[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

I assume you are talking about the 2L petrol Mondeo? 11km/l is really good after all these years. Lovely car
With a stock Civic, with 100% AC, and speeds less than 40Km/H, it would be highly improbably that one would shift to 4th, leave alone 5th, as the car would get totally bogged down, and you just won't have any surge to fill in gaps in traffic.

Yes mine is a 2.0L 10 year old car with 1.09 lakh kms on the odo. Well the Mondeo's case may not really apply because it has short final ratio so you can comfortably drive the car in 3rd gear all day long.. But I used to do this in the Swift 1.3 also and used to get 15kmpl with 99% AC usage. After turboing my Swift I used 14kmpl without even trying. Anyway we are going off topic now. Let's stick your car discussion.

[bhuvan_prasad]

With the 6 year anniversary for the Civic coming up soon, it was high time I replaced the soiled seat fabric that came from the factory in the S trim(the initial launch Civic came only in that one variant IIRC). Apologies for the bad picture quality. Install took about 4 hours. Autoform seat covers.

Have a deko:

[arvi86]

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

With the 6 year anniversary for the Civic coming up soon, it was high time I replaced the soiled seat fabric that came from the factory in the S trim(the initial launch Civic came only in that one variant IIRC). Apologies for the bad picture quality. Install took about 4 hours. Autoform seat covers.

Have a deko:

The new seat covers does look plush. Would you mind sharing the cost incurred as I was also looking for art-leather seat covers and backed off because it could end up heating the interiors? Though I backed off, I may still take the plunge.

[bhuvan_prasad]

Originally Posted by arvi86

The new seat covers does look plush. Would you mind sharing the cost incurred as I was also looking for art-leather seat covers and backed off because it could end up heating the interiors? Though I backed off, I may still take the plunge.

Cost me 11k. Didn't really notice any additional heating up, but because of the extra foam, the seat fit becomes more snug and headroom reduces.

[raghu230506]

That's a nice car, color and other aspects looks very much as new.

I have the same covers on my 09 Honda City, It looks more clean on the rear in comparison to mine.

After market guy didn't pull tight the way they did for yours in rear, rather they told me that after a regular use it fits perfectly fine, which never happened. But as such Iam happy with covers.

[bhuvan_prasad]

Originally Posted by raghu230506

That's a nice car, color and other aspects looks very much as new.

I have the same covers on my 09 Honda City, It looks more clean on the rear in comparison to mine.

After market guy didn't pull tight the way they did for yours in rear, rather they told me that after a regular use it fits perfectly fine, which never happened. But as such Iam happy with covers.

The install was done at my home, so i was hovering around all the time. They should pull the threads tightly during install. There are 2-3 places to pull for each set of covers. It took a lengthy 4 hours.

[Ardy]

Congratulations, Bhuvan !!!

Went through the entire thread. You have laid your hands on a beautifully maintained car. And of course, spruced it up well.

Wishing you great time riding around the Civic.

Cheers,
Ardy

[bhuvan_prasad]

Yet another long distance drive was dismissed by the Civic. On Saturday, August 4th 2012, I did a Chennai - Hyderabad drive, alone. 800 Kms (took a longer route) in 10.5 hours, point to point. FE of 14.5 Km/l.

[bhuvan_prasad]

Hey folks,

So a small update. Have paid the amount to RRP and the turbo kit for my car is going to be installed next week.

It is the standard RRP turbo kit which m4ugr8 also had. Should give me about 200whp or 225-230bhp at the crank.

Components are:
1.) Garrett GT 20 turbo
2.) Garrett Intercooler
3.) Turbosmart BOV
4.) Turbosmart fuel pressure regulator
5.) Haltech 500 ECU
6.) BMC DIA intake system
7.) RRP exhaust
8.) Exedy Clutch
9.) RRP plumbing

Injectors i will change later if i really feel the car struggling at high RPM's.
This also means my automech FFE and K&N Typhoon are up for grabs. They have done only 8000kms, so anybody in chennai with a civic interested in these do PM me, you will get them for a steal. !

