I figure I should probably start one of these, since I will be slowly modifying my car depending on how funds come in.
The Car
I bought my 1997 Honda Civic EX 4 door in December 2007 when my Topaz’s transmission decided it only liked to run my car in first gear. I bought it with 227xx kilometers on its d16y7 engine. Remember I am in Canada so my ex is equivalent to a US spec LX.
Front view
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/DSC00100.jpg
Left Side
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/DSC00101.jpg
The paint is pretty bad and I had to replace the clutch after a month, granted it still had the stock clutch so really nothing to surprising there. Otherwise car runs great and when I took it on a 20 hour road trip I had no problems with it.
Last November (2008), I had the rear quarter panels/fenders redone due to rusting. They now look amazing.
The Plan
Being the way I am, I cannot leave well enough alone. I swore I would not modify this car but….yeah that is not going to happen.
The overarching goals of this project Are to have a car that is practicle and yet still fun to drive and reliable.
Stage 1
Engine & Transmission
PRM Racing Intake
Megan 4-2-1 SS header (Installed June 3, 2009)
Magnaflow High flow Catalytic converter (Installed June 3, 2009)
Greddy Spectrum Elite Cat-back exhaust (Installed June 3, 2009)
Short Throw shift (not sure on brand)
Exterior
New OEM front and rear bumpers
Front and rear Lips (not sure on style)
Projector headlights (Installed July 22, 2009)
Stripped, any rust and dents fixed and repainted black
Tinting redone
Clear OEM style fog lights
Seibon OEM Style Carbon Fiber hood
Interior
Bride Gias seats
Kenwood Excelon KDA-X692 head unit (Installed March 2009)
Infinity Kappa 62.9I 6.5s front
Infinity Kappa 692.9I 6x9s rear
Suspension
KYB AGX Struts
Spoon progressive Springs
Buddy Club P-1 Racing SF Gunmetal Wheels (not sure on 15s or 16s)
Buddy Club P-1 Racing Lug Nuts
Benen 3 point front strut bar
Lower Control Arms (not sure on brand)
Brakes
Rear Disc conversion
40/40 prop valve
Brembo blanks
Hawk HPS pads
Stronger brake booster (still figuring this one out)
That is what I consider stage one, the car will make a bit more power (120 if I am lucky) but look and drive A LOT better. This I predict will take me anywhere front 1-3 years to complete. If I still have the car after that point then I will do stage 2. Stage 2 is not AS planned out as it is a while off.
Stage 2
Engine swap
B18C1 with 5 speed LSD transmission
11-12:1 Compression pistons
Forged rods
Bisimoto stage 2 cam shaft
Bisimoto Valves and valve springs
Adjustable cam Gear
Stronger drive shafts
BBK Single stage Intake Manifold
BBK 70mm throttle body
Custom PRM intake
OR
D16Z6 With 5 Speed transmission (possible aftermarket LSD)
10.5-11.5:1 Compression Ratio Pistons
Forged rods
Bisimoto stage 2 cam shaft
Bisimoto Valves and valve springs
Adjustable cam Gear
Stronger drive shafts
That’s it for now, stay tuned for semi regular process updates. And Please give me comments and feedback, they are appreciated.
WellFedHobo
06-02-2009, 10:44 AM
The furious four doors are taking over! looks like you have a plan. But, if you are gonna do all that engine/tranny work, why not skip directly to stage 2 on that? Otherwise you just waste money.
And if you go for a bigger master cylinder, I'd think you wouldn't need to change the brake booster. I just did rear discs with 4040 prop and trailing arms only. Mine work fine with stock MC and booster. With Brembros and Hawks, you'd be about where you wanna be.
plethoric33
06-02-2009, 02:21 PM
Good to see someone else building a 4 door. Im glad to see people finally showing interest in them. I used to have an LX. A coupe isnt practicle for me, so I have to have a hatch or 4 door. Your plans sound good...and expensive! I agree with Itinerant, why waste money on the motor you have if you plan on swapping?
