[Nikhilb2008]

I was getting annoyed with various small rattles in the passengr cabin. Probably a result of 1,50,000 kms of use and the abuse taken over one 9k kms trip to Leh.

I called my friend Sunnyboi and he bought some damping material. We took apart the front left door pads and reinforced the Focal damping material that was already there.

We also put some STP damping material on the underside of the hood.



A few days ago, I had to travel to Calcutta, so I dropped off the car at Blackworks to get a niggling seat rail fixed. A day after I landed in Calcutta, Venkat told me that he had done something to my intercooler as well, and said he wanted to test its effectiveness once I got back because he couldn't keep an eye on the road under full boost and an eye on the laptop.


When he came to pick me up at the airport, I did not know what to expect of the unexpected modification. We got out of the airport and took the Hyderabad road for a bit where I could give the engine some stick, and what do you know? Previously when I used to hold full boost around 8 psi for 10-15 seconds, the IAT would rapidly climb above 65 C, and even nudge 70. In stop and go traffic, the engine bay would quickly heat soak and the IAT would stabilize around 55.
This time, the temperature barely touched 50 after sitting at full boost, and at crawling speeds, was dropping below 40!

As a result, driveability and power delivery have gone up yet another notch.
Venkat tried to explain what he had done, but most of it went over my head because I was too busy having fun. All I could gather was that the intercooler position remains the same.


Mind you, all this was on a cool night, but despite that, I know how things used to be under similar conditions and I can confidently say that there is a minimum of an 8 degree drop in air temperature.

In reasonably hot weather (in Chennai), bumper to bumper traffic, the IAT was about 55. Pretty much the same as earlier.

However, even the slightest bit of open road and the IATs plummet.

Recently, I was stuck in Bangalore traffic for a fair bit. Just before I got onto the BGS flyover, the IAT was around 50-52. Within a few minutes, it had plummeted. It helped that the ambient air was pretty cool but still, this kind of a drop in the IAT was awesome.

We also did a high speed run recently on a closed road and in 4th gear at full boost, we hit a maximum IAT of 46 deg C. This was with the car boosting for a fairly long time.

What this has resulted in is the car feeling absolutely delightful to drive. I can accelerate from high speeds to higher speeds faster than earlier. Earlier, as the IATs started going through the roof, the ECU would start retarding ignition to prevent knocking. This meant a slower car and frustration as I would hit a wall in terms of performance.

Not anymore.

100 and 120 and above the car just continues accelerating like it is no one's business. Obviously, all of the testing was done on private roads and with safety as the utmost priority.

The car has a prodigious amount of torque. With 4 people and a fully loaded boot the car in 3 rd gear was going 70-73-77-80-83-87-90 and so on.... Absolutely incredible feeling.

The fully loaded boot. The Mickey Mouse bag belongs to my sister. I'm too manly to have anything that garish!



When we reached Chennai, we went to the Leela for a meal and this lovely Lamborghini was parked out front.

At that moment, I wouldnt have traded my car for that Lambo! That's how well my car was running. I am absolutely ecstatic with the way my car is behaving. No tantrums, no mood swings, nothing!




The best part was that yesterday I got a mileage of 10.3kmpl. This is the best I have got for my leadfooted driving style. This was a leisurely slow drive to Mysore and back.

The DBW issue that I was having (when the engine wouldnt idle well at toll booths) seems to have been resolved. Venkat swapped out my ECU for another brand new Haltech Elite ECU he had lying around. Since then I have covered upwards of 1000 kms and there has been no issue. However, occasionally, I have got a DBW error which is easy to solve. Just reboot the ECU and I'm good to go. However, even these errors are very rare. I got it only 2 times in the entire 1000 kms. Since I got back from Chennai, Venkat even changed something in the wiring. We are yet to see if it has has any impact on the DBW errors we were getting.


The car has now completed 10,000 kms on this Genuine Garrett Disco Potato and I am extremely happy. Some of my friends make fun of my usage of the below words but they are 100% true! "My car is fast and running well. I am happy".

Car has completed a total of 24,000 kms since the turbocharging began. The way the car is running now, it is the best and the fastest it has ever been.

[Nikhilb2008]

Forgot to mention one more point.

After the intercooler mod, Venkat also silenced the Blow Off Valve for good!

So, no more bwwwaaaaaaah stutututu noises. It's dead silent now. Initially I was missing the BOV noise but the more I drive it, the more I appreciate the sound of silence!

