Mitch- 1996 Honda EK1 Build

Hey Guys,

Names Mitch, new to the Honda game and am starting out at the bottom. I'm currently in the midst of building an EK1 for circuit work. Having owned a long list of Subaru's and a Mitsubishi Evo, the Honda is something new and exciting to me. I chose a 1996 EK1 with a D16 and manual box for my base as I read that they were a great beginning and should help me build my FWD driving skills.

So far the Ek has undergone a few modifications as below:

Handling + Suspension:

- Shockworks Coilovers
- Hardrace front Camber arms
- Hardrace Rear Camber arms
- Hardrace rear Toe arms
- Whiteline 22mm Rear sway bar and brace
- Honed Front Brake ducts
- Function7 rear lower control arms
- EK4 Disk Brakes F+R
- PMU HC800 Pads F+R
- Enkei RPF1 16*8 +38
- Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R 225/45
- EK4 Front Sway bar
- Hardrace Adjustable Sway Bar links
- Hardrace Sway bar D bushes

Interior:

- Completely Stripped (Except dash pad)
- Works bell short Hub
- Works bell Quick release
- Nardi Personal Grinta 350mm
- Sparco Circuit II drivers seat
- Sparco Lowered rails
- 1Gauge
- Brown Davis Custom half cage
- RPM six point harness's driver and passenger


Exterior:

- APR Carbon Mirrors
- PCI Rear diffuser
- PCI 5" Side Skirts
- PCI Quick release Splitter mounts
- Custom Alucobond Splitter
- APR Splitter support rods

Engine:

- K24 Swap YOOOOO


As you can see its quite a simple setup for the time being, once I have achieved enough seat time and am finding it hard to push the limits of the car I'll look to either B or K swap it. Until then I'll mainly be uploading timed results from track days I'll attend.

Looking forward to learning all about the FWD characteristics and improving my mechanical knowledge.

Cheers,

Mitch

welcome mate, nice list of mods there yours seems like its basically ready to go haha. fwd drives very similar to an awd car it wont take you long to get it down what tracks are you planning on taking it too?

Haha Cheers man! she's of to get corner weighted and aligned atm. Im off to winton a far bit in the coming months, once I've got a the feel for it I'll branch out to PI and Sandown. next year I might venture up to SMSP with some mates!

Nice. I wouldnt mind a hillclimb type track like haunted hills

So car went for an alignment last week. Turns out the inner tie rod is incorrect and was too long, so they couldn't adjust toe correctly. Anyone had this issue before? Anyway ordered some lovely Hardrace inner tie rod arms and also got round to installing a fire extinguisher.

Guards have also been rolled and flared a bit. I didn't bother heating the guards and actually rolled them quite aggressively. Talking to a few designers at the moment but rolling around a few exciting ideas for new color and livery!

off to Winton this weekend to compete at the Vivid Race day. Watch this space for video on the civics first outing.

Soooooooooo, First day out and what a blast it was! Walking away with a 1:53.2, with plenty of room for improvement. (Both in the driver and car).

Car needs to be lowered a touch more and for some reason the thermo Fan isn't kicking in, might just hard wire it. Also need to fiddle a touch more with the dampening as the rear walks now and again (might just be driver error).

However for now she is the best fun I've had. I plan on making a custom dash for her as when I removed the dash and put it all together the cluster doesn't work, rather then chase my tail looking for the issue I'd rather pull it all out and make my own so I can have it focused around the Tacho and install my awesome OneGuage.

watch this space as its all time chasing from here on out.

So the Go-Pro died, but I have a few photos of the day.

Attachment 30170


Attachment 30171

Found some spare time to assess why the dash wasn't working. instead of going straight to the fuse box I decided it would be much more time consuming to chase all the wiring and look for any faults. When in reality, It was just a fuse. I have removed the drivers side aircon vent and have began creating a filler piece for the one gauge to sit in. I have also began removing the power steering as well as designing a front splitter.

I also scored a rear diffuser off Facebook so once mounts are made that will be going on too. I have started to shop for rear wings and have fallen in love with the Voltex type H2S, so time to start saving. An ek9 front is also on the cards, if it goes ahead some TopOne Double stacked track canards will defiantly be in order.

slowly but surely she is shaping up. Will be racing again at Winton mid January. this time Ill have a new go-pro battery and some footage.

Nice nice.The d16y4 is a fun engine! Can give it a good workout and it never misses a beat!

Cheers Mate!

she sure can take a beating, but I have been keeping her well treated. Motul oils and genuine filters are always used, still planning a K-Frank swap. just need a lot more to read up on.

Ok, the mighty EK1 has no front sway bar! what a dilemma, easy solved though as I've purchased an Ek4 front Sub frame with an EK4 steering rack and sway bar attached.
so watch this space for the updated fit.

Then off to Winton with a Lower, better kitted out civic. Hoping to crack the 1:40's. Is anyone else attending the Track For Days event on the 14th of Jan? I'll be there with a friend, so if you see the little red EK be sure to stop by and say G'day, I'm always up for a chat.

Ek4 Sub frame swap is a nightmare to complete on your own! So many tricky bolts and awkward manoeuvres. But its all done now. Ordered new Hardrace Sway bar bushes and adjustable end links as the old end links look like they've had it.

The rear diffuser mounts are made and she looks amazing. Can't find an off cut of timber from my stores to fit the width of the front diffuser so looks like ill be heading off to Bunning's to get one. It will be made of Timber until I find a final design I like, once I'm happy I'll make it out of a foam core with carbon outer.