To VTEC and Beyond - EK B18C Build


8krpm

Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2017
Messages
71
Car(s)
EK Civic
Hey guys, greetings from Australia.

Going to keep the introduction short, so basically been in the Honda scene for a bit over a year or so now.

I've got a 1997 Civic EK Hatch, bought it with an original d16y4 and it all started with the contemplation of an engine swap for a b series, fast forward a couple months later I settled for a Japanese b18c. After some complications and back and forwards, finally got her going on the road and the journey has begun.

Basic specs/mods (sorry I don't know very much but I'm still learning).

  • Stock, unopened (yet) B18c
  • S80 gearbox w/ LSD
  • Cold Air Intake
  • PLM extractors
  • 2.5" custom exhaust
  • Hondata s300 v3
  • Currently making 115KW at the wheels on pump gas
Might be missing some things but you get the gist, basically stock with the basic bolt ons.


Not entirely sure where I'm going with the car, but for now I'm smoothing out some rough patches. I'm hoping for some boost down the track but we'll see where the road takes me.

Quick video of a dyno run post-operation with the new exhaust and engine installed.

P.S don't mind flappy grill :p


Picture time!

Pretty much after it was done I road tripped about 100km up the coast with a friend for him to pick up his car from his good friend and mechanic. The trip proved the suspension needed work. The previous owner had chopped the rear springs and had coilovers at the front, which were by no definition of the word "good condition" - in good condition. The ride up was a little bit bouncy and didn't feel 100% nice. I knew the suspension needed work ASAP. Upon inspection of the existing coilovers, there was a huge oil leak. The coilovers were in such bad condition I didn't even need the C-Spanners to adjust the height. They were easily spun by hand.

Fast forward, I managed to find a set of cheap coilovers someone was parting out. "Drag and Drift" - neither of which I plan on doing. 38 way damper and height adjustable. They say you get what you pay for but these will do for now.

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The trip down the coast also revealed my front tyres were on the brink of doom. Long story short they needed to go.
Picked up a set of cheap Federal 595-R semi-slick tyres that were on special. Fitted both front ones for only $230, left the back as they are although now I wish I had gotten all 4 done. Will eventually go back for the back 2 and rotate the front, but the difference in grip was definitely immediately noticeable.

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Basic bay picture, it's pretty bland but I'm hoping I can get around to prettying it up later down the road.

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In for an ASR subframe and sway bar installation... 24mm sway bar fitted with a pretty gold subframe brace.

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Will be updating this thread/post regularly!
 
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K-Tuned short shifter with adjustable height/throw was installed - changed the driving dynamic in a good way. Steering wheel needs to go.

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Had a slight water suck up scare from driving the car in the rain with the cold air intake. Had the CAI chopped in half. It's now a SRI and sits inside the engine bay. Sits quite flush and I'm fairly happy with what it looks like. Seems to make more induction noise too which is cool, though unfortunately that means it will be eating more hot air. It's a trade I'm willing to make to keep the car driveable though.

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Onto more important things, a 4 stud DC2R brake conversion was installed - RDA 282mm front rotors, Project Mu HC+ Pads inside a DC2R Caliper completed with HEL braided brake lines.

In a bizarre turn of events, somehow the passenger side driveshaft outer nut managed to snap while putting everything back together. Luckily a place nearby had a replacement refurbished shaft ready to go for $99, so on it went.

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Next we're getting a Spoon baffled sump on

Headers are coming off

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Spoon care package courtesy of Gaijin Garage here in Australia

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Roll cage purchase from AGI Roll Cages

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Body rigidity has improved. Even with just a half cage you can see how the rear almost lifts equally even though the front of the car is being jacked.

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In for a timing belt change, slapping on some adjustable cam gears while we get that done

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The old belt actually seemed to be pretty loose or not properly tensioned. Glad we got that sorted.

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Garrett T2871R ball bearing turbo generously given to me by a very close friend, off his mental MX-5. Picked this up for a fraction of retail price and am looking forward to strapping it on. Not sure when or how though.

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Have fairly big ambitions for future plans, usually I don't actually get to do them because I'm lazy but anyway in the woodworks next up is:
  • Replace rear trailing arm bushes
  • Camber arms
  • Paint rocker cover
  • Engine bay wire tuck
  • Pad roll cage
  • Create enclosure for pod filter
  • Restore headlights
  • Polish and clean exhaust manifold
  • Get rid of sound deadening in boot and paint
 
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Welcome to the forum
Looks like your well into this, going well so far!
Turbo honda B series are great fun!
 
