The Civic 25XT

[felixR]

So sweet!

[eskimo_firefighter]

Looking good, hopefully with this wheel/tyre setup you can crack into the 40's at Winton?

[ChargeR]

Looking really good Tom, almost there it would seem!

Thanks mate. Not even close to there though .

So sweet!

Thanks boss!

Looking good, hopefully with this wheel/tyre setup you can crack into the 40's at Winton?

Cheers guy, I'm not sure that the tyres will turn up before Winton though so I'll have to rely on myself for PBs this time.

[Toddxxx]

Man this thing is boss!!!

[ChargeR]

Man this thing is boss!!!

Cheers mate.

So I was trawling Yahoo Auctions one day and spotted an original dealer pamphlet for my exact car (bar the sunroof) so I couldn't resist and asked my JDM friend Shin to get it for me (thanks guy!).

Here's what it looks like. Apologies for the gaps in the 3 page spread, I got sick of scanning it in parts and stitching it together:










At least I have something to aim for now.

[ChargeR]

It's time I started getting this thing ready for the upcoming EXE day at Winton. A few bits that should help turned up today:



In the box was:
- Front wheel bearings
- Front hubs
- Front lower ball joints
- Various screws
- Dust shields
- Sump gasket

This pile of bits cost more than the car . It will be good to refresh the whole front knuckles though, once I've put on all these bits it should be some time before the front end needs attention again. I'm aiming to get a spare set of knuckles stripped and powdercoated and then I'll fit all the new bits up to them and swap them on. With any luck it might fix the grumbling noises the front end has been making under heavy cornering loads too.

[felixR]

That's a nice interior.

Where did you order the OEM parts from?

[ChargeR]

That's a nice interior.

Where did you order the OEM parts from?

I ended up getting everything from Amayama, their prices are sometimes a little more expensive than the US options but shipping was cheaper so it works out better. There's also no detective work required making sure that the parts are the same on the US model variant, I can order the exact part I need even if it was a JDM only part number. Really happy with their service.

[ChargeR]

Today I pulled a knuckle off my ED9 parts car and had a practice run on disassembling it and made a plan on how I'm going to put these things back together without scratching up my new dust shields and powdercoat. After a bit of stuffing around on my little 12T press I got it all apart. Surprisingly the press did it quite easily:



I'll pull the knuckles off the car tomorrow and strip them down in a similar fashion.

[Nathannnnn]

There is a wealth of knowledge in your threads, Learnt so much just from following them!

[ChargeR]

More track prep today. First up I did a quick oil change, using some Red Line 10W-40 from everyone's mate Mugsee. The old oil came out looking quite black considering that it's been in there less than 4,000 km, so it looks like the trusy D15 is getting a good clean out on the inside. Or it has a excessive blow by.



I also removed the two left side shocks, ready to take them down to the local Koni distributor for service. They'd been leaking from the adjusters since they were installed unfortunately. When I put them back in I'm considering fitting my 10kg/mm (or maybe 14kg/mm ) springs at the rear to improve the balance a bit until I get a rear sway bar.



Then I proceeded to remove the front knuckles all ready to get them tidied up and refreshed with the new bearings, hubs, ball joints and dust shields. Pounded out the lower ball joints while I was at it. Here's what they looked like after a quick spray with degreaser and the pressure washer:



Once I've done the hubs and bearings I'll post up a DIY thread for anyone else interested in doing the same.

[MYDC5R]

Looks like your track prep is coming along quite well Tom, ill see you up at Winton mate =)

[ChargeR]

Looks like your track prep is coming along quite well Tom, ill see you up at Winton mate =)

Cheers mate, still a lot to do! See you there.

Tonight after much hacking, use of circlip pliers and pressing I managed to get the knuckles all stripped ready for their freshen up. I'll call some sandblasters and powdercoaters tomorrow. Does anyone have a place for either service that they could recommend in the SE suburbs, somewhere in the Braeside to Dandenong region? I'll be getting some CR-X bits done while I'm there.

[ChargeR]

I ended up going to a place just down the road from my work and he recommended me a sandblaster. Here's the result half way through:



Also did the lower shock forks, and had the Cusco lower arm bar for the EF8 done since it happened to be rattling around in the back of the ute. I dropped the bits off at the powdercoater and asked for gloss black, "everywhere except the important machined surfaces please". They should be good to go on Wednesday or Thursday next week, so then I can assembly my car ready for Winton, with a whole 7 days to spare.

[Shakeel]

Good luck Tom, hope it all goes to plan!