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Staffs Deltic Now in an FK8

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423
Previous performance car I had was the Corsa VXR as below.



Really liked the Corsa (and still have a soft spot for it) but circumstances mean't it had to go. A 12 month spell with a Fiesta diesel followed and one I do not intend to repeat. I realised I don't like diesels!

When looking for a new car I couldn't decide what to have. Mate had an FN2 and I had been to a couple of Civinfo meets. Out of the blue I saw one for sale on the internet at the right price. Five days later the deal was done and the first pic of it is on the day I picked it up.



Wasn't long before I got the itch to modify (2 weeks). Now the Corsa only had a couple of small mods and that was all I intended for the FN2. Off to ABP and a set of Eibach 15mm springs, Stoptech braided lines, Fast Road Setup and gold painted calipers. Car handles totally different to standard. Corners on rails!




Next up I added the Skunk2 gearknob to add better feel to the shift.



Next on the list was a Mugen oil cap.





Next addition was side decals, grill badge & some numberplate surrounds.





Next up was to find someone selling Flashpro. My original idea was to just run with the group N map and then probably next year add some other mods and get it all mapped.

Anyway, I was having a browse on fleabay one evening and there was a Flashpro unit for sale from a Honda dealer. First thing to do was ask if it was unlocked; question posted on ebay. I decided then to give them a ring the following morning. Don't know what numpty I got on the phone but he obviously had no idea about Flashpro 'of course its locked' was the reponse! Put me on to someone else please. Spoke to one of the managers and explained how Flashpro worked and he gave me an assurance that it would be unlocked (they had the car on site). He then asked if I had seen the other bits they had for sale.............no but I will have a look.

To cut a long story short the car they had in had been part-ex'd with an RRC / CPL CAI / CPL Manifold / Hondata Gasket / CPL Fuel rail. The previous owner couldn't be bothered to take them off so the dealer had to do it. The Flashpro was listed on its own but the other items were grouped together as one listing. All I had to do was bid..........

Next issue was that I was away when the listings were due to end, so quick lesson for my old man on how to bid on ebay and most important - when to put your final bid in! My old mans bidding was successful
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A couple of weeks later the goods arrived.........



Forgot to take pics of the other box of goodies!

My intentions were to hold on to all the bits until next year bar the manifold. I don't want to run without a cat therefore the manifold was sold.

A few days after getting the Flashpro I loaded up the group N map. What a difference in the car. The car was so much more responsive than before with VTEC coming in earlier I was surprised at what a difference it made.

That then got me itching to get the other bits fitted. Only issue was I wanted an exhaust & FD2 throttle body to complement the RRC. Making sure I have the bits I want before paying for a remap to save having to go back again.

Speaking to a few people I explained that I wanted an exhaust that was quiet while pottering around everyone recommended the HKS. Luckily, Sumopower had an offer on and so one was ordered (delivered the following morning).

I then managed to aquire a throttle body off DPG87 (Dave). Just now got to wait to get it all fitted...........

A couple of weeks later I was down at TDI to meet up with a few people and while there I mentioned to Paul @ TDI about what I had and about getting the bits fitted etc. He comes up with the idea of getting it all done on the rolling road day on 5th Nov. Took all of 2 seconds to agree.

Fast forward 5th Nov..............

Arrival at TDI early as my car was 1st on the rollers to get stock values as shown in pic.



The car was then wheeled away for Neil & Ben to fit the new goodies..

Exhaust fitted (blurred pic but you get the idea)



Stripped ready for RRC etc



The new throttle body courtesy of Dave (DPG87)



The completed installation



The car was then taken back in for its remap.



There were some problems getting it mapped. Paul tried to MAF tune the car however the injectors were maxing out at 6-6500rpm. Paul then decided to go for a MAP tune. The result is shown in the attached graph.

Everyone at TDI worked hard and it was a long day. We left about 20.00hrs having been there from 08.10hrs, I felt knackered and all I had been doing was walking round taking pics and chatting. God knows what the TDI lads must have felt like.

The results:

Stock 210.9bhp & 147lb/ft

Mapped 226.3bhp & 164lb/ft

The drive home was a whole new experience. The car pulls so well from low down the rev range. The gains from the work don't seem that much 15bhp & 17lb/ft of torque but the car drives so totally different. There is more torque available lower down the rev range and the car is transformed.

