Jap Import Civic Type R (FD2) - fast road and track build

[ChrisD.]

I did one for my DC5, but have forgotten to do one for my FD2.

Not sure if I ever mentioned it, but after the gearbox broke on the DC5 my love for it dwindled so I put it back to standard and sold it. I then replaced it with a car I've been after for some time.

I bought it back in August so I'll put dates next to when things happened with it.

25/08/17

My 9th Type R and 11th Honda, some might say I have an addiction. I had a number of small niggely faults with the DC5 and when the gearbox went it was the last straw. An opportunity to buy Mark's FD2 at a good price came up so I jumped at it and paid a deposit.

Here she is when I picked her up earlier:

It's a standard car apart from a Spoon baffled sump, Mugen grille, Mugen wind deflectors, 17" WedsSport alloys and Project Mu pads. It also has a nice Pioneer Apple CarPlay headhunt which is a breath of fresh air compared to the Android POC I have in the DC5.

I already have a Feels exhaust in the garage for it which I need to fit at some point as the car is too quiet for my liking. I also FlashPro in the living room, Ohlins have been ordered along with a decat, then at some point I'll be fitting my Kaaz plated diff to it along with a new clutch (current one needs changing). I'm also looking at fitting my BBK to it as well as some new 18" wheels and AD08R tyres.

Out of the box it is an impressive machine, everything is just that little bit better than my modded DC5. It's just about as quick, feels more planted, the dash layout is nicer, better gear-change, I like the fact I don't have to look at the rev counter due to the VTEC lights etc. I'm sure there's more. So far so good.

Some long overdue updates, so I'll put some dates next to when things actually happened.



25/09/17


Few updates. The car has been at TGM and had the following done:

- fit Kaaz plated diff
- new clutch
- new gear oil
- new engine oil
- fit Mugen airbox
- fit decat
- fit Feel's exhaust
- fit AD08R tyres
- RBF 600 brake fluid

Unfortunately it is more complicated than originally thought to fit my DC5 brake kit. I'd have to get new bells and rotors, machine the caliper and also get new brackets made up. So for the time being I've fitted my favorite pad (tongue in cheek) DS2500's. Because I love them so much, I've ordered some PBS pads to use at Spa and the DS2500's will be a spare along with the PMU's that Mark had fitted. I'm going to see how they behave on track before deciding to spend north of £3k for an Alcon kit.

Annoyingly the Ohlins haven't arrived, so I may have to do Spa on the OEM suspension. Apparently it's fine on track so I'll have to see. Also the diff now clunks a lot, even though it was whisper silent in the DC5. Tom thinks another gearbox oil change may cure this, so should the Ohlins turn up this week, I'll change the oil again. It's embarrassing to drive now at low speed as it sounds broken but part of me quite likes it.

I love the noise of the intake and exhaust, much nicer than OEM, subtle with no boom and howls high up the rev range. Fingers crossed I shouldn't get any noise issues on track. Complete with the new clutch, diff and decent tyres, it's transformed the car. It's so much nicer to drive, grips even more and has a bit of noise to it.

I picked the car up on Friday, drove it home, then drove to EFI Parts on Saturday to have it mapped. Unfortunately the problems didn't stop there. Chris explained that he can't map the car properly as it's behaving really weird. First off, on the standard map it was hard to do a full run because it was knocking a lot so reining in the power. It was even knocking at part throttle. He tried another base map which was better, but still a bit of knock going on. He then started tuning it part throttle and then finding the optimum VTEC point but no runs were consistent. He'd spot a lean part in the RPM range, add fuel, run it again and it would be fine, then a few runs later it'd be rich or lean again. He couldn't work out why because inlet pressure, fuel, AFR, cam angle etc were all consistent. Basically every input he could see was not changing, yet the power would vary by 5bhp at peak and much more in the lower rev range. Because of this and some knock, he couldn't extract much more power than standard because he wasn't comfortable advancing the ignition with the car seemingly behaving so randomly. We had a chat and suspect either the decat or exhaust are causing this because that's the only thing he can't monitor: back pressure. The decat is a cheap one that's been custom made and I've read of some exhausts on DC5's causing issues with power so part of me is tempted to order a Toda decat and Toda exhaust or RM01A and then go back to get it mapped again. Credit to Chris though, he walked me through every part, said he's tuned it on the safe side and then gave me significant discount because he didn't feel comfortable charging me for half a job. I'd wager a lot of other tuners would have said nothing and just handed the car back.

