My 2003 Civic Type R EP3

[Neil_M]

Time to get the Civic back on track, literally!

Some more of my Black Friday purchases arrived., say no more...

Along with the Hybrid Racing shifter assembly I have also bought a shift knob and shifter cables.

The shifter assembly had been removed here, which is how the Civic sat for quite a few weeks.

Time for a big push to get these parts installed.

Gruppe M airbox removed.

The OE shifter cables.

The Hybrid Racing and OE cables side by side. I had to swap the support brackets and under-body grommet over. A tad disappointing as the cables are far from cheap.

The Hybrid Racing cables quickly installed at the gearbox.

The shifter assembly installed and the shifter cables attached. Not an easy job lying on your back, especially as the cables are 2-3 times thicker than the OE cables and much more rigid.

You don't have much room to work with.

And the shifter cables nailed down at the gearbox end.

Everything put back together ready for a test drive. I'd only set in the gearshift surround, should I need to adjust the throw of the shifter.

That was a bit of a feat to install. As mentioned above it's a bit disappointing that the cables don't come with brackets and a grommet. I had to cut up my OE grommet and seal it up with polyurethane sealant.

As for the test drive, bloomin heck even at the default setting it's one short throw. Very snickety, sold and mechanical feeling, I was very impressed. Arguably the install was well worth it, that removes one more bit of slop out of the car. It will take some getting used to, possibly the gate being so short, makes things a little less positive...

As part of a garage clear out, I'll be selling my OE front calipers and carriers. If anyone is interested, PM me an offer. Note these were rebuilt by Brakes International as one of my first purchases with the car.

Again my Revo Technica short shifter assembly will also be sold. PM any offers over. A fine choice for any EP3 with a few miles that has developed some play in it's shifter. This short shifter replaces the whole unit.

 

[svensktoppen]

By Jove, I honestly didn't think there were any bits left to replace on this car that hadn't already been replaced, tuned or refurbished to perfection

 

[TSPORT]

Class, Would love a passenger ride in that

 

[Neil_M]

By Jove, I honestly didn't think there were any bits left to replace on this car that hadn't already been replaced, tuned or refurbished to perfection

LOL, I'm not replacing parts that I've already replaced!

She's a mega short shift now, need to get out for a blast down some back roads to see how she performs during some faster shifting under load.

I'll have to try out the Hybrid Racing shift knob too.

 

[Neil_M]

Class, Would love a passenger ride in that

She's absolutely hilarious. Total visceral experience.

You'd be welcome some evening to get out for a blast.

She may be the daily at some stage, so I can get the R32's brakes sorted

 

[TSPORT]

Daily the E36

 

[Neil_M]

Daily the E36

How dare you even suggest such a thing lol!

 

[TSPORT]

How dare you even suggest such a thing lol!

Do it, Get the bitch mucked to the handles

 

[Neil_M]

Do it, Get the bitch mucked to the handles

I've just reported that post!

 

[Neil_M]

During the black Friday sales I picked up an AN -6 braided fuel line kit for the Civic. This replaces the line from the fuel rail to the firewall. Totally for aesthetic purposes.

Partnered with the appropriate magnetic vice jaws, EFI fittings and 2x AN spanners... It's time to fit.

The OE fuel rail fitting and line.

Which follows along the side of the rocker cover to the firewall.

The fitting at the firewall end. Note I have removed the support bracket that covers this (soon to reappear).

EFI to AN - 6 fitting installed on the rail.

Then on the firewall end.

The line is installed. As you can see it's a little long, but then this allows for engine movement.

I've also ordered 90 degree fittings for both ends of the line, I think that would make for a much tidier install.

The initial fit to ensure there is no leaks.

The firewall support bracket for the line was painted up and the bolts were replaced with stainless.

As you can see the bracket has a facility for supporting the OE line. This doesn't work with this setup. I added the cable tie more to provide some support, but no tension.

