Kyle T
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Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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I've bought a couple of bits and pieces for my FN2 since buying back in October, and I've got a few plans for 2012 too so I'm going to make my very own project thread. 
I bought the car after owning a nighthawk black Civic Type S (slow petrol one, not the tunable diesel one  ) for about two months. My weekly mileage went down quite significantly, and I had a bit of cash burning in my bank account every month so I decided it was time to get something a little more interesting. I loved the spec of the Type S, and loved the aesthetics of the car... so a CTR seemed logical.
I initially planned on getting a 2008-2009 model then having a bit of cash left over for a few toys such as exhaust, intake and remap - but I read a few horror stories about the faults of the older ones - and also learned that the cars manufactured in 2010 onwards were fitted with LSD which allegedly makes a huge difference to the car.
Ended up choosing a Milano Red one on a 60 plate, comes with LSD, HIDs and iPod connectivity as per the facelifted models.
First off, picture of the car the day I went to go look at it:
I'm the first "proper" owner as it's been on the books as a Honda demo car, bought with 13k miles (I think) and other than a small scuff on one of the alloys it was pretty tidy.
First job was to sort out some proper type R mats, the dealership were being tight and weren't playing ball with my terrible negotiation skills so didn't include any in the sale  I found a member on the Civinfo forums selling some (I think he's a CS member too  ) so drove down to Hull to pick them up the first weekend of owning the car!
Also fitted the Brodit Galaxy S2 holder from my CTS:
Next job was a proper clean, claybar and everything... I was rather pleased with my efforts:
In early December, I spotted somebody on Civinfo selling the front and rear splitters from the 'GP Pack' which was an optional extra from Honda at over a grand. I picked up both splitters for £450 if I remember right and booked a day off to be brave and get those fitted myself.
They're bigger than they look when you get them inside 
Front bumper off... (my bumhole was rather active at this stage)
Splitter on and held up to car:
Rear splitter on:
Much better, totally changes the look of the car for the better IMO.
Oh, whilst waiting for the courier with the splitters I also freshened up the brake calipers:
Considering paining the 'Type R' lettering in Black with a red 'R' once it gets a bit warmer.
Then came a contribution from my missus... the gear knob is far too cold in a morning apparently, so one innocent smoothie later...
Next up was a trip to Doncaster for another Civinfo purchase, some Team Heko wind deflectors:
Then I picked up another dealership optional extra... the front grill 'Type R' badge. These come in a pack with the side decals for £60 from Honda. I'm not keen on the decals so kept my eye out on a front grill badge from somebody who had perhaps upgraded to a Mugen grill or something. Got lucky, and picked one up from civinfo forums yet again - a genuine one though, as there are many horrible fakes on eBay.
My Final toy so far...
Also picked up the Autobrite foam lance and some bilt hamber snowfoam 
Gave it a wash today, but forgot the obligatory "my car is covered in snow" photo 
How she stands though:
Major plans for 2012 are as follows:
Obtain a Hondata Flashpro. This device will allow me to connect my laptop to the diagnostics port in the car and apply new settings to the ECU. There are plenty of tuners that will perform a custom map using this tool on a car with engine mods, but the flashpro includes a generic map for stock FN2s which amongst other things lowers the VTEC crossover from ~5300rpm to ~3500rpm and drastically improves low/midrange torque making the car quite a bit less annoying to use for overtaking tractors and pedestrians
Obtain an Eibach Pro set of springs. This will lower the car 15mm, but that's not why I want the springs (if I had the choice/budget I wouldn't lower at all). Apparently the ride is much improved with the eibach springs and much more comfortable, combined with some adjustable camber bolts and a decent garage I can also get the handling on the car much improved.
18" Rota GR6's. I've really got my heart set on these:
I had some money sat aside and then blew that on tickets for the Monza GP in September . I've got two weeks in Orlando in July too so I may have to wait until I get back so I can evaluate my finances and get the wheels ordered for later in the year.
A proper Detail when the weather gets nicer. My car is quite swirled up (looks like the dealership cleaned it with a yard brush...) so I'd like somebody with some skillz (any recommendations?) to give it a proper going over so I've got a nice canvas for summer. Also the splitters I bought are a bit rough around the edges... considering respraying the bumpers but I'll see how much the scuffs annoy me first.
So there we go, lots of pictures for not a lot of progress - but hopefully I'll have lots of bits and pieces to add over the coming months 
[Edited on 14-01-2012 by Kyle T]
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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DansCorsaSXi
Organiser: Yorkshire
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Registered: 13th Jan 10
Location: Worksop
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Lovely motor mate,the splitters make it a different car.