The end result is peak power has risen from 220 to 230 and I have lower VTEC point and much more mid range. I'm going to see how Spa goes before deciding what to do. It will be interesting to see how the straight line performance is compared to similar cars I'm going with.

05/11/17

Long overdue update. I went to Spa and the Ring last month and had a brilliant time as usual. The car was a proper animal on track, carrying silly amounts of corner speed and turn in is stupendously good. Everyone that tried driving the car at Spa couldn’t believe it’s still on standard suspension. The only issue I had was with the brakes later on the day as the DS2500 left deposits all over the discs which made it horrible when heavy breaking, but I knew that would happen. Hopefully I'll never have to use them again as they're turd on track.

Yeah, it was a bit wet in the morning!

Then onto the Ring where the usual beer and food shenanigans occurred. Did two laps only as I don’t really like driving the Ring anymore, I do it more for the experience rather than pushing it like I would on a circuit with lots of run off.

Did a Scoob though.

Those who haven’t joined us must come over in April.

I’ve decided against the Ohlins for now and I’ve put that money on brakes. Will reveal all soon.

Yesterday I swapped over the Feels exhaust for a Toda as well as replacing the custom decat pipe with a Toda one. I’m not 100% sure the mid pipe is Feels which may be why I had issues on the dyno.

Excuse the dirty car, I’ve been at a different client this week so have been commuting over country roads.

I knew before the Spa/Ring visit that the rear discs were in need of replacement so while my mate was changing the exhaust over I did the rear discs.

Next up will be new wheels and brakes followed by booking into EFI again for another remap.

25/11/17

Exhaust change has paid dividends. Before and after runs, no change but the exhaust. Didn’t even need a tweak.

18/11/17

Not sure if I have mentioned it but I have cancelled the Ohlins order for now and the money is going into upgrading the brakes. The standard suspension is more than capable on track for now.

This is the kit I’m looking at:

Brembo 6 pot with 355mm disc.

15/03/18

After being cocked around by Ohlins with constant movement to the right in terms of delivery, I cancelled the order and have been looking into different options since. While the stock suspension is fantastic on circuit, it isn’t the greatest on the road. The rear feels over damped and under sprung, the result is an extremely bouncy ride.

Today I finally decided to order some MeisterR GT1’s. I’ve been pretty vocal about suspension brought into the UK and then sold with markup before, however GT1’s are UK made in conjunction with BAD who have long history of producing suspension. I also went out with Kevin at Castle Combe with his car on GT1’s and I was hugely impressed. He previously had JDM Ohlins as well as Yellowspeed and he highly rates the GT1’s.

MeisterR are currently developing a new piston for the GT1’s and prices are going to increase to reflect this. Jerrick has honoured the current price and will be sending me the new improved GT1 coilovers in 4-5 weeks (estimated).

All I need now is rear camber arms and the car is pretty much where I want it.

18/03/18

Couple of pics this weekend at the Cray reservoir.

It was bloody freezing! Took the long route to visit my mum South Wales. Some lovely roads and reminded me of how capable the car is.

I also ordered some new wheels (Work Emotion CR Kiwami (18*8.5J ET 47 and 245/45 R18 AD08R tyres).

Got the new wheels fitted. I screwed up the order and got 245 section tyres instead of 225. Oops. It’s quite tight at the back but no rubbing so far, although I do get a little on the inside front at full lock. Some camber should give me peace of mind. Love the wheels and the way it’s now sitting. Also loads of caliper clearance, I can fit my hand in between the caliper and inside spoke so should be fine for the new kit. I recon around an inch at least.

I’m happy that I went with silver, not that I had much choice.

 

[bledd]

Great looking car, would love to replace my DC2 with one of these.

 

[james_2k]

love that new brake disc smell

 

[ci_newman]

I love your car Much jealous

 

[Uncle_Gravy]

Very jealous indeed, I'd love one, Hit me up when you're in south wales next, love a passenger ride in it.

