Loxy's silver FN2 GT - J's Braces
- Thread starter Loxy
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After a good sleep and giving James a good breakfast, time for the update. 
Arrived a TDi-North yesterday morning, had a bit of a mooch and Ben got to work on the car, not before he let me take some pics of the baffles from Clockwise Motion.
£200 is a lot of money for some aluminium, but it is well put together and there has been proper race proven development and post season evaluation put into it, so I don't begrudge paying it. It is still cheaper than the other Mugen and Toda solutions available, so it does provide good value compared to the alternatives.
This is it in the OEM sump.
Obviously you don't notice any difference with this mod, just that fingers crossed I won't have a bang, followed by bits of metal from my engine bouncing down the track at Spa. :lol:
Obviously due to the sump being off, I had the oil and filter changed. It had been in 5 months anyway, not strickly due a change, but still it's nice and fresh now.
I also had it booked in for new pads on the Stoptechs. I didn't have any issues with the Axxis pads that come with the kit but they are marked as being "Not for track use" which is a bit odd considering they are on a big brake kit, but still. £190 lighter for the DS2500 pads alone and the stopping power is now immense!
The bedding in procedure for the DS2500s involves quite a few heat cycles being put into the brakes. 60 mph stamp on the brakes down to around 20 mph, rinse and repeat around 15-20 times. I didn't fancy this knowing how this affects the person doing it, it is a bit vomit inducing. Thankfully Paul volunteered. :smt023
Simply awesome is all I can describe the brakes as now. It was wet yesterday so I couldn't appreciate their full potential, but put it this way, they'll kick in the ABS at motorway speeds if you ask them to, but perfectly civilised with light presses in normal situations. Very happy indeed.
While enjoying the space at TDi I also fitted the new SOD module (Shut Off Device Honda Part # 76209-SMG-E01) to the passenger wing mirror. This is another of the common issues with the 8th gen Civic in that one mirror might start to fold up slower than the other or sometimes stop before fully folding up. The SOD is the culprit and involves taking the body coloured mirror cover off the mirror back and simply swapping the module over. The new module is revised so should stop it recurring. I didn't do the driver side as that is fine so far. The module is available from all main dealers and £32.62 so not mega expensive, just annoying having to pay for it.
I also fitted the front J's Racing brace. It involves taking the windscreen cowl off, wipers and trimming the plastic covers over the suspension top mounts. I didn't get a pic but I probably will do later today. It took me about an hour, but it would probably be quicker if I did it again and I only took the skin off one knuckle.
The front went like this, just to give you an idea of what is involved. Rear did not go as smoothly!
[video=youtube;wyuw77ilF7w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyuw77ilF7w[/video]
I then moved on to fitting the C-pillar brace only to find the OEM bolts weren't long enough.
O/S
N/S
Normally the bolts have around 2-3 cm of thread into the bolt hole and the above pictures were also with using only one spacing ring and you are supposed to use two.
As above Ed is sending me the bolts from his car that fit the mounts fine, so I'll have another look next weekend. After the problem with the C-pillar brace I'd lots the momentum to then fit the floor bar, so I'll either have a look at that this afternoon or more likely fit it next weekend when I do the C-pillar brace again.
Arrived a TDi-North yesterday morning, had a bit of a mooch and Ben got to work on the car, not before he let me take some pics of the baffles from Clockwise Motion.
£200 is a lot of money for some aluminium, but it is well put together and there has been proper race proven development and post season evaluation put into it, so I don't begrudge paying it. It is still cheaper than the other Mugen and Toda solutions available, so it does provide good value compared to the alternatives.
This is it in the OEM sump.
Obviously you don't notice any difference with this mod, just that fingers crossed I won't have a bang, followed by bits of metal from my engine bouncing down the track at Spa. :lol:
Obviously due to the sump being off, I had the oil and filter changed. It had been in 5 months anyway, not strickly due a change, but still it's nice and fresh now.
I also had it booked in for new pads on the Stoptechs. I didn't have any issues with the Axxis pads that come with the kit but they are marked as being "Not for track use" which is a bit odd considering they are on a big brake kit, but still. £190 lighter for the DS2500 pads alone and the stopping power is now immense!
