Discussion
Hi all.
Thought I’d start another readers car thread since selling my subaru after 6 months.
I didn’t need the practicality of a big estate and really wanted to get a N/A manual hot hatch.
I sold my very rare jdm legacy tuned by sti and went looking for its replacement.
Looked at a few different cars. All the golfs I saw had rust issues or flaky service history. Decent ones were more than I wanted to spend. Ruled the rs megane out due to turbo, clio was too small.
This left the civic type r. EP3 were dismissed as they are dated and sparse inside. FN2 it is.
Breaking all my car buying rules I went to Birmingham and bought the first car I viewed.
Here it is. Honda Civic Type R Championship White edition No 153.
Engine sounds sweet on cold start. No chain rattle on startup. Even the injectors are quiet. It revs cleanly when warm with a distinct change on vtec crossover. Decent service history as well.
On 72k miles so will need valves checked and plugs changed in summer
Surface rust on rear beam but not structural yet. Minimal rust elsewhere. Again another job for summer. I’ll protect it with lanoguard or Bilt hamber not sure which yet.
Gearbox good with nice shifting and no crunching into any gear. LSD makes a big difference to how these drive. It does need to warm up before it’s really happy.
Not 100% on the clutch. It’s a bit heavy and the bite point relatively low. It also squeaks which is very annoying. I’ve sprayed the plunger mechanism with some ptfe lubricant. Its fixed it for now but no doubt it will return. A more permanent fix will be sought.
First impressions are positive. It’s not fast compared to new cars, even compared to what preceded it but its a right laugh to drive. You can use all the power most of the time. Vtec is addictive. It handles brilliantly no doubt helped by the LSD fitted by Honda.
Trying to find a way of making it less crashy at low speed as its fine when the speeds increase. Don’t really want to fit coilovers as they are a PIA for a daily.
Its a fun little hatback with enough power but not too much that you cant enjoy it all the time. I think might keep this for longer than 6 months.
Thought I’d start another readers car thread since selling my subaru after 6 months.
I didn’t need the practicality of a big estate and really wanted to get a N/A manual hot hatch.
I sold my very rare jdm legacy tuned by sti and went looking for its replacement.
Looked at a few different cars. All the golfs I saw had rust issues or flaky service history. Decent ones were more than I wanted to spend. Ruled the rs megane out due to turbo, clio was too small.
This left the civic type r. EP3 were dismissed as they are dated and sparse inside. FN2 it is.
Breaking all my car buying rules I went to Birmingham and bought the first car I viewed.
Here it is. Honda Civic Type R Championship White edition No 153.
Engine sounds sweet on cold start. No chain rattle on startup. Even the injectors are quiet. It revs cleanly when warm with a distinct change on vtec crossover. Decent service history as well.
On 72k miles so will need valves checked and plugs changed in summer
Surface rust on rear beam but not structural yet. Minimal rust elsewhere. Again another job for summer. I’ll protect it with lanoguard or Bilt hamber not sure which yet.
Gearbox good with nice shifting and no crunching into any gear. LSD makes a big difference to how these drive. It does need to warm up before it’s really happy.
Not 100% on the clutch. It’s a bit heavy and the bite point relatively low. It also squeaks which is very annoying. I’ve sprayed the plunger mechanism with some ptfe lubricant. Its fixed it for now but no doubt it will return. A more permanent fix will be sought.
First impressions are positive. It’s not fast compared to new cars, even compared to what preceded it but its a right laugh to drive. You can use all the power most of the time. Vtec is addictive. It handles brilliantly no doubt helped by the LSD fitted by Honda.
Trying to find a way of making it less crashy at low speed as its fine when the speeds increase. Don’t really want to fit coilovers as they are a PIA for a daily.
Its a fun little hatback with enough power but not too much that you cant enjoy it all the time. I think might keep this for longer than 6 months.
Congratulations and best colour too! Loved my fn2 before selling and buying a fk8.
Sounds like the clutch needs changing as biting point is ok but feels super low if clutch is worn.
Chain needs doing about 70k so might be worth getting that done too.
Sounds like you are mechanically minded but if needing recommendations I'd suggest
Honda hq - Midlands
TGM sport - Hampshire
Dream - Luton
Sounds like the clutch needs changing as biting point is ok but feels super low if clutch is worn.
Chain needs doing about 70k so might be worth getting that done too.