Tiran
06-02-2009, 03:05 PM
well when I do teh swap, the Cat and ctaback will stay the same, I will just need a new header.
Stock Y7 intake annoying, it makes me sick to look at it.
And a short throw is really not THAT expensive and i think it will greatly improve my enjoyment till I can get to stage 2.
As for the brake thing, I only made the comment about the booster because of itinerant's comment earlier after his swap, he was saying he had to press the pedal harder to get braking like he did before.
But I figure I will do the swap with the arms and 40/40 and see how it feels. If I want something more aggressive I will look into a new booster.
Ideally I woudl like to just rip the whole brake system out of a 99 or 2000 Si/SiR. But I don't see that happening.
Anyway, exhaust swap happening tomorrow, hopefully lots of pics and video.
SPLAT
06-02-2009, 07:10 PM
Cant wait for some pic's.
NIKE H34D
06-02-2009, 07:45 PM
well when I do teh swap, the Cat and ctaback will stay the same, I will just need a new header.
Stock Y7 intake annoying, it makes me sick to look at it.
.
y7 intake manifold is an embarrassment lol wtf were they thinking with that think
Tiran
06-03-2009, 03:06 PM
Got the exhaust installed today. My car now Have D16Y8 style exhaust and is a lot quieter then...broken.
Overall it took me about 5 hours to do it, but I was taking my time and this is the first MAJOR project I have done to a car, so I was a bit OCDish/paranoid.
The night before I jacked it up in the garage, took off the heat shield and soaked the header screws in penetrating fluid. I went to bed, got up at 1130 before my shift at midnight and coated them again. When I got home from work at 830 I coated them again before I started at about 930-10ish.
I was paranoid of stripping the header nuts but due to the amount of fluid I used and how much time I gave it to sit and work, all nine came out perfectly and I just reused them.
Also the night before I coated my header's midway gasket in copper RTV and torqued it to 25ft-lbs per screw and let it sit over night (14 hours) to ensure a good seal.
Time spent was about 3 hours on removal of the old system, 1.5 hours install of new one )this includes running into town to get some hardware I need) and then 30 minutes waiting for it to cool down so I could recheck and re-torque the nuts and bolts.
Tools I used were a 241 piece socket set, WD-40, penetrating fluid, brake cleaner, wrenches, a jack and jack stands.
Also I bought some Mechanix Gloves, the impact with the gel around the knuckles and padded grips. THESE THINGS ARE AMAZING! saved my knuckles so many times.
Ok, here are some pics, I promised a lot but...yeah I was busy fixing it. NO video yet, will come in the next few days.
The tools
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00075.jpg
The patient is ready.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00070.jpg
Bone Stock but not for long
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00071.jpg
Parts prepped prior to install
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00073.jpg
Parts covered penetrating fluid.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00072.jpg
New view from the rear
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Exhast%20Install/DSC00083.jpg
All in all I am very pleased.
Also I found out that my Stock manifold had 2 cracks. one was massive and went almost all the way around it. So it is a good thing i did this.
Thats all for now.
croninc
06-03-2009, 03:44 PM
looks good, what kind of muffler is that?
cvcrcr99
06-03-2009, 04:28 PM
Looks nice! Any vids of the exhaust?
plethoric33
06-03-2009, 05:28 PM
Looks like a clean install. I just got a Megan header in the mail yesterday and will be installing it this weekend. My car came with an ebay knockoff header, it now has 3 good size cracks in it and its only 6 months old.
SPLAT
06-03-2009, 05:42 PM
Nice start, i love that blue tip on that exhaust.
Tiran
06-04-2009, 11:24 PM
Thanks for all the comments so far guys. Can't get video yet, work is killing em right now. Worked 51 hours this past week and I had 2 midnight shifts in between day shifts.
Also, I was driving it around after I finished it and I started to hear a metallic rattle, I figured it was the heat shield and I woudl remove it in a few days.
About a Kilometer away from home I suddenly hear a metal tang, then the sound of something hitting the bottom of my car and the exhaust sounds all assy again like before.
