DC5S Story Part 2

[TYP51W]

Hey guys,

New to the group and promised that i'd start a post so here it goes with a quick post

I'm the new owner who's taken on the legacy of Alex's DC5!
My previous car was a 2006 Honda Integra Type S Magnesium metallic colour, so yes I am attached to DC5's
It's been a couple of weeks now and i'm still getting used to the cars handling and capability (very different to stock).
Appreciate Alex's work on the car!

So far the only mod's i've done is raise the car 30mm (couldn't get into my garage without raising even with planks lols) and changed the sub back to my old slim pioneer sub.
I'm still getting a feel for the car and i guess this is only the start for my part of this DC5's story

IMG-20150613-WA0009.jpgIMG-20150613-WA0013.jpgIMG-20150613-WA0017.jpg

Anyway really hoping to meet up with you guys soon

Andy

[PG_DC5]

Welcome to clubITR mate =)

[Shakeel]

Nice to see you continuing the build Andy!

Welcome to ClubITR

[plAythiNG]

Nice Andrew.

I reckon the car looks so clean and simple on type s wheels. But you will need new tyres soon as the tread is old as mentioned. So either get new good quality tyres or continue on the legacy with new rim setup! I vote new rims as much as the type s wheels look good

[TYP51W]

Hey thanks for the welcome!

Time goes by so fast, I thought I'd try and keep a diary of this car seeing how useful it been with plAythiNG threads keeping good progress notes of the car ahaha. Thanks man I have more confidence of what sort of car im getting into each day
Maybe one day I can look back at this thread and remember the good times.

Anyway I thought I'd introduce more about myself and where I've been since getting my first car.

So my first car was a reliable 1993 Toyota Corolla CSI Limited sedan 1.6L 72kw automatic beast! A 12yo (at the time) car passed down to me in the family.
And yes it got me places, with 5 people, their luggage and 3 bikes strapped on a bike rack. Being a uni student at the time, it was economic and did the fortnightly return trips from Sydney to Orange with ease.
It did require some lead foot moments especially up hills, but it was a great car to learn from, adding the most ridiculous lights, speakers, and budget performance mods like a KN filter!

Being Red, it was able to do what most thought was impossible, be in two places at once. (Google streetview verified)




It was a great car, I thought I'd keep it for years to come... but inside me, I always wanted to drive stick, and transmission conversion wasn't something I could see in the works.

So after uni, saved up abit with a job, I thought I'd look for a Honda Accord Euro. More power to roll on, still practical, and I liked the styling.

[TYP51W]

While looking for Accord Euros, I came across this photo



and fell in love with the look of it (Can't believe how things have panned out)

So quickly changed my mind and decided to go for a Honda integra Type S instead, with approval from family (car can't be too loud or uncomfortable), missus (don't be ricer) I picked up one of these from two guys in Five Dock. I felt pretty bad taking it off his hands, cause he didn't want to, but his brother needed the money.. Needless to say it was hard driving it out of his driveway.




So I bought this dc5 in 2011, and yep it was pretty much the car for me. Something I was planning to keep for generations to come, the way it handled, the vtec, It was something I hadn't experience in any other car!

and so a quick list of things I did while owning it, ....very cosmetic and nothing major, all DIY.

Exterior
Phillips LED DRL's
HID projectors
LED indicators, parkers, brakes, reverse lights
20% tint (done in Blacktown)
KN Filter
Number Plate holder delete + custom angle number plate mount

Interior
Skunk2 gear knob (in terms of performance mods I pretty much stopped here, in comparison to plAythiNG lol)
Dynamatted (car was taken apart for a week as my Dad and I did a panel at a time after work)
Crescendo Opus 1's (Front speakers) (custom mounted to fit with diy mdf)
Fusion Powerplants (Rear speakers)
MB Quart 4ch amp
Pioneer monoblock
Pioneer IBFlat 12" slim sub
Sony Xav-72bt headunit
Sony XA-R800C reverse cam

There's probably other things too, but that's all I can remember.

[TYP51W]

So in 2015 I could probably look back and say yeah, got my life pretty much sorted, got a long term "family" car, married my high school sweetheart, holding down a job, a place to stay, etc
But I guess I tried to give everything my best, not looking after my wellbeing, and reality hit.
Living in the hills, working 50-55hrs/p wk near hornsby, visiting rent in laws in sefton, help lead a youth group in bankstown, church in hurlstone park and epping means clocking an avg of 620km per week on my car (still am).