The following day I thought I would check under the bonnet before going for a drive out;to my dismay there was a fuel leak on the CPL fuel rail. There is a grub screw on the top of the rail and fuel was leaking from it. Spin out cancelled.

I wasn't going to have the fuel rail fitted originally as I was going to get an RRC cover; however I thought a bit of bling wouldn't hurt so decided on the day to get it fitted. So it was a little frustrating to have the problem. I had been thinking of selling it beforehand and am glad that I hadn't as someone else would have been disappointed. Joys of buying 2nd hand parts!
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Following day after speaking to Paul @ TDI I wrapped a cloth around the rail and set off for Warrington hoping that I wasn't about to go up in smoke. Thankfully arrived there in one piece and Neil put the original rail back on at my request.

Big thanks to all @ TDI North for their hard work and assistance.

Drive back home I gave it the beans. Few things to note:

1. As soon as VTEC comes on the car sounds like it has the HKS RSK fitted, the CPL CAI sounds superb.

2. Exhaust has nice thrum around 2500-3000 revs when you put your foot down. I am expecting it to get a little louder when it cokes up a bit but it is definately the right choice if you don't want a loud exhaust.

3. The RRC is luke warm to touch immediately after a run, the Hondata gasket is really keeping temps in the intake down.

4. The extra power / torque is making the need for an lsd more noticeable.

One very very happy FN2 owner.
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Attached Files
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Staffs deltic RR Graph.pdf (32.4 KB, 10 views)
 
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Outstanding write up there, very good.

Great looking car too, not keen in the Rages, but over all looks very smart.

Also, some top grade NA tuning bits there, but think how much better they would be with a race header, I'd expect a big jump in performance if you did that.

For a moment I thought you'd painted your brake disc's gold too, until I realised you'd just washed it :lol: .
 
Totally agree. Excellent looking car and some cracking results, shame I couldn't hang about to see the end results!

What's next?!
 
Outstanding write up there, very good.

Great looking car too, not keen in the Rages, but over all looks very smart.

Also, some top grade NA tuning bits there, but think how much better they would be with a race header, I'd expect a big jump in performance if you did that.

For a moment I thought you'd painted your brake disc's gold too, until I realised you'd just washed it :lol: .

Cheers. There is more to come as the Rages are off the car. I will do a further update later today.

I have thought long and hard about the header but really want the car road legal. I am probably going to run it for 12 months then look what is on the market with a sports cat. I know a sports cat can be troublesome as they are not guaranteed to pass an MOT but that is the route I think I may take.
 
Totally agree. Excellent looking car and some cracking results, shame I couldn't hang about to see the end results!

What's next?!

Cheers John. Yes it was a long day and by the end myself, my mate from Stoke & Paul the Vision were all that were left. Still it was a great day out.

I think I mentioned on your thread on civinfo about brakes as I was unsure what to go for. I had ordered the Stoptech touring kit as there was an offer on it from ABP. To cut a long story short I got concerned that I was wasting money on a set of brakes that may not give anything better than what was provided as standard. Also the fact that I want to get on track later next year & want something I know will perform with no issues. Having had a run out in Chris's car at ABP I am now waiting for the BBK to come.:D

Also got some harnesses on order from demon Tweeks.
 
Went out for a run to Wrexham and the good people at Demon Tweeks the other week.

Here is are a couple of pics when I got there.....





The car was taken into the workshops..........



The car came out of the workshop looking like this.............











Photos don't really do the alloys justice, they look far better up close and personal! The wheels are 18 x 8 with ET40 offset which gives a far better stance and also give me plenty of clearance for my BBK when it arrives.:D
 
Looks so good with the new wheels. Never thought of looking on eBay for Flashpro... Damn it
 
Lovely write up mate :) do you notice any difference on lighter wheels

TBH the only difference I notice with the new wheels is that the ride is a lot less harsh than with the rages fitted. With the slightly thicker sidewall in the tyre it is soaking up some of the bumps better.
 
Loving your FN mate! Some very nice subtle mods you've done, make a big difference! I must admit I'm big fan of the rage alloys, but the team dynamics work well!

I'm seriously thinking of selling my jdm ep3 to get an fn2, and seeing threads like this just make me wanna make the move!
 
Oh by the way do you have any before and after photos of when the Eibach springs were fitted? Do Eibach just do the one lowering kit or are there a couple of kits to choose from? And lastly what are you doing with the rage alloys, keeping them or selling?