[Nikhilb2008]

Would like to explain a bit more about the silenced Blow Off Valve.

The BOV sound was never too loud to begin with. It would sound like a fat sneeze. I liked it very much as it was the only overt indication besides the acceleration that my car was boosted. Venkat would always keep talking about something called "recirculation" and that it would silence that sound and I would have none of it.

This time, however, he went ahead and did it.


The PCV air oil separator from a BMW (https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) and this BOV are both plumbed to two ends of a T fitting and the third end is plumbed into the air filter box. A proper PCV setup is critical for the longevity of a turbo. It helps make sure that oil in the CHRA does not leak past the seals into the turbine or the compressor housing.

The BOV noise is gone and I must say that I don't miss it very much. I've started to enjoy the silent, fast drives. It makes my car more sleeper and I LIKE IT!






The small black conical thing at the rear is the cyclonic oil-air separator.






I also got the spark plugs changed. Venkat suggested the Brisk Racing Spark Plugs.

I got them delivered to a friend in the US and he brought them to Bangalore. We installed them today and I must say it is a noticeable difference. I dont know how they will perform in the long run but in the drive back home from Blackworks, I felt the car was a bit peppier and more lively.

As you can see in the below pictures, a typical spark plug has a small gap where the spark starts. In the Brisk Racing spark plugs, there is no limitation. the spark can fire in any direction. And typically, theoretically, it will take the path of least resistance, which is the path of the densest fuel mixture, hence leading to better combustion.

And onnce the combustion begins, there is no arch in between to block the flame. This allows the flame to spread easily throughout the cylinder.

For more marketing information a.k.a technical information, have a look at the below links.

: https://www.briskracing.com/brisk-spark-plugs

https://www.briskracing.com/brisk-ra...ugs-advantages









The flat tip of the Brisk Racing spark plug is made of silver.




Clear noticeable difference between a traditional spark plug and the Brisk Racing spark plug.

The below video also explains this theory well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PJweiCRFoU

I also shot a quick video showing the difference in the sparks of the two plugs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnJ-Fz8hYAw

In addition, I also changed the engine oil and the oil filter. I have been using Shell Helix Ultra 5W 40 for the last 50k kms or so and have been very happy with this oil. I continue to use this oil. Amazon generally has this on sale with some nice discounts which saves me a good chunk of money.

Since I am running a turbo car, I have been advised to change the oil every 7.5k kms or so. I am being safe and am getting it changed every 6-7k kms. Today, when we drained the engine oil, it still had some life. But better safe than sorry!



The theory about the spark plugs is very interesting. However it remains to be seen if it makes a noticeable difference while driving.

[Nikhilb2008]

I had a pretty enthusiastic late night drive around Bangalore a couple of days back.

I can say for sure that these Spark Plugs make a big difference.

The car feels more alive, peppier and eager to get moving. The throttle response too seems a bit improved. The feels more aggressive while accelerating.

Another very important point is that the car now moves smoothly at higher gears and lower speeds than earlier. There is no sense of lugging anymore at low rpms and high gears.

Earlier, at about 20kmph in 3rd gear, the car felt very sluggish. Like how a car would feel when it was being lugged. But now, it feels light and nimble.

Never expected a small investment of $69 to make such a big difference but it does.

Whatever the theory is of Brisk Racing Multi Spark plugs, it makes a noticeable difference in real life.

Very happy with this small change.

[Nikhilb2008]

Drove my dad's stock Civic yesterday for an hour or so across Bangalore.

Observations comparing a bone stock Civic (with Tein Super Street) with a Turbo Civic.

1. Stock car is waaaaaay more refined. Not even in the same planet. My Turbo civic is quite silent and honestly, I'm quite comfortable in it. But the level of refinement and lack of vibrations you get from a factory tuned car is something else.

2. Mileage: The Stock Civic gives about 8-9 kmpl in the city. I get around 7 and worst case around 6.5 kmpl. On the highway the stock Civic gives 13-14 easily when driven easily and about 12 when driven hard. The Turbo Civic gives about 10-10.5 on the highway when driven very carefully with a very lightfoot. And about 8 when driven hard.

3. Performance: The Stock civic is horribly painful to drive in the city. I kept lugging the engine as I am used to taking some turns and speedbreakers in 3rd gear in my turbo civic. In the stock Civic, the engine just cannot make the car move at low speeds and low rpms. I have to downshift everytime to 2nd at the very least. And sometimes even 2nd gear isnt good enough.