Being away from home between 7:30am - 9:30pm regularly meant my wife and I only saw each other a couple of hours a day, and so to maximise that time, we'd stay up late.
As time went, our hours of sleep got shorter and shorter, until 4-5hrs was the norm.

So Friday the 29th of May, Just finished a day of 9-6:30pm work, heading to youth group in bankstown, feeling absolutely tired that night, but not wanting to be late, I continued to push on driving the hour trip.
West Pennant Hills Rd (70kmph speed limit), driving around 50kmph, I remember thinking where should I park my car when I get there, and what's the best way I can juggle all my equipment in one walking trip from car to hall. I saw the red CR-V in front brake flash, but my foot didn't respond, my eyes were half closed. Roughly 10-15m to impact I realised and slammed my brakes, but it was too late.

The car I wished I'd be keeping for generations to come was written off with one lapse of concentration.







I just remember sitting in my chair stiff, car tires screeching, while watching the windscreen glass cracking in front of me, thinking, when will the car stop, or is this the last thing Ill remember.

I do rest my life on a higher being, and he kept me, as well as the other driver from harm. Im really grateful that no one was injured that night being on a main road; we were able to quickly clear off before causing further accidents.

So my car was a write off, the CR-V i hit lost it's number plate holder, and afew scratches on the spare tire cover, but was still driveable.
Though glad of lives being spared and still intact, I did grieve about the car, not because of the sheets of metal that held it together, but because I felt all the times I’ve spent with it, the DnM’s with my dad working on it, the fear and joy Vtec brought to my gf/wife, the car that took us everywhere. Times spent with friends in Bunnings/maccas/woollies carparks admiring each other’s rides. It felt like all that was being taken away from me, and I didn’t take many photos to remember these moments.

I guess I wanted to document this event in my life as a driver because life is short, our small or little decisions along the way now can massively affect the outcome down the road, and all it takes is one slip up… a second longer before applying the brakes and it would have been a totally different scenario. Tiredness can kill, I won’t ignore the signs now, and so thankful that I'm still here. A lesson that will shape who I am going forward. I did go to Cars for Hope Orange Effect EOMM earlier in the year meet a few passionate enthusiasts and left with two cars for hope stickers and an Orange shirt, but never got around to sticking it on.

Funny looking back that, it was one of the first things I did when I drove another Dc5 home, whack the stickers on both sides, and put my sub back in!

[TYP51W]

So moving on from there, I decided to look at what there was on the market,

Friends started suggesting VW golf's, Subaru Liberty GT's, or Toyota 86's but I found excuses not to look at any of them, don't like hatchbacks, Liberty's are mainstream, 86's can't fit a bike in the back.

I eventually came to my senses that the only car I wanted was a DC5. (Great for seller's at the time ahaha and thought I'd share how I eventually got here)

Checked out about 4-5 in total from carsales, some were resprayed, rebadged base models to Type S, one was trying to fog me saying Type S's come with cruise control from factory lol's.
But they all had faults of some kind, either bad paint or check engine lights with a loud exhaust.

So almost giving up, I eventually found Preet's Dc5 up for sale!. It was a great car close by to where I live, well maintained mechanically and fun to drive. Only things that I had qualms with was the condition of paint and panels (car was just rinsed when I went to see it so hard to judge or see anything), acceptance of a loud exhaust, and the Type R wing. Being a black car I thought it would be harder to maintain the shine also.
After a few conversations back and forth, I was ready to commit and get the car professionally inspected, but Preet was looking for another car to purchase before he could let this one go. So inspections bookings made and cancelled three times before it was eventually called off, as he couldn't find a car in time.

At the time I was pretty frustrated getting strung along not knowing if others were bidding for the car after we agreed on a price and eventually while I was on my last week of a hire car from NRMA, the deal was called off. But I understand it was pretty hard for Preet to sell a car when you don't have another car lol, we are good though no hard feelings. I guess it was just my desperation to find a clean maintained DC5 that was getting to me at the time.