What's spec on these? My mate has the older shape and his is pretty quick. 
Star silver C20XE SXi Project thread
Smoke Grey Corsa GSi Project thread
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big eck
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Registered: 20th Apr 03
Location: Tullibody. Drives - Audi B8 S4 & Fiesta Zetec-S
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The black additions look so much better.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by DansCorsaSXi
Lovely motor mate,the splitters make it a different car.
What's spec on these? My mate has the older shape and his is pretty quick.
Thanks
The Engine spec barely changed between the EP3 and the FN2 (~200bhp and 0 torques ), and it gained some lard too! So not a cleverly planned progression on Hondas side, particularly when considering the turbotastic competition from the Astra VXR and Focus ST at the time.
The tuning options are less than efficient too, the flashpro generic map that I mentioned offers negligable gains in power - just change in the power distribution to make it "more driveable". For ~£2000 I could things like exhaust, induction and associated manifolds - but I'd only gain about 30bhp.
For £5k there is the option of supercharging it, which I'd love to do but once I get into the position where I've got £5k sat there all in one lump... I'll be buying a natively faster car anyway I guess
Apparently one of the only things that saved the CTR of this generation was the addition of LSD - but I've never driven one pre-LSD so I'm really not sure how significant it is.
quote:
Originally posted by big eck
The black additions look so much better.
Despite the lacklustre engine progression this (imo) is by far the better looking of the competition particularly with the GP kit
[Edited on 14-01-2012 by Kyle T]
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Very nice, they do look better on 19s though
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Simon_16v
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Registered: 14th Aug 06
Location: Yorkshire
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Looks really nice mate. Will have to meet up sometime in Selby so I can have a nosey
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gidged500
Premium Member
Registered: 18th Aug 09
Location: Lancashire
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The gp pack splitters transform the car looks miles
Better , nice car needs k-pro and a charger 
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Ojc
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Registered: 14th Nov 00
Location: Reading: Drives : Clio 197
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Do like this the more I look at it.
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Ojc
Very nice, they do look better on 19s though
The 19" Rage Alloys were another optional extra:
They pop up occasionally second hand but people are still wanting ~800 for them with tyres, and that's close to the money the Rota's cost... and I prefer the rotas!
quote:
Originally posted by gidged500
The gp pack splitters transform the car looks miles
Better , nice car needs k-pro and a charger
If I enjoy the car in a year or two as much as I do right now... I'll be seriously considering a supercharger. I do get bored easily though, and that much cash would be too easy to blow towards another car 
quote:
Originally posted by Simon_16v
Looks really nice mate. Will have to meet up sometime in Selby so I can have a nosey
Anytime! I'm up to Bedale in a week or two for a family occasion and I think that's your way on.
[Edited on 15-01-2012 by Kyle T]
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Simon_16v
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Registered: 14th Aug 06
Location: Yorkshire
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Yeah bedale is about 8miles from me, I am in Selby more these days so you will have to let me know when your up mate
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flybikeslee
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Registered: 2nd Jan 07
Location: Liverpool
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looks good! do like these and the new bumpers look sweet!
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N7 THD
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Registered: 22nd Oct 08
Location: Kent
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stunning car - love the GP Splitters
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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Cheers guys, comments are much appreciated!
Any ideas how much it would cost me to have the red parts of the splitters resprayed by somebody with some skills?
The colour match between the red on the splitters and the red on the car is a little off (splitters are four years older than the car!) and there are a few little scratches/chips too which are annoying me. I'm hoping a fresh lick of paint will bring them much closer to the colour of the car, and fix the scuffs and stuff at the same time.
I realise the price could vary quite a lot - but I'm going to collect some quotes from local places over the next few weeks and see about getting it done.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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gavin18787
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Registered: 22nd Feb 05
Location: Basildon, Essex
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The red has been off on all of the plastics for ages as they are painted in a seperate factory. Worsens as the cars gets older unfortunatly as mines really showing now.
Looks good though, do love the GP pack on them.
and no no no no dont get 19's I think they look horrid. Ebaich springs and the wheels you have looks awsome. Mate has this and his refurbed metalic grey and it looks spot on
Might only be 30bhp but its the mid range grunt that improves the most. Feels alot more then the figures suggest. although if you find one on the forums the chargers offer alot of bang per buck and no draw backs
Really liking FN2's now. Keep getting tempted to strip off all my mods and upgrade to one
Drives supercharged Tec with torque
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by gavin18787
The red has been off on all of the plastics for ages as they are painted in a seperate factory. Worsens as the cars gets older unfortunatly as mines really showing now.
