Honda Civic EJ2 Build Thread
 

Hello everyone.

I finally have a driver's license and my first car - a Honda Civic EJ2. Various Civics and other Hondas have been my favorite cars since I was a kid so this is a dream come true.

I'd like to learn to drive safely and efficiently while gaining confidence and enjoying myself. I'd also like my car to be nearly stock but definitely not entirely. My budget is low so hypermiling and ecomodding might just be for me though I admit my interests are also in the usual kind of performance. I hope there are ways to combine these two motoring worlds.

I bought the car from a friend who said he got 29.4mpg with it. It is lowered a bit but I don't know what's the suspension, it needs right parking light replaced, the SRS light is on, it's got some rust, and I don't know when was the last time the fluids and filters were changed. Pics coming soon.

And I got blisters from the key trying to learn how to start it!

Congrats on the new vehicle.

First things first is to make sure your car is in good working order, especially since its 20 years old. I know my 17 year old Metro has a bunch of querks and issues that I'm hoping to deal with. While you're at it, make sure you air up those tires. If the car is OBDII, you should get yourself a scangauge or similar too. That will help you train your ecodriving a lot.

Sure. First thing is to make sure everything is working. Only then the mods will follow. I'll fill up those tires as soon as possible. What pressure should I go for though? A Scangauge or similar might be too expensive for me right now. Also I don't know if I like how additional gauges look in the car.

The tire pressure is really up to you. A lot of people just run what the tire says the max pressure rating is listed on the tire. Some run more, some run less.

I run max sidewall (as listed on the tires themselves).

The largest improvement in economy will not come from modifying the car, but from modifying your driving. You'll definitely want some instrumentation, to give you feedback on how you're doing, so I'd suggest getting a scangauge or ultragauge - it'll pay for itself before long.

Well, I've got the parking light replaced. Didn't have much time to do anything else.

Great choice on the EJ2! Older Civics are a hoot to drive.

Not sure if you'll be able to add OBD instrumentation, as it may be a bit too early model year for that. An old school vacuum gauge, perhaps? They're inexpensive.

Most bang for the performance buck -> add a short throw shifter and replace the shifter bushings with poly bushings from energy suspension. This turns a sloppy old shifter into a thing of beauty. snick-snick-snick shifts!

The 1995 Civic is OBD1. It is the last year before the 6th gen and introduction of OBD2. No scanguage or ultragauge for you. Fet a vacuum gauge and an MPGuino.

Yes. Got mine for the Tacoma from Crawler. Shifting now is short and firm.

My friend, the previous owner of the car, has taken out the centering rings out of the front wheels so today I put a pair back in. While the wheels were off I saw that the springs were blue. That's the most I can tell about my lowering suspension for now.

As I was about to drive the car from the friends home to mine I tried to roll down the driver's side electrical window. I forgot you're not supposed to do that because the mechanism is broken. Thankfully my brother helped me put the sunken window back in place. That's one more thing on the fix-list. I'm supposed to drive with the windows closed for aerodynamics anyway right? : ))

Tonight I'm going for a drive to get used to the car. I'm a new driver and this is a new-to-me car. I really do need some practice. Wish me luck.

As for the choice of EJ2. I had two Civic models on my mind. The first is what I call the College Civic. There are these Civics around that have College badges on them. They're 1.3 liter hatches, with windy windows, no sunroof, no tachometer. I believe they're EG3. Then there are the coupes. I think they are, like mine, LSi ones. unlike the College Civics these have all the luxuries - electric windows, sunroof, tachometer. What I liked was that there seemed to be only two variations of the coupe around while there are many more of the hatch. It makes it easier to find the exact car you're looking for and I suppose it would make it easier to find a complete donor for such a car. Circumstances also play a role. The fact that my friend had this coupe made it easier for me to purchase it. And if something goes wrong I can ask him about it. Also the car is black which I liked. And I seem to dig the back end of the coupe more than the hatch now. Unfortunately it weighs more. I didn't even think about a VEi (VX in USA) because they're very hard to find around here.

Short throw shifter sounds nice. Maybe when the funds allow.

No pics yet. Sorry.

During the drive last night my brother and I found out that the rear suspension bushings are worn out and need replacing. Also, back-up lights don't work.

bummer about those bushings. lots of little issues on such an old vehicle. But I have been postponing a replacement on my civic for at least a year, fwiw. I drive it at least 25 miles five days a week.

Also the steeing wheel is unaligned. This should be an easy fix once I have access to some tools.

I learned how to reset the SRS system. Now the SRS light lights up for six seconds after the ignition is on and after that it's gone.

knocking down those pins... every bit counts as progress.

Just to log things: the car now has 268264 kilometers on it.

Another little tid-bit. Got the back-up lights fixed. On the weekend I plan to do some more substantial work with the help of my dad. Who am I kidding. He'll be doing the bulk of the work and I'll be helping as he's a lot more experienced than me. I do hope to learn something though.