I had to work during the day but when I got home I put the car on ramps and looked underneath since i determined the leak was somewhere around cat.
Turns out the O2 bung (which I didn't use) shot out its plug. I didn't tighten it when I did the install because I just didn't think of it and am retarded.
I did keep the other one so one 19mm wrench and 2 minutes of torquing later, exhaust is perfect.
In the next few days may get some video, but no guarantees.
looks good, what kind of muffler is that?
If you refer to the first post =P
Stage 1
Engine & Transmission
...
Megan 4-2-1 SS header
Magnaflow High flow Catalytic converter
Greddy Spectrum Elite Cat-back exhaust
...
reading in FUNdamental
eautoworks
06-05-2009, 11:51 AM
Great to see the exhaust worked out great!!!
Let me know if you need anything else :cool:
Tiran
06-05-2009, 07:01 PM
Oh yeah, guess I should do a little shameless plugging here.
I got my Catback from http://www.eautoworks.com. Jason there helped me out a lot in finding the right exhaust (IE, a quiet cat back system that was not discontinued) and got me a great price.
Anyway, after a few days I am extremely satisfied with these exhaust products and can't wait to keep modding the car.
dam NICE ass camera lol it recorded dam welll and a clear picture for once :D and exhaust sounded harmless enough :D good choice
trustdestruction
06-05-2009, 08:09 PM
I really like your plans, and the exhaust and everything looks great. It looks like it all fit great too. Exhaust sounds good, pretty much just like the WS2.
I also plan on using Buddy Club P-1 Lug Nuts. Whatever you do, don't buy them on ebay. There is more than one kind of Buddy Club Lug Nut, and nobody has the P-1's in black, and the one seller that claims to is a retard. I ordered from "streetrays" on eBay, and he has a picture of the P-1's, and the description clearly references the P-1's, due to its mention of part number and the "knurled ends" on the lug nuts. However, he sent me different ones, claimed that the part number is for the ones I received (it isn't...). I am getting a refund of course, but I have been waiting a month for these to arrive because he had to order them and then when I finally get them, it's the wrong f*cking ones. Order from inlinefour.com, or somewhere else reputable.
Tiran
06-08-2009, 04:45 PM
Once again, thanks for all the comments.
My camera Is just a Sony Cybershot DSC-W130 Point and shoot, nothing fancy.
Anyway, this is really not projetc related per say but is related to my car.
Of the 2 pics there, one is the system on a white background. the other is it installed on a car, specifically...MY car. =D
next upgrade may take a few weeks, I need more money and time =/
Tiran
07-22-2009, 10:16 PM
ZOMG BACK FROM THE DEAD!
But seriously, with real life I have been unable to do much to the car, but I assure you there has been planning.
Today's Feature.....HEADLIGHTS! Seriously, my old ones were so fogged up I could barley see with the brights on, so I decided that I HAD to fix this. I could have just refinished my stuff and gotten nicer bulbs but...I am not really a fan of OEM lights, especially with the chrome housing mine have. So I decided that I was going to get non-OEM style with a black housing.
Eventually I decided on TYC projectors, yes yes I know they are supposedly inferior to OEM or retrofits but they seem to work pretty damn good if you ask me. These are also more expensive then most Aftermarket projectors but they look a lot better and no Halo light or angel Eye LEDS. I stilled sealed them with silicone, just to be safe.
As far as bulbs go I used Raybrig Metal Thunder H1 4700Ks. WOW these things are bright, and work great. I got them from *SHAMELESS PROMOTION* http://www.eautoworks.com/ *SHAMELESS PROMOTION*. They are pricey but I GOT what I paid for, plus awesome service.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/RaybrigRA11.jpg
Anyway enough of my blabbing, time for pics!
None of the install process, it is pretty straight forward anyway. (plus it was humid as **** and i just wanted to get it done) so just finished product.