I had posted a build thread on Honda-Tech but unfortunately they weren't as active as I'd have hoped.

I am looking forward to updating here though, looking at other build threads I'm quite amazed at the level of activity and knowledge everyone has here which is great because I'm a complete noob.
The car scene/people over in the UK seem really cool. I've dealt with Tegiwa a few times and had pleasant experiences, I'd love to visit and check it out for myself in the next few years.

P.S your build thread looks amazing
 
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Yeah this is the only forum ive ever used. I dont use any others because everything i want is here.
We all start somewhere, i was a noob when i first joined the forum some 4 and half years ago lol
 
Those genuine ssrs i spy ;)

Ps nice build thread will be watching this for updates
 
Those genuine ssrs i spy ;)

Ps nice build thread will be watching this for updates

Ah, unfortunately not genuine SSRs - they came with the car but they are definitely reps, they're in fairly good condition though and touch wood have survived a track day thus far. I do like the look (especially after a nice clean), but I feel like I wanna create a mean track look and they make it look like a bit of a stance queen.

I'm hoping for a set of RPF1s when I get some of the suspension stuff out of the way. Should drop a fair bit of weight with them as well.

Here are a few more pics I dug out on on the dc2 brake conversion.

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I was actually pleased with the size difference between the dc2 and ek calipers - although not massive still a fair bit more clamping force I think

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My first go painting anything. Was a pretty fun experience. Didn't come out quite as planned (had a million different colour and decal ideas, ended up just going black).
Overall fairly pleased, the next time I get around to painting them though I'll take a lot more time and use metal primer though.

P.s I painted over the rubber boots accidentally... oops :alone:

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I got around to installing oil pressure and temp gauges, they worked really well for the first couple of weeks but the oil temperature gauge seems to have gone on strike.
I suspect a bad earth so I'll have to pop the dash back at some point and figure it out. For now I'll leave it as is and cruise around with pressure gauge only.

I was hoping they'd fit in the single din block off plate thing, but unfortunately 60mm gauges were marginally too big. I'll have to opt for 52mm next time. When I get a few of my other expenses out of the way I'm hoping for a nice set of Defis but we'll see where the money takes me.

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Also looking into turbo kits, pistons and rods now need to make decisions on where I put my money because there's so much damn choice out there.

I'm hoping to build the bottom end for a reliable 500hp and hopefully make a fun 400hp for the street/track.

Also need to get around to making myself a little undercarriage for the underbody of the car. Wish my day job entailed working in a workshop some times :p.
 
Very very nice. How do you find the ktuned shifter thinking of going for one myself
 
Very very nice. How do you find the ktuned shifter thinking of going for one myself

I was running it originally with a Skunk 2 gear knob (pictured), think it weighed something like 300 or 400 grams, didn't feel nice.

Recently got a spoon duraconn shift knob, weighs like 85 grams or something, now the shifter feels amazing. Throw settings are quite nice (although I haven't had a lot of time to play around with it) and the height adjustability is a cool gimmick.

Overall appearance is nice and you can choose to leave it short, and cover it with your shift boot if you wish to retain an OEM-ish look - personally I might make something similar to a Circuit Hero shifter plate out of aluminium or something to spice up the centre console.

Would recommend.
 
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I was running it originally with a Skunk 2 gear knob (pictured), think it weighed something like 300 or 400 grams, didn't feel nice.

Recently got a spoon duraconn shift knob, weighs like 85 grams or something, now the shifter feels amazing. Throw settings are quite nice (although I haven't had a lot of time to play around with it) and the height adjustability is a cool gimmick.

Overall appearance is nice and you can choose to leave it short, and cover it with your shift boot if you wish to retain an OEM-ish look - personally I might make something similar to a Circuit Hero shifter plate out of aluminium or something to spice up the centre console.

Would recommend.

Wow didn't think a gearknob could make so much difference, have you tried the OEM weighted gearknob? I personally love the look of them make the cockpit much meaner IMO
 
Wow didn't think a gearknob could make so much difference, have you tried the OEM weighted gearknob? I personally love the look of them make the cockpit much meaner IMO

It could just be that the shifter is taller so the weighted knob gives it bad leverage (just a thought?). Now that I think about it when I had the original short shifter, I don't think I remember noticing shifting was a bit uncomfortable almost, but that shifter was much shorter.

Would be interesting to bring the height down and put the Skunk 2 back on and see if it feels normal.

Haven't tried the OEM knob, will put it on the to do list though.

Post update - camber arms and rear trailing arms ordered, pics to come when I get around to installing them. Will need to find a good camber set up in the mean time.

