#13

went for TCC's 15 Apr trackday at Sepang.

the ZII Star Specs took quite a bit of damage, burnt nearly half of the front tyres by the end of the day. managed to clock 2.45 on the set-up. no other vehicle/maintenance issues, very reliable.

oil temperature stayed at a very comfortable 90 - 100 degrees celcius thanks to the oil cooler installed.

aligned and rotate wheels back to daily driving after trackday.


Mileage: ~153,000 km

#12

so over the past month... there's been a few things done

what's new:

• outer coat of paint
• trunk
• rear fender
• diffuser
• rear lights
• ray's re30 17" 8.5 inch width (swapped with my current set of 8 inch re30)
• Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec 235/45/17
• radiator (SARD brand ~S$250)
• Earl's oil cooler w/ oil filter relocation by J's Garage (~S$1050)
• Dixcel SD rear rotors (~S$270)
• Dixcel Z front and rear brake pads (~S$380 each, total ~S$760)

Coolant using Toyota coolant (~S$25 per bottle x2 bottles)
Engine serviced using Titan Race Pro S
Gearbox serviced using Motul

SARD radiator

Oil cooler relocation

Earl's Oil Cooler w/ mounting and brackets

Silver re30 w/ 8.5" width and Dixcel SD rear rotors and Dunlop Direzza Z2 Star Spec 235/45/17

Mileage: ~148,000 km

#11

so when i started up the car a few days ago the steering wheel started to creek loudly.

turns out, the bottom assembly hose of the power steering gave way (previously I've fixed the top almost immediately after taking over the car in end 2014).

had to leave the car at the workshop overnight as they didn't have the part.

got this fixed for ~S$450.

at the same time, i bought new oil temperature and oil pressure sensors for the defi as the previous sensors started to send the needles on the gauges bouncing all over the place. the oil pressure sensor was about S$150 while the oil temperature sensor was about S$100. got them shipped from RHDJapan and installed for a couple of 10s at SKM.

Mileage: ~144,000 km

#10

joined the tcc track day on sept 5 2016

more prepared for it this time around.

installed the defi NA set and serviced the car with Fuchs Pro S before heading up to Sepang with a set of spare tyres in the trunk.

this track day went slightly better, however there is still a need to take a break every 3 laps because the oil temperature was hitting 120 degrees Celsius by the third lap. maybe I'd consider installing an oil cooler in the near future to prepare for track days. managed to hit 2.48 with a better line around the circuit.

took the car down to Lye Designs to get all the small dents knocked back (~$200).

aligned the front wheels back to -1.5 degree camber after the track day.

also, redid the interior roof lining of the car in August. ~$280

Mileage: ~138,000 km

#9

attended the 3rd July 2016 track day with TCC

the road up to Sepang at night was quite eventful.

both cars going up had tire issues that ended up in one having to be towed to the track due to a flat.

really have to shout out to bro Saiful for pulling by the side and helping us to make some phone calls. you made our night. Thanks!

my tires formed blisters en route as well which later I learn is very possible from being due to driving with a lack of pressure.

luckily for us, there is a Hankook shop inside the track itself manned by Kumar. ended up burning slightly more than $400 to have a pair of tires changed to the famous RS3.

this is my first time on this track. the best timing i managed today was about 2:52 with my lines all over the track. hopefully I will be able to hit 2:45 on my next try with the same set-up.

didn't manage to get too many runs in as much of the morning was spent on tire business.

also, after this run I'd want to get some gauges to ensure I do not overheat the car. might be a good idea to put in a tire pressure monitoring system as well.

Tire Feedback: RS3 have really good grip. better on the track than the AD08R. however, the whirling sound of the tires will start to mess with you when it becomes a daily drive. will not recommend for daily drives. threadwear rating is 200 for the RS3 and 180 for the AD08R.

blistered tire

blistered tire

outside the tyre shop

Mileage: ~135000 km

#8

something has been up with the gearbox being unable to upshift from 4th to 5th gear during 7k - 8k rpm (while driving hot). this had been a problem for a very long time, almost since I have gotten the car.

finally gave up and decided to drop the engine and fix everything once and for all. clutch kit, clutch pumps (both) and synchros.

bought the Synchrotech Carbon Synchros (~$1100) (MK-SYN117-4  | Master Rebuild Kit FD2 FN2 CTR 08+) just to make sure the synchros are not going to give me any more problems. I did not want to be out of parts and waiting for shipments when the work is being done as I needed to use the car as soon as possible. since the full set of stock synchros is going to be more expensive, decided to go with these carbon lined ones after hearing some good reviews.

for the clutch kit, I'll be using Exedy's Single Series (~$200) for the daily drive stock feel and decent biting power (HC10T).

both clutch pumps were also changed with stock ones as the current ones were leaking.

in preparation for a sepang track day, i bought a set of custom slotted rotors (~$570) that look very much like project mu SCR-PRO ones, together with a set of project mu HC+ brake pads (~$250) (F300 for Civic FD2 Type-R).

will lower the TEIN Monosport suspension to a 1 finger fender-tyre clearance and get alignment done at Kenny's for 1.5 degrees front, 2.5 degrees rear.

should be getting these done sometime soon.

