My DC2R @ JDMyard.
Exedy lightened flywheel and sports organic clutch kit.
Hardrace goods.
More Hardrace goods!
Fresh new Honda OEM clutch master cylinder.
Flywheel installed.
Old vs new control arms, you can see the old stuff was off centre already.
Old vs New sway bar bushings.
The car has been my trusty daily driver since I bought it, and whilst I was initially upset with the lack of torque (given that I came from owning a Golf GTI) I’m finding myself liking the car more and more.
Last week the car had it’s 175,000KM service at TOP ONE AUTO. Dedy found that there was water in the boot due to leaking seals, he’s got these on order from Honda. I’ll fit them as soon as they get in. He also found a broken rear engine mount. That got me thinking about replacing all the engine mounts, and basically started the whole – should I mod it, or should I just freshen it up state of thinking all over again.
After doing my head in (as I do!) I’ve decided to just to freshen up the car and keep it stock. I’ve always felt that the steering isn’t as sharp as a DC2R should be so bushings had to be replaced, the clutch pedal is so wussy you could put it down with your pinky, it takes up a bit late too which I gate so I wanted to change that too. I also felt the shifter wasn’t as notchy and tight as it should be. I did think it could be because of the broken rear engine mount, but I was up for a shifter bushing replacement too.
I dropped in to visit Zi, Yonas and David at the new JDMyard. Damn it’s massive! I love it! They’ve got a workshop now too, so I just left the car with them overnight.
This is what I ended up buying:
Exedy sports organic clutch kit
Exedy lightened flywheel
Honda OEM clutch master cylinder
Hardrace engine mounts
Hardrace shifter bushing
Hardrace front lower control arms
Hardrace front compliance bushing set
Hardrace front sway bar bushing set
Hardrace front upper arm bushing set
Hardrace rear lower control arms
Hardrace rear sway bar bushing set
Hardrace rear sway bar end links
Hardrace rear sway bar collar bushing set
Motul Gearbox oil
I’ve not yet had a wheel alignment done, but of-course there were some major differences instantly apparent.
Engine mounts: First thing I noticed when turning the key was the extra vibration from the engine mounts. Unlike a DC5R, there’s definitely no doubt at all that your car is on! The steering wheel visually shakes! I can understand how some people would absolutely hate this (shakes even more when A/C is on), but I’ve always upgraded engine mounts for more feel, especially the feeling of more response when accelerating. One thing I didn’t count on was a lot of extra engine noise. The sound literally fills the cabin now and I love it!
Clutch/Flywheel: The clutch was the next thing I noticed, it’s meaty and punchy now (where it was crazy soft and sticky before), what’s best is that it takes up very early making the car much easier to drive both smoothly, and more aggressively. The lightened flywheel is instantly apparent as well when clutching in from high revs.
Hardrace bushings: Strangely the first thing I noticed with the upgraded bushings was more braking power. The brake pedal is a lot grabbier now. I put this down to less movement in the suspension. The vague “play” in the steering wheel is gone, where before I could move the steering wheel a little left and right and have the car not move at all, it’s now connected. The shifter bushing kit has given me back that nice notchy feel when slotting into gear, still doesn’t feel as tight as a really fresh DC2R though, perhaps my gearbox is just a little tired.
So as I write this I’d much rather be out there driving what feels like my brand new DC2R. I’ll book in for a wheel alignment and report back ASAP.