Civic Type R

[SkinnyPuppy]

Hi All,

I've always liked the idea of a track day car, but never felt I had the time or money to be serious about it. That was until my old man offered me his EP3 Civic Type R.

Looking for comments/recommendations on the car and suitability, as well as advice from anyone else out there with a track day car in terms of insurance/transportation/storage/general pitfalls, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[alfie2244]

Just do it....you will be fine........

[Butter Face]

Great track and road car.

For track use, an LSD, baffled sump and a Geo setup will get you going.

They're ace cars and days I thinking of getting rid of mine, then I go for a drive and remember what a great car it is (mines Supercharged and 320bhp)

[1781cc]

I've seen tons on track, and had to get out of the way for a handful of them too, loads of parts, loads of potential, loads of knowledge out there.

A good dedicated CTR forum with have track people on it and you may pick up second hand tuning parts too.

Good basis for a track car that

[alfie2244]

Not sure if they are still active but you may want to look up Hondas On Track.

[SkinnyPuppy]

Butter Face said:

Great track and road car.

For track use, an LSD, baffled sump and a Geo setup will get you going.

They're ace cars and days I thinking of getting rid of mine, then I go for a drive and remember what a great car it is (mines Supercharged and 320bhp)

320bhp? Damn! I saw a couple of sites advertising supercharger upgrades for the EP3. A bit more money than I'd be looking to spend though. Heard 250's quite easily achievable for a few grand.

[Butter Face]

Yeah tbh if I started again I might not do it

N/A tuning is good fun but yeah it'll cost you thousands for minimal gains IMO.

It is great fun but I only use it on the road, I'm too far from a track to bother with that.

[SkinnyPuppy]

Thanks for the comments. I've looked on a couple of the CTR forums and geo setup then LSD seem to be the most recommended starting points. Think if I'm gonna go for it, I'll go all out. Won't bother keeping it on the road any more - complete strip out/roll cage/semi-slicks, etc.

[SkinnyPuppy]

Butter Face said:

Yeah tbh if I started again I might not do it

N/A tuning is good fun but yeah it'll cost you thousands for minimal gains IMO.

It is great fun but I only use it on the road, I'm too far from a track to bother with that.

I feel your pain brother! Had a mkII Focus RS tuned to 360bhp back in 2010. Only ever used that on the road as well. Since got married and had 2 kids, so had to settle with something more sensible since then. Hence the fact that if I'm going to do it, I'm going all out. Track days only!!

[lewisr81]

SkinnyPuppy said:

Thanks for the comments. I've looked on a couple of the CTR forums and geo setup then LSD seem to be the most recommended starting points. Think if I'm gonna go for it, I'll go all out. Won't bother keeping it on the road any more - complete strip out/roll cage/semi-slicks, etc.

Then, once you have some trackdays under your belt, consider joining the Civic Cup

You'll have a lot of fun in the EP3, its a great budget track car.

[Kev_Mk3]

alfie2244 said:

Just do it....you will be fine........

this!!

I stupidly sold my ep3 type r and regretted it ever since.

all I did was stuck some decent brake pads, lines and fluid on it. Added bc coilovers then got Grinspeed to set it up.

Perfect!


I did do manifold and exhaust afterwards which helped but wasn't really needed. I will get another at another time or the heavy weight brother FN2

[C70R]

Forget about LSDs and power upgrades for now, if you've never done trackdays before. Your starting points (apart from the obvious service/inspection), IMHO, are:
- Brake refresh (decent fluid and pads as a minimum)
- Grippy tyres (Nankang NS2Rs are ludicrously cheap)
- Wheel alignment (look online for recommendations with stock components)

This will be enough to get you out there and having a great time. If you decide that you like trackdays (and can afford to do it regularly), then is the time to spend money on the car. There are far too many people in the trackday 'scene' who spend their time and money pretending to build and develop a racing car - trackdays should be about low-risk fun, IMHO.
Booking a tuition session on your first (Novice) trackday will undoubtedly yield enormous benefits.

[alfie2244]

C70R said:

Forget about LSDs and power upgrades for now, if you've never done trackdays before. Your starting points (apart from the obvious service/inspection), IMHO, are:
- Brake refresh (decent fluid and pads as a minimum)
- Grippy tyres (Nankang NS2Rs are ludicrously cheap)
- Wheel alignment (look online for recommendations with stock components)

This will be enough to get you out there and having a great time. If you decide that you like trackdays (and can afford to do it regularly), then is the time to spend money on the car. There are far too many people in the trackday 'scene' who spend their time and money pretending to build and develop a racing car - trackdays should be about low-risk fun, IMHO.
Booking a tuition session on your first (Novice) trackday will undoubtedly yield enormous benefits.

^^^^^ This..............Biggest smiles aren't usually from those that go fastest or spent most money, pushing a car, any car, to it's and your own limits will leave you with the biggest smile of all.

The only things I would add............strip as much out as you can & decent harness....the rest can wait.

[E-bmw]

Cue the whole harness/cage debate round 27.