 

[Zeed]

Last real proper TYPE R Well almost proper no clue why honda went for 5D not Coupe
Miss Hondas Coupe cars

 

[Nick1881]

I love the FD2, very jealous as I've always wanted one, as Zeed said the last real Type R. I would love one but never had the money or the space for it, I've previously owned EG6 Civics and DC2's, now I'm a boring Mondeo driver

Looks great and those wheels really suit it.

 

[sovietspybob]

One of my favorite cars right there, my plan after i sold my DC5 in 2011 and bought a scooby was to have that for a couple of years and then get an FD2 after the prices came down but that never happened!

How much do these go for now?

 

[ChrisD.]

Cheers all. They're around £13k upwards depending on condition and mileage.

 

[Manbatius]

That is lovely, despite always owning hatchbacks I don’t like them, I also love coupes.

Great colour as well, keep us updated on the upgrades!

 

[rjk]

Comparisons with the S2000 now you have owned both?

 

[ChrisD.]

Comparisons with the S2000 now you have owned both?

They're hard to compare because they're so different. For a summer only sports car I'd want the S2000 but the FD2 is so much better at being an all rounder it wins it for me. Plus the standard suspension makes the car a complete weapon on track, the grip is ridiculous.

 

[ChrisD.]

Forgot about this thread. I am really bored in work, so I've been thinking about things to do and it occurred to me that I haven't updated this thread in ages!

In April I took delivery of new suspension - Meister R GT1. Jury is still (as of the time of this post) out on them.



Suspension getting fitted in the summer:

Some pics of the suspension and brake brackets courtesy of my TGM spy Mr Dott.

New brakes fitted at the same time, went with Pagid RS29 pads but they are £500.

A week before Castle Combe September time, copied and pasted from a thread on another forum I posted it on:

I've been getting pretty annoyed with the car recently, partly due to my own stupidity and partly due to the alarm/battery saga. After thinking about it, I'm fairly certain that the old siren unit drained the battery beyond hope, and since removing it I've been fighting with a battery that won't hold charge. After picking it up from TGM the other week, I put a new one on it and it's been fine ever since *touches wood*.
The other issue is the wrong size tyres I'd ordered and subsequently fitted - 245/40 R18. I knew I was pushing it with the extremely aggressive wheels, especially at the rear, but I was hopeful I could make it work with an arch roll and flare. So on went the new suspension complete with a pretty hefty -2 degrees rear camber. While I wasn't getting any rubbing at the rear on the way home from TGM, part of me knew that it would happen once the suspension loads up. With the car full up for JAE and the rear suspension on max, it was rubbing on big bumps and coming off at roundabouts; not only at the rear but sometimes at the front too. I have Castle Combe booked this Friday and I didn't want that to be a wasted session as I really need a shake down before Spa and the 'Ring at the end of the month, so I booked in for 225/45 R18 tyres this afternoon. I was expecting it to be a bit better, but there's a huge difference and thankfully due to AD08R having larger than average shoulders I haven't got a streched look.
This is what is was like before, as you can see, not much room at all!
Car loaded up in the rear:

Car unloaded:

225's fitted, you can clearly see that there's much more room!

I drove it back pretty quickly over speed bumps and no rubbing at all. Previously it would rub now and then even with no weight in the rear.
This will do for Castle Combe and Spa, then once that is done I may look at another track day or two.

Annoyingly the drop links are clattering around so need replacing, I said no to Honda as they wanted £250! So I've ordered some Hard Race ones instead for just under £100, they should hopefully arrive before Spa when I will get them changed out, inspect the rear arches for damage and also fit the facelift rear lights.

Then Castle Combe happened (07/09/18):

Castle Combe was today. I didn't spin, didn't crash, surprised a few Porsches, the car isn't broken and I'm home in one piece.
No rubbing which is great, although I think the tyres aren't performing as well as they can as they're a little stretched onto the rim. I need to play with the pressures and suspension to get a decent balance.
The Meister R's are really good, very comfy and compliant on the road, yet very stiff on track with the dampers turned up. That said, I think perhaps the OEM suspension is on par if not better. But then again I've put stupid wheels on it since so that could be a factor.
The brakes were immense, no issues at all save for a few deposits on them now which started to clean up on the way home.

