1991 Honda Civic 1.6i-VT / EE9 (LHD)

michelinman

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Not gunna lie, I'm a little sad this thread is up-to-date now :joy:

Looking forward to seeing how it progresses though, just hopefully not a massive wait before the next update :laughing:


Aw, thanks guys :grinning: This is great inspiration for me to make some progress! I was investigating wheel specs today :laughing: But I can't decide between Superturismo or Ultraleggera at the mo...

i76575_oz_superturismo_gt_grigio_corsa_1L.jpg


i76614_oz_ultraleggera_hlt_chrystal_titanium_1L.jpg


i88621_oz_ultraleggera_matt_graphite_1L.jpg
 

michelinman

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Ultraleggera for me, loved those wheels

They really sang to me when I looked online :grinning:

If it was my choice I'd be looking at 15" wheels by the like of Volk Racing, Enkei or SSR.

Not sure the modern style of an OZ would suit it well...

But that is only my opinion and it is your car of course man 🙂

Cheers for the suggestions! I will definitely go 15", but now you really have me rethinking :laughing: I agree that something more age related would be best and perhaps the OZs are too modern :sob:

Superturismo in my eyes are a far nicer wheel and you never know wheels are one of them things you can never be to sure about

Yeah, wheel choice is a never ending circle of self doubt and re budgeting :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Thats an absolute belter of a car Shak, great thread too!

For wheels I'd go with the suggestions of @veedubnoodle above

Cheers Conor, much appreciated! Yeah, I think I need to take in a much wider set of options and @veedubnoodle (what a great username :laughing:) has really got me burning brain cells :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Always liked the Mugen RNR on these. Although they’re probably hard to find these days. Rota (yes, I know, sacrilege) do a copy, called the Group N.

Can’t say either of those OZ options do it for me.

Mmmm, yeah, Mugen! Yeah, the long old ROTA debate :laughing: I ran a set on my Impreza, but admittedly that was a price biased decision... What I really want is to try and get something light but that will add to the 'ring readiness of the Civic. So I guess budget is going out de windee :eek:

I like the motorsport look, I think it would look great with a Compomotive TH1882 or Ronal M50 style wheel.

I actually would love a set of Compomotives Ciaran! Just not sure I can afford it (yes, the irony of my comment above is not lost on me....)

So, based on you guys giving me really valuable feedback and input, I searched online for some (perhaps) better age related options. I tried to find pictures of every suggestion above, but not all were available "front on" with an easily removable background, so no offence intended if I didn't get all the suggestions tried out below.

Forgive me for the crap picture 'chopping below. I have lost my photoshop license and so I just used paint and powerpoint :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :eek:

OEM

oem.jpg


COMPOMOTIVE TH1882

compomotives.jpg


ENKEI RFP1

enkei.JPG


MUGEN M7

mugen m7.jpg


OZ (Rally)

oz.jpg


RONAL TURBO

ronal.jpg


OZ (Superturismo)

superturismo.jpg


VOLK TE37

te37.jpg


OZ (Ultraleggera)

ultraleggera.jpg


VOLK (but I can't recall the model name)

volks.jpg


Work Meister

work meister.jpg


So a bit of fun on a Wednesday evening, but has surely got me thinking a lot harder than I can manage at this time of night :laughing:
 

Laundrymike

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Can't decide between the Ronals and Compomotives myself! All the rest, although suit it are a bit um meh...seen it all before kinda thing!
 

EF Ian

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Great job getting another EE9 back on the road. Rare things these days. Hope you are still enjoying it.

I don't know what was going on with your car, it also has non VTEC rear bumper, garnish and window glass as well as the mirrors?


I have never had any issues with the steering feel on mine, are you sure the rack is ok?



Volk or Work wheels for me. Although the O.Z's have the benefit of being very light and having great brake clearance for a 15" wheel for large upgrades.
 

michelinman

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Great job getting another EE9 back on the road. Rare things these days. Hope you are still enjoying it.

I don't know what was going on with your car, it also has non VTEC rear bumper, garnish and window glass as well as the mirrors?


I have never had any issues with the steering feel on mine, are you sure the rack is ok?



Volk or Work wheels for me. Although the O.Z's have the benefit of being very light and having great brake clearance for a 15" wheel for large upgrades.

Hey @EF Ian - sorry, I completely missed this! Thanks for your post, yeah I am still driving it every week and I feel like I am back in my 20s as a hooligan! I absolutely love driving it!

So my theory about the car's history is based on a lot of guesswork. But the original owner had it registered with plate using the suffix VT16, which makes me think he was an enthusiast. It was re-registered to someone with the same surname, so I assume it was his son (both male names) around 2016. But the new plate was a random generated one which perhaps indicates the son was not so enthusiastic (a huge assumption on my behalf). The car was then de-registered later in 2016.