Just for that alone, I am ready to live with the pain of the poor fuel economy. Driving my Turbo Civic in the city is just stupidly easy.

[Ace F355]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Drove my dad's stock Civic yesterday for an hour or so across Bangalore.

Observations comparing a bone stock Civic (with Tein Super Street) with a Turbo Civic.

1. Stock car is waaaaaay more refined. Not even in the same planet. My Turbo civic is quite silent and honestly, I'm quite comfortable in it. But the level of refinement and lack of vibrations you get from a factory tuned car is something else.

2. Mileage: The Stock Civic gives about 8-9 kmpl in the city. I get around 7 and worst case around 6.5 kmpl. On the highway the stock Civic gives 13-14 easily when driven easily and about 12 when driven hard. The Turbo Civic gives about 10-10.5 on the highway when driven very carefully with a very lightfoot. And about 8 when driven hard.

3. Performance: The Stock civic is horribly painful to drive in the city. I kept lugging the engine as I am used to taking some turns and speedbreakers in 3rd gear in my turbo civic. In the stock Civic, the engine just cannot make the car move at low speeds and low rpms. I have to downshift everytime to 2nd at the very least. And sometimes even 2nd gear isnt good enough.

Just for that alone, I am ready to live with the pain of the poor fuel economy. Driving my Turbo Civic in the city is just stupidly easy.

Hi Nikhil

Congratulations on a MUCH quick Civic there! I could never gather the courage to get my Civic TC'ed all this while. The sheer number of teething issues including possibility of not having the car with me when required kept my urge at bay. Your car seems like have reached much better reliability level now. I envy you brother! Enjoy her to the brim!

PS: You were here in NCR for a while, pity I never noticed it earlier, we could have met and exchanged notes on our rides.

[Nikhilb2008]

This past Sunday I went on a nice highway drive. I wanted to drive for a very long time but unfortunately, I had missed the signs of wearing our brake pads.

An hour into the drive I could feel my brakes losing bite badly. The brakes were juddering under heavy braking.

We took a U turn and started a slow drive back home trying to use the brakes as little as possible.

In spite of my best efforts, by the time I reached home and parked the car, there was pretty bad metal to metal rubbing/grinding on the front left rotor. On the front right, there were a few burn marks showing that there was metal contact but not as bad as the left rotor.




















Parked the car and used my dad's car for the rest of the day.

On Monday morning, I gingerly drove the car to the Honda service centre and asked them to skim the brakes and change the brake pads.

When I got the car back with the worn out brakes, I was quite taken aback at seeing how badly the pads were worn out!

I screwed up real bad by not heeding the warning signs. This was completely my fault. I was really scared that the rotors had got damaged and had to be changed but the service guys were unfazed. They said that just the basic skimming would bring them up to scratch.



















Anyway, lesson learnt. And am looking at a brake upgrade in the near future. The problem is, there arent many big brake kits for the Civic FD1 that we have. Another problem is availability of ANYTHING in India.

Also, after getting the brakes changed, I went on a short drive and hard braking from 120-140 was very predictable and stable. Far better than most stock brakes I've experienced. Many people who have been in my car ask if I've upgraded the brakes. I've tried Brembo aftermarket stuff but they were no where close to the OEM Nissin in feel and bite.

While everyone around me is putting the fear of God in me when it comes to brakes, I actually find the OEM brakes to be very very very good.

However, I am still looking at improvements and will update as and when I get some upgrades.

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Hi Nikhil

Congratulations on a MUCH quick Civic there! I could never gather the courage to get my Civic TC'ed all this while. The sheer number of teething issues including possibility of not having the car with me when required kept my urge at bay. Your car seems like have reached much better reliability level now. I envy you brother! Enjoy her to the brim!

PS: You were here in NCR for a while, pity I never noticed it earlier, we could have met and exchanged notes on our rides.

Thanks for the kind words! I've just been lucky that my tuners stood by me and didnt try to screw me over. I guess every tuned car goes through it's share of problems. What is important is the tuner has that commitment to solving the problems.



Another fun fact. While we were on the drive, we stopped for a cup of tea/coffee and I was idly checking Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg helpfully reminded me of my post on the same day the previous year where I had posted a picture of my odometer.



And when we realised that my current odometer reading was 1,53,500, all of us were gobsmacked.

38,500 kms of running in exactly a year. And not counting the downtime of my car and a large number of days where I havent been in Bangalore.