Sounds like you are mechanically minded but if needing recommendations I'd suggest
Honda hq - Midlands
TGM sport - Hampshire
Dream - Luton
Love mine, on my second now (first was a Mugen M200) and use daily. A very rewarding drive, engine, seating position and gearbox all together work perfectly together. Very underrated at the moment too I believe, I picked mine up for peanuts.
Couldn't quite stretch to a Championship white but is definitely the best colour, lovely.
Couldn't quite stretch to a Championship white but is definitely the best colour, lovely.
Looks great and can only imagine what it's like with the diff - my standard Milano handled brilliantly without it so it must be glued to the road.
Had to sell mine as was living at the end of a really broken road so each journey began and ended with gritted teeth and feeling i was destroying the car. Also it was no good as a commuter. Recaros + shift lights + vtec = me grinning like a loon and pressing the loud pedal every journey without fail. Esso did well tho
Had to sell mine as was living at the end of a really broken road so each journey began and ended with gritted teeth and feeling i was destroying the car. Also it was no good as a commuter. Recaros + shift lights + vtec = me grinning like a loon and pressing the loud pedal every journey without fail. Esso did well tho
Thanks all.
I never really took any notice of them when they were new. I went for the astra vxr. The extra 40hp was too tempting to a 20 year old.
Handling wise its on a different planet to any other fwd hatch I’ve driven. When you think it’s giving up, just hold on and accelerate. The diff does its magic and pulls you round the corner.
I’m going to try and improve this slowly. Like a type r at 110%. I’m not chasing power but a 20-30hp hike would be nice.
Looks like a 421 manifold, 2.75” exhaust, induction kit and a remap should get me there. The trouble is getting the power without increasing the noise and ruining the daily ability of it.
I’ve ordered new gearbox oil, detent springs, shifter bushes, solid shifter collars and finally the gear selector springs. Also ordered a clutch dampener bypass hose.
This should get the gearbox the best it can be. Hopefully fit these in the next couple of months.
Next step will be an underside inspection, clean or replace any worn bushes and inspect the rear beam and shock absorbers. If its all ok then a fast road setup by grinspeed in preston will get the best out of it.
I never really took any notice of them when they were new. I went for the astra vxr. The extra 40hp was too tempting to a 20 year old.
Handling wise its on a different planet to any other fwd hatch I’ve driven. When you think it’s giving up, just hold on and accelerate. The diff does its magic and pulls you round the corner.
I’m going to try and improve this slowly. Like a type r at 110%. I’m not chasing power but a 20-30hp hike would be nice.
Looks like a 421 manifold, 2.75” exhaust, induction kit and a remap should get me there. The trouble is getting the power without increasing the noise and ruining the daily ability of it.
I’ve ordered new gearbox oil, detent springs, shifter bushes, solid shifter collars and finally the gear selector springs. Also ordered a clutch dampener bypass hose.
This should get the gearbox the best it can be. Hopefully fit these in the next couple of months.
Next step will be an underside inspection, clean or replace any worn bushes and inspect the rear beam and shock absorbers. If its all ok then a fast road setup by grinspeed in preston will get the best out of it.
Very nice love the CW with the White wheels .
I have a NHB FN2 that im building as a track car ( below link ) and have done the gear shift upgrades and a few other bits that you are looking to do so let me know if you need any information on this .
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I have a NHB FN2 that im building as a track car ( below link ) and have done the gear shift upgrades and a few other bits that you are looking to do so let me know if you need any information on this .
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
sam.rog said:
Thanks all.
I never really took any notice of them when they were new. I went for the astra vxr. The extra 40hp was too tempting to a 20 year old.
Handling wise its on a different planet to any other fwd hatch I’ve driven. When you think it’s giving up, just hold on and accelerate. The diff does its magic and pulls you round the corner.
I’m going to try and improve this slowly. Like a type r at 110%. I’m not chasing power but a 20-30hp hike would be nice.
Looks like a 421 manifold, 2.75” exhaust, induction kit and a remap should get me there. The trouble is getting the power without increasing the noise and ruining the daily ability of it.
I’ve ordered new gearbox oil, detent springs, shifter bushes, solid shifter collars and finally the gear selector springs. Also ordered a clutch dampener bypass hose.
This should get the gearbox the best it can be. Hopefully fit these in the next couple of months.