Now comes all my guesswork. I bought the car in Feb 2019 and the records showed it had not been registered on the road for over 2 years. You will know from this thread that it had been accident repaired. As I got to know the car, it was clear it had been repaired with parts not originally from an EE9. It also was obvious that a lot of other parts had been replaced with non EE9 parts. My theory is that the "son" crashed the car and they took it off the road to repair it. But parts for EE9s are really dam expensive compared to other Civics. So I think they sold off all the EE9 parts to pay for the repair. For example, the electric door windows have been replaced with wind up windows (including the door cards and switches). The electric colour coded door mirrors have been replaced with black manual ones. The electric mirror switch is missing. The rear bumper garnish has been removed (you can clearly see the marks from where it was fitted for a long time). The rear head rests are missing. The air intake system was all ED7 and I replaced it with a complete used system which cost 250€!! The steering wheel is not from an EE9 and I think it might be from an ED7. The rear parcel shelf is missing (they are about 80-100€ used!).

I didn't know the glass was also incorrect :eek:

But the car is a genuine EE9 from the chassis number, so I think he tried to repair it and didn't know how expensive it would be to use EE9 parts. I think he then sold it onto the guy I bought it from who also got knee deep before he realised how expensive it would be to bring it back to EE9.

Then I came into the picture and took it off his hands, only to discover the same financial burden, but I guess I saved a lot by doing it myself. I can't say it was cheap to get it back to an EE9, but it was sure worth it! Theoretically it could be sold for what it has cost me so far, but there is no way I will part with it! Too much history and fun in it for me now :laughing:

But you have me questioning the steering feel and I think I will try and find a replacement rack. Thanks for the heads up about this - I read an old CAR magazine article when they were tested new. The editor complained about heavy steering and I assumed mine was like that from factory. But my mate Rumplestiltskin also has a CRX he is rebuilding and he is also said his steering feels much lighter than mine. Appreciate your feedback!

I will definitely go 15" wheels at some point because the brakes definitely feel too weak for the power it has and I would like to go bigger :grinning:

comps for me they are outside the box too suprised me

Me too actually and I am currently leaning towards them :grinning:

@Captain Starlet - thanks for posting up your Toyota wheels, I actually quite like them! But I am very much still undecided at this point and I guess the PCD has made this particular decision for me :laughing:
 

EF Ian

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EE9 parts are not only expensive, but hard to find.

Glass makes sense to be different as the garnish is also, I guess that they may have replaced the hatch and the garnish came with it.

The car seems really sound overall though in terms of rust so I wouldn't worry.



The steering can feel heavy at speeds below 5mph, especially for those used to modern cars, but it should feel smooth and constant above that, I love the steering feel from mine, new bushes and TRE's can make a good difference. The trick for slow manoeuvring is to do all the steering while you are still moving, might sound obvious but its not something thats normally done these days.


Brakes can be easily and cheaply upgraded to DC2 calipers and rover discs.
 

michelinman

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@EF Ian so true! Luckily there is a guy local to me who seems to make a living (killing) breaking everything Honda and has a fair number of EE9 breakers. I have given him quite a bit of business Lol! If you are ever stuck for something EE9, let me know and I will take a look at his stocklist.

Ah sorry, I mistook what you meant by garnish. Yeah, its hard to tell if that piece alone was changed or whether it was the whole hatch. The rear wiper was also unceremoniously removed (cables and washer hose were badly cut) which also means the rear window heater isn't connected either. So it could be that the whole rear hatch was changed out, except that the roof spoiler looks original and not added in later (paint fade is similar across spoiler and roof).

But you are also right about overall condition - its already got a front end from a CRX, so it is far from original, but it is rust free and roadworthy :laughing:

In terms of the steering, what you describe is exactly what I have experienced. Over 5mph, the steering feels great, plenty of feedback, it feels totally point and click and response is good. You hit the nail on the head regarding what I have got used to. I think if I drove the Civic during the 90s when I first passed my test, I wouldn't have had such a problem. I have definitely been softened by old age and modern power steering and I forgot what it was like to manoeuvre without power assistance. I guess I thought it would be better with such a light car, but I think I will still check out the rack, because it feels like the system is out of phase near to the end of both locks. Although I did learn my lesson the hard way and I am much more attuned to it at parking speeds :laughing:

Fantastic info about the brakes! DC2 breakers here I come! I assume the Rover discs come from the joint venture - Rover 200/Honda Ballade and that is really great news! Thanks!!

Next on the agenda is a rebush all round, so that can only improve the whole car :grinning:
 
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