Vid of a Cayman S refusing to move out of my way:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BneLlLAF3kQ

Towards the end of September I did some work on the car with my mate down in Swindon.

Late update here but I did a few things to the car last weekend. First of I fitted the replacement boot trim Kev imported for me. It wasn’t in the greatest condition but it’s better than non at all and of course the old oil covered one!

Next job was to fit the facelift rear lights. They’re more angular than the pre facelift ones, I think they are much more modern and they also suit the shape of the car better.

Before:

After:

You have to remove the rear bumper to fit them so while it was off I cleaned underneath.
Bit dirty before!

Wasn’t the best effort as the next time I will probably seal it all up but it’s better then it was.

I was happy that there wasn’t huge patches of rust or any evidence of rear end damage.
The final job was to replace the drop links. The car used to be silent over bumps but since the GT1’s went on it rattles a little over bumps, more evident at slow speed. I spoke to Jerrick and he suggested either the top locking nut needs tightening or the drop links are on their way out. I’ve already tried the nuts so I decided to order replacement drop links. Honda wanted about £250 for all four and a long wait of about 6 months, so I went with Hardrace and a 10 day wait.
The old ones had to be cut off, other than that not too bad a job.

Obligatory brew before the next task which was the fronts. Much easier to cut off as we just removed the roll bar and the first two came off with regular tools thankfully.
Sadly the car is still noisy, if anything it’s a bit louder. So I think I’ll have a look over and then speak to Jerrick and see what he says. I really hope it’s not the suspension but the car was silent before so I don’t see what else it could be.

Currently at Folkestone, ‘Ring and Spa over the next week. Fingers crossed no issues arise.

I then went to the 'Ring and Spa (again!).

A few pics from Spa, it did dry up albeit at the very end of the day. The car was flawless.

































Then at the start of November I did Silverstone:



What a great track that is! First time on the new layout and there's some properly fast sections on it.

The car has been in the garage since but is coming out this weekend to go to Performance Autoworks in order to work out what the front end rattle is as I am out of ideas.

Thanks for reading.

 

[ChrisD.]

I realised this thread hasn't had much love so I thought I would update since these sorts of cars are becoming rarer each year.

17-03-2019

I drove it beyond a mile today for the first time since November. It's been tucked up in the garage with the battery out, so I charged it a few days ago and fitted it earlier today. After driving the Focus and lately the BMW, it's quite a shock getting behind the wheel. Refinement? No. Rattle free? No, don't be silly. Comfy? Ish with the dampers set to low.

I laughed a little when I first floored it. The noise is glorious and the throttle response is wonderful. I thought the BMW felt NA but now I get it when people say they can still tell.

Then there's the turn in. The BMW likes to understeer, for safety I guess so people don't spin them. When you turn it in and give it some throttle, the BMW comes a little unsettled and there's a bit of traction control light flickering and you can feel the yaw movement under you if you're being an idiot. I like the way that feels. The Civic however just grips more and aggressively so. You can tell the chassis wants more while in the BMW you can tell it's not quite a full fat M car. It's brilliant. Really looking forward to Spa.

And tucked away again.

 

[ChrisD.]

16-04-2019

I haven't updated this since Spa, I thought I had. :lol:

The car was faultless throughout. It managed about 37 mpg on the way to Folkestone although the drive to Spa was a little worse as I was averaging a higher speed once I was out of the speed trap zones. Still managed it on 3/4 of a tank though so not too bad.

I don't have any pictures of it on track on my phone so here's what I've got. I'll add some later although they don't look too dissimilar to what I've posted on previous trips, although less rain thankfully.

Cooling down in the pits. Yes, my engine bay is a mess, sorry car clean freaks.

After Spa the mrs and I went to Gent for the weekend, lovely place, lots was drunk. In no particular order.

Tucked up back home.

After a long chat with Rich at PA when it had its MOT done, rather than faff about with the suspension which is what I was going to do, I'm going to invest in a proper seat and maybe harness. I had assumed there's too much body roll, but what's actually happening is the car is cornering faster than the standard seat can cope with, so I need something to keep me pinned into it. I was going around Pouhon with one hand on the wheel and the other on the door trying to keep me upright. :lol:

Needless to say the performance at Spa was great and I got a few comments from other drivers with faster machinery saying that it goes very well.


