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An EK Sedan Story - The Journey Continues for Me and The Batmobile
In light of Markmaximus's thread,I too decided to contribute hopefully to the rebirth of this forum.Mark gets the credit for making the first move but.And if you are just starting to cop the rain,predicted 3 days of it,then I hope this helps you through the weekend.The rain just started here as I'm posting this.
A quick background - My car is a 96 EK1 Sedan,I have owned for 12 or so years.Was originally auto and I tracked it at queensland raceway and lakeside when it was.Ended up spinning a main bearing due to oil starvation from a crank pulley seal leak.It had been leaking for a while and I thought I had it under control with the stop seal leak additive but a 5 hours spirited drive tore the seal and it dumped all the oil leaving me stranded,the mates rescued me.Scored 2 FREE d16y4 manuals off daz and llyod (EK4-guy and SHO) in brissy and whacked one in.After 2 years of this engine,I still couldn't shake the bug of wanting some b series Vtec action.
Then recently,a small inheritance allowed me to fullfill a dream - To give the Batmobile a overhaul.I have come this far on the journey,this was no time to sell the car! That would be like starting over for me.Customising ya ride is what it's about,hell anyone can just go buy anything but it takes time and effort to make a car EXACTLY how you want it.I mean when you buy a modified car,you are really buying what the previous likes.
I had enough $$ to go K series but I know b series,I have driven them and worked on them and offcoarse parts are much cheaper than k series.You see I drove an EM1 b16a2 a fair few times and thought it lacked torque/grunt.Then drove a b18c2 and was dissappointed.The power dosen't come on till what 6,800 or something when the secondaries in the IM open up,even then blah...nup,don't want it.I mean if ya gunna do it,do it right,aye! I have always loved the b16a 2nd gen in my mates eg5 si,awesome engine.High revving,high compression and a lot of fun.Power to weight is spot on in his car.Was previously a POV car from brisbane.But still it lacked that grunt that only displacement can give and my 96 EK sedan being heavier than the eg5 will need that if I am to give the eg5 a run for it's money.I want to be as quick as his car,it feels sweet but I certainly didn't want to buy a b16/b20 frankenstein that someone had built and thrashed,I needed that power with more reliability.
I was looking at a reliable turbo d16y4 build on 6-8 psi and flirted with the idea quite a bit but it would require a rebuild for reliability and if I was going to do that I would would do a NA d16y4 build,we all know there is very very few in australia so the uniqueness is cool but it's expensive for what you get considering for the same money you can,if you can find a good one,get the ledgendary b18c7,this had to be the choice because of reliability,they came perfect from the factory,hand assembled,they altered/lightened 60 or so parts to make it the type R legend we know today and they are best left alone and that's a WIN WIN for me because then I wont want to go swapping parts that will cost $$,it's just not worth it for the very little gain. I know with the mods I have a tune will yield improved driveability but it's drives pretty damn perfect now! I mean I went from 88kw to 146kw at the flywheel plus Vtec,8,500 rev limit,lsd,4.7 final drive,low ratio gears,HIGH COMPRESSION 11.1-1.
So how was I gonna find a b18c7 that has low km and hasn't been thrashed to near death.
GUMTREE,BANG! there it was,I had been looking for a few weeks but always keeping my options open thinking I wont find one but I did.
155,000km,220/220/220/200 compression tested,PLM 4-2-1 big tube headers,had just had a major service when the car was hit on the rear left,twisting the chassis and writing it off.It was at Cabramatta,I am 3 hours south.I have done an engine and manual conversion in my car before and now I had money so it made sense to have a little holiday and let others do the work :) I drove up,stayed at holiday inn for 2 nights,1 extra just incase there was any problems.Lucky I did,because my car was originally automatic there is a tunnel in front of the gearstick that the shift linkage was hitting.So Thanh,who did the install cut it out and installed a carbon fiber piece there and it looks tops.He drives a black S2000 and frequents wakefield practice days.His mate who helped him works for Toys Garage and drives a CRV with a lift kit and oversized rim/tyres.
