Vince's budget K24 EP3 track car

[civic44]

After selling my last Civic in 2014 (it was a caged H23 2000 Si Coupe) due to the growing family taking up time and space, I was itching to get back into track driving. I convinced my wife that if I bought an inexpensive and reliable car that I would not need to modify (much), I could keep the costs really low, especially as I can generally exchange track time for instructing with the local clubs around Montreal.

I had found a nice EP in Ottawa online, with a whole bunch of really nice parts, including Mugen full exhaust and suspension and a Quaife diff, but I was beaten to the punch by another buyer. I then almost bought a friend's E36 BMW 328 track car, but he changed his mind about selling it. I then found another EP3, which was supposedly never winter driven, but it was almost 500 miles away. After a lengthy exchange with the friendly seller, a deal was done and I arranged to pick up the car over Easter weekend. My wife, mother and 2 kids came along and we visited family in the area over Easter weekend.

The car was as promised, and although not as blisteringly fast in a straight line as I expected an K24-powered EP3 to be, the car felt solid and had no rust or issues. I completed the transaction and brought the car home. On my way home, I picked up some Dynamics coilovers from the 2005-2006 Honda Michelin race series that I had bought online.

The car when I first bought it



I had to get a provincial inspection to get the car registered, and that went very well, the car passing with no issues. My plan was to install the coilovers, get an alignment and get some max-performance street tires for the OEM rims, as I did not want to spring for new wheels this year. I picked up some Bridgestone RE71R's in 205-50-15.

I was unable to install the coilovers myself due to stuck bolts, but a mechanic friend (who has a lift at home) helped me finish the job for 100$. I then went to the alignment shop (twice, as I had made a mistake in asking for 1.5 mm of toe out and got 1.5 mm of toe in, because I did not write minus 1.5). The car actually rode better after the coilover install than before it, which was surprising.

Coilover installation



The car was basically ready for its first track outing on April 16th and 17th. Here is what I wrote about it on my blog:

"I finally got to try the Civic on the track last weekend at the AISA race school at St-Eustache. As an instructor, I had access to one lunchtime session on each day, so I had to make them count. Before the event, I hadn't taken the time to change the pads and bleed the brakes, as I figured the brake temperatures would not be that bad with only one session per day. I set the tires at 32 psi all around, taped my cheap camera to the bumper and put my phone with the Race Chrono app in my phone holder and off I went.

The first things I noticed when heading out on track was that the car seemed really tall in comparison to my last Civic (it is, of course, much taller). After a few laps, I got used to this, however, and did not feel as if the car were going to tip over any more. As for the tires, I was hoping they would have awesome grip... that wasn't the case. They were OK, but I guess I had been expecting more from the most aggressive street tires out there. I think this was due to having run too high a pressure and just expecting too much from a 205 width tire on a 2700-pound car. The brakes began to fade after only a few laps, but, with help from the ABS, I didn't mind continuing my braking into the beginning of the corners located after the heavy braking zones. Aa far as lap times, I had sort of predicted the car would lap in the 1:02 to 1:03 range at St-Eustache with good tires (my old Civic lapped in 1:00) and hoped to achieve a 1:04 or 1:03 in my first weekend on track. The Race Chrono lap timer app on my phone was working from the start, and there is a rectangle at the bottom which is red or green, to tell you if you are in the plus or minus in comparison to your best lap of the session. Pretty neat. You don't even have to look right at the phone, as you can see the colour of the rectangle out of the corner of your eye. My first lap was a depressing 1:08, but I settled into the 1:05's after a while. True to myself, I achieved my best lap, in the 1:04's, while chasing another instructor's car (a Miata). Here are some of the things I noticed: the gearing of the car was near perfect for St-Eustache, as it was clear that 2nd gear was the one needed for the slower corners, and I could rev out 3rd in two of the high speed sections. It helped that I raised the redline from 7100 rpm to 7500 the night before the event (using the Hondata K-Pro). The power of the car is its best feature. What I really missed was my race seat and harness. Even though the seats in the Civic are excellent, they do not really hold you in place like a race bucket and you find yourself bracing yourself a lot. I was very happy with the pedal position and was managing to heel-toe with no problem. The first session was therefore uneventful and I was satisfied with the car so far.