03-07-2019

Spare XP12 pads.

 

[ChrisD.]

17-07-2019

The FD2 came out of the garage again today to go for a service up at Performance Autoworks. Nothing major, just engine oil and gearbox oil plus a look at the pads as they were picked up on the recent MoT for 'wearing thin'.

Against forum experts' advice, I’ve followed that of two different Honda garages that race these engines and look after loads of track cars and stuck with 10w60 Oil.

Gearbox wise I’ve gone with Torco MTF with friction modifier instead of Honda MTF and so far it’s made the diff a lot smoother and less noisy. Time will tell if it stays that way.

The front Pagid RS29’s are only 50-60% worn so I’ve not replaced those. I also bought new OEM pads and they had about half a track day left so I’ve replaced with OEM again. The rear pads and discs aren’t showing any sign of excess heat and braking performance is fine so I’ll stick with them, they’re cheap too at around £45 so that’s a bonus as the fronts are not cheap.

Proper giggle to drive still, looking forward to next week now as I’m off to the ‘ring on holiday.

 

[ChrisD.]

21-07-2019

Ready for the trip tomorrow, so put the BMW in the garage. I wanted to clean them but I’ve run out of car shampoo!

 

[ChrisD.]

29-07-2019

Nürburgring visit last week for a short holiday with Dotty. Annoyingly it was high 30's so pretty unbearable with hardly any shade where you want it and no air con in the house!

Mine and his car at the house sunbathing.



The view from my room. I mainly go out there for the scenery, vibe and to chill out now, the track has become more of a secondary interest. Even the GP circuit was only configured for the short track, boo!



Everyone does this now, right?





We tried to stay in the searing heat at Brünnchen to watch the instruction that was going on, we had to walk up the hill to get in the shade. It was unbearable without shade!



Obligatory on track pic. My time only around 9 minutes as I don't really push it on the 'ring and with the track temperature being close to 60 degrees the AD08R's were starting to struggle a little. Lots of tyre wear over one lap compared to say when it's 20 degrees so I didn't fancy doing too many laps at 25 Euros a pop. I do have a second pic I bought but they've not sent it though yet, will add later.

View attachment LFiCJCt.jpg

On to Bruges (if you haven't been, go!) while Dotty went to the F1, I think the car was relieved to be underground for a few days!



And back in the garage. I'll be bringing it out again this week or this weekend to give it a good wash. And while it's out, I'll sort the garage out as it seems to be breeding clutter in there.

 

[ChrisD.]

03-08-2019

Spent around 6 hours cleaning both cars. Both were snow foamed, washed, polished and waxed. I also cleaned the interiors, cleaned and sealed the wheels and what not. I'm knackered now!













The mrs tidied the garage for me, loads of clutter has been binned!

 

[ChrisD.]

28-09-2019

Caffeine and Machine trip today, excellent little spot.

Then put on the private plate.

21-11-2019

I’ve had the Toda exhaust on for two years and while it’s a great exhaust, it’s a little too much on the loud side for me and I always missed the sound of the RM01A I had on my DC5. Rather than buy a new one and then sell the Toda, I’ve been on the lookout for someone who fancied a direct swap. It’s only taken about 18 months but I saw a post on the FD2 group, jumped at the chance and arranged it all with someone who wanted something a bit louder. A direct swap was agreed which I think is fair. We both went to John's house to swap it all over... after I had to buy some jump leads to get the car started.

I’m a happy man. I can’t feel any difference in power even though the b pipe looks a bit smaller compared to the Toda. If anything it feels a bit more potent but that’s probably BS and my head is lying to me to make me feel good. Either way, drone is significantly reduced and it’s lovely when I open the throttle, nice JDM rasp sort of sound but not too much. Just right for my ears. I’m a happy man and it was lovely to drive the car again after two months or so.

The FD2 is now back in the garage and probably won't move until next year.

08-12-2020

All the car has done in the past 12 months is have a service and MOT, due to Covid mainly which is frustrating. Hopefully once I've moved house I'll be able to go on more track days.