Drove open headers,which was fine below 3k,above it all hell broke loose,to the hotel then the next morning to hume mufflers who did an AWESOME job on the exhaust,then drove home GLOWING and being impressed by the new found power,Vtec and the high compression Mmmmmm gotta love that!!! The LSD I found later...it's unreal.To have both wheels putting the power down evenly,nice nice.
So,Timing belt etc was just done at 151,000,tappets also
Excedy Heavy duty clutch
Only very slight rear main seal leak - meh,this is normal.
Was $5700 installed
Exhaust is 2 1/4" FULL stainless steel mandrel bend,flexi pipe,200 cell metal hi-flow stainless steel cat,12" res,Flowmaster delta 6 series muffler which is AWESOME,no noise in the cabin and it is a perfect blend of engine roar and exhaust note,it really did work out exactly whay I had hoped for,no rasp,deep note but dosen't say look at me,it's QUIET but turns heads to the awares if you know what I mean.I love that.
Was $750 all up,got the b pipe with res off Thanh cheap
Parts added:
Skunk2 front adjustable camber kit
Hardrace rear camber kit,rear LCA's,tie rods,front sway bar endlinks,front lower ball joints
Oem replacement rack ends,Steering rack boot covers
Mugen front LCA bushes
195/60/15 Bridgestone Potenzas RE003,3mm wheel spacers,lightweight nuts
Aliminium radiator
Fully enclosed Fibreglass pod filter box with cold RAM air
1" ITR brake booster/mc
OMP Steering wheel 350 corsica superleggero,95mm offset,40% lighter than any other OMP steering wheel.
Was $3000
These parts I had been wanting to do and completed the car.I know a car is never finished but I just need to maintain what I got now and I'll be happy for a long while.
Braking was improved a bunch by the 1" bb/mc upgrade.I read that was the case for years and I can verify it's true,very noticeable upgrade.Plenty of stopping power with the stock 242mm rotors,bendix general CT pads,goodridge braided lines and cusco brake stopper.If I was doing track work I would upgrade the rotor/pad size but it's not needed on the street and I don't want the extra rotating weight of a larger rotor.
There was a nice whistling induction sound before the enclosed pod filter box went in but the box gave it a deeper note again,beautiful and now all that hot air coming out the back of the radiator is not pouring onto the pod filter and therefore into the engine,robbing power!
Added Cerma STM-3 Treatment to - Manual transmission,engine,power steering and fuel. Order online @ Cermastore.com
Adjusted clutch,changed fluid and expelled any air,graphite greased the pivot ball and INSIDE that hole there where it contacts.It gets dry and squeaky.Also changed 02 sensor - IMPORTANT!
All that is on the to do list now is valve stem seals.I have done them before but this time I bought the 32600 lisle valve keeper removal tool :)
P.S. I wanted to include prices because it shows anyone who hasn't done it,the real costs involved.It costs money.This has been my dream that I really wanted and I didn't think I would get here so I'm over the moon.Also since I didn't rush in and do the b swap early on,I appreciate it more.I mean driving the ol' d16y4 for 12 years,you never forget it.I had an awesome journey with the y4,learnt so much and that time allowed me to learn the car and set it up and decide what would be my dream engine,being practical offcoarse and I feel I made the right choice.
I had power/weight/handling on par I reckon with the last engine and was concerned about the extra power and weight of the b18c7 throwing things out but it hasn't as my car was ready for the extra power and weight because the handling is right for the roads I drive on,it's about the combination of parts as you know,it's not about putting everything on there and then you have a race car,no,it's the combination.Fender braces,floor/tunnel brace both of these are ideal mods for the sedan,Stock front sway bar and BC racing br type coilovers.I don't run a rear sway bar or front upper strut brace.
The engine took to the car like it was meant to be there and that is what I truely wanted.Now for the first time since I have owned the car I can heart feltly say "It's done!" :)
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