Installed, front view
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/DSC00105.jpg
Installed, top down view
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/DSC00106.jpg
Close Up view
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/DSC00107.jpg
Low beams on at night
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/DSC00113.jpg
High Beams at night
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/Headlights/DSC00114.jpg
Overall I think they look great. I prefer the Focused beam look instead of the shotgun of light you get with standard reflector housings. Below you will find some shots of the lights on the garage door. The low beams have a built in cut off, which means if I DID want HIDs, woudl be an easy install. Also the aim is not perfect but I did not even bother, I just tightened the bolts and put it back together, if I get complaints I will work on it.
As you can see, a nice intense and focused white light. First one I had the light level (on the camera)l set at auto, second one i set it up at max to show contrast better.
They are high beams, they are supposed to be bright and all over the place.
In the end, a worthwhile mod that not only improved safety but also the looks of the car. Call me a ricer if you want, I think they look great.
Also as a side note, both bottom bolts on my bump broke. One the head snapped off with the bolt still in the hole while the other broke a chuck off the body of the bolt. So I drilled out both holes and used zip ties. The 2 side screws and top clips should hold it in fine I figure, the ties are just there to stop it from flapping around.
May take a while for next update, depends on job and life and such.
NIKE H34D
07-22-2009, 10:56 PM
Not a fan of how the lights look at al at all on an EK but atleast they light the road dam good :D
trustdestruction
07-22-2009, 11:12 PM
jason can you read?
WellFedHobo
07-22-2009, 11:36 PM
Those are a heck of a lot better than those old foggy ones. I was looking at that style of projector for my car.
Tiran
08-14-2009, 04:00 PM
Ok small update.
I have my Buddy Club Type A shift knob and installed it, super clena and no problems =P
Buddy Club Type A knob
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/darktiran/BuddyClubTypeAknob.jpg
Also I got a new job, that is 500km away from where I live but I will make almost twice what I make now. so I am moving. I dunno when I will have income to pay for civic parts again, (let alone internet access) but I will not let this project die.
On the plus side I found out with 3 guys, plus their luggage for a weeks vacation (trunk full) my car still gets 37MPG on the highway. And that going 75-80 MPH. Not bad for a 12 year old car with 267000km (165000 miles) on the engine.
Tiran
10-18-2009, 03:29 PM
First off, I am back home, I got laid off from the job, (lame but whatever I got my old job back).
Anyway. While I was up there I discovered why stock hangers suck. Stock piping is light cause its thin and small diameter, when I upgraded to my greddy system it seriously stretched my center rubber hanger. Plus there is no support on the header's down pipe right before the cat so I had a massive dip in the center of my system.
Where I am right now it's flat, up north it was hilly and they had murderous speed bumps. My resonator would scrap half the time and it sucked massively. In fact one was so bad that it cause my exhaust to start having a metallic vibration noise ta certain RPM levels. I talked to some people and trustdestruction recommended I use a poly exhaust hanger. he had one left so he sold it to me and it arrived the other day.
Now the poly hanger was a bitch to install on the mid pipe. Since it dose not stretch I had to use a lot of WD40 and brute force but it slid on eventually. this just reinforces my theory that EVERYTHING fits with enough lube! =D
The only problem now is that between 1400 and 1450 RPM teh WHOLE car vibrates...meh, its such a small range and I don't ever drive that car there, (due to gearing and speed limits) so its all good.
Now big news. the project is changing a bit. I am not going for full coil overs and no longer getting the camber kits. I am going to go with KYB AGX struts and Spoon Progressive springs instead. I have no need for 15 way adjustable coil overs on a Daily driver that will see a track maybe a few times a year. Plus this should save me over 100 dollars so hopefully I can get a new engine sooner.
Also I am thinking of maybe not going for a B18C1 and just building a D16Z6. With a similar build, (high comp pistons and stage 2 cam) I would probably get about 150ish HP, which as far as I am concerned is more then enough. Plus I could reuse my header (unless I get a 4-1) and woudl not have to buy aftermarket engine mounts. On the downside if I wanted an LSD I would HAVE to buy and get an aftermarket unit installed.