Sorry for the questions just trying to gather knowledge in case I buy one myself ;)

Cheers,
Arron
 
Oh by the way do you have any before and after photos of when the Eibach springs were fitted? Do Eibach just do the one lowering kit or are there a couple of kits to choose from? And lastly what are you doing with the rage alloys, keeping them or selling?

Sorry for the questions just trying to gather knowledge in case I buy one myself ;)



Cheers,
Arron

Arron,

I'll have a look for before and after pics and if I can find any I'll post them up. ABP at Crewe do 2 different types of Eibach spring; one which lowers it 15mm and another which lowers the car by 30mm. Both improve the unsettled & crashy ride that the FN2 has. Personally I went for the 15mm as I didn't want to scrape over every sleeping policeman. I know someone who has fitted Tein springs and he is happy with them (think he got them from Demon Tweeks as they were alot cheaper than anywhere else).

Eitherway if you do go for an FN2 you benefit from a fast road setup along with the springs, the whole package will transform the handling.

The rages are currently for sale on the civinfo forum.

Questions are not a problem - thats what a forum is for. Sharing experiences and information to help people make informed decisions.

Cheers
Paul.
 
Arron,

Pics are not brilliant but 1st pic before lowered..........

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2nd pic after lowering........

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Not a massive difference but just enough to make it sit right (in my opinion). Did seem to sit lower at front than rear when on the rages (don't know why) but looks level on the Pro Race wheels. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks a lot for the reply mate, that's great! Useful to know that about the lowering springs. I have seen an FN on the rages lowered with the 30mm springs actually, and it did look too low in my opinion, iirc it seemed to sit lower at the rear than the front as well, which is a real bug bear of mine, so I think I'd go for the 15mm springs as well if I get it with the rages. Out of interest, how much have you got the rages up for? Are they mint and with good tyres? Just trying to work out what I'd be looking at to buy bits for an FN if I get one which doesn't have the rages already.
 
Out of interest, how much have you got the rages up for? Are they mint and with good tyres? Just trying to work out what I'd be looking at to buy bits for an FN if I get one which doesn't have the rages already.

Rages are up for £800 and tyres have between 3 & 4mm of tread and are in very good condition (usual odd mark etc). To buy new with tyres they are nearly £3000!!!!!! (which is silly money).
 
Cool, cheers mate, gives me an idea. I'll probably be putting my car up for sale after xmas to get an FN2, if it doesn't have the rages on it I'll bare you in mind bud if you still have them that is. :)
 
Had a run out to TDI North today. When I had the tune in November Paul had to map tune the car and as a result the oil light would not work. Paul was wary of the (at the time) latest Flashpro update to solve the problem and advised against uploading it there and then; better let the software be tested and any updates sorted before installing on to my car.

Aim for the day was to get the oil light sorted (which meant a full dyno run & remap) and to also cure one of the main concerns I had when I get to go out on track - that of oil starvation. While down at the Autosport show and talking to Paul I inquired about a baffled sump. Apparently there were some that Mugen had modified which stopped oil getting on to the timing chain and a couple were in stock. I decided I didn't want to take any risk with the engine so I asked Paul to fit one.

A few pics of the day.............

Day didn't start off too well; got the car up on the ramp and there was a large screw sticking out of my drivers side rear tyre.
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Next the car was stripped down and the old sump taken off.....



A couple of pics of the underside of the car with the sump removed....





The new sump with the additional plate welded at one end to stop oil escaping up the timing chain.......



Once all was installed Paul then set about remapping the car. Whilst that was all going on Neil was working on another car and it became apparent that an RRC cover was going begging. After an extremely good deal was agreed it was fitted to mine.......
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After Paul had finished mapping the car, the screw in the rear wheel had to be taken out as it could not be driven on the road. Sure enough it had gone right through and one of Paul's old wheels was fitted so he could take it for a test run. After the test run it was a quick run out to National tyres to get the thing repaired. Quick trip back to TDI to give Paul his wheel back then time for some food.

Really big thanks to Paul, Ben, Neil & Lou for their help. Always a pleasure to go to TDI North to get work done.
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Also picked up a couple of harnesses for track day use.



Will be using these for track days only. Will get some pics up when I have put the fixings in place and tried the belts in situ.
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