r8byb

So as the story has it the K20 engine is one of the best engines for a track car around, me knowing this I decided to hunt for a cheap platform to build upon.

That's when a friend let me know about an EP3 Type R with only 2 owners and 110k for just £1,700 roughly $2500. At the time you couldn't even buy a salvage EP3 for that so I took the plunge, but my trust in the honesty of the current owner and left a deposit over the phone.

The day came where we travelled the 320 mile round trip to collect this car. It was by no means in great condition, but I didn't expect that, pretty much every panel had been resprayed (with rattle cans), the interior was in dire need of a clean, however the engine ran perfectly and the gear change was as crisp as can be, not even a hint of a crunch into 2nd which is a common trait of the K20 gearbox.

Few pictures from when I got it home, had a few nice suprise's including a Spoon N1 and a set of Rota's which were quickly sold to fund the build.





Whilst I didn't have much money and was waiting to sell my old track car I decided to try and improve a few cosmetic area's on the car.

The headlights were seperated and sprayed satin black.





After this the car stayed like that for a good few weeks until the show season ended and I let go of my S2000 , Sad times as me and that car had been through quite a bit, but it was all for a good cause and would allow me to get on with building a car with a purpose.

Few pictures of all the cars together, now only have the Civic and an Audi!



I bought some track wheels for the Civic which had some Bridgestone RE070's fitted, These would become my wet weather/Damp tyres and performed flawlessly.



I then managed to sell the S2000 so could begin properly preparing the Civic for what I wanted. Just to note, I'm by no means somebody who feels the need to have every recommended modification before I take my car on track, I've had an EP3 previously and purely wanted to do what I felt the car needed.

With that in mind I fitted the following:

Superpro caster adjusting bushes
Buddyclub N+
Steering arm raiser
Buddyclub roll centre adjusters
D2 Camber arms
Ferado DS2500
Buddyclub low rail and Sparco Rev seat
Steering rack refresh due to slight play
Track rod ends replaced with rose joints
HEL brake lines
Progress 24mm rear ARB
OMP Targa steering wheel
MOMO wheel boss
SPA Quick release boss (From a Chevrolet Cruize touring car
Innovative 75a engine mounts

I also removed all the aircon as that was no longer needed at all!





Now the car was heading in the right direction I decided to flare the front arches and roll the rears as I wanted to fit some wide tyres in future and unlike it's brother, the RSX the EP3 has limited arch room upfront.



I then decided to respray the car, something a little different to anything i'd really seen before on a EP Civic atleast, I ummed and arred over the colour choice but after much thought I ended up with Laguna Seca blue.

In process



Nearly there, Mag blue Evo Enkei's for now





Finished product.



Along with the sprayjob in this time I had fitted:

Kaaz 1.5 Way LSD
Yoko A048's
Sump Baffle

Here's a video of the first trackday I went to in the Civic, It performed quite well.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpsae127q2s[/youtube]

Few pictures from a show I attended





After doing all this and spending a fair amount of money in the process I wanted to get to the track as much as I could before winter fell!

My geometry was now set at:

Front
2.5* Caster
-3.2 Negative camber per side
-0`05 Toe out per side

Rear
-2.5 Negative camber
0 Toe



The brakes although not bad as standard I felt like they needed upgrading after this day, it was only moderately hot yet they were still fading slightly so i decided to change to some DC5 Brembo calipers with Ferado DS2500 pads.

Then go back to the track and test them out.



Corbeau revenge carbon seat and FIA Luke Harnesses we're fitted, both approved by our racing regulator for competition.



Video from the next testing:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23TbCv-9adY[/youtube]



This now brings us freshly upto date, my last day at the track i switched out the Yoko's for some Dunlop Direzza 03G and changed my Diff oil and the car was fantastic, it pitched into corners fantastically, and although it was a little edgy it was great to drive.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5_V0mxSdk[/youtube]







I have these lovely wheels to fit along with some 245/40/17 Direzza's with 225 rears.

Wheel specs are 17x9 ET35 and 17x8 ET38 WedsSport TC105Ns

I also have some AP racing calipers, discs and pads to fit.





I have a safety devices cage on route which is fully approved for racing in the UK, along with a rain light and a lifeline extinguisher. The car should then be fully ready to race this season!

Thanks for reading and I hope this hasn't took to much out your door, Comments welcome!

