilstein B14 coilovers from him.


I'll get Tom to fit them, with the new bushes, some shortened steering arms, and a Clockwise baffled sump. Getting the sump because of the following..






Slipstreams in 17x8 ET48, wrapped in AD08 Rs 215/14/17. Fitment is really nice - will get some proper pictures once the coilovers are on and it's sitting a little prettier, the arch gap right now is horrendous!


Hopefully I'll get the coilovers and other bits & pieces fitted before the end of the month. Will update as and when!
 
Well you've kept most of that quiet! :lol:

Should feel nice, tight, and firm once everything has been fitted and set up correctly.
 
Haha, I mostly frequent on ITR-DC5 these days mate :)

Should be lovely once it's all set up. Who knows what's next after that, maybe just trackdays and enjoy it.....
 
I know what you're going through with the wait - I was even tracking the ship it was on like a sad c*nt!
 
So this little beaut arrived for me today from Japan.

Kakimoto Regu06&R




An easy 30 minute fit and the badboy is on!











Almost OEM sounding when cruising, and like a jet fighter when in VTEC. Perfect!

Ideally it could sit higher, but I think that's just the way exhausts sit on facelifts. Pre-facelifts seem to have a lower rear apron which close the gap inbetween the backbox and bumper.


As I felt the backbox was hanging a bit low, I fitted some shorter powerflex backbox hanger rubbers. I think it looks much better now!




So, today was suspension day! I turned up at TGM at 8:30, and waited for Rob R, as he was getting suspension too.



Rob turned up, and then it looked like an Integra day out!



I had deliberated over which coilovers to get for ages. After speaking with Tom, I wanted something good quality and reliable - no Taiwan excremente. I could have gone for JDM, but the warranty would cause an issue if I needed to get them repaired. I decided on either Bilstein B14's or B16's. B14's are height adjustable only, and B16's are height and damping adjustable. Considering I would only touch the damping maybe 3 times a year, I decided to save myself £500 and just get the B14's -



So while Rob and I went to get some breakfast, the chaps cracked on with working on the cars.





Then they were on...





I also had some Buddyclub Roll Centre Adjusters fitted -



In addition to these parts, I also had a full set of Hardrace compliance bushes fitted to my lower arms, engine mount insert fitted to my front engine mount, and a Clockwise Motion baffled sump.

Tom asked me how low I wanted the car, I said I didn't want it slammed, but still wanted it sitting nicely.

Tom then set up the geometry of the car -



And here it is -



So what can I say about the Bilsteins? Well for one they ride a lot nicer on the road compared to the OEM suspension. Those coilovers combined with Toms fast road setup and AD08's made for a crazy drive home, the grip is incredible and the car feels poised and agile.

Hats off to Tom and Lio at TGM, great service as usual!
 
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