2006 Honda Civic EP3 Type R
Discussion
Hi all,
I have been a member for a while and long time lurker on Reader's cars so thought it would be best I start a thread to document the works (more than expected! More on that later).
Some background first, I was heavily into cars in my younger days before moving into further education, owning various warm hatches but nothing special and never a Honda! After university I settled down, Wife, house and kids etc and like many others anything other than a daily barge with isofix wasn’t really considered.
Rolling on a few years (Quickly approaching mid 30’s) and it was time to finally get a weekend car to run along side the day to day German barge. After pondering on what type of car to purchase for what seemed like months my cousin turned up at my doorstep in a JDM EP3 and suggested I take it for a spin. I was hooked straight away by how raw it was, the sound and the gearbox so the hunt was on!
So now it is May/June 2018 and the hunt was on for a EP3 Type R- Initially the budget was low but after viewing a few I decided to push the budget and try and get a standard premier edition- Mileage didn’t really bother me. I viewed a few in the Birmingham area and was surprised how what seemed to be good in the advert/pictures didn’t transpire to a solid car in person [emoji58] I stumbled across a Premier Edition while browsing auto trader on a shopping trip to the Trafford centre (It was getting desperate), I nipped across leaving the wife and kids, went for a test drive and immediately put down the money. I always try to plan properly and do the correct checks when purchasing a second hand car but I always seem to forget all of that as soon as I start looking around it!
So the car? Well it is 2006 EP3 premier edition in Nighthawk Black with 106k miles, Full Honda history and 1 owner. I did call Honda Southport who confirmed it had been looked after and had everything it needed but could not tell me more due to data protection. The car was solid enough, a few battle scars but nothing major. The plan was to get it mechanically sorted with a few select modifications then sort the body in the long term- Black cars seem to be really good at showing scratches/swirls etc
Here is a few pictures from the collection day-
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
The day after I gave the car a good going over, decontamination, clay bar etc followed by a quick machine polish and wax. Fitted a new battery as it was slow at starting and purchased some new OEM mats. It then started to look almost presentable [emoji1303]
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Hope the photos uploaded properly,To be continued....
I have been a member for a while and long time lurker on Reader's cars so thought it would be best I start a thread to document the works (more than expected! More on that later).
Some background first, I was heavily into cars in my younger days before moving into further education, owning various warm hatches but nothing special and never a Honda! After university I settled down, Wife, house and kids etc and like many others anything other than a daily barge with isofix wasn’t really considered.
Rolling on a few years (Quickly approaching mid 30’s) and it was time to finally get a weekend car to run along side the day to day German barge. After pondering on what type of car to purchase for what seemed like months my cousin turned up at my doorstep in a JDM EP3 and suggested I take it for a spin. I was hooked straight away by how raw it was, the sound and the gearbox so the hunt was on!
So now it is May/June 2018 and the hunt was on for a EP3 Type R- Initially the budget was low but after viewing a few I decided to push the budget and try and get a standard premier edition- Mileage didn’t really bother me. I viewed a few in the Birmingham area and was surprised how what seemed to be good in the advert/pictures didn’t transpire to a solid car in person [emoji58] I stumbled across a Premier Edition while browsing auto trader on a shopping trip to the Trafford centre (It was getting desperate), I nipped across leaving the wife and kids, went for a test drive and immediately put down the money. I always try to plan properly and do the correct checks when purchasing a second hand car but I always seem to forget all of that as soon as I start looking around it!
So the car? Well it is 2006 EP3 premier edition in Nighthawk Black with 106k miles, Full Honda history and 1 owner. I did call Honda Southport who confirmed it had been looked after and had everything it needed but could not tell me more due to data protection. The car was solid enough, a few battle scars but nothing major. The plan was to get it mechanically sorted with a few select modifications then sort the body in the long term- Black cars seem to be really good at showing scratches/swirls etc
Here is a few pictures from the collection day-
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3The day after I gave the car a good going over, decontamination, clay bar etc followed by a quick machine polish and wax. Fitted a new battery as it was slow at starting and purchased some new OEM mats. It then started to look almost presentable [emoji1303]
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Hope the photos uploaded properly,To be continued....
So moving on after a few weeks with the car I decided to get on top of the general maintenance items- Wiper blades, fluids, replacing the landsail tyres, alignment and a 12 month + Honda service. It had just been serviced but it bugged me they had broken the full Honda service history!
Civic Type R EP3
Honda York reported it needed valve clearances, front discs/pads and a new front caliper. Much to my annoyance they fitted a non OEM part so no Type R text on the drivers side caliper- I didn’t actually realise at first!