The bedding in procedure for the DS2500s involves quite a few heat cycles being put into the brakes. 60 mph stamp on the brakes down to around 20 mph, rinse and repeat around 15-20 times. I didn't fancy this knowing how this affects the person doing it, it is a bit vomit inducing. Thankfully Paul volunteered. :smt023
Simply awesome is all I can describe the brakes as now. It was wet yesterday so I couldn't appreciate their full potential, but put it this way, they'll kick in the ABS at motorway speeds if you ask them to, but perfectly civilised with light presses in normal situations. Very happy indeed.
While enjoying the space at TDi I also fitted the new SOD module (Shut Off Device Honda Part # 76209-SMG-E01) to the passenger wing mirror. This is another of the common issues with the 8th gen Civic in that one mirror might start to fold up slower than the other or sometimes stop before fully folding up. The SOD is the culprit and involves taking the body coloured mirror cover off the mirror back and simply swapping the module over. The new module is revised so should stop it recurring. I didn't do the driver side as that is fine so far. The module is available from all main dealers and £32.62 so not mega expensive, just annoying having to pay for it.
I also fitted the front J's Racing brace. It involves taking the windscreen cowl off, wipers and trimming the plastic covers over the suspension top mounts. I didn't get a pic but I probably will do later today. It took me about an hour, but it would probably be quicker if I did it again and I only took the skin off one knuckle.
The front went like this, just to give you an idea of what is involved. Rear did not go as smoothly!
[video=youtube;wyuw77ilF7w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyuw77ilF7w[/video]
I then moved on to fitting the C-pillar brace only to find the OEM bolts weren't long enough.
O/S
N/S
Normally the bolts have around 2-3 cm of thread into the bolt hole and the above pictures were also with using only one spacing ring and you are supposed to use two.
As above Ed is sending me the bolts from his car that fit the mounts fine, so I'll have another look next weekend. After the problem with the C-pillar brace I'd lots the momentum to then fit the floor bar, so I'll either have a look at that this afternoon or more likely fit it next weekend when I do the C-pillar brace again.
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- 6,132
Nice update, pity about the bolts being too short though. I got extended bolts from J's with the brace for mine, perhaps that's what Ed is sending you.
Intrigued by the stopping power... Looking forward to the end of the month that's for sure!
Intrigued by the stopping power... Looking forward to the end of the month that's for sure!
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Same thing happened when I got my lower mugen brace. Longer bolts were needed.
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- 10,110
Looks good Loxy. You must get a discount now with TDi :lol:
dessimpson
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^ should have his own parking space at this rate
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- 14
Loxy,
Thanks for the update. That rear pillar has got me thinking... I wonder if that would make a suitable mounting point for something like a GoPro HD camera for recording track days? I've read that suction mounts are often frowned upon by organisers / marshals, but being clamped to something like a roll cage would be OK... Looks easy to do, so I could add it in for track days, and take it out again for every day practical use...
Dave.
Thanks for the update. That rear pillar has got me thinking... I wonder if that would make a suitable mounting point for something like a GoPro HD camera for recording track days? I've read that suction mounts are often frowned upon by organisers / marshals, but being clamped to something like a roll cage would be OK... Looks easy to do, so I could add it in for track days, and take it out again for every day practical use...
Dave.
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- 392
It's been thought of and applied already. J's even do a camera mount to go with their C pillar bar.
Another camera mounting point is to put up a bar and brackets between the top of the two seatbelt mounts
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- 14
Lol I'll have a look to see if I can find any more info.
Isn't that what I'd be doing usin the brace? I suspect I've misunderstood what you mean with this option.
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- 392
Sorry, I missed a key word out. I meant the top of the front seat belt mounts
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Cheers mate. I just wanted everyone to see that I had taken sufficient steps to rectify my mistakeHi Ed, The wife has texted to say a package signed for has arrived so I'm guessing they have. I'll do some side by side pics on Saturday.
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Aye no worries, they are here.
The bolts that you've sent are 52mm at best measurement without any chamfer at the head. The OEM bolts according to Lings are 36mm but obviously have the chamfer which means they don't pass through the spacer which reduces the usable thread.
They do look like they'll do the trick. I'll update on Saturday. :smt023
The bolts that you've sent are 52mm at best measurement without any chamfer at the head. The OEM bolts according to Lings are 36mm but obviously have the chamfer which means they don't pass through the spacer which reduces the usable thread.
They do look like they'll do the trick. I'll update on Saturday. :smt023
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- 1,346
Dave, yes used it today and it sticks really well. It was this one I got: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003CKAQMC/ref=oh_o00_s00_i00_details
Actual picture of it in use today.
Civic icon