During this time I was considering interstate DC5's, (some were promising from WA and QLD), and even importing one (until I realised you couldn't for that model)

So exhausting all local options, I stumbled on a clubITR post of Alex's car. My first thoughts were, it's so shiny it looks chrome and the asking price was slightly above my budget.
But being quite desperate, contemplating catching a flight to WA, I thought I'd throw Alex a message or two, just to test waters so I get why he thought I was a time waster. But with the previous failed transaction, I wanted to make sure the car was ready for sale, before I got emotionally attached to it lolls.

Eventually found a time to meet up with Alex (within a day of getting in contact with him) had to shuffle a lot of my family's schedule to get my dad and I down to Alex's driveway by 9:30am. But it was everything I was after, the car was pretty much perfect for me.
Stock magnesium silver, lowered, faster yet not much louder, very well maintained, and meeting Alex for the first time, he seemed like an honest guy, pointing out the car's flaws and letting me test drive it on the highway I could feel the sense of familiarity with my car, yet also the foreign feeling of raw power at the wheel. So coming back to the driveway, I was pretty much set on purchasing it, and with a few prices thrown back and forth, and getting dad’s approval that I wasn't buying a lemon, we went ahead, thinking I would get a professional inspection done, revs check and insurance in the days to come.
Until Alex sprung a deal to take the car now, thinking on my feet and forfeiting inspection, delaying lunch plans with my wife and two hours later, I was driving from the other side of Sydney home in the DC5!

It’s been a winding journey that’s lead me here and I’ve learnt a few things now. Such as never insuring your car at market value and always keeping your stock headunit somewhere you remember, lessons that I hopefully don’t school me again.

[TYP51W]

The past has gone, let’s get up to speed on what’s been happening the past few months and get some pics up!


I’m still spending my sweet time understanding it, getting to know the guys at Top One and Heasman Steering, learning about washing regimes, mastering my drive way


Yes this is my planks v2.0 , some clark rubber flooring slapped on timber sealed with silicone, getting the job done without ripping a hole in my lip!


Getting clean





Finally got around to stripping this wire,

now headunit dims with headlights, and reverse cam turns on when R’s engaged, no need to hold handbrake and flip a switch when parking!

And recently as some know, a detail by Alex! (Taken in my garage)






Some better shots taken at Bay run










And Finally, wasn’t able to physically make it to Cars for Hope #IAMDRIVEN event in September, but had some friends grab me one of these





Things to come very soon
Brake ducts, cover and DRL’s
Ferodo DS2500 pad replacements
OEM wheels, changing to RS3 tires

[PG_DC5]

Nice write up bud! So glad it worked out for everyone. The new owner of my car has some pretty nice plans and will join the forums soon as well.

[ken_twolves]

Sorry to hear about the other car, current car looks very neat! Nice pick up.

[TYP51W]

Thanks Guys, glad I'm still in one piece!

Ahahah true chaumeh that dartboard probably needs to go, a few close calls!

Pretty bummed I haven't been able to make it to the past few meets especially the annual BBQ, anyway eventually something will work out!

Time for a quick update

Put in a Greddy Informeter Touch, great to know my alternator's on the way out lol but glad I did for the heads up

Got some Polish Angel Master Sealant, I have to say best thing since sliced bread, I no longer have to wash my car weekly to keep watermarks at bay, just a quick hose down gets 95% of the dust and watermarks off.



And I pretty sure the mirror effect doubled also



Missed doing a before and after shot of my garage door reflection, but I could not see it with this much clarity before master sealant


Haven't had time to do anything major so just thought I'd post up a few shots of the DC5 alive and well.

These were achieved with a DSLR, two cardboard boxes, two phone lights, a senz (silver on the outside) umbrella, a slave flash and finally a mate who knows what he's doing with a camera, Thanks Dave.

Completely adhoc, dark and cold, risked being run over, cardboard box tripod, results speak for themselves loll

[plAythiNG]

Awesome photos Andrew!

[Paulieee_R]

Glad to see a fellow Hills District resident picked up this beauty.

I remember a few years ago, Alex took me to Top One in this car, my first time riding in his DC5, when mine was relatively stock. It was one of the reasons I didn't sell up and continued my build.

I think it's fair to say Alex set a lot of bars when it came to modifying DC5's.

I'm glad she went to a good home, although that driveway looks like hell.

[wpg81]

Such a neat car, well done.