Following this now September 2018 the alloys were refurbished and a Tegiwa intake installed, what a noise! Met up with my cousin and went for a blast around some Yorkshire roads
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3Honda York reported it needed valve clearances, front discs/pads and a new front caliper. Much to my annoyance they fitted a non OEM part so no Type R text on the drivers side caliper- I didn’t actually realise at first!
Following this now September 2018 the alloys were refurbished and a Tegiwa intake installed, what a noise! Met up with my cousin and went for a blast around some Yorkshire roads
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3After the maintenance work it was now driving well apart from a slight rattle coming down through the gears- I assumed this was a heatshield or something at first (More on that later).
I wanted to try and preserve the underside and remove any surface rust so I had underside treated by Malton Coachworks in December 2018.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
In the new year the guys from Minster dents spent a whole day on the car and did an excellent job with the PDR. Almost every panel and some pin dents/minor imperfections. Seems logical instead of resorting to body filler before spraying.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
As mentioned above the ‘rattle’ was not getting any better and after finding out what Honda wanted to charge I opted to visit Stevie at Grinspeed in February 2019. After a new counter and main shaft bearing all was good again �� While the box was out a new clutch and M factory lightened flywheel was installed. Also fitted some new fog lights and wind deflectors around that time.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
I wanted to try and preserve the underside and remove any surface rust so I had underside treated by Malton Coachworks in December 2018.
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3In the new year the guys from Minster dents spent a whole day on the car and did an excellent job with the PDR. Almost every panel and some pin dents/minor imperfections. Seems logical instead of resorting to body filler before spraying.
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3As mentioned above the ‘rattle’ was not getting any better and after finding out what Honda wanted to charge I opted to visit Stevie at Grinspeed in February 2019. After a new counter and main shaft bearing all was good again �� While the box was out a new clutch and M factory lightened flywheel was installed. Also fitted some new fog lights and wind deflectors around that time.
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Nothing much happened in the next few months, attended a car show at Newby Hall and attempted to source all the parts to replace the exhaust as it was in poor shape. This was fitted but the Klarius items were poor quality and I wasn’t really happy with how far down the mid section was positioned (Speed bumps!) I did go for an OEM back box though.
Pictures from Newby Hall
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Exhaust Parts
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
More to follow...
Pictures from Newby Hall
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Exhaust Parts
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3More to follow...
With summer approaching I started acquiring parts for the next trip to Grinspeed. Tegiwa spacers, spooner restorations rocker cover and New OEM headlights were purchased- This work was done in July 2019 along with timing chain (half a cog out), aux belt and valve clearances.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Fresh front end, rocker cover and spacers on
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Fresh front end, rocker cover and spacers on
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3August through to September 2019 some minor jobs/upgrades done- Pedals replaced, JDM mats imported from Japan, Air Con Regas and clean, cabin filters changed and gear knob polished up. Enjoyed the car over the rest of summer and went on a few road trips.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Few pics from Elvington Air museum
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
General car pictures from the summer
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
More to follow...
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Few pics from Elvington Air museum
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3General car pictures from the summer
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3More to follow...
Purchased an original brochure around the time my car was sold- pointless really but still cool 😂
Untitled by Civic Type R EP3, on Flickr
The next thing on the list was sorting the steering wheel as it was starting to let the interior down. I decided to send mine to Royal steering wheels. This was installed in November 2019
Untitled by Civic Type R EP3, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R EP3, on Flickr
Next up A trip to Tony Banks in Leeds in December 2019 to sort a custom middle section- Wasn’t happy with the Klarius part.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Also sorted the annoying rattling windows when part down with some eBay braided fuel lines. No more rattling ����
Civic Type R EP3
OEM Manifold sanded and tidied Not perfect but an improvement
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Untitled by Civic Type R EP3, on FlickrThe next thing on the list was sorting the steering wheel as it was starting to let the interior down. I decided to send mine to Royal steering wheels. This was installed in November 2019
Untitled by Civic Type R EP3, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R EP3, on FlickrNext up A trip to Tony Banks in Leeds in December 2019 to sort a custom middle section- Wasn’t happy with the Klarius part.
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Also sorted the annoying rattling windows when part down with some eBay braided fuel lines. No more rattling ����
Civic Type R EP3OEM Manifold sanded and tidied Not perfect but an improvement
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3t66gal said:
Honda York reported it needed valve clearances, front discs/pads and a new front caliper. Much to my annoyance they fitted a non OEM part so no Type R text on the drivers side caliper- I didn’t actually realise at first!
The sticking calipers is a common issue, I had a Type S and that had two new calipers fitted by Honda, three years later they were both sticking again. The pistons get corroded and pitted and stick in the caliper, hence the issue.If I were you when it next happens just buy a rebuild kit and fix it yourself, they are about £20 per caliper.