I tweaked the line routing a little. She still isn't perfect, but shes safe and not stressed.

Again I have the 90 degree fittings ordered, that should allow tidier routing. I believe the kit is predominantly for K-swapped cars covering a universal range, including centre feed fuel rails, hence the fittings and length.

Scene points +10.

 

[Neil_M]

I'd booked the first track day of the year for the Civic, this time a private track day with very limited numbers.

Time to do some prep and start fitting a few parts that have been gathering dust in the house.


The last remaining coolant lines (that’s haven’t been replaced by silicon) on the car are for the oil cooler. Most coolant hose kits for the Civic do not include them, so as part of the Black Friday sales, these were ordered from Hybrid Racing for an absolute bargain price.


This is a comparison of the old and new. Nothing the nice chunky stainless jubilee clips.

What a ruddy awkward job. It was incredibly difficult trying to fit the longer hose from the oil cooler to water pump, this runs between the side of the engine and the chassis legs. Then of course the clamps have to be lined up to tighten them and leave them accessible for ease of removal.

Clearance galore!

Naturally that meant I refreshed the engine coolant and bled. No leaks, ye ha!


Time for an oil change too (arty farty photo).

OE filter primed and ready to go.

A brake fluid flush was required too. I use Motul RBF600.

The fronts being worked on, late night working FTW.

The Civic was used as the daily to make sure everything was ok. Noting I picked up a fuel can, expecting to need a little more fuel for the pending track day.

Essential track prep, a good clean!

Time for a spark plug change too... Not really required, but at least it's all tip top and they aren't massively expensive.

The engine bay given a very quick wipe down.

All parked up good to go.

... arrived at Kirkistown for the day. A great example of bringing a knife to a gun fight.

I was out on track with a load of Evos. Totally out paced in the straights, but the Civic done very well in the twisties.

A great fun day out, zero complaints or problems with the Civic. Even after the day out against the big power Evo's, I didn't really want more power. I really felt the next upgrade was to balance out the rear of the car under braking. I have some upgraded pads and fresh discs to go on. That may help the weight transfer a little too. Then the cage for safety and when the AD08Rs wear out, an upgrade to them. I'd prefer to be using every last drop of time the chassis and I have before going for power... I think.

I'd stacks of track time, as there were 8 cars in total. It was great fun when all of us were out in one of the rain storms, all helps the experience.

I ended up turning off my lap timer and just going out for a drive and good fun.

A big thumbs up to the red FN2 on the way home. He had the windows down and the thumbs up listening to the racket of me heading towards the M2!

Sorry there are no videos, my mic disconnected so I have loads of silent footage! There should be some cracking photos from the photographers coming up though.

 

[Neil_M]

A big thanks to Engineous for taking some awesome shots from last Sunday... The gallery -

Some of my favourites...

I may not have been as close on the straights

Yep indeed, thats a number plate coming off the Evo...

A big fan of the over tyred look!

This Evo just kept lapping, only stopping for fuel!

 

[j44nty]

A big thanks to Engineous for taking some awesome shots from last Sunday... The gallery -

Some of my favourites...

I may not have been as close on the straights

Yep indeed, thats a number plate coming off the Evo...

A big fan of the over tyred look!

This Evo just kept lapping, only stopping for fuel!

Spotted on the morning commute. Templepatrick roundabout never looked as much fun.
Great work

 

[Neil_M]

Spotted on the morning commute. Templepatrick roundabout never looked as much fun.
Great work

Ah sorry I missed you man! I'd probably already given up on life at that stage lol, she doesn't make for a great commuting car.

Though she delivers Indian food ok...

 

[andy_b]

Car looking great mate, out of curiosity what all is required for a track day, tempted to get up a day in the Impreza seams like great crk and how often do they be on

 

[Neil_M]

Car looking great mate, out of curiosity what all is required for a track day, tempted to get up a day in the Impreza seams like great crk and how often do they be on

For the Trackskills sessions the car needs to be roadworthy / MOT, then all you need to bring is a long sleeved top and helmet.