[C70R]

alfie2244 said:

C70R said:

Forget about LSDs and power upgrades for now, if you've never done trackdays before. Your starting points (apart from the obvious service/inspection), IMHO, are:
- Brake refresh (decent fluid and pads as a minimum)
- Grippy tyres (Nankang NS2Rs are ludicrously cheap)
- Wheel alignment (look online for recommendations with stock components)

This will be enough to get you out there and having a great time. If you decide that you like trackdays (and can afford to do it regularly), then is the time to spend money on the car. There are far too many people in the trackday 'scene' who spend their time and money pretending to build and develop a racing car - trackdays should be about low-risk fun, IMHO.
Booking a tuition session on your first (Novice) trackday will undoubtedly yield enormous benefits.

^^^^^ This..............Biggest smiles aren't usually from those that go fastest or spent most money, pushing a car, any car, to it's and your own limits will leave you with the biggest smile of all.

The only things I would add............strip as much out as you can & decent harness....the rest can wait.

Definitely do NOT use a harness with the standard seats. They are not designed for the loads. You don't need a bucket seat and harness to have a good time.
Stripping stuff out is also totally superfluous - saving 25kg and sacrificing comfort on the drive to/from the circuit doesn't deliver any appreciable benefit or greater enjoyment.

We're not building a racing car here - we're taking a road car, and driving it quickly on a track.

[alfie2244]

C70R said:

Definitely do NOT use a harness with the standard seats. They are not designed for the loads. You don't need a bucket seat and harness to have a good time.
Stripping stuff out is also totally superfluous - saving 25kg and sacrificing comfort on the drive to/from the circuit doesn't deliver any appreciable benefit or greater enjoyment.

We're not building a racing car here - we're taking a road car, and driving it quickly on a track.

Agreed I should have said bucket seat..I would not do it without a harness / bucket seat myself.

As for stripping superfluous stuff in a track only car, rear seats etc...we will just have to agree to disagree.

[C70R]

alfie2244 said:

C70R said:

Definitely do NOT use a harness with the standard seats. They are not designed for the loads. You don't need a bucket seat and harness to have a good time.
Stripping stuff out is also totally superfluous - saving 25kg and sacrificing comfort on the drive to/from the circuit doesn't deliver any appreciable benefit or greater enjoyment.

We're not building a racing car here - we're taking a road car, and driving it quickly on a track.

Agreed I should have said bucket seat..I would not do it without a harness / bucket seat myself.

As for stripping superfluous stuff in a track only car, rear seats etc...we will just have to agree to disagree.

I'd rather have a civilised drive to/from my first track day, than unnecessarily/unscientifically strip a minute amount of weight out.

[alfie2244]

C70R said:

alfie2244 said:

C70R said:

Definitely do NOT use a harness with the standard seats. They are not designed for the loads. You don't need a bucket seat and harness to have a good time.
Stripping stuff out is also totally superfluous - saving 25kg and sacrificing comfort on the drive to/from the circuit doesn't deliver any appreciable benefit or greater enjoyment.

We're not building a racing car here - we're taking a road car, and driving it quickly on a track.

Agreed I should have said bucket seat..I would not do it without a harness / bucket seat myself.

As for stripping superfluous stuff in a track only car, rear seats etc...we will just have to agree to disagree.

I'd rather have a civilised drive to/from my first track day, than unnecessarily/unscientifically strip a minute amount of weight out.

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere",

http://www.lotuscars.com/about-us/lotus-philosophy

[C70R]

alfie2244 said:

C70R said:

alfie2244 said:

C70R said:

Definitely do NOT use a harness with the standard seats. They are not designed for the loads. You don't need a bucket seat and harness to have a good time.
Stripping stuff out is also totally superfluous - saving 25kg and sacrificing comfort on the drive to/from the circuit doesn't deliver any appreciable benefit or greater enjoyment.

We're not building a racing car here - we're taking a road car, and driving it quickly on a track.

Agreed I should have said bucket seat..I would not do it without a harness / bucket seat myself.

As for stripping superfluous stuff in a track only car, rear seats etc...we will just have to agree to disagree.

I'd rather have a civilised drive to/from my first track day, than unnecessarily/unscientifically strip a minute amount of weight out.

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere",

http://www.lotuscars.com/about-us/lotus-philosophy

Agree with the sentiment - but you can't really equate building a carbon-fibre monocoque to randomly lobbing out a Civic's rear seats.

[Kev_Mk3]

If the OP hasnt done track days really then IMO your all jumping the gun.

Geo set up with some coilovers / camber bolts will transform the car. Loads of places around the uk that do this. I know I travelled up north to Grinspeed but of stevies reputation.


Brakes - fluid and lines with standard discs and uprated pads is enough. I used ds2500's and its a can of worms I know I am opening but they worked great at the nurburgring and on various track days. Other pads are avalible but id stay standard discs.

Tyres - Nankang NSR2's simple tried tested and cheap in 17" (standard civic size)


Then go enjoy it.

Over time strip things out, change seats, etc but for now the above is all that I would do