[Dr.Naren]

I too went through the same thing in my Grand I10 about brake rotors and pads. I did not realise the warning signs and drove couple of KMS. I got a set of new brake pads and faced the discs.

I think Brembo has brake pads and rotors for Civic.

[VineetG]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

When I got the car back with the worn out brakes, I was quite taken aback at seeing how badly the pads were worn out!

I screwed up real bad by not heeding the warning signs. This was completely my fault. I was really scared that the rotors had got damaged and had to be changed but the service guys were unfazed. They said that just the basic skimming would bring them up to scratch.

Hi,

Did you not get a screeching sound of the brake wear indicator? I got that when the brakes were reaching the end of life.

Rgds

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by VineetG

Hi,

Did you not get a screeching sound of the brake wear indicator? I got that when the brakes were reaching the end of life.

Rgds

No screeching sound. There was a bit of vibration which I ignored.

[Nikhilb2008]

Oh dear.... It's so easy to just let this thread die and sweep bad news under the carpet like what so many other people do..... It's very tempting too. No idiots lecturing me and giving me their "I told you so" looks...

But I've committed to being 100% honest and truthful on this journey and however hard it is, I shall be honest!

Yes, I'm the hero the tuning scene deserves but not the one it needs right now


I was coming back from a phenomenal Ambur drive with friends. Chennai to Ambur was a convoy of 3 turbo petrols. One R18 Turbo, one Abarth Punto and one Polo TSI.

At Ambur our friends from Bangalore met up with us and our tummies full of yummy biryani, we started our drive back.

One Turbo Civic, one Polo TSI, one Linea T Jet, one Cedia and one Punto MJD.

The first 100 odd kms was simply epic. Words dont do justice to the drive.

Car was flying like a dream.

At Shoolagiri we stopped for fuel and we noticed huge plumes of white smoke from the exhaust. Immediately pulled out of the pump, stopped on the service lane and popped the hood. Nothing abnormal but huge plumes from the exhaust.

Didnt try too much and we tried towing the car and after 25 slow kms, we gave up and called a tow truck.

Got the car to Blackworks and soon we realised that the turbo itself was in good condition. Engine was also in fine condition. Compression was high enough and equal in all 4 cylinders.

Further investigation revealed that the head itself had cracked allowing coolant to mix with the exhaust gases. This was the source of the huge plumes of white smoke.


Since that Ambur drive, I've spent 14 days in the UK and am off for another 8 days starting tomorrow. So, I've not had much of an opportunity to miss my car and Blackworks is busy fixing it.

Errr..... Not just fixing but making improvements :P





Venkat is basically enlarging the exhaust port.... Will it work? Well, we dont know. We dont have much to lose anyway. It's worth a shot!

Various R18s across the world have had issues with Turbos. Usually the connecting rods fail or something else.

From my prowling across the interweb, it looks like I've had the first case of an R18 head failing!

[dracul]

It's an unfortunate incident. You are very lucky to notice it early otherwise it may result in a hydrolock ruining your whole engine. Since you have an EGT gauge, did you notice any abnormal reading. What is your tuners opinion on the problem. There must be some reason.

[NVA88]

Sorry to hear about the crack on the head Nikhilb2008. Could this be due to sheer unluckieness or was there any issues with the set up . The reason I ask is because I used to live in Austalia prior to coming back to India and the car scene there is big. Access to parts and tuning goodies are very easy. I remember an acquaintance of mine from back in perth had a similar issue on his honda civic but the crack was more prominent than what your car has. After a lot of hunting around for the problem they figured that the turbo set up he ran installed was not well thought through. Apparently the guy who built his car missed out of a few small details. I could drop him a message and find out what exactly happened if you would want to know. A head getting a crack is something that is not very often heard off. Well anyways I hope your car gets back on the road again soon. Happy miles ahead Nikhil

[Nikhilb2008]

I noticed that in spite of my personal efforts to keep away from the politics of the tuning scene, some people are taking the opportunity to take pot shots at each other.

For you, I would like to say, BE A MAN. If you have genuine questions, ask me directly. Dont be a coward by going behind my back and mocking me and my attempts to build something.


Anyway, progress is consistent on my car.

I should have had the car by now but we realised the engine mount had broken. Been waiting for over 10 days now for the original mount from Honda.

Lots of modifications to the head. We have to wait and watch to see *IF* it works. And if so, for how long. We are now in uncharted territory.

[Dr.Naren]

I appreciate what you are doing man. You are being honest and updating everything about your build in this thread. I am sure you would be very satisfied about the build .