Spec list as of now:

set1 17x8 et38 Enkeis - Yokohama a048 225/45/17
set2 17x8 et38 Enkeis - uniroyal rainsports 225/45/17

Buddyclub N+ Coilovers DC5 spring rates
Steering rack raiser
Superpro caster increase bushes
D2 camber arms
Shortened track rod arms
Progress 24mm ARB
Rose jointed drop links

Kaaz 1.5 way plated diff
Kaaz diff oil
2.5" B pipe
2.5" backbox
Japspeed manifold (from testing seems great value for money)
AEM Cai

Corbeau revenge carbon bucket seat (Hans)
Corbeau sprint fibreglass bucket seat
Blox weighted neo gear ****
OMP suede 330mm steering wheel
SPA quick release
Luke FIA 3" harnesses silver

Mugen rear spoiler
Mugen front lip
rolled rear arches
Flared front wings
Exterior and interior laguna seca blue
rear interior full stripped of all weight

Geometry:

-3 degrees camber per side front
0.5mm toe out per side front
3 degrees caster per side front

-2 degrees camber per side rear
0 toe per side rear

corner weighted 50/50 cross weights

MSchu

Pretty damn nice!

engine bay pictures?

r8byb

I've never got round to taking any as it looks stock, will try get some over the weekend!

MSchu

I am interested in why you went with 17" over 16"?

0Innes

iTrader: (3)

awesome, very nice

are those Enkei's just the OEM Evo 8 Wheels ?

r8byb

EP3 Type R comes with 17" wheels as standard, as does the JDM EP3 Type R.

Generally felt if Honda had engineered the car around those wheels it's best to stick with that size, it also gives me better tyre and wheel choice.

Also means I can fit the AP's with 330mm rotors.


They are yes, great wheels for the money, However they're quite heavy, I know the Weds are very light at 7KG for a 17x9 but the Evo Enkei's weigh in at 9.7KG and they're 17x8.

known

iTrader: (1)

wow what a deal. nice build so far, are you just doing track days or do you have some sort of time attack/ time trials over there?

jdm_AE86

$2500? how the hell did you get away with that. Car looks great, never seen an ep3 painted laguna seca blue and i love it.

redzcstandardhatch

Nice

Kozy.

Lovely motor. What series are you planning to race this in, VTEC challenge?

lwnslw

I like it, very nice.

STN_Pat

Very nice.

I hope you enjoy and appreciate what you got there. It is pretty amazing.

chairwitharmrests

What are the spring rates on the N+, do you believe they are stiff enough? Why didn't you go with RSD's?

r8byb

Thanks for the kind words.

We sadly have no autocross as such although we do have alot of nice race tracks all within 150 miles of me.

In terms of timeattack, UK timeattack runs but is also very expensive, it's cheaper to go racing and also more exciting in my opinion.

A year ago a series started here called the VTEC challenge and although entrant's were a little low it's looking up for this year so that's my main aim. It's around $500 per round, that's for practice, qualifying and 2 20 minute races.



The guy I bought it from had another car lined up and wanted it gone asap, I was a bit dubious but thought it worth the risk and luckily it paid off!



That's the plan yes.

Thanks, it is a little different to the normal, I try not to treat it to kindly as it would make me slow round the track

I believe the spring rates are 10 k/g front and 14 k/g rear.

I went for them over the RSD generally as you can gain more camber without the need for camber bolts. Most EP3's I see can only get - 2 negative camber on the top mounts and I feel more is needed on the McPherson strut setup when running on a decent width semi slick. That last but one picture shows the car at close to maximum lean through the hairpin and as you can see the tyres look pretty perfect in terms of the contact patch. That's with -3.2 front negative camber.

I find them Ok on track, they are a little soft perhaps but I can't really fault them, I'm looking to upgrade to some AST's though if possible.


I'm open to any opinions on possible improvements, I'm hoping the 245 front's and 225 rears should help me gain more overall grip.

bigopl

Love the build

DaveSi677

wow that look awesome... makes me miss my EP3

0BuyBrakes.com

Car looks great, Im always a sucker for white raised letters on the sidewalls too! :D

20CiviC02Si

iTrader: (3)

Miss tracking my EP3!

oldintegrao

I really like the color but what is going on with the sliding in the second to last picture. Maybe it is just me but it looks like your exiting the turn and had to "save it". My big boy words are not working.

vtecing

seems like a pretty quick car, keep up the good work

r8byb

Thanks.

I've seen a few picture's of your EP3, looked great!

Thanks!

If you watch the video above the picture you'll see it began at turn in, and carried all the way to corner exit

Thanks, it's getting there!

New bumper done, I'm pretty sure both items are genuine mugen even if not the fit is fantastic, Have the centre part with badge to go on, black Honda badge will be going on much like what I have now.

20CiviC02Si

iTrader: (3)

Man your ride does look awesome, glad you chose an original color! I have always preferred the 2002-03 Mugen lip for the EP3s, the 04-05 is just too subtle for my liking.

Congrats on your build man! Always loved how popular the EP3 was over there!

r8byb

Hi guys,

Bit more of an update, wedsports are on at a 17x9 ET30 front and 17x8 et38 rear.

235 front direzza's and 225 rears. Both run about 15mm wider than their size suggests.

Also fitted my AP's aswell

hope you like.

0BuyBrakes.com

Thats one nice looking EP3! Front bumper looks great!

will46r

Looks grea and at a great price to start with! Are your shoulder straps bolted to the floor behind the seat? I was wondering because it looks like that in one of the interior pictures.