Next step will be an underside inspection, clean or replace any worn bushes and inspect the rear beam and shock absorbers. If its all ok then a fast road setup by grinspeed in preston will get the best out of it.
Are you local to Preston Sam? I never really took any notice of them when they were new. I went for the astra vxr. The extra 40hp was too tempting to a 20 year old.
Handling wise its on a different planet to any other fwd hatch I’ve driven. When you think it’s giving up, just hold on and accelerate. The diff does its magic and pulls you round the corner.
I’m going to try and improve this slowly. Like a type r at 110%. I’m not chasing power but a 20-30hp hike would be nice.
Looks like a 421 manifold, 2.75” exhaust, induction kit and a remap should get me there. The trouble is getting the power without increasing the noise and ruining the daily ability of it.
I’ve ordered new gearbox oil, detent springs, shifter bushes, solid shifter collars and finally the gear selector springs. Also ordered a clutch dampener bypass hose.
This should get the gearbox the best it can be. Hopefully fit these in the next couple of months.
Next step will be an underside inspection, clean or replace any worn bushes and inspect the rear beam and shock absorbers. If its all ok then a fast road setup by grinspeed in preston will get the best out of it.
Kaveney said:
Very nice love the CW with the White wheels .
I have a NHB FN2 that im building as a track car ( below link ) and have done the gear shift upgrades and a few other bits that you are looking to do so let me know if you need any information on this .
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I have been reading about yours. It should be brilliant on track. I’m trying to be selective in my mods. I don’t want to go too far and ruin the car for daily use. I have a NHB FN2 that im building as a track car ( below link ) and have done the gear shift upgrades and a few other bits that you are looking to do so let me know if you need any information on this .
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I have a custom long life exhaust on it. It sounds good at wot but it’s hard work on a motorway. I’m going to put a standard backbox back on and a 421 manifold with 400 cel cat. I’ll probably loose some peak hp but should still make power as the standard manifold is quite restrictive. Hopefully it will be quiet enough on the motorways.
sam.rog said:
First fix done.
Replaced the two shut off devices in the wing mirrors.
Both had failed causing the mirrors not to fold when the button is pressed.
A pain because the car is parked on the street and the wing mirrors are direct line from passing cars.
The offending items.
I have read they tend to fail at some point .Replaced the two shut off devices in the wing mirrors.
Both had failed causing the mirrors not to fold when the button is pressed.
A pain because the car is parked on the street and the wing mirrors are direct line from passing cars.
The offending items.
Where did you get your replacement units from ?
Kaveney said:
I have read they tend to fail at some point .
Where did you get your replacement units from ?
They were some ebay copies. They were around £30 for a pair. Where did you get your replacement units from ?
Much better than the £120 honda wanted.
If you have the patience you can order the fuses on ebay for a £5er. You need to cut out the resin to get to the legs in order to solder the new part, then re fill with resin.
First bit of maintenance done.
Car is on 73k miles so due plugs and a service. The dealer had it serviced but wasn’t sure what was done other than oil and filter.
The plugs are good for 75k miles apparently so they could be original to the car.
I don’t think they are original. If they are they came out really easily and don’t look 15 years old.
To these untrained eyes they look fairly uniform in colour and no wetness to the plug.
Interested to see others opinions on these plugs.
Also ordered a set of sachs rear dampers and oem honda lower bolts.
ate brake fluid to do a clutch fluid change as its greny brown and look horrible.
All from autodoc so who knows what/when turns up.
When I get a free day Ill fit them and have a good poke at therear beam.
Can’t get over how cheap parts are for this car. £54 each for the dampers. In Subaru land they were £150 plus.
Car is on 73k miles so due plugs and a service. The dealer had it serviced but wasn’t sure what was done other than oil and filter.
The plugs are good for 75k miles apparently so they could be original to the car.
I don’t think they are original. If they are they came out really easily and don’t look 15 years old.
To these untrained eyes they look fairly uniform in colour and no wetness to the plug.
Interested to see others opinions on these plugs.
Also ordered a set of sachs rear dampers and oem honda lower bolts.
ate brake fluid to do a clutch fluid change as its greny brown and look horrible.
All from autodoc so who knows what/when turns up.
When I get a free day Ill fit them and have a good poke at therear beam.
Can’t get over how cheap parts are for this car. £54 each for the dampers. In Subaru land they were £150 plus.
Edited by sam.rog on Thursday 29th February 19:32
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