Hopefully get some track time in the next couple months. Would like to start working on some aero soon and get an undertray sorted.
 
It could just be that the shifter is taller so the weighted knob gives it bad leverage (just a thought?). Now that I think about it when I had the original short shifter, I don't think I remember noticing shifting was a bit uncomfortable almost, but that shifter was much shorter.

Would be interesting to bring the height down and put the Skunk 2 back on and see if it feels normal.

Haven't tried the OEM knob, will put it on the to do list though.

Post update - camber arms and rear trailing arms ordered, pics to come when I get around to installing them. Will need to find a good camber set up in the mean time.

Hopefully get some track time in the next couple months. Would like to start working on some aero soon and get an undertray sorted.

Interesting theory! Only reason I ask is I would like to get one and run the OEM EK9 knob

Following this thread nice build
 
are you happy with the s300
aim thinking to buy one

I don't think it's entirely necessary if you haven't got much work done - I got my S300 very early into the build (I/h/e only, not much else done). If I could do it again I probably wouldn't have bothered so early.

Now that I plan on turboing the motor I need it.

Do I think it's a good ECU - hell yeah, tonnes of support and online resources. Tuneability seems almost universal and it's a relatively cheap buy. Best of all it works with a factory ECU so a degree it works how Honda intended it to work.

Don't get one if you don't plan on using it though!
 
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Hey guys

Minor update, hopefully getting some more gear together this week thanks to a little bit of disposable income that's come in.

Purchased a splitter last week from Speed Science and received it today (1 business day, super impressed). Got the notification it had arrived at work, and to my delight when I looked at where the processing facility was it happened to be 3 minutes down the road from work.

So I eagerly anticipated my lunch break where I went and picked it. I hadn't anticipated how big it would be though (hadn't really crossed my mind)... so I walked back with this huge splitter and a box of hardware. Lucky it was't busy or the O H & S people wouldn't have been happy with me using the stairs carrying a splitter almost as tall as me.

The box of hardware

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Pretty elaborate hardware kit, alloy mounting brackets, 4 supporting rods and miscellaneous bolts and screws

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The mounts look fairly beefy

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Unboxed the splitter. The material isn't super impressive - some sort of aluminium composite sandwiched between 2 plastic sheets. Flexes a **** load but it comes complete with the undertray so hopefully after it's mounted it will suffice. It should be fine, for $350 AUD I've got nothing to complain about if it does it's job.

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I did a very brief test fit of the splitter, unfortunately couldn't take a picture cos I need both hands to hold it to the front bar but hopefully once it's on I will snap up a few photos and show everyone what it looks like. Unfortunately on the way to work I lost my front lip so gotta put one of those on the shopping list before I get the splitter on.

Before I stick the splitter on I'll need to trace it to make myself a template. Will try and make one out of plywood or MDF or something similar in the future, it doesn't look like a tough process to make one since after it's mounted I only need to replicate where the holes go and replace the splitter.

Overall super happy and absolutely can't wait to get it out on the track.

Also this week I'll be purchasing my long awaited camber arms, rear trailing arm bushes and *hopefully* a steering wheel and boss kit. Really can't wait to get rid of the grandma Honda wheel. Am tossing up between a cool deep dish one I can get locally or an s2000/type R one if I can get it cheap.
 
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Picked up some Hard Race rear trailing arms and front camber kit today. If all goes to plan should get stuck into it in 2 weeks.

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(couldn't be bothered taking it out of the packaging)

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The arms are gonna feel so fresh after these go in

Also purchased a new lip - an ek9 rep lip which is funny because I actually had a genuine ek9 lip before I got rid of it, went to my previous lip which was a mugen rep and am now back in my original position with a rep lip :p. I guess the apple never falls too far from the tree, although the black on silver will add some contrast so I'm not too disappointed with it (being the original one I had was silver).

Anyway, my steering wheel and boss kit should be coming in tomorrow which I'm stoked with because I've been meaning to get them for a long time but have been putting it off in lieu of getting more important things done.

Next on my neverending list of projects is to swap a dc2r front end into the car (subframe/steering rack and LCAs) which should see an improvement in handling and stiffness of the front end.

Really hoping for some seat time in the next couple of months, I feel like I've learned a lot about driving since the last time I went.

Will get pictures of the new bits up when I get home :D.
 
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I know the supporting rods can be quite expensive so it was pretty generous to be included with 4 - I know I'm gonna definitely need 2 for the splitter, but might be able to mount a set of canards with the other 2 and connect them to the splitter

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Hmmmm....don't worry fella, if you run out I'll grab you some from work.

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