I've seen some pretty nasty Milano Red older cars, though apparently they're using a new paint nowadays which is more resilient against the fade 
Still, could be worse! Could be Vauxhall Flame Pink
You make a good point about that ~30bhp, have to be careful not to fall into the pub talk mentality. I'd like to take a drive in a modified FN2 to see if I feel the difference is worth the $$. There was a Charger came up on civinfo a few weeks ago, I just alt tabbed to check what it sold for and it went for £2000. Not sure how much would be needed ontop of that for installation and tuning though.
From the looks of it, the buyer paid a week ago and hasn't heard from the seller or the postman since
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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Oh, and I agree on the 19s - I'm really not a fan.. but I think it's more the style of the wheel rather than the size.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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gavin18787
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 05
Location: Basildon, Essex
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Ive got the jackson racing setup and its all nice and simple plug and play. If that 2k included an ecu if would be about £450 for mapping from somewhere like TDI, eurospec, cpl etc
Drives supercharged Tec with torque
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by gavin18787
Ive got the jackson racing setup and its all nice and simple plug and play. If that 2k included an ecu if would be about £450 for mapping from somewhere like TDI, eurospec, cpl etc
I don't think the ECU was included. Infact, I'm not sure what the charged FN2's run ECU wise - maybe the standard ECU can be butchered with flashpro... I'm not too sure.
Oh, and how do you define plug and play? I needed a brown paper bag when I took my own bumpers off
[Edited on 17-01-2012 by Kyle T]
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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taylorboosh
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
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point a. i have a mate from bedale called dan bruce... its a very small place so you may know him
point b. i could get the red on your splitters done at a dealer garage for 80 quid-ish. obviously you would have to get them here and back
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by john-d
point b. i could get the red on your splitters done at a dealer garage for 80 quid-ish. obviously you would have to get them here and back
I'll keep that in mind, thanks John.
Been mental at work this week, but hope to nip out around a couple of local bodyshops one lunchtime this week to see what i'm looking at.
Lotus Elise 111R
Impreza WRX STi
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taylorboosh
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Registered: 3rd Apr 07
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no probs, drop me a u2u if your struggling and ill sort it for you. my mate works there and they painted my ep3..
from this
to this
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gavin18787
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 05
Location: Basildon, Essex
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quote:
Originally posted by Kyle T
quote:
Originally posted by gavin18787
Ive got the jackson racing setup and its all nice and simple plug and play. If that 2k included an ecu if would be about £450 for mapping from somewhere like TDI, eurospec, cpl etc
I don't think the ECU was included. Infact, I'm not sure what the charged FN2's run ECU wise - maybe the standard ECU can be butchered with flashpro... I'm not too sure.
Oh, and how do you define plug and play? I needed a brown paper bag when I took my own bumpers off
[Edited on 17-01-2012 by Kyle T]
Its not too bad to do just replacing the inlet manifold and moving a coiple of sensors around. no fabrication apart from cutting off a tab on the tensioner arm to give the bigger belt more clearance. thats it on an ep3 at least
Drives supercharged Tec with torque
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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I've been to a pair of bodyshops in my lunchbreak today. First was a Scratch n' Dent type place but they had two spray booths and their website looked very professional.
I'd decided before I went for a quote that the colour match wasn't THAT bad, so I just wanted the scuffs fixng and repainting on the rear splitter.
The Scratch n' Dent guy basically told me to come back when I had some proper damage to fix, and that the job wouldn't be worth the effort
I appreciate his honesty, but still decided to try another bodyshop nearby. This one has been established for ages in the area and they've got quite a good reputation for skilled painters and quality work. I told them of the "quote" I got 10mins earlier and after a bit of mocking, they gave me a quote for £70 to have the rear passenger side corner of the bumper resprayed or "blown in" (I think that's bodyshop lingo) so that it blends in properly.
Think I'll get that booked in a week or two.
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Impreza WRX STi
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Jake
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Registered: 24th Jan 05
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never seen a blow in look right
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Kyle T
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 04
Location: Selby, North Yorkshire
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quote:
Originally posted by Jake
never seen a blow in look right
That's what concerns me, but the particular bit I want sorted is a proper eyesore when you know it's there, and it's not a highly visible area. Any slight mis-match in colour will be well hidden by shadowing on that part of the car.
I hope
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Impreza WRX STi
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