Synchrotech Master Rebuilt Kit for FD2R full set

Project Mu Type HC+ Brembo Front for FD2R

Mileage : ~130,000

#7

have not been too diligently updating this page.

keeping track of what i'm doing.

in the previous posts i've mentioned about the suspension issues. i've finally got down to addressing it. bought a set of TEIN's new line of Mono Sport (~$2500). this has 15 dampening clicks and adjustable height that is compatible with TEIN's EDFC (which i did not get, but would be nice!).

also, got a set of 17" 8.5jj +45 offset Rays RE30 wheels

they came with Eagle F1 tyres... but I do feel uncomfortable in these and they will go in favour of AD08Rs very soon...

Mileage : ~126,000 km

#6

in preparation for a day at PG

changed wheels to ADVAN Racing RZ 18" ET+45 8jj (~$1000)
bought SPC camber bolts (~$50, wheel alignment ~$80) to camber front out so that tyres will not rub against fender.
changed all 3 gaskets (~$250) as the VTEC and main gasket are already not doing their job too well.

Mileage : ~123,000 km

opened up the engine to change the gaskets

wheel alignment with -2 deg camber on the front wheels to prevent rubbing.
this wheels set-up should not rub, however, the suspension is not doing too good anymore, hence it bounces a lot.
as of check time, clearance for driver side tyres is 1 finger, passenger side is 2 fingers

ADVAN Racing RZ

#5

track-day aftermath

tracking at PG wore off the front 2 tyres really well.
went back to Leong Seng Tyres to claim my first free tyre rotation (you get a free tyre rotation for every set of wheels you buy from them). don't think this set of tyres will see another rotation...

after this is done, headed back to get get the engine oil changed(~$200).
also, installed a Gruppe M air intake (~$850)

Oil used : Fuchs Pro S SW40
Mileage : ~121,000 km

balancing the old tyres for rotation

one of the front AD08R tyres after tracking at PG once.
bought new 10 months ago.
running on ~1 deg camber.
going to be put in the rear.

installing the Gruppe M intake is a little more complicated that expected. partly because it is bought second hand, some of the parts were missing.

the most important part that was missing is the adapter to allow the stock pipe to be clipped to the intake. this was solved with the seller helping to get a header done for me (thanks bro).

the other minor items are the bottom bracket and screws which seem to be less of an issue and there were makeshift replacements being done.

however, i am still quite disturbed by the lack of a fitment on the scuttle piece provided by Gruppe M and have bought a new set of scuttle piece from the scrapyard.

i'm still trying to find a place to help me get the original scuttle piece cut and epoxied to fit the intake hole. 

Gruppe M intake 

Gruppe M provided scuttle piece does not come with the rubber on the stock scuttle piece

notice where my fingers are. there should be an adapter there that is currently missing in this picture.

the Gruppe M intake with the missing adapter fitted on

bought a stock scuttle piece belonging to a FD2 from a scrapyard (~$50 yes, this was expensive)

#4

in preparation for a day at PG.

Bought a Hondata off the market and got it tuned by Joel (~$1000 in total). Changed out the rear brake pads to Dixcel Z type, brake fluid to Motul and brake hoses to HEL stainless steel (~$550).

What has changed:
Hondata Flashpro + tune

Dixcel Rear brake pads
Motul brake fluid

All 4 brake hoses to HEL stainless steel

Mileage: ~118,000 km

FD2R Dyno results from Uber Garage

Hondata Flashpro

Original brake hose

New HEL stainless steel brake hose

New Dixcel Z rear brake pads

#3

after spirited driving nights, something always seems to not function quite right the next day.

the first issue i had was the air-conditioning which ceased to blow cold air. an entire air-conditioning servicing complete with filter change was required ($~80).

a couple of months later, after yet another spirited driving night, weird sounds were coming out from the engine bay. something like rotating plastic flaps hitting onto something. this time, it was the left engine mount that broke. apparently this engine mount is the first to go out of all the engine mounts in the fd2r... and i have been told to be prepared that i might have to change all of them sometime soon.. (~$250 per mount).

the air-conditioning seem to be having some problems yet again. this time it was the power steering motor not turning right, leading to the serpentine belt not being able to move smoothly. the bearing for this had to be changed as well (~$150).

since i was at the workshop and it is due for servicing, i decided to change the gearbox and engine oil as well.

gearbox oil used: motul

engine oil used: gt1

current mileage: ~113,000 km

new engine mount

#2

only a couple of weeks in, the power steering hose ran lose.

power steering fluid leaked all over the engine bay and the serpentine belt was changed as well after being soaked. (power steering hose ~$150, serpentine belt ~$80)

also did the rear wheel bearings this time. they were ~$300 with labour charges, really expensive.

current mileage: ~103,000km

What has changed

- stock serpentine belt
- stock rear wheel bearing
- custom made power steering hose

left: custom made power steering hose;
right: original stock fd2r power steering hose

fd2r rear wheel bearing

serpentine belt

#1

so it has been about a year since i became the third owner of this silver beauty. finally decided that i should keep a log of what has been done and what i have learnt about the last of the naturally aspirated civics around.

the car is in mostly stock condition, with the exception of a few modifications that the previous 2 owners had done to it.

also did my engine oil servicing almost immediately.

engine oil used: motul

current mileage: ~101,000 km

What has changed

-dc5 gear knob
-rev/speed meter + pioneer dvd player combo
-J's racing 60mm exhaust catback

J's racing 60mm muffler

dc5 gear knob

rev/speed meter + pioneer player

stock seats

stock 3 pc spoiler

stock 18" wheels

stock diffuser