Before the Sunday session, another instructor, Alex, helped me change the front pads to race pads and at least bleed the front brakes. I also lowered the tire pressures in front (to 26 psi on the front right, 28 on the front left). I went out and the car felt better, mainly due to being able to really lean on the brakes. The ABS barely came on. I was hitting the 1:04's more regularly. The car felt very stable, and the limiting factor seemed to be front end grip. I saw fellow instructor Karl up ahead on the track of me in a bone-stock 2014 Civic Si sedan, and slowly chased him down. The 2014 Si also has a K24, but it's a heavier car. It does, however, have a better 6-speed transmission and a limited-slip differential. It was a fun session, and I clocked a best lap of 1:04.0. I hadn't achieved my goal of a 1:03, but I wasn't too far off. With a few laps under my belt, I can now set my goal for the season: without any further modifications, I would like to see a high 1:02. How can I shave off more than a second without any further modifications? Tire pressures and driving: I think that I still haven't found the optimal front tire pressures (front right still rose to 45 psi hot) and that I can also improve my driving when I get a better feel for the car."

I took some low-quality video with an old camera I taped to the bumper:




I properly bled the brakes last night and will be trying the car on a bigger track at Calabogie this weekend. So far, there have been no nasty surprises and everything seems to be on track. I am debating whether to install a Schroth harness with the stock seat and also whether to run 15" or 17" wheels next season, in 8 or 9 inch width, with a 225 or 245 tire. I would also like to change the cobbled together exhaust system with a more solid one, maybe an Ebay cat-back. Other than that, I just want to do as many events as time and budget allow, considering I have 2 boys, aged 1 and 3, who take a lot of my time.

The Civic and the daily driver (still on winter tires).

[civic44]

New eBay wheels are on... lighter and wider than OEM for under 300$US

[Hasbro]

Much better! Now it will be easier to follow your posts.

225 minimum up front. You can use the 205s for the rear.

What are your camber and caster settings? -3 or more front camber would be nice if the tires can handle it. And as much caster as possible. Any budget available for this? Are you allowed to use Type R lcas, camber/caster plates, spherical offset bushing? You can also shim the sub frame for more caster.

Can you pull some weight? I guess this is a dd also? I have pulled about 450 lbs. so far - it's not even the same car. Even 200 from the interior makes a big difference. The EP3 worldwide weighs about 2650 stock except in North America (2780). The chassis stiffening parts here are also weaker. Go figure.

If you develop brake heat problems, GrassrootsMotorsports just added vent ducting - problem solved.

I was all over the place with the stock seat. For normal driving I use a Corbeau and pull the cushions out for aggressive.

[Hasbro]

Car is looking nice.

Curious, what type of bushings are in the coilovers? How did you determine height? What are the spring weights and stabilizer bar sizes?

I still am not used to the ride height, been around Brit sports cars all my life. In my Ginetta you could touch the ground without leaning out.

[civic44]

I bought a pair of 225's for the front (Hankook RS3), since I had corded one my Brisdgestones. I am still using Bridgestone 205's in the rear. My
caster is 1.2-1.3 degrees. When I first installed the coilovers, I aligned at - 3 degrees. It turned out to be too much. There was excessive wear on the inside of the tires and when I measured temps across the tire, they were way higher on the inside than in the center and outside. I re-aligned at 2 degrees and the temperatures are near even.

I've only been on track once with the new setup, and the lap times have not improved yet, but it was frikkin hot out, so I was surely losing a few hp. I need more data to see the real difference. The track in now 9 cm wider than it was, so the car feels... wider.

The car is not a daily driver, but I like it to be available for family duty (child seats) if necessary, which precludes major weight reduction. I removed the spare and jack when on track, I just shaved off 20 pounds from the lighter wheels and I have removed the a/c, which didn't work.

I was having brake issues, so I just removed the dust plates, added Goodridge brake lines, so new fluid too, with new pads and discs. I also removed the fender liners when I rolled the fenders. The brakes are getting a lot more air now, hopefully this will be enough.

As for the seat, I have been "locking" the oem seatbelt and can stay snug in the seat like this. I may go for a race seat next year.

I will have a full day at the track this Saturday, hopefully I can get some useful data.

[civic44]

Car is looking nice.

Curious, what type of bushings are in the coilovers? How did you determine height?

I still am not used to the ride height, been around Brit sports cars all my life. In my Ginetta you could touch the ground without leaning out.

The bushings appear to be polyurethane. There is no height adjustment, that's the way they made them for the race series, to force teams to all run the same.

I've never had a really low-slung car, but I am sitting higher than ever before in a track car... I drove a student's NB Miata the other day and remembered what sports car positioning and steering was supposed to feel like.