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My 2002 EP3

R

R555

Messages
227
Hi Guys

Now my FN2 is almost finished and I intend to keep the EK9 I've bought standard I've turned my attention to my EP3. This is very much going to be a build on the cheap. The car has been in my wife's daily drive for the past few years and therefore has really had a hard life!

So initially the plans are to freshen up the interior and exterior while addressing some short falls of the car.

Now as much as I'd like to go all out and get a genuine Mugen lip, grill and wing I'm on a tight budget so because the front lip and grill are already damaged so I've ordered replica items from Knightracing.

A few pictures of the car when we first bought it:

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After I gave the car a quick detail:

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The existing seats have started to show signs of wear so I managed to get these, along with the carpet from a JDM EP3:

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Should come up OK after a good clean.

One aspect of both the EP3 and FN2 that I've never liked is the brakes - the EP3's arent as bad as the FN's but I still wanted to replace my existing OEM set up. Due to my budget Spoon Calipers or any of other BBK is really out of the question. So with that in mind I went on the hunt for a pair of DC5 Brembos which I plan to fit with S2K discs. So after emailing TGM I managed to get a pair for a really good price and Paul at Spooner Restorations is very kindly restoring them for me.

A few pictures:

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Nice car mate. there is a set of spoon calipers being sold by chippyleigh in the forsale section mate.
 
What else you going to do to it ??

Keep it sleeper, OEM as hell just tweak a few little things, like the geo, maybe a Spoon B pipe (if they're still about) and a free flowing filter system that doesn't growl like a frog too much, so it just a OEM EP3 with a few things that were considered shortfalls made better.

You've already done the seats, which is probably the most expensive bit.
 
Suits said:
What else you going to do to it ??

Keep it sleeper, OEM as hell just tweak a few little things, like the geo, maybe a Spoon B pipe (if they're still about) and a free flowing filter system that doesn't growl like a frog too much, so it just a OEM EP3 with a few things that were considered shortfalls made better.

You've already done the seats, which is probably the most expensive bit.
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Thats exactly the plan. Once I've got the bodywork sorted out and the OEM wheels reconditioned the plan is to fit some sort of intake (not 100% sure which one yet) and an exhaust and then get it mapped. Because I'm trying to do it all on the cheap if I go for new parts then I'm considering Tegiwas intake, manifold and exhaust or I'll scour the for sale sections and eBay. :) Ideally I'd like the power to be around what the JDM model puts out.
 
Na, sod power, it's quick enough, just get it OEM and bit sharper on the blunt bits then sell it to me.

Dont worry about mapping or fake things, just get OEM.

Lawl.

No, seriously, if you already have a FN2 that has been pulled about and modded why do it to this ?? Why don't you get this up to fresh OEM spec and take pride in it for that. There's millions of these will all the same bits on them now, seeing a good restored one with a few choice performance bits would be super cool.

Freshen up the bushes, ARB here and there and bang, super handling fresh EP3 with an awesome engine you can pop to Tesco in without being raced at every junction.

Don't forget, you've always got your FN2 for that.
 
Suits said:
Na, sod power, it's quick enough, just get it OEM and bit sharper on the blunt bits then sell it to me.

Dont worry about mapping or fake things, just get OEM.

Lawl.

No, seriously, if you already have a FN2 that has been pulled about and modded why do it to this ?? Why don't you get this up to fresh OEM spec and take pride in it for that. There's millions of these will all the same bits on them now, seeing a good restored one with a few choice performance bits would be super cool.

Freshen up the bushes, ARB here and there and bang, super handling fresh EP3 with an awesome engine you can pop to Tesco in without being raced at every junction.

Don't forget, you've always got your FN2 for that.
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Thats actually a really good idea and makes sense with the FN2 already being modded. It would be nice to have a clean OEM car with a few mods from the JDM car. Thats a great idea about the bushes as I bet it makes a huge difference and really tightens the handling back up
 
My God.

Change dem bushes, get new ones for the gear linkages too and you'll think wow.

Don't get the JDM mani and stuff, it's hardly worth the benifit you get from it unless you get it mapped and even then it's minimal, trust me I've done it.

Then just enjoy the car, these OEM are fantastic, they have one of the best engine and gearbox combo's ever dropped into a hatchback.

When I stripped my 241BHP EP3, as mad as it sounds, it was a better place to be, yeah the mid range grunt was missed but the other things made up for it.

Like I said, do it, sell it to me :) .
 
Suits said:
My God.

Change dem bushes, get new ones for the gear linkages too and you'll think wow.

Don't get the JDM mani and stuff, it's hardly worth the benifit you get from it unless you get it mapped and even then it's minimal, trust me I've done it.

Then just enjoy the car, these OEM are fantastic, they have one of the best engine and gearbox combo's ever dropped into a hatchback.

When I stripped my 241BHP EP3, as mad as it sounds, it was a better place to be, yeah the mid range grunt was missed but the other things made up for it.

Like I said, do it, sell it to me :) .
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Yeah dont think I'll bother with Manifolds etc - to be honest tuning my FN2 was one of the worst decisions I ever made as NA tuning is a serious money pit where you can spend thousands and make the car worse! lol

Might be fun to strip it all back and see what its like on the track too...
 
R555 said:
Yeah dont think I'll bother with Manifolds etc - to be honest tuning my FN2 was one of the worst decisions I ever made as NA tuning is a serious money pit where you can spend thousands and make the car worse! lol

Might be fun to strip it all back and see what its like on the track too...
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Track is the best. Makes you realise all the money you wasted on stuff when you can't use the power it has anyway, makes you focus on a total different area of the car.

NA tuning ?? Tell me about it, I tuned a S2000.
 
Just heard back from my mechanic with regards sorting out the bodywork and wheels, he said he would remove the bonnet and front bumper and spoiler paint them on their own blend the colour into both front wings,brush touch and lacquer any scratches remove some dents from the n/s/r panel and them machine polish the whole car with a 2 pack polish, also repair and paint all four wheels. so basically make the car look like showroom condition.Price wise he was looking at about £1000-£1100 in vat.

What do you guys think? Is that a good price?
 
Thanks to Paul at Spooner Restorations my DC5 Brembo's have now been restored to good as new. Really pleased with the finish and cant wait to get them fitted

B06FC5F6-BF28-4098-B73D-A3C55FDC3EAC-2160-0000046631573786.jpg
 
Staffs Deltic said:
Them brakes look better than new!:)

All your pics seem to have vanished off page one???
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Oops, I've been messing about with my Photobucket, fixed now!

It shames me to say but my Fugen parts have arrived, pretty rubbish quality if I'm honest but this project is on a budget!

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Got the grill and lip from Knightracer, the lip arrived with a crack already in it!

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The wing actually looks like OK quality, got this from a seller on eBay.
 
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