Almost up to date now so after Christmas I purchased the standard K registered plate and set about dismantling the centre console (bulbs) and removing the front bumper to sort an issue with the fogs.
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
January 2020 and a trip to Grinspeed to get the following fitted/upgraded- Eibach springs, KYB OE dampers, Hardrace track rod ends, track rod ends, full Super Pro bush kit, Hardrace drop links, Tegiwa strut brace, Hybrid racing shifter, Hardrace rear camber arms and Eibach front camber bolts. This was followed by a fast road setup. It’s fair to say it has completely transformed the car, feels great to drive. Hoping for a good summer now
Few pics from the works-
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Keeping busy during the day
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Strut brace on
Civic Type R EP3
Centre console back in with the surround modified for the Hybrid racing shifter
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Following the suspension refresh
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3January 2020 and a trip to Grinspeed to get the following fitted/upgraded- Eibach springs, KYB OE dampers, Hardrace track rod ends, track rod ends, full Super Pro bush kit, Hardrace drop links, Tegiwa strut brace, Hybrid racing shifter, Hardrace rear camber arms and Eibach front camber bolts. This was followed by a fast road setup. It’s fair to say it has completely transformed the car, feels great to drive. Hoping for a good summer now
Few pics from the works-
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Keeping busy during the day
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Strut brace on
Civic Type R EP3Centre console back in with the surround modified for the Hybrid racing shifter
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3Following the suspension refresh
Civic Type R EP3Civic Type R EP3A few small jobs just before this virus came along. First job was to refresh some more blown bulbs in the centre console/speedo and de-amber the indicator bulbs.
Untitled by [Civic Type R], on Flickr
Untitled by [Civic Type R], on Flickr
Untitled by [Civic Type R], on Flickr
I purchased the Skunk2 shifter which coupled with the hybrid shifter makes for an excellent shift ???? Following this it was back to Grinspeed for a quick check up after all the recent work.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Prior to the lockdown I managed to get a trip out with my cousin in his JDM civic. Didn’t go very far but was good to get it out of the garage while the sun was shinning ??
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Next job was to sort the CD player as I wanted to at least connect my phone for music. I stumbled across a double din and centre console for sale through Vtec Monkeys. I picked it up and along with a few further pieces I managed to get this swapped over. It is an older Sony double din XAV-602BT but still does a job ???? I also painted the facia and door trims in cosmic grey.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
A change in circumstances and job means I now need to use the civic as daily, averaging around 300/400 miles a week. It has done the job faultlessly so far however I am tempted to change to something more suited to the daily run. Picture below is from my local B&B where I have been staying before the virus arrived.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on Flickr
The next job when this virus disappears is a major service and potentially changing the Radiator and hoses over at grinspeed ?? It will be the first official service away from Honda since new, seems a shame but I wasn’t happy with the Honda York after last year.
Stay safe everyone!
Untitled by [Civic Type R], on FlickrUntitled by [Civic Type R], on FlickrUntitled by [Civic Type R], on FlickrI purchased the Skunk2 shifter which coupled with the hybrid shifter makes for an excellent shift ???? Following this it was back to Grinspeed for a quick check up after all the recent work.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrPrior to the lockdown I managed to get a trip out with my cousin in his JDM civic. Didn’t go very far but was good to get it out of the garage while the sun was shinning ??
Untitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrNext job was to sort the CD player as I wanted to at least connect my phone for music. I stumbled across a double din and centre console for sale through Vtec Monkeys. I picked it up and along with a few further pieces I managed to get this swapped over. It is an older Sony double din XAV-602BT but still does a job ???? I also painted the facia and door trims in cosmic grey.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrUntitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrA change in circumstances and job means I now need to use the civic as daily, averaging around 300/400 miles a week. It has done the job faultlessly so far however I am tempted to change to something more suited to the daily run. Picture below is from my local B&B where I have been staying before the virus arrived.
Untitled by Civic Type R, on FlickrThe next job when this virus disappears is a major service and potentially changing the Radiator and hoses over at grinspeed ?? It will be the first official service away from Honda since new, seems a shame but I wasn’t happy with the Honda York after last year.
Stay safe everyone!
Edited by t66gal on Thursday 16th April 12:37
chrismc1977 said:
Nice tidy EP3.
My only reservation is the use of Tegiwa parts. If they were a jewellers they’d be called Ratners.
Real bargain basement stuff in terms of quality/fit/finish from what I’ve seen of DC2 items. I’ve vowed that nothing ‘Tegiwa’ will ever go near my car
You must be one of the very few people who think that then.My only reservation is the use of Tegiwa parts. If they were a jewellers they’d be called Ratners.
Real bargain basement stuff in terms of quality/fit/finish from what I’ve seen of DC2 items. I’ve vowed that nothing ‘Tegiwa’ will ever go near my car
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