Anyway I am still debating the idea so please, input people!
cvcrcr99
10-18-2009, 04:11 PM
Those poly exhaust hangers will make more noise as it is transfering the vibrations to the car since the hanger is stiffer. Same thing would happen if you put stiffer motor mounts in your car. After reading your post, I realized I am having the same issue with my resonator pipe hanging down due to a sagging/stretched hanger.
I have 20-way adjustable coilovers, and I never track my car or any of that stuff. I just liked the coilovers, their spring rates, and the fact you can completely slam a car on coilovers, and then raise it back to stock height when you want. With springs, you can't adjust the ride height.
Save the SOHC!!!! Stick with the z6. It's easier to work on, cheaper, and more fun to say you walked a SI or a GSR with a single cam. Just be sure to get at least 0.5mm over bore pistons (and obviously get your bottom end bored 0.5mm). If you get stock bore pistons, you can possibly run into issues such as piston slap. 150whp will definitely be an upgrade and make your d series more fun to drive. I feel that if you build your current motor, you'll be happier since you built it, and didn't just buy a bigger motor and installed it (not saying that wouldn't be satisfying, but I feel like building your current motor would give you more pride...it did for me!).
trustdestruction
10-18-2009, 04:23 PM
Nah, trust me, it's not the poly hanger making it vibrate, they're not that bad about vibration. The poly hanger pulled the exhaust up higher so you're probably rubbing exhaust on something now. Look around the S-bend and the bend in the axle back that goes over the rear LCA. The exhaust is probably rubbing the gas tank a little bit.
Tiran
10-18-2009, 04:27 PM
Well I am only getting the vibration at the one RPM range so I can deal with it.
And yeah, the Spoons will drop me about 20mm (almost an inch) which is what I want.
Also I do not have the z6 yet, I have a Y7 (woo). If I did get one It woudl be a complete strip down, replace all the bearings, boil the block, etc etc. I was unsure about the overbore, with high compression, I do not want to loose too much cylinder wall width. Also I can get a B-series tranny with a stock LSD, and I think that will greatly improve my times I woudl have to get an aftermarket LSD installed with teh z6 and need to research that more.
Regardless, the chassis needs to be setup to take the power first, then I cna worry about the engine.
trustdestruction
10-18-2009, 04:36 PM
You're gonna want to check it out. If you let it rub for too long you're going to rub straight through the gas tank.
Of course I don't mean right away... but eventually.
Tiran
10-22-2009, 12:16 PM
Well paranoia got the best of me, so I checked out the S pipe and realized how to fix it. Fixing it requires cutting and welding 2 things I am neither equipped to do nor skilled at, but I got a local guy to fix it and it looks awesome and fits beautifully. Will post pics when he gets them posted.
Anyway, this came in the mail, super stoked. I also ordered bulbs for it, same style as the ones in my headlights but in H3 size. so when those arrive i will install it and then the road should be like daylight for me =D
And yes, this is a GENUINE Raybrig Honda kit. Cost me A LOT more then a set of square ones off eBay but I am a sucker for OEM. Plus since my projectors emit a round beam I think round fogs will make the car look cleaner. May not make sense to you but It dose to me.
Got the fog lights installed today. It went slowly, but then I took my time. Plus Honda are bastards and hide plugs and whatnot and place the wiring harness behind large objects you can't fit you hand behind. Additionally I had difficulty finding a place to secure the relay and ground under the dash.
BUT in the end everything is working and awesome. Turned them on and they lit up like they were supposed to. And the car did not catch on fire, explode or short anything out, soooooo......Win!
I used the exact same bulbs in these fog as I did in my headlights. Raybrig Metal Thunder 4700K 55 Watt = 95 Watt except in H3 size. And I got them from eautoworks.com (http://www.eautoworks.com) which is an awesome website =D
I installed them while it was light but had to work in the evening. So when I got out of work it was dark and decided I drive home with just the fogs on to see how good they were. I would say they performed as well as standard halogen bulbs in stock headlights. With the low beams the road was a lot brighter and with the high beams on I can see far down the road but the sides of the road are still illuminated thanks to the fog lights.