dutchy ej1

Hi folks of Honda-tech.

My name is Arwin, and I am visiting this site all the way from The Netherlands.
You know, that small country run by farmers somewhere on the mainland of Europe.

Anyhow..
Here's my car history up until now:




I started out with a simple EG4 with a stock D15B2 engine (90HP/120Nm):



You know the drill. 1st car, not a single clue what you're doing, etc etc.
Not very special, but it brought me places.




After spending 1.5 years at the back of the pack, I decided it was time for a faster car with more options.
Then came a Seat Leon 1.8 20VT AUQ engine (201HP/305Nm):
(All the luxury you required, except no leather seats)



The car had a decent amount of torque, and actually went pretty fast.
But because it was a heavy car (1246Kg) and had a fast engine, it cost me a lot of insurance and road tax money.
Not very functional Daily drive for a 21 year old kid.
Drove it a good 1.5 years and then sold it with some good profit.
So no bad news there.




After spending the summer on 2 wheels:
(50CC, so nothing spectacular)






I decided that the daily commute would be a lot easier with a car.




So by incident I saw a Honda Civic Coupé.
It was a EJ1 with an D16Z9 engine (125HP/142Nm)
(103.000 km, except from a set of lowering springs it was 100% stock.)




Very lovely car. I really enjoyed it. Could use some extra *umpf* though.
After a simple tune-up with some boltons and a remap of the ECU, it eventually produced 145HP/160Nm. Not bad for a single cam VTEC, but it wasn't enough.
So I made a huge mistake of swapping a B16A2. After some simple mods it produced 175HP/161Nm. But it was still slow as hell..
Still managed to turn some necks, and make a few people smile. Lot of positive feedback on the looks.














After 3 years of good fun I had to let it go, because I broke the differential + I didn't feel anything for it anymore. It had gathered some rust on the rear arches, and the rear subframe was deformed so I couldn't mount a reinforcement brace for a thicker swaybar.
+ I had been in an accident with it, so I didn't feel like putting to much of an effort in it anymore.

Here are some pictures from it's glory days.
Doing what it did best.. Racing on The Nordschleife:













The mods used on the B16A2:
-Custom made Aluminium Velocity Stack intake
-Toda replica 4-2-1 header 2.5"
-Custom made 2.5"-> 2.3/8" testpipe
-Invidia GT200 catback
-ECU remap with Neptune software.



Ever since I bought the EJ1, I tried the more serious side of driving.
I went to different sets of tracks in different countries, but none of them fascinated me as much as The Green Hell a.k.a The Nordschleife.
The variation + the "Endurance feel" of that track is something I haven't witnessed anywhere else. And since the track is only a 3 hour drive from my home, I feel obligated for all my brethren around the globe to visit it as much as possible.

Up until now I only took part of the Touristenfahrt days, meaning any car is allowed on the track. As long as it is street legal.
I don't have the experience or the wealth to join the big boys, and spend a 3 months pay in 1 day.
But who knows, maybe in the future..


After the EJ1 was stripped and sold, I went looking for a replacement. A decent replacement that could at least live up to the level that I had brought the car in.
And that car was a Volkswagen Golf MK1 1.6 diesel.!


Nahhh..Just joking.
I needed transportation, and this piece of junk showed up at the right time at the wrong place.
It lasted 6 months before its engine blew up due to insufficient cooling.


The replacement was found after visiting a couple of rotten apples in the meantime.
It was a bone-stock 1998 Honda Integra Type-R.



The chassis has its downsides (meaning it's crunchy here and there)
But the fact that the engine, drivetrain and interior are undamaged means a lot more to me.
Right after purchasing it the company I work for gave me a van, so luckily it won't see that much dull daily driving.




First thing I did was change the exhaust line with what I had left from the EJ1.
-Tegiwa Toda Replica 4-2-1 2.5" header.






-Blox 2.5" testpipe.






-Invidia GT200 2.3/8" catback.



Other than the full exhaust line, no performance enhancing mods have been done yet.
I have a garage full of bolt-ons ready to be put on, but I just lack the time.
But somewhere in the next 6 months, I'll probably be able to finish the power enhancements.


Next up, the interior.
Fitted and replaced the worn out stuff.

-QSP 7cm deep dish suede steering wheel.
-Blox gauge holder.
-Skunk2 shifter **** in black and red.
-Suede shifter booth in black and red.
-New OEM floormats.
-Takata 3" 4 point racing harness for both the front seats.




Suspension wise it is still standing on its 16 year old shocks and springs. And none of the bushings have been changed yet.
However I knew what I was going to use the car for, so I did some replacing here and there to make sure I would leave the track in one piece

Brakes have been upgraded with:
-Stoptech grooved discs Front + Rear (282/262)
-Ferrodo DS-2500 pads Front + Rear
-Goodridge steel embraded brakelines Front + Rear
-DOT 5.1 brakefluid
-Removed the dust shields behind the discs Front + Rear.





**Fast forward to current day





The 29th and 30th of May I took the DC2 to the Nordschleife for the first time.
I had no idea what to expect from the stock suspension, engine etc.
So I just gave it a go those 2 days and ended up with a flat 09:00 BTG laptime.
I was very pleased with that, since my previous record was somewhere in the 09:30's with the EJ1.

Here are the pictures and video of my lap:

dutchy ej1

No updates yet. But did a bit researching etc. to improve my lap time on the Nordschleife.

This here is a comparison of my 09:00 BTG lap, and the 08:35 BTG lap of a guy on youtube.
You might have to pause his video a couple of times due to difference in power / experience. But nevertheless its still a fun comparison to watch. :lol:
Mainly I used his video to improve my driving lines.

Click me.!!

Looking forward to your reactions.!

Tang87

Dang that type r makes me jealous. I just have a gsr on stock suspension and it's share of problems lol

dutchy ej1

Thanks for the compliment sir

GSR's are just as much fun if you ask me. I did some hefty driving on the track in a EK4 B18C GSR of a mate of mine. It didn't lack anything in my opinion.
It's just that the Type-R cams make your engine scream out, and a GSR is more of a low pitched humming-type of an engine.

Good luck with your suspension.
I'm very curious which mods you're planning for the future.!

tyman2395

Nice Type R , Looks really clean. I need one for my collection aha got a boosted hatch

Tang87

Yeah I'm on the fence with keeping it or trading for an eg hatch with a jdm f20b dohc vtec swap. Save on insurance that way lol. Also missed a guy that had skunk 2 full coilovers for my car did pretty cheap. Oh well. I don't get to hit the Track with my car anyhow lol.

dutchy ej1

Took a while, but I finally have 2 decent fotographs off the DC2.











And I just realised that I only have 1 red caliper on the car :lol: