A Self Built Civic
Regulars to our track days will be familiar with the sight of Alan Healy's rapid silver ek Civic. If there was an award for most laps done at a track day I think Alan would be in with a chance of winning every time and the reason for that is that he's always testing out something new - a click on the dampers here, a few psi less in the tyres there, or whatever it may be. Although track days are non-competitive, you always have yourself to compete against and tweaking and adjusting your car to get the most out of it is a hugely enjoyable process and one that Alan clearly gets a kick out of too.
That and just the buzz you get from trackdays in general. A big part of the appeal is being able to bring passengers out and to take passenger spins in other people's cars - both are great ways to learn about your own driving and the handling characteristics of your car. If you hop into another car the same as yours and it's got awesome turn in and zero under steer, where your own is washing out, you know you have something attainable to work towards!
Virtually all the work on the ek bar the mapping and fabrication of the custom 2.5" stainless exhaust is done by himself. Despite being one of the quicker Honda's you'll see at any track day in Ireland this is not a car built purely with the cheque book, it's very much built on a budget and largely from tuning parts which come up on the Honda Parts IRL facebook group which Alan is an admin on. It's a great resource for any Honda owner, we've joined the group ourselves recently and are now constantly tempted by the daily update of go-faster Honda bits that we could bolt on to our own Civic.....not that we actually need any of them....but, well, they're shiny....and make you go faster, so the temptation is strong!!
As I mentioned, this car is still very much under development and no doubt will continue to be for some time, so as it stands, and by modified Honda standards the car (engine-wise at least) is still relatively conservative (although as you can see from the massive spec list there is a huge amount done) and I guess that's what makes the EK platform so popular for trackday enthusiasts. They're cheap to buy, quick out of the box, ultra reliable, infinitely tune-able and cheap to run.
The ultimate plan for this car is to go racing with it but that's an expensive hobby and track days are a cheap and effective place to learn the ropes, improve as a driver and learn how to get the most out of what you have. Don't be surprised though if we see this car on the Irish Touring Car grid before too long!
The short term goal is to keep tweaking, keep modifying and to get under the 2 minute barrier on the Mondello Park International circuit which as any regular will know is pretty damn quick, no matter what car you're in. A respray is also on the cards apparently as the current '50 shades of grey' simply won't cut it! Here's a quick onboard video from the last track day at Mondello
That and just the buzz you get from trackdays in general. A big part of the appeal is being able to bring passengers out and to take passenger spins in other people's cars - both are great ways to learn about your own driving and the handling characteristics of your car. If you hop into another car the same as yours and it's got awesome turn in and zero under steer, where your own is washing out, you know you have something attainable to work towards!
Virtually all the work on the ek bar the mapping and fabrication of the custom 2.5" stainless exhaust is done by himself. Despite being one of the quicker Honda's you'll see at any track day in Ireland this is not a car built purely with the cheque book, it's very much built on a budget and largely from tuning parts which come up on the Honda Parts IRL facebook group which Alan is an admin on. It's a great resource for any Honda owner, we've joined the group ourselves recently and are now constantly tempted by the daily update of go-faster Honda bits that we could bolt on to our own Civic.....not that we actually need any of them....but, well, they're shiny....and make you go faster, so the temptation is strong!!
As I mentioned, this car is still very much under development and no doubt will continue to be for some time, so as it stands, and by modified Honda standards the car (engine-wise at least) is still relatively conservative (although as you can see from the massive spec list there is a huge amount done) and I guess that's what makes the EK platform so popular for trackday enthusiasts. They're cheap to buy, quick out of the box, ultra reliable, infinitely tune-able and cheap to run.
The ultimate plan for this car is to go racing with it but that's an expensive hobby and track days are a cheap and effective place to learn the ropes, improve as a driver and learn how to get the most out of what you have. Don't be surprised though if we see this car on the Irish Touring Car grid before too long!
The short term goal is to keep tweaking, keep modifying and to get under the 2 minute barrier on the Mondello Park International circuit which as any regular will know is pretty damn quick, no matter what car you're in. A respray is also on the cards apparently as the current '50 shades of grey' simply won't cut it! Here's a quick onboard video from the last track day at Mondello
Spec:
- SHELL
- 98 Facelift EK2 1.3 Automatic Shell
- VSM (Vogue Silver Metallic)
- All sound deadening removed
- Doors Lightened
- Polycarbonate Side and Rear Windows
- Carbon Vented Bonnet with Aerocatches
- Carbon Bootlid with Pins
- Carbon EK9 Rear Wing
- GT Wing Mirrors
- EK9 Front Lip
- EK9 Style Headlights
- 50/50 Rear Lights ENGINE
- 97' B18c Bottom End
- 97' B16b Head
- 97' B16b Camshafts
- P73 Inlet Manifold
- Skunk2 70mm Throttle Body
- Blox Velocity Stack
- K20 Injectors with Machined Fuel Rail
- NGK BKR8EIX Iridium Plugs
- Walbro Fuel Pump
- Baffled Sump
- ARP Head Studs
- EK9 N1 Lightweight Crank PulleyDRIVETRAIN
- S80 N3e Gearbox
- Mfactory 5.1 Findal Drive
- Kaaz Plated LSD
- 96spec 4th and 5th Gears
- Fidanza Flywheel
- Exedy Stage 2 Paddle Clutch
- J_Spares Driveshafts
- DC2 Polybushed Gear LinkageSUSPENSION
- HSD Fully Adjustable Coilovers
- DC2 Type R Subframe and Manual Rack
- DC2 Anti Roll Bar
- Hardrace Front Camber Arms
- Hardrace Rear Camber Arms
- Hardrace Rear Toe Arms
- Function 7 Lower Control Arms
- ASR Brace
- ASR Rear Anti Roll Bar
- Energy Suspension Polybushes
- Passwrd JDM 3 point Strut
- EK9 Optional Rear Strut BraceINTERIOR
- Sparco Wrap Around FIA Bucket Seats
- Sabelt Harnesses
- OMP 6 Point Cage w/ Door Bars
- Lightened and Flocked Dash with Carbon Centre Panel
- SiR Cluster
- Carbon Door Cards
- OMP Deep Dish Steering WheelELECTRICAL
- OBD2a Dash Loom
- OBD2a Wiring Loom
- P73 OBD2a ECU
- Battery Isolator
- Control Panel with Ignition, Fuel Pump, Twin Fans, 12v and Windscreen Heater Switches
- Stack Oil Pressure Gauge COOLING
- Tegiwa DC2 Aluminium Rad
- Twin 10" Slimline Fans
- Silicone Radiator Hoses
- Heater Matrix RemovedEXHAUST
- PLM RMF Header
- Custom 2.5" Catback by Richie CullinaneHUBS AND BRAKES
- EK4 Hubs
- ATR Front Calipers with EK9 Carriers
- 282mm MG Drilled and Grooved Discs
- Carbon Lorraine RC6 Pads
- Ek4 Rear Calipers
- EBC Rear Pads
- Braided Brake Lines
- DC2 1" MC & Servo
- Motul RBF 600 Brake FluidWHEELS AND TYRES
- 15x6.5 ET35 Volks Rays Engineering TE37's
- Yokoham Advan AD08r 205/50/15
- 15x7 ET42 Team Dynamic Pro Race 1.2
- Toyo Proxes R888R 205/50/15
- 15x7 ET35 STR Alloys x2
- Yokohama Advan A048R 195/50/15Current power at the moment is 214.3bhp and 152 ft lbs TQ. Mapped on Neptune Demon Board by AP-Performance in Galway