The dates for Trackskills are here - Track Skills - Providing Track Days for cars at Kirkistown Race Circuit in Northern Ireland - Dates

Very well worth doing, never mind learning how to drive and handle a car, it's great fun and there are always a good bunch of people at it.

 

[Neil_M]

Time for an MOT... that means a 3 day clean up session!

Underside wall washed down...

The interior was minted too, I didn't get any photos though .

Snow foam pics FTW!

Iron-x just applied to the paint. Interestingly it picked up nothing! I'd have expected loads of brake dust...

Time was against me, so it was left over night.

The next morning I woke up up find this. ****

It was getting another wash anyway.

After a quick polish and wax, she was looking pretty.

Chocolate mousse time!

The essential MOT photo...

A mate who was also booked in for MOT on Saturday called round. What a mint box!

A nice video of the take off too...



OOPs and a quick edit to say the MOT was passed without any negative comments at all. Nothing showing cause for concern. The tester did laugh at the amount of money spent, literally every suspension arm and bush has been replaced lol!

 

[Neil_M]

Time to finally change the rear brakes on the EP3.

I'm running a set of AP Racing calipers and significantly larger discs up front on the civic. I was hoping to try and balance things out a little and upgrade the rear brakes.

There are not really any true rear brake upgrades for the EP3, so it seemed the best I could do was to upgrade the pad compound with a fresh set of Brembo discs. The Ferodo DS2500's days were always numbered, so an upgrade to the Ferodo DS 1.11s would do the job.

Interestingly they have a very consistent / stable friction coefficient just like the Pagid RS29s I run up front. There aren't many pad upgrade options for the rears, so I was quite lucky to get a compound like the 1.11. Compared to the DS2500s it has a higher friction coefficient from cold and still manages to be much more stable at higher temperatures, where the DS2500 just falls off.

Anyway, enough waffle, onto the photos.

The parts all laid out.

Soon to be painted up, don't worry.

One side done...

Onto the other...

Just after bedding in.

Some scrap!

No real issues bar one of the slider pins was starting to seize up. I could see the DS2500s were used well past their temperature range as they were crumbling apart.

The discs and pads are bedded in, so roll on the next outing to properly test them out.


I also made a little video as I changed the discs and pads. Hopefully someone finds it of use.

 

[pablo]

You out on Sunday Neil?

 

[Neil_M]

You out on Sunday Neil?

Hopefully so, I've banned myself from doing anything else / taking anything apart.

MUK arsed up my race license, so I don't think I will be at the sprint on Saturday. So Trackskills is most likely.

Are you heading down in the new toy?

 

[pablo]

That’s the plan!

 

[Neil_M]

That’s the plan!

Good man, sure it's not like there could be any rain left

 

[Neil_M]

Kirkiston time again... Let's test out these new brake pads!

The only photo I got a chance to take .

It was a cracking day out. Mixed weather but the second half of the day kept improving.

There were a few offs from other cars, probably down to the mixed weather.

My own Civic lapped round without any major problems. I have found the shifter is starting to give me grief, I believe the heavy duty shifter cables and shifter assembly are too much for the already upgraded set of shifter springs. I have another hopefully upgraded set of shifter springs to go in, along with the detend springs. Ultimately the shifter is not so keen to centre itself in the gate at times. I just need to find some time to get them installed.

I improved throughout the day, I've gotten a little rusty in my driving and I'm not pushing myself or the car as hard as I could. Ultimately carrying more speed in and out of corners is where I need to improve, in my own self criticism.

I also nipped out at lunchtime today to Greenaway Auto Electrics to have the AC drained of gas... You can see where this is going lol!

Anyway enough jibber jabber... some videos...

 

[svensktoppen]

Good stuff

 

[Neil_M]

Good stuff

You still have to come down in the Lotus sir... next month??