Kenneth's JDM EP3

[LFT-OOF]

ummm around rhodes it was friday night

[Kenneth.]

ummm around rhodes it was friday night

Oh I think I remember seeing you cruising around the apartments. You have an exhaust right?

There was another black 'rolla and a bunch of other cars in one of the dead end streets having a photoshoot I think..

[Kenneth.]

28/09/2011

Rear strut brace fitted to replace the OEM brace. Improvements over the OEM rear brace include it being thicker, and having one extra mount point on either side.. oh and of course more bling..

Edited September 29, 2011 by Kenneth.

[Kenneth.]

08/10/2011

Edited October 9, 2011 by Kenneth.

[master.Cuong]

looking good mr kenneth !

[johnnieboi]

Tough EP3. Its getting better as the days go by..

[ben yip]

very hot....

I have a chance to race with a EP3 in my last track day, they are fast and good in handling, I lost 2 seconds per lap to them

Some highlights of somebody else car

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150344661053987

Edited October 9, 2011 by ben yip

[juvenile]

Beautiful work Kenneth, as usual but hard to make out, are they RPF1's?

[Kenneth.]

Beautiful work Kenneth, as usual but hard to make out, are they RPF1's?

Thanks guys!

Yeah, they're RPF1's. Size and offset is 17x8 +35. :)

The RE-11 tyres are a little quieter than the RE-01R's. Grip-wise, it's much the same. The RE-11 is a little bit more comfy with the slightly higher side wall (215/45R17 vs. 205/40R17).

[juvenile]

Your inbox must be full :(

Any reason why you went 215/45 instead of 225/45 ? Just curious, also were your spacers in at the Cube meet cos it looked fat

[cruzer]

Nice car man keep spotting it in a side street just of majors (concord) :D

[Kenneth.]

Your inbox must be full :(

Any reason why you went 215/45 instead of 225/45 ? Just curious, also were your spacers in at the Cube meet cos it looked fat

215/45 was a safer choice for me this time round because:

- I know of another EP3 that runs the same wheel size, offset, and tyre size without issues.

- Therefore gave me more the freedom to try different heights and alignment settings without scrubbing and destroying the tyres.

- As the tyres were coming from the U.S., I needed to make sure they would fit otherwise it's an expensive mistake..

Now I know, I will probably scrub if I run 225/45 without more negative camber front and rear.

And no longer running spacers, the wheels are the right offset. The spacers with stockies were like training wheels for me to find the perfect offset.

Nice car man keep spotting it in a side street just of majors (concord) :D

Yeah, I'm there quite often!

[Kenneth.]

31/10/2011

Did my 55,000KM service recently at Top One. Currently running a slightly thicker oil for Summer - the new Castrol Edge with Titanium 5W-40.

Also found out my front brake pads were finished, so replaced them with these..

[ben yip]

any particular reason why you choose ACRE for brake pads?

I dun know much about this brand, what is your comments on them

[Kenneth.]

any particular reason why you choose ACRE for brake pads?

I dun know much about this brand, what is your comments on them

The ACRE Super Fighter pads are almost identical to Endless NS97 but are cheaper by about $50-$60.

Also, they were available locally (for my car anyway) as I needed them that day.

After having them on for about 2 weeks, they pull up well. I'd say they're like a up-spec'd OEM pad.

Squealing is minimal, just a few light squeals here and there.

[Kenneth.]

12/11/2011

One issue which is not uncommon for most imports is oxidation of the weather shields. So I treated them with some PlastX, some UV clear coat, and some carnauba wax. Final result.. like new!

Before

After

Edited November 13, 2011 by Kenneth.

[Speedz]

read the whole 12 pages...

great car...!!! :)

[Kenneth.]

04/12/2011

Cleaned the seats using AutoGlym Interior Shampoo.. good as new! Got rid of some stains which were on the side bolsters since day one. The seats also smell super fresh now, which is a bonus!

Also gave the A/C system a good clean using AutoGlym Air-Con Santizer.

On a different note, picked up a set of Hardrace hardened rubber engine mounts and a set of ACRE brake pads for the rear yesterday at the JDMyard EOY meet. Engine mounts will go in early next year when I change my clutch. Will also be changing the LCA bushings at the same time.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Kenneth.

[dutchie101]

Nice work Kenneth :) Both of us will be busy early next year!

[ben yip]

looks really new indeed, I love your toy hanging on the gear knob !!

I have a look for the photos JDM yard meet in fb, does not see your car..May be you can post some photos of your car

Edited December 4, 2011 by ben yip

[Kenneth.]

looks really new indeed, I love your toy hanging on the gear knob !!

I have a look for the photos JDM yard meet in fb, does not see your car..May be you can post some photos of your car

Thanks Pete and Ben!

Ben: I didn't stay for long at all. Got my goods and left. ;)

[dwee.]

Awesome! Please come out next time when I'm in Syd..

[Kenneth.]

19/02/2012

Nothing new to the EP3.. have been slowly collecting parts for a big job soon - no, it's not a turbo/ supercharger - just maintenance.

Anyhow, the family is slowly moving to the dark side.

My old man replaced his '01 Camry with a new '12 Accord Euro Luxury Navi.. So many awesome features for it's price.

Windows got tinted this morning by Dave at ReflectEffect. Top bloke, and awesome work!

We have a set of JDM weather shields sitting around. Will be installing them soon. Honda Japan's offering of accessories is so much nicer than the Honda Australia's offering.

That's all for now.. toddles!

Edited February 19, 2012 by Kenneth.

[Kenneth.]

05/03/2012

The EP3 now has:

- New clutch - Exedy Sports Organic

- Machined flywheel - OEM flywheel is light enough

- New engine mounts - Hardrace Hardened Rubber

- New LCA compliance bushings

- New rear brake pads - ACRE SuperFighter pads to match the front

- New fluids and oil filter.

[Kenneth.]

02/04/2012

Been focusing on correcting the EP3's suspension geometry after it was lowered with BuddyClub N+ coil overs. Bump steer was worse than it was before lowering.

So I got rid of the T1R inverted tie rod ends. They were noisy and steering started to feel loose (I assume pillow balls had a tiny bit of play in them). Replaced them with OEM DC5R tie rod ends (top mounted). This set my tie rods at an optimum angle to minimise bump steer - according to my research, the tie rod on a DC5/EP3 should be perpendicular to the angle of the strut in order to minimise/reduce bump steer.

Next, due to my current ride height, the LCA's began to slightly angle up. This caused my suspension to blow through it's range of travel each time I hit a bump. To correct this, in went a pair of J's Racing Roll Centre Adjusters. This is an extended ball joint compared to the OEM unit, therefore when installed it spaces the LCA at the outer most point so that the LCA points back down. Most importantly, it raises the roll centre, bringing it closer to the car's centre of gravity - i.e., less roll.

Overall, Über happy with the above two mods. Handling is great, cornering is flatter than ever, and the ride is more compliant over bumps. Ride comfort is firm, but not harsh.

Installed a padded harness guide insert to the passenger side Recaro. This prevents smaller people from banging their head against the harness guide during VTEC yO!

Lastly, gave the car some TLC - washing, claying, polishing, sealing, and waxing. Also had a few dings removed from around the body.