In preparation for the trip to my dad who lives a hundred kilometers away I filled the tank and tires. Now I can start logging fuel economy and the ride feels stiffer which I like. I put a conservative 2.3 bar on all four corners. Also I'm getting used to EOC'ing.

During the weekend me and my dad replaced a rusted out front left fender, replaced a worn out rear right upper control arm with it's bushings with another used one, fixed a cigarette lighter, fixed the left electric window, washed the car's outside and engine bay and vacuumed the interior. I also removed the muffler tip. I like how the car looks without it and it saves a bit of weight. I'm planning on removing some of the interior panels for further weight and rattle reduction. I'm also going to bump up the tire pressure to 2.4 bar and I have an idea of using my number plate as a partial grille block. Another aero-idea is to have some speed-holes in my rear bumper, but this will have to wait.

Most around here, maybe everybody, including the aero engineers, will tell you speed holes do nothing. A rear diffuser, properly angled, is the ticket.

What about a rear bumper cut out?

I don't think so, but so much matters on very small design features. Read these threads on rear diffusers to see the subtle changes at play.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...gle-17673.html

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...read-8313.html

james

You don't want air to pass through your rear bumper, but around it. Build a belly pan to prevent the rear bumper from acting as a parachute, like this:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psjfeclddx.jpg

Air passing through a cutout or "speed holes" creates a lot of turbulence, which creates drag.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into it. But perhaps I should start from simpler things like grille blocks and air-dams. I've got my number plate grille block done today. Maybe I'll show it to you soon.

So someone scratched my car. Seems purposely scratched witha a key or a nail or something. Should I think of getting an alarm? Would it help at all? Or am I just a bystander in this situation?

And it's time for the pics. These were taken before the scratch though you wouldn't see it here anyway.

http://i.imgur.com/OFlmSQ4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cAi1WzW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/z0bDfDr.jpg

Looks a lot like my black 1998 Civic coupe. Someone hit it with their door a few months ago in a parking lot. I was bummed. But the car is OLD, and it is a grizzled warrior. Another scratch is a distinction line. (And it ain't worth a dime anyway.)

I guess you gotta have a kind of rat-style attitude if you don't wanna go mad. I think I'm developing it. It's more about how functional your car is than how pretty it looks. We've resprayed part of the car but the seams show. I think I might respray the whole car in the future but that's not anytime soon.

I haven't updated this in a while and just so it doesn't get completely forgotten - a little update.

I've been doing some weight reduction. Mostly interior parts. What I like about it is the reduced rattles. Of course it introduces more road, wheel, and exhaust noise. But I like the trade-off. Especially the exhaust noise as I have no stereo to listen to. I feel more in tune with the car. One of these days I'll get to showing you the interior.

So according to my calculations I get 6.557971 l/100km. Which is good in my book because the last owner got ~8 l/100km. Hope to improve this modest figure further!

Yes, you can absolutely get it under 5L/100km, and under 4L is not out of reach at all. I am down to about 3.8L/100km nearly all the time, ajd have gotten as low as 3.35L ... or about 70mpg (US).

Let's see more pictures!

For now the car has not changed much cosmetically. My brother bought a MK3 Golf which has nicer wheels than mine on it. And he he has even nicer wheels lying around. So he will be giving me the wheels from his Golf. I'll be putting them on that's when I'll try and post some pictures. : )

Recently we changed the oil, oil filter, and serpentine belt. Also did some rust repair. Soon we'll be putting in a new windshield to pass the technical inspection.

Great first car, the EJ2. I have always liked the lines of the fifth gen Civics, such as yours, more than sixth gen civics, such as mine. And an EJ2 would be perfect. Low maintenance, easy to repair. Once you pass technical inspection, You could do some simple and low profile mods to improve fuel economy. AFTER, you accomplish all the essential but deferred repairs it might need.

So a long time has passed since I've updated this thread. The news is that I have sold the car.

Anyway. thinking about the next one. It might be the same car. Only in a better condition. But I have to save up a lot before my next purchase - my income is low.

Overall I do miss my EJ2. That's why I'd consider owning one again. But this particular one just gave me too many headaches. Perhaps it wasn't so bad but I have schizzoaffective disorder and sometimes dealing with problems can be difficult.

It's been a while since I sold the car. I do miss it. I kinda wish I didn't sell it. Right now I have a Mk3 Golf TDI which I got from my brother. I like the car but not as much as I like Civics and other Hondas. I'm planning to save up and buy another EJ2, maybe a 6th generation coupe, or maybe a 2nd generation CRX. I want to own my future Honda for as long as possible. Get it in good shape. Stick it out and not sell it like I did last time.

The thing I learned is that everything is fixable with enough effort and resources.

+1 ... That's what I learned years ago. Willpower, labor, and knowledge (&acceptance, lol)! You'll save money this way over the long term, assuming building your life/family/career requires a car.

Actually right now having a car is more of a pleasure/convenience than a necessity. But I like cars. That's that.