[bhuvan_prasad]

Exedy stage I performance clutch going in.
More install pics to follow..

[bhuvan_prasad]

Visited the workshop today. All the parts have arrived except for the exhaust(Monday) and ECU(Thu/Fri).
Install of all the parts except the ECU will be done by Friday. On sat/sun we will wire the ECU and Kayan from RRP bangalore is coming over, so with me driving on the Sriperumbudur Highway/Race track we are going to tune the car to my driving style and needs. We can do boost by gear/RPM etc is what I'm told. So we'll spend the weekend tuning the car.

Have taken photos of all the components that are going in.

1.) Old Clutch Assembly removed. New Exedy clutch assembly waiting to be installed


2.) Old worn out clutch - 52k Kms


3.) The new Exedy Clutch


4.) New Clutch Assembly


5.) Turbosmart Fuel Pressure Regulator - FPR 800


6.) The Garrett GT 20 Turbo


7.) The Garrett GT 20 Turbo


8.) Garrett Intercooler. Those are some heavy duty welds


9.) Turbosmart BOV


10.) BMC DIA(Direct Intake Airflow) Air intake

[suhaas307]

Now we're getting serious!

You must upgrade your wheels / tires so that the extra oomph from the motor is harnessed properly. I'd also suggest you to work on the suspension and brakes if you haven't given it a thought already!

Subscribed! *winks*

[arvi86]

Wow Bhuvan, those are some serious stuff waiting to get into your Civic's engine bay. I am sure you have planned tire/wheel upgrades as well as suspension upgrades to match the extra horses that the i-VTec might end up producing. More than you, I can't wait to see the end results.

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

so with me driving on the Sriperumbudur Highway/Race track we are going to tune the car to my driving style and needs. We can do boost by gear/RPM etc is what I'm told. So we'll spend the weekend tuning the car.

That's brilliant, make sure that there is absolutely no lag from the turbo. The reason I am stating is that this lag, combined with the Civic's perennial low-end response problem, could make your life tougher in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

[bhuvan_prasad]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Now we're getting serious!

You must upgrade your wheels / tires so that the extra oomph from the motor is harnessed properly. I'd also suggest you to work on the suspension and brakes if you haven't given it a thought already!

Subscribed! *winks*

All the above are on the cards. I would like to gauge the stock setup with the increased power for a week or so before finalizing on components I'd need to upgrade.
1.) Brake pads are going to be upgraded - Mintex or Hawk. I've got new discs upfront 1 Month ago
2.) Tein Super Street Suspension - Very keen to go for this.
3.) Tyres - I'm itching to put some nice 17 inchers on but I'm dreading the ride. And Tein suspension + 17 inchers will blow a hole in the pocket But if the Teins can handle 17 inchers(pointers here will be highly appreciated) well, I'll gladly spend
4.) Strut braces - Depending on the chassis flex, I might get these from the US.

So yes, it is not just a power boost, I very much will get the handling and braking up to the mark. Will not change the looks of the car though. Other than the eagle eye headlamps up front, the car will look stock. (and the alloys if upgrade)

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

2.) Tein Super Street Suspension - Very keen to go for this.
3.) Tyres - I'm itching to put some nice 17 inchers on but I'm dreading the ride. And Tein suspension + 17 inchers will blow a hole in the pocket But if the Teins can handle 17 inchers(pointers here will be highly appreciated) well, I'll gladly spend) Strut braces - Depending on the chassis flex, I might get these from the US.

I would rather not. It's much to expensive and for regular city / highway usage will not warrant anything beyond Koni FSDs, unless you plan on tracking it? H&R springs are also worth a look. What about RRP's suspension package? They have TEIN bits right? You've got more than a few options that will save you quite a lot.

My 2 cents.

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

4.) Strut braces - Depending on the chassis flex, I might get these from the US.

I believe this is a good upgrade as well.